Tips & Techniques

 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MACHINE

All machines are defined by four factors:

• Body: the strength of the racer's hull

• Boost: the efficiency with which the machine gains speed from boosts

• Grip: the racer's maneuverability

• Weight: affects multiple stats

Body, Boost, and Grip are rated with letter grades, from A to E. A is the best, E is the worst or lowest.

Weight is measured in kilograms (kg). Here are the stats for the two extremes:

• Light Machine: fast acceleration, low top speed, good grip, good cornering, easily knocked around and damaged by heavier machines

• Heavy Machine: slow acceleration, high top speed, low grip, slow cornering, strong against impact from other machines

As a rule of thumb, choose a heavy machine for a track with long straights, pick a light machine for courses with many sharp turns. In the GP mode, you will have to race a variety of tracks with the same machine so beginners are ultimately best off with an all-round machine, like Octoman's lightweight Deep Claw or the heavier Blue Falcon. To iron out the nuances and adjust the machines between tracks, read on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SETTING UP YOUR MACHINE

While it may be tempting to just ignore the machine setting graph before the races, it's best to cast a quick glance at the track layout and then decide if it's top speed or acceleration you'll need. Each F-Zero racer can be customized by moving the slider to the left or the right. Having the slider all the way on the left means that your overall top speed will be low, but acceleration (and thus recovery after banging into an obstacle) will be swift. On the other hand, moving the slider to the right means you'll have a high top speed, but it will take you a while to reach it.

Acceleration / Left-Balanced: Move the line to the left to balance the car for quick turning. This setting is appropriate for technical courses with many sharp turns and few long straights. The car will boost off the start much faster and perform better while drifting. When using a car balanced for acceleration, use the drift turn technique (press L and R while turning) to prevent speed loss in corners.

Top Speed / Right Balanced: Move the line towards the right to balance the car for faster top speeds. This setting is best for courses with long straights (or pipes) and few sharp turns. The car doesn't drift as well and has lower acceleration after impacts or from the start line. Use the slide turn technique to navigate around corners (press R while turning right, L while turning left) and follow the apex of the curve for best results.

Note that the acceleration (left-balanced) setting is much easier to manage for beginning players. If you're a newbie, try centering your slider or moving it to the left if you're having trouble beating a track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROPER STEERING

If you've played any racing game before, you'll know that taking the "racing line" in curves is very important. The idea is to approach a curve from the outside, then steer into the apex -- the inside -- of the curve and travel the smallest distance while minimizing speed loss.

There are four different turn techniques in F-Zero GX:

• Standard Turn: Press left or right on the stick and your craft will perform a wide turn with little speed loss. However, the downside of the standard turn is that you won't be able to make it through a curve at high speeds without bumping into walls.

• Slide Turn: Perform the slide turn by pressing L when turning left and pressing R when turning right. This technique allows for much sharper turns, but it also causes some speed loss. It's the essential technique for machines set up for high top speed, but there's also a hidden benefit for heavy machines on the acceleration setting (see "snake technique" below)

• Drift Turn: This technique is performed by pressing and holding both shoulder buttons at the same time. Force yourself to use it, even if it may seem tough at first. The Drift Turn is pretty much the only way you'll be able to get through some of the harder tracks. The great thing about it is that the craft actually increases speed while drifting, even if the turn initially goes wider. For best effect, use this technique for machines set up for top acceleration.

• Spin Turn: Yes, you can use the Z-Button spin to turn sharp corners at high speed. Ideal for S curves and angular corners, this move is showy and very effective when trying to successfully navigate corners while you're surrounded by other racers.

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• USING THE BOOST AND DASH PLATES

• F-Zero's energy management system lets you carefully balance shield capacity with travel speed. Watch your boost meter. When it's low, it'll only take a few hits to permanently knock you out of the race. As a rule of thumb, know where the pit strips (the energy strips that recharge your meter) are. Make sure that you use your boosts up before you get to them and don't boost before a strip. You want to spend the maximum amount of time recharging. Once the bar is almost full, boost, even if you're still on the strip.

  The yellow dash plates are equally as important. It goes without saying that you should try and hit them all to get the maximum travel speed. Also pay special attention to dash plate placement on the advanced tracks. Often, the road will split with dash plates located away from the energy strips. Remember that you shouldn't need to recharge energy on your first lap (unless you're banging into walls), so always go for the dash plates instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAST DIVE

Floating through the air after big jumps is fun, right? Weeee! Stop. Don't do it. Keep your nose down. Jumps are a great way to shave some time off your laps by bypassing obstacles or taking shortcuts, but you shouldn't remain in the air longer than necessary. The best way to handle jumps is to push the stick forward immediately and boost downwards. You will actually increase speed thanks to the gravitational pull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFENSIVE DRIVING

You've got two attacks. Use them. While the spin attack (Z) is nice when smacking right into the middle of a large group of enemy racers, the Side Attack (X) works best on single opponents. Try and do your dirty work early on in the race, when all racers pull away from the start. Simply pull next to another car, and SLAM! Remember that both moves will only work when you push the stick in the appropriate direction. The X attack is also a great way to quickly evade an obstacle, such as vertical pipes.

When you're moving into lap 2 or 3, the spin attack will show its worth. F-Zero machines are their most vulnerable at the front end. To exploit this, boost when approaching a group of racers, then hit Z when you're close and spin into them from the side. You can easily knock out whole groups of enemies this way -- and secure yourself an easy win.

Every time you knock out an opponent, a skull will appear under your score display. When you're in the lead, be sure to watch your enemy marker (the small indicator at the bottom of the screen) that lets you know that someone's trying to overtake. Get out the way to avoid a collision and loss of valuable time, or perform a spin when the enemy gets close. Pay special attention to the "rival" marker that appears over the opponent who's closest to you in points (both above the driver's machine and above the driver's head in the top 6 list display). Knocking out rivals is a great way to ensure that you'll win a whole championship even when you don't consistently place 1st.

And most importantly, if you knock out five rivals in one race, you will gain an extra machine (life).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SNAKE TECHNIQUE

This controversial "technique" exploits F-Zero's finely tuned physics model to simulate special boosts caused by correctly leaning into curves using the controller's shoulder buttons. To use the snake technique, select a heavy car with a high grip rating (A) like Black Shadow's Black Bull, then set it up for high acceleration. By alternating L and R and turning left and right at the same time, players then drive serpentines and essentially simulate turns on a straightway. Use of this technique on wide courses results in incredible lap times. If you're having trouble executing the technique, know that it's not a matter of rapidly pressing buttons. Turn left while holding L, then turn right while holding R after you've performed a visible turn. Repeat ad infinem and get faster and faster. You'll see results even when using Captain Falcon's machine -- just make sure it's set up for high acceleration. Don't overdo it. When you're steering into turns, steady your craft and don't forget to hit the dash plates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADJUST THE CAMERA

Racing in the first-person perspective will give you extra thrills on tracks you've already mastered, so don't forget to try it when you've gotten better at the game. But there's another benefit of the different camera angles. The zoomed out view (press down on the pad a few times) is perfect for exploring new tracks. The higher angle lets you see the turns ahead much earlier and gives you more time to react.