A text review of F-Zero Maximum Velocity for Game Boy Advance

 So if F-Zero X made me a fan for life, how did this game slip under my radar?

Well, it didn’t, kind of. Back in the day I was actually a pretty keen portable gamer. My system of choice was the Atari Lynx! My sister had a Game Boy. Together we only had about 10 games or so. The Lynx chewed through batteries like no tomorrow, but I didn’t care, as I mostly played powered up with a cable.

My beloved Lynx and all its games were stolen in a robbery though, and I forgot all about portable gaming until the Gameboy Color. I got one with the Camera accessory for some reason. I guess that was more novel back then than it seems now! I never got any other games for it though - I'd play some of my sister’s old games, but my money was going towards N64 stuff. The screen on the Color wasn’t a patch on my old Lynx, so I eventually got rid of it.

When the Game Boy Advance was announced, I was unimpressed by the screen technology and only had a cursory interest in its games. My money was being set aside for the impending Gamecube anyway. A mate at TAFE had a GBA that I got to try a few times, and that’s when I first played F-Zero Maximum Velocity. I recall that initial impression being one of “Why am I sliding around everywhere?”.

I eventually became interested in getting a GBA - I’m pretty certain once “Metroid IV” was announced. That I could not miss! I also wanted Mario Kart Super Circuit but still, this was the days before getting a job, so I had no money! That same friend from earlier had lost interest in GBA and -  in a moment of sheer childhood insanity - I conjured up a trade that would haunt me for years. I’d give him ALL of my Generation 1 Transformer toys for his GBA. What in the fuck was I thinking? Well, those toys had been sitting on my shelf unplayed for going on a decade at that point… hmm i’m kind of in the same scenario 20 years later actually, but nevermind that.

For reasons I can’t recall, my mate didn’t want to give me all of his games with the machine. He actually kept F-Zero Maximum Velocity and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. I only got Advance Wars. I was pretty salty but Metroid was the goal, so we made the trade. I later picked up Metroid Fusion, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario & Luigi and that was it. That original GBA screen was just too bad to play on, and the rechargeable battery pack that my friend threw in, had a finicky connector.

It would seem like my mate kept his games for an impending GBA SP upgrade… but we made the trade in 2002, before that was known I think. When GBA SP came out, I never got one. Instead, I got a job and in the pursuit of playing my games on a proper screen, got the Game Boy Player accessory for my Gamecube.

I kept the old GBA around for quite a while but did eventually sell it. Eventually I picked up Metroid Zero Mission as well. That was … hastily resets Play Asia password and checks order history… October 2006. $17.70, what a deal! Yeap this history is checking out! I got that after I got the DS Lite at release in June since it finally had a good portable screen! November 2007, Wario Land Advance $17.03 and F-Zero GP Legend $10.64! Am I good at waiting for deals or what?!

Then it gets hazy. Presumably, copies of Maximum Velocity at Play Asia were long gone by then. I think I nabbed just a cartridge of the Japanese version, F-Zero for Game Boy Advance, whilst on holiday. Around the same time, I got F-Zero Climax, boxed for just 2000Y I think - a far cry from what it goes for now!

I don’t recall much about playing the first game back then though. I think I must have not liked the slippy cars again and forgotten about it? It didn’t have the original characters or locations, the usual complaints you hear about it. On first play, GP Legend and Climax are much better presented and more approachable games and for a time, I thought they were better.

Nintendo eventually gave me Maximum Velocity again in 2011 for being a 3DS Ambassador. I felt special and this is when I think I grew to like the game. It’s still not ideal playing on 3DS though - you have the option of blurry enlarged, or tiny pixel perfect. My cart only version looked lonely next to the glorious boxes of its sequels, so after moving to Japan in 2016, it was one of the first things I hunted out. Somehow, I ended up with another cart only copy as well! It must have been bundled with something else I wanted. I sold both carts leaving me with just the boxed copy.

It’s still finicky to play it nicely though isn’t it? I sought out a Gamecube to Game Boy Advance link cable so I can play the game on a big screen but with the original GBA as my controller (I repurchased one just for this purpose!). It’s great but I still wasn’t satisfied, so I bought F-Zero Maximum Velocity (and GP Legend) again, on Wii U’s Virtual Console. Almost satisfied, I can play them on the big screen with the comfort of my SNES Classic controller. Are you following all these? There’s gonna be a quiz at the end about how many copies I have.

Of course, those sumbitches locked away F-Zero Climax to the Japanese Wii U. Even I can’t be bothered buying a Japanese Wii U, and then they closed the eShop soon afterwards anyway.

Now they’re all available on Nintendo Switch Online but only if you have the + Expansion pack, which I don't. I fear it is just a matter of time though, since this release finally adds the E-Reader courses to GP Legend. Just let me buy them outright please and end this 20+ year ordeal!

The precious collectables! GP Legend and Climax guides are in the unobtainables category unfortunately.

Sorry for the long intro, but hey it covers 3 F-Zero games, so we set! Onto the review.

Modes

Grand Prix

Grand Prix is set up very similarly to the SNES original. Here you have an initial selection of Pawn, Knight and Bishop Series, along with Beginner, Standard and Expert Class (difficulty). Each Series consists of 5 tracks. Beating a series on Expert will unlock Master Class for that series, and if you beat all 3 series on Expert, you’ll unlock the Queen Series. Each series consists of 5 tracks, for a total of 20 tracks (5 more than the SNES version).

The system for winning a league is identical to the SNES version. You must finish each lap in the top 15, 10, 7, 5 and finally 3 to progress. There’s no points in this game earnt for each lap though - and no way to earn extra lives as a result.

The boost start mechanic is improved from the SNES version. You can still mistime it and your engine will cut off after a short burst of speed, but now you can get a proper boost start with the correct timing (different for each car). Like the SNES version, you get one boost item to use upon completion of a lap, and are able to store up to 3.

Energy is handled nearly the same as well. The only difference is you recover energy immediately after entering the pit lane, instead of having to wait for the repair drone to fly in.

The field of cars now consists of 10 proper racers instead of 4, and a remainder made up of drones for 20 total (i think!). The drones will again become a pain to avoid on later laps.

Training

This mode is similar to the original’s Practice and again functions similar to a Time Trial mode. You can choose to race with/without CPU cars on any of the courses you’ve previously raced in Grand Prix mode.

Multipak Link

A mode for up to 4 players where each player needs their own machine and copy of the game. If playing with less than 4 players, CPU cars can be selected to replace them (or not). Track selection is limited to any of the courses you’ve previously raced in Grand Prix mode.

Single-Pak Link

A mode for up to 4 players but only requiring one copy of the game. Here, you cannot select a machine and instead all players drive a generic one differentiated by colour. You can also only race on one course dedicated to this mode.

Championship

This challenge mode must be unlocked by registering a name in the rankings of all races in every cup. There’s one new course available here, dedicated to Time Attack. On this course you can choose to race with or without a Champion Ghost. You can also view a replay of the Champion Ghost along with its controller inputs being shown on screen.  If you set a faster time than the ghost, your ghost will replace the Champion Ghost.

Options

Here you can change the amount of lives you start with, controls and music on or off. Personally I prefer having boost on a face button instead of having to press both shoulders at the same time.

Tracks

Pawn Series

Bianca City Stretch Circuit
The first course is laid out differently to, but has shades of the first Mute City. You start on a straight which bends left this time. There’s a jump plate but this one is more useful as you can use it to skip a corner. There’s a similar dirt patch to boost over or drive around, followed by another straight that leads into the final corner, a light hairpin that you’ll want to come out of nicely in order to hit the speed pads on the exit.

Stark Farm First Circuit
This is a long course with a winding start through S curves and fairly light hairpins. There’s more dirt to avoid on a final chicane section.

Empyrean Colony Dash Circuit
A course that has shades of the old Sand Ocean with a hairpin featuring a widening track before it. Afterwards though, the track forks into 2 identical paths like Mute City II in the original. You’ll want to choose the one less traveled by other cars again.

Stark Farm Second Circuit
Our second Stark Farm not long after the first. This one is littered with dirt patches to slow you down, but big time skips are possible if your boost is long enough to dash over them all.

Cloud Carpet Long Jump Circuit
A challenging set of opening corners is somewhat reminiscent of the old White Land courses. You eventually make it up to the game’s first jump plate over a gap. No worries clearing this one with the conveniently placed boost pads, but you have a choice of going straight over and dealing with an immediate hairpin, or cutting it out completely by going left, if you have enough speed. You’ll still have to contend with another sharp hairpin right before the final straight. Only if you have the perfect approach can you scrape by the inside wall.

 

Knight Series

Tenth Zone East Snake Circuit
A pretty basic course with nothing much in the way of interesting features. The corners aren’t too challenging which affords you a little flexibility in where you use your boosts.

Beacon Port Crossroad Circuit
This course introduces a first for the series, a figure 8 section with a very real risk of slamming head first into another car as you pass over the center. Boost pads are placed in tricky spots if your cornering isn’t on point.

Synobazz Explosive Circuit
A fairly relaxed opening series of corners leads to a sweeping curve with land mines to avoid. The pattern isn’t dense but the exit is into a hairpin so you can’t afford to get knocked around. Afterwards, a bulk of the course surface is exposed. You’ll need to take a jump plate to avoid taking damage. Around the next corner, there’s more exposed track forcing you down the middle, but you have to get lined up for a final hairpin.

Ancient Mesa Split Circuit
Basic turns at the beginning again, this time leading to a section of road that opens up into a wide icy plane. You’ve got your choice of 4 boost pads but you want to enter the ice just right or you’ll be slipping into walls before you know it. The ice section splits into 2 identical shapes making for a coat hanger like appearance on the minimap. Boost pads send you off in set directions and it’s near essential you hit the last one to correct your direction into the thin centered exit. It’s not over yet though as you have to contend with more ice on some curves followed by a jump into a hairpin. If you’re not slipping off the jump, you can cut out a good chunk of road with a shortcut.

Stark Farm Third Circuit
Stark Farm again? Someone really loved the Stark Farm theme I guess! This time we have another new track design, a fork that leads to two completely different choices. Take Right and it’s some 90º turns followed by a jump onto a straight with unavoidable patches of dirt. You’ll want to boost over those but be wary of the sharp exit. Take left and your path has a little less dirt that you can actually avoid, but your exit into the final sharp turns will be made more difficult.

 

Bishop Series

Bianca City Tightrope Circuit
Like Snake Circuit in Knight, there’s not much of interest on this course. A chicane at the beginning is about all you need to wake up for, but this course can be hard to win on if your car doesn’t have a good top speed!

Ancient Mesa Skating Circuit
If you thought the ice coat hanger was nasty, you’ll hate this course. Again there are 2 identical paths but this time the entrance is covered with ice so it’ll be harder to make your choice. The 90º corners are best approached like a chicane if you can avoid slipping out. There’s a couple of nasty hairpins at the end of the lap that can be very costly if you mess them up.

Crater Land Skid Zone Circuit
3 split paths abound in this fast paced course. It’s pit lane vs boost pads so choose wisely, and don’t forget about the tricky conveyor belts near the end of the lap, that’ll send you left and right. They’re particularly bothersome when the road suddenly gets very skinny!

Cloud Carpet Icarus Circuit
Starting deceivingly with some simple corners, you’ll soon be funneled into very tight roads, where it can be difficult to overtake. On exiting this thin section, there’s a jump you’ll want to hit, to avoid an ice covered S bend, and then another that is virtually essential you hit at speed, to skip the 2nd to last hairpin and make the final one a lot easier.

Bianca City Ultimate Circuit

A far simpler course than the 3 preceding it. There’s some smaller roads and a few tricky turns and hairpins but not much of anything interesting. If you make it to this track you shouldn’t have any problem completing the league.

Queen Series

Crater Land Loop Circuit
A simple layout with just 4 simple corners, this track is made challenging with dirt covering entire parts of the track (that you’ll want to avoid with a jump or boost), as well as land mines. Hitting all the boost pads is essential.

Tenth Zone East Plummet Circuit
A course littered with gap jumps, this time at angles to each other as well. Big jumping cars can take a shortcut, but you’ll still have to contend with a series of S bends and a final series of forked jumps.

Empyrean Colony Twist Circuit
An absolutely nasty course featuring the game’s most devious track obstacle, twisters. Drive over these and your car gets spun around, if you’re really unlucky, a full 180º. Hitting one can end your chances of a win regardless of the lap, so knowing where they are and avoiding them at all costs is essential.

Fire Field Land Mine Circuit
Fire Field returns as the penultimate course. The track layout is wide and relaxed but the challenge comes from huge numbers of landmines all over it. Even when they’re destroyed they leave an explosive patch which limits the road surface.

Fire Field Warrior Circuit
Fire Field wasn’t giving up its spot as the last course either. More reminiscent of the SNES original, you’ll have to contend with a difficult layout - including another pit lane off the racing line. Almost every other trick in the book from mines to conveyors, dirt patches and magnets. At least there’s no twisters!

Championship

Synobazz Championship Circuit
The game’s dedicated Time Trial course is fairly simple apart from a big slippery curved section and some mines. But the best times come from pushing to the limit - hitting the mines at the right angle can propel you forward at max speed, but you’ll need to watch your energy levels to finish the race.

Single-Pak Link

Silence Open Circuit
A pretty basic high speed course with just a tricky slippery section. A jump plate enables a corner cut which would be a high stakes target in multiplayer.

Cars

Hot Violet
A starting car with decent acceleration and boost, but a low top speed, it’s not very good at turning either.

Fire Ball
A starting car that’s a bit faster and maneuverable than Hot Violet, but with worse acceleration.

J.B Crystal
A starting car that has the 2nd longest boost time in the game, but average everything else.

Wind Walker
A starting car that has the weakest body but a very fast boost (although it doesn’t last very long) and impressive jump.

Sly Joker
An unlockable car that won’t get knocked around much. It has a very fast boost but the shortest boost time in the game, which makes it very challenging to win with.

The Stingray
An unlockable car with the longest boost in the game. You can win easily provided you can navigate the course at high speed.

Silver Thunder
An unlockable car with a very strong body. It’s boost time is short but also very fast, but it’s turning ability is poor.

Falcon MkII
An unlockable car with above average stats for the most part. Easy to drive but you’ll have to watch your energy a bit.

Fighting Comet
An unlockable car that has the unusual combination of lowest normal speed but 2nd fastest boost speed. The boost lasts for an impressive 9 seconds but you’ll be stuck in traffic a lot, which can be a pain with its poor turning.

Jet Vermilion
An unlockable car with the fastest boost speed in the game and a relatively quick normal speed too. Its boost speed is short and it handles and accelerates terribly. One saving grace is its exceptional jumping ability.

Graphics

Maximum Velocity looks very much like a direct sequel to the SNES game. Although Fire Field is the only returning location, the new locations are bright and colourful and would fit in with those from the original. Sometimes, the track appears to float more than it does in the original, like it’s on a separate layer to the outside. The new outer parts are quite detailed and there’s some cool effects like the clouds. Everything is smooth and fast.

The cars this time have many more frames of animation than the SNES game, so they scale and move a lot smoother. The pixels were made from 3D renders, rather than being hand drawn. The appearance is a bit like the rendered cars from BS F-Zero. Their designs are kind of chibi at times, which is not too dissimilar from the original game, but a few of them don’t have much “cool factor”.

Sound

All the songs in the Maximum Velocity are new, but sound very much in line with those from the SNES game. You get the same kind of cool futuristic vibes from them. There’s nothing bad here, but also nothing really stands out as memorable, like several in the original game do.

Controls

Maximum Velocity has the same controls as the original F-Zero for the most part - albeit we’re missing a face button so there’s a little awkwardness if you want to brake. The control options provided are suitable though.

Where it differs from the SNES game is in the handling. The first difference is a greater need to recover from lost grip by tapping the accelerate button. The slide L and R button aren’t as tight as the original game, which can throw off returning players. The second and more important is oddly not mentioned in the manual. The same kind of drift as F-Zero X has been introduced - ie turn Left and press R, or turn Right and press L. This turn can be even more impactful than tapping accelerate, as you can use it to approach a corner while the nose of your car is turned towards it. Using these turns also reduces the need to tap the accelerator around corners, to something more akin to how often you do this in the SNES game.

My Thoughts

As I mentioned in the intro, this game didn’t really grab me at first. I wasn’t fond of the need to tap the accelerator to retain grip on virtually every corner. The first time you play it, that certainly feels weird.

It also felt weird that none of the locations returned (I didn’t get far enough to see Fire Field at first). Also none of their music. Then, none of the characters or any of the cars too (with only the Falcon MkII bearing any resemblance). I think F-Zero X had had such an impact with its expanded roster of cars and characters, that it felt odd to essentially ignore everything created to date for this game.

But over time, I think I can understand why they did it too. Since the gameplay is otherwise very similar to the original, changing up everything else is a good way to differentiate it and make it seem newer than it is.

Over time I also realized it’s kind of a silly issue to take with this game or any other sequel really. Is a retread all we want out of sequels? When you think about it, an entire new set of locations, cars and characters is a great (and nowadays, rare) thing to see.

Having said that, I’d be lying if I didn’t get the smiles more from GP Legend and Climax, with their assortment of classic F-Zero elements. Nintendo heard the complaints loud and clear, that's for sure.

I feel like the problem is, the original had simply become too iconic to discard even at this early point. It doesn’t help that none of the new locations (in particular, their songs), characters or cars are really as memorable as the originals. If you’re going to do “new”, you also have to do “better” is the lesson here. It was kind of an impossible task though, when you think about it.

These somewhat dorky cars grew on me as I started to like the game more though. Now I wonder how cool it’d be to have a Falcon MkII alongside the Blue Falcon in a new F-Zero. It’s worth running through the game with each of the cars, not just to unlock the final one, but also because you need to adjust your strategy somewhat to win with each. Some are definitely harder than others, so there’s a good spread and balance in this way.

Stepping back a bit, the other problem with the cars is that the 4 starters were given some of the worst stats in the game. People probably wouldn’t like the original Blue Falcon if it wasn’t fun to play as. Or the original F-Zero if not for the Stingray making it so fun. So, your first impression of the Maximum Velocity is also tainted by these average car stats. Once you unlock some cooler looking and better performing cars, suddenly the game starts to take on its own identity. Then when you figure out drifting, all of a sudden you’re god of the racecourse and it feels like a true sequel to F-Zero.

The track layouts here offer some good variance from the original game’s tracks. Lots of new features are introduced, which when you consider the tracks are flat - well there’s not a lot for them to work with is there? There’s a couple of weaker ones and some track features I’d probably have reworked - like, less slipper ice, and far less brutal twisters! Also, for some reason the grouping of tracks in each league doesn't seem as suitable as the original game. I'm not quite sure why that is.

It kind of ties back to X again - I remember one of the complaints people had at the time being “it’s a step back to return to flat tracks”. I always thought that odd, I mean what exactly did people expect them to do on a GBA? I guess people were as stupid then as they are now.

What’s funny is, if we take the 3D F-Zero and the 2D F-Zero as separate entities, then we are essentially looking at the dawn of this split amongst Nintendo games! Maximum Velocity came out before 2D Mario and 2D Zelda made their real returns, and predates Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime.

In 2024 we have F-Zero 99, itself a convergence of the 2D and 3D games, but people complain it’s not a true F-Zero sequel. Man, people sure can complain a lot! I’d be perfectly happy having both series receive new entries, thank you very much. Add some Maximum Velocity cars to F-Zero 99 while you're at it please!

Of course, I can complain too. Like the SNES game, this game is a bitch on Master difficulty. Not just one track but several. Bombs appear randomly and can be a real pain to avoid at this game’s faster speeds and with less draw distance. Couple that with a few cars having an even harder time because of their stats, you’ll definitely be at it for a while.

Here’s the kicker conclusion then. This game is better than the SNES one. It has more cars, more tracks (of similar quality), more modes, more challenge, more variety, and more depth in control. It’s better. It just also has worse music and goofier cars.