______________________________________________________ |\____________________________________________________/| || || || F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for Game Boy Advance || || In depth FAQ/Walkthrough/Guide || || Written by Leigh Cartwright || || E-mail: wheels128@ignmail.com || || Version 1.0 - 17th August 2001 || ||____________________________________________________|| |/____________________________________________________\| ================================================= COPYRIGHT NOTICE/LEGAL DISCLAIMER This guide’s content, including text, ASCII art and everything else is copyright Leigh Cartwright (wheels128) 2001 onwards-. The only official distribution points for this guide are: www.gamefaqs.com And at my website, http://fzc.cjb.net. You may not reproduce any part of this document without the prior written permission of myself. This document is for personal use only, and is not to be sold or used in a profit-making website, magazine etc. If you wish to use this guide, e-mail me and chances are I'll let you use it. Nintendo and F-Zero are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co. Ltd. ================================================= CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Story 1.2 Game Info 2.0 OPTIONS 2.1 Erasing game data 2.2 Controls 3.0 GAME MODES 3.1 Grand Prix 3.2 Training 3.3 Multi-Pak Link 3.4 Single-Pak Link 3.5 Championship Mode 3.6 Demo 4.0 PILOTS AND MACHINES 4.1 Basic Machine Overview 4.2 Hot Violet 4.3 Fireball 4.4 J.B. Crystal 4.5 Wind Walker 4.6 Sly Joker 4.7 The Stingray 4.8 Silver Thunder 4.9 Falcon Mk II 4.10 Fighting Comet 4.11 Jet Vermillion 4.12 Which machine should you choose? 5.0 THE COURSES Featuring course guides for all twenty courses plus the championship. More detail coming soon 6.0 TRACK OBJECTS 6.1 Pit Lanes 6.2 Dash Plates 6.3 Jump Plates 6.4 Ice 6.5 Dart Zones 6.6 Land Mines 6.7 Spin Markers 6.8 Black Bombs 6.9 Gravity Magnets 6.10 Pull Magnets 6.11 Damaged Track 7.0 HINTS AND TIPS 7.1 Unlocking machines and courses 7.2 Expert Techniques 7.3 General Tips, Cornering and Shortcuts 7.4 Jet Vermillion code 8.0 GLITCHES AND WEIRD STUFF 9.0 RANKINGS 10.0 INTERNET LINKS 11.0 CREDITS 12.0 FAQ HISTORY/UPDATES ================================================= 1.0 INTRODUCTION F-Zero: Maximum Velocity was released in 2001 as the third major game in the F-Zero series. It is the first one available on a pocket or portable system, and is, in my opinion, the best of the Game Boy Advance’s launch titles. It contains 22 tracks, ten machines, high speed racing and violent machine ramming - essential aspects of the F-Zero series. 1.1 Background Story The F-Zero Grand Prix's origins can be traced back to the 20th Century, where Formula 1 races began. The racing became faster and faster in Formula 1 through the 21st Century, and by the 24th Century, a spin-off from Formula 1 called the F-Max Grand Prix was developed. As area for courses on planets ran out, courses began to be placed high above cities. These Grand Prix’s didn’t cared about life or citizens - it was a timeless quest for power, fame and fortune. However the F-Max Grand Prix was an overly violent race, and casualty free races were an absolute rarity, and basically an impossibility. In fact, the reports of 7481 deaths are now generally accepted as fact, while the number of injuries was possibly greater. This violence led to the F-Max Grand Prix being known as the "Race of Gore". The F-Max Grand Prix was eventually wound up, when 34 racers, including the Grand Emperor's son and The Skull, were killed. The F-Zero Grand Prix started in the 26th Century, when the highly compact plasma machines that were used in F-Max racing were made safer. Capable of track speeds in excess of 800 km/h (500 mph), these machines floated approximately 6 inches (15 centimetres) above the track using the "G-Diffuser System" ,a gravity opposing creation. The Grand Prix has been influenced over many years by wealthy ex-space merchants, who saw great revenue through gambling in F-Zero Racing. So the F-Zero Execution Project was set up. Drivers were brought through years of laborious and rigourous training to prepare for the high speeds and violence of the F-Zero Grand Prix. This was carried out at the F-Zero Academy, where the experienced campaigners of F-Zero Racing would nurture and look after and nurture the youngsters, and teach them safe and careful driving. The F-Zero Academy was one of the requirements of the reintroduction of F-Zero racing. However the recklessness of certain drivers led to many casualties - including the deaths of The Skull and Dr. Stewart's father and the near death of the Mighty Gazelle, who became a cyborg and has a permanent metal cast to cover his wounds. As a result, the F-Zero Grand Prix was discontinued for many years, although practice on the now unused tracks continued, as did the F-Zero Academy. Due to the support of many fans and wealthy sponsors, the F-Zero Grand Prix returned under the new name of F-Zero X. Rules were changed, the machines made larger as to fit in more safety equipment and the tracks were, as a general rule, safer. The F-Zero Execution project changed their name to the F-Zero X Execution project, and the racing continued. The Skull even returned to race on, thanks to the use of black magic. Now, there is a new generation of riders - nurtured by the greats of F-Zero X's days, like Captain Falcon, Silver Neelsen and Super Arrow. It's been 25 years since these greats piloted their way to interstellar fame as F-Zero racers. And F-Zero has began to fade away into a small sense of obscurity now that their days of fame have withered into a legend. But as the space merchants began to run out of money, there became more daring brave souls willing to give the hardest races of them all another go. This is F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. 1.2 Game Info Full Name F-Zero: Maximum Velocity Also called F-Zero for Game Boy Advance, F-Zero Advance System Game Boy Advance Players 1-4 Genre Racing Developer ND Cube Publisher Nintendo Release Dates Jap: Mar 2001, US: Jun 11, Aus/Eur: Jun 22. ESRB Rating E - Everyone Accessories Multiplayer Link Cable, PowerPak EX, GlowGuard Lead Programmer Tomohito Ito Lead Artist Takashi Kouyama Lead Designer Isshin Shimizu ================================================= 2.0 OPTIONS The Options Menu is reached by selecting it from the Menu Select Screen. Note that there are no other options for you to edit outside of the Options screen. Here you can edit the amount of continues you get in a Grand Prix, your controller setup and whether or not you want the music on. 2.1 Erasing game data If you wish to erase ALL game data, then hold both the L and R shoulder buttons immediately after switching your Game Boy Advance on. You will then be shown a screen which asks “Erase all saved game data?” Obviously, select ‘yes’ to erase and ‘no’ to cancel. If you wish to erase individual saved game files, then select 'CLEAR' at the bottom right hand corner on the File Select Screen. The simply select the saved game file you wish to erase and press A to start deleting the file, then 'OK' to confirm that you wish to completely erase the given file. Note: However, I have found that after a friend of mine sold his copy of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity to someone, the original game owner’s fast times were still stored in the mixed rankings section. If you wish to delete these times, you must delete ALL game data. 2.2 Game Controls This section outlines everything you can possibly do in F-Zero by pressing any of Game Boy Advance’s ten buttons _________________________________ / L R \ | _______________ | A: Accelerate | | | | | B: Brake | -- -- | GAME BOY | A | Control Pad: Steer | | | ADVANCE | B | L: Drift Left | | | | R: Drift Right | | Maximum | | Start: Pause | start | Velocity. | | Select: Watch Demo | select --------------- | L + R: Boost \_________________________________/ While Jumping: Press down on the control pad to gain extra air (The Long Jump Technique) - this is vitally essential as you will need it to pull off the shortcuts and sometimes, depending on your choice of machine, you may need it just to make some of the long jumps on courses. Also press down when landing so your machine maintains speed and doesn’t lose any energy. Using and MASTERING both techniques is an absolute must - if you can’t, then you can forget about master mode. Both techniques will be dealt with in much more detail in the Expert Techniques section [7.2] of this FAQ. While Steering: In addition to Normal steering, you can also use L and R to execute drift turns and strafe running. I will, like with the jumping techniques, deal with the cornering techniques in section 7.3. If you wish to use other controller set-ups for the on track racing, you can. F-Zero gives you a choice of six different controller types. They are as follows: CONTROLLER SET-UPS ---------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | |---------------|------------------------------------------| | ACCELERATOR: | A B A B A B | | BRAKE: | B A L+R L+R B A | | BOOST METHOD: | L+R L+R B A U U | ---------------------------------------------------------- A - A Button L+R - L and R shoulder buttons B - B Button U - Up on the Control Pad Controller One is the default setting, and the one most people will use. I don’t recommend numbers 5 and 6, as I have on a few occasions accidentally boosted when using these settings. The choice is entirely up to you. Personally, I use setting 1, because it makes it much easier to boost without taking your finger/thumb off the accelerator. But as I said, choose whatever you're most comfortably ================================================= 3.0 GAME MODES F-Zero: Maximum Velocity contains 5 playable game modes (Grand Prix, Training, Single-Pak Link, Multi-Pak Link and Championship) and a demo. 3.1 Grand Prix The feature of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. There are four cups with five tracks each and you race against other high-tech plasma machines at high speeds over five laps with the sole aim of finishing in the top three so you can continue on to the next race in the Grand Prix. The Cups are: >> Pawn - an easy introduction to F-Zero. Contains only a slight guide to what lies ahead in the game. >> Bishop - A little bit harder, but still doesn’t present major challenges to most gamers. An introduction to some of the more annoying obstacles arrives here. >> Knight - Much harder than Bishop and probably impossible to the average gamer on master difficulty. The computer seems to cheat twice as much here as on the other cups... >> Queen - Not as hard as you would expect it to be. It’s easier than the Knight course for me. Contains the Plummet Circuit (read more in Section 5.17 later). The Queen cup is unavailable at the beginning, but most gamers should be able to unlock it without too much trouble. All you have to do is beat the other three Grand Prix races on the first three difficulty levels. Speaking of difficulty levels, there are four of these as well: >> Beginner - Very simple. With no disrespect intended, but no-one should ever fail to complete all courses on this level within three hours of game play. The CPU machines make no effort to overtake you unless you let them, they slow down on every corner and never boost. >> Standard - Still easy. The CPU machines begin to make an effort to overtake you, but even still it’s only a few that do. But wait for the big jump to Expert. >> Expert - And you though F-Zero was easy? The CPU machines will bump you drive faster than you and always keep on your tail no matter how fast you drive, so there’s almost no point speeding ahead to build an unbeatable lead. >> Master - Average gamers can forget about this. This level may cause you to throw objects such as your Game Boy Advance and your F-Zero cartridge into the wall. The CPU will drive around 2% faster than you, and will stick on your tail while you boost. If you take a shortcut, they will catch you in milli- seconds, but not pass you for about 3 seconds. The slower machines will get in your way, the faster ones will ram you into walls, mines, bombs and other machines. All other machines have unlimited energy. Seem unfair... ? Once you complete a series in all four difficulty levels, you receive a chess piece corresponding to the cup that you beat. It can be found with the driver with whom you won the cup on master mode. You can be disqualified from the race if you do not reach the goals set each lap. You must finish in at least: ____________________________ | | | 15th after 1 lap | | 10th after 2 laps | | 7th after 3 laps | | 5th after 4 laps | | 3rd after 5 laps | |____________________________| ...and never drop to 20th [last] place if you wish to keep racing. This means that you must be consistently up the top of the field (or improving so that you will get there) if you want to complete a course. The trick is to never slip out of the top three, but that’s a lot easier to say than to do. Your machine will blow up if you run out of energy, and if you have no more continues/spare machines remaining, your Grand Prix will be over. You will note after playing a short while that there are a lot of really slow cars that shouldn’t be in the game. Most of them are crumpled up yellow ‘things’ [they don’t deserve to be called F-Zero machines] and they will get in your way. On the easier difficulty levels, they aren’t such a worry, but by the time you get up to the harder levels - especially master - they will block you and clip you so that you lose 1/10 or 2/10 of a second. Now this doesn’t seem like much, but it all builds up. It is absolutely essential, and I can not stress this enough, that you DO NOT HIT THESE SLOW MACHINES! Contrary to the belief of some, your times in the Grand Prix are recorded and can become your fastest (if you don’t try training mode that is...). 3.2 Training This would have been much more aptly named Time Attack, as it was in the Nintendo 64 version F-Zero X. Basically, all training is to the average gamer is a place to practise for the Grand Prix. But to those who are serious about their F-Zero, the training mode is for setting fast times to challenge friends or post on websites (I’ll deal with the website bit in more detail in Section 10: Internet Links). In training mode, you complete your five laps with or without competition. You firstly choose your machine, then whether you want to race an opponent. If not, select “No Entry”, but if you do pick an opponent, you can pick any other machine you have unlocked and the difficulty level (Beginner - Master) they will race at. If you choose Beginner, it should be a stroll in the park, but on the other hand, Master is not so easy. Anyway, after you select machines, you then choose a course. Once this is done, you’re racing/practicing. Your times are recorded as they are in the Grand Prix. 3.3 Multi-Pak Link The only real way to play F-Zero multiplayer. Connect all Game Boy Advance’s using the Multi Link cables that will be involved in the fun before starting up the systems, and it’s pretty self explanatory from that point onwards. Playing this form of multiplayer, enables a faster transfer of information, and therefore it is quicker. But the real advantage is that you get to choose the machine and course. The fun doesn’t end if you have friends who own F-Zero. You can also choose whether the CPU controls the remaining machines if you have 2 or 3 people playing. Via this, you can also exchange rankings - see section 9 for more information. 3.4 Single-Pak Link A real letdown here. If you wish to play multiplayer, you need multiple F-Zero carts to get the most out of it. Using 1 game pak, you are given a course called Silence Open C, and each player is assigned a machine of a different colour, but equal attributes and ratings. There is no music or sound effects available either. The machines, quite uninventively, are called Green Kim, Yellow Kim, Red Kim and Blue Kim. The machines are similar to the Hot Violet in their behaviour as far as steering goes. 3.5 Championship Mode This is how you separate the sheep from the goats and the boys from the men, or whatever they say. The Championship course is impossible for beginners, annoying for those with a small level of experience, easy for most and a walkover for some. The aim is to beat the Ghost time of 1’57”65 set by Megan in the Hot Violet on this specially designed course. You can use any machine that is normally available to you in your attempt to beat the ghost, which isn’t that hard - I almost won with my first attempt at it, and the top time as recorded at the Official Nintendo of Japan F-Zero page (see the Ranking section - 9.0) is almost lapping the ghost TWICE. You can choose whether to have the ghost showing as you attempt your record. If you do, then it may be a distraction, but at least you know whether you need to go faster or not. But after a little practise, you should lose ghost on the first lap, so that idea is almost redundant. You can view a replay of the Hot Violet’s run and pick up the mistakes it makes - these are the places you can improve on the ghost time. I have made a short list of them here: 1. They use the Hot Violet - the best machine is the Jet Vermillion, followed by the Fighting Comet. 2. Doesn’t take a sharp enough line on the early corners and loses valuable time 3. Leaves the mines - you can bounce off these at high speeds. This is an essential tactic with the Jet Vermillion so you can build up early speed. 4. Doesn’t cut the corners when jumping, and therefore fails to shave half/quarter-seconds off the time. 5. Misses boosts on laps 4 and 5. Costs her seconds here. So as you can see, there are many places that you can improve on the time of the Hot Violet. A good pilot can clock sub 1:35, only the best of the best can get sub 1:25. I now feel 1:20 is impossible for anyone to achieve having watched how fast people go in order to clock 1:26 or 1:27. The best time I have seen so far is 1'23"14 - and it probably doesn't get too much quicker than that. Please note that lapping the Ghost is expected, not an achievement. And if you are having trouble beating the ghost, start practising with either the Fighting Comet or the Jet Vermillion, and use drift turns, or strafe-running - see the section 7.3: Cornering Techniques) 3.6 Demo Press “select” at the Title Screen to view a demo. The demo will choose a course from this list: 1. Pawn Final: Cloud Carpet - Long Jump Circuit [Fireball] 2. Knight 4: Ancient Mesa - Skating Circuit [J.B. Crystal] 3. Queen 2: Tenth Zone East - Plummet Circuit [Wind Walker] 4. Pawn 1: Bianca City - Stretch Circuit [Hot Violet] But the problem is that these demonstrations are appalling. They really should be like a challenge, or a time to beat. But without trying you can hammer them. They make so many stupid mistakes that it is almost funny. Watch one demo, and that will be all you need. ================================================= 4.0 PILOTS AND MACHINES There are ten playable machines in F-Zero, of which six have to be unlocked in order to be used. The first four machines are available for use from the very start of the game. The machines vary not only in appearance, but also in nine categories: 1. Top Speed The speed in km/h that the machine reaches normally. 2. Max Boost Speed The speed in km/h that the machine reaches while boosting. 3. Boost Time The amount of time a boost lasts for. The longer, the better. 4. Body Strength How strong the machine is when colliding with other machines, obstacles and walls. 5. Turn Balance This determines the level of skidding and sliding a machine will have when it turns sharp corners. 6. Turn Performance How sharply the machine can turn, as an average of its abilities under all conditions and surfaces. Different machines corner vastly differently on ice, dirt normal track etc. 7. Jump How far the machine can jump upon hitting jump plates. This affects the machines ability to take shortcuts that require long jumps. 8. Boost Maintenance How long it takes for the machine to lose all extra speed gained by boosting, with the higher score meaning longer (and better) retaining of the high speeds attained while boosting. 9. Acceleration How long it takes for the machine to reach top speed. Keep in mind that you do not get straight to top speed when using a Rocket Start, and therefore this technique does not negate a slow acceleration. 4.1 Basic Machine Overview Some important things you should know before picking your machine: > Trial them all, and pick one that you can control and steer. > Remember that practise makes perfect, and you might not be able to do something the first time. Just give it another go. > Some machine ratings are deceptive. Try using different cornering techniques or turning the corner early. > The Jet Vermillion is a training-mode only machine > You will not unlock the Fighting Comet with the J.B. Crystal (unless you are a freak), but it is the best vehicle for beginners and those who have trouble steering. 4.2 Hot Violet MAX SPEED: 422km ACCELERATION: A MAX BOOST SPEED: 579km BOOST TIME: 6 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 69 TURN PERFORMANCE: B TURN BALANCE: C JUMP: C ACCELERATION: C BOOST MAINTAIN.: D COMMENT: A well-balanced machine that is strongly recommended for beginners. The turning and cornering ratings leave a bit to be desired, but if a beginner can handle this, they can handle almost anything. Lack of any major machine "brilliances" means that the Hot Violet is not the best machine for the harder difficulty levels. 4.3 Fire Ball MAX SPEED: 440km ACCELERATION: C MAX BOOST SPEED: 565km BOOST TIME: 6.5 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 82 TURN PERFORMANCE: C TURN BALANCE: B JUMP: B ACCELERATION: C BOOST MAINTAIN.: C COMMENT: Fast and strong, the Fireball leads the Hot Violet as an overall machine, but it's acceleration isn't as good as it could be. If you can stay of the walls, this is a beast of a machine that isn’t easy to catch. Any pilot with a few hours of practice should be able to use this machine to their advantage, even though it could be much better. 4.4 J.B. Crystal MAX SPEED: 418km ACCELERATION: A MAX BOOST SPEED: 560km BOOST TIME: 9.5 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 63 TURN PERFORMANCE: C TURN BALANCE: A JUMP: B ACCELERATION: B BOOST MAINTAIN.: C COMMENT: With its long boost time and great jumping and cornering, the JB Crystal is the best machine for a beginner. When you get the hang of this machine, you might want to go onto the faster machines, for the simple reason that this light blue machine just doesn't match it with the big boys on master difficulty. 4.5 Crazy Horse/Wind Walker MAX SPEED: 428km ACCELERATION: A MAX BOOST SPEED: 585km BOOST TIME: 5.3 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 50 TURN PERFORMANCE: A TURN BALANCE: D JUMP: A ACCELERATION: A BOOST MAINTAIN.: B COMMENT: Weak - very weak - the Crazy Horse or Wind Walker has the lowest body and average grip, but it is very fast. The best machine for making shortcuts with, this machine is too difficult for a beginner, and is easily nudged off course on master difficulty mode. However, it is useful in setting fast times. 4.6 Dirty Joker/Sly Joker MAX SPEED: 436km ACCELERATION: B MAX BOOST SPEED: 591km BOOST TIME: 3 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 75 TURN PERFORMANCE: C TURN BALANCE: A JUMP: C ACCELERATION: A/B BOOST MAINTAIN.: A COMMENT: A great choice - this well-rounded machine is similar to the JB Crystal, only improved. When you unlock this, it should be your first choice machine until you can get at the Falcon MkII. The downside to this is its jumping - sometimes you will struggle to pull off the all important shortcut on Pawn 5. 4.7 The Stingray MAX SPEED: 460km ACCELERATION: C MAX BOOST SPEED: 525km BOOST TIME: 12 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 85 TURN PERFORMANCE: C TURN BALANCE: C JUMP: A ACCELERATION: D/C (it’s between D and C) BOOST MAINTAIN.: C COMMENT: A basic machine (or no-frills machine) that you can use, just not very well. It is great for shortcuts, and in my opinion has the longest jump in the game. but it doesn't go fast enough when boosting, even if its boost time is four times the length of the Dirty Joker's. It also doesn't corner well or accelerate as good as the others. 4.8 Silver Thunder MAX SPEED: 464km ACCELERATION: D MAX BOOST SPEED: 589km BOOST TIME: 3.7 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 90 TURN PERFORMANCE: D TURN BALANCE: B JUMP: D ACCELERATION: E BOOST MAINTAIN.: C COMMENT: Fast. Strong. Can't Jump, accelerate or steer. Short boost time. That basically sums up the Silver Thunder. It's inability to win on high difficulty levels is a problem, as is the problem you'll face if you can't get the rocket start. It skids out of control so badly, that I believe it to be the worst machine in the game. Many gamers will struggle to gain fast times with this. A downsized Jet Vermillion. 4.9 Falcon Mk-II MAX SPEED: 448km ACCELERATION: A MAX BOOST SPEED: 573km BOOST TIME: 7.2 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 66 TURN PERFORMANCE: C TURN BALANCE: B JUMP: B ACCELERATION: A BOOST MAINTAIN.: C COMMENT: The well-rounded machine that has no weaknesses is in a very close race with the Fighting Comet and Jet Vermillion for best machine in the game. But where not just anyone can use the Comet and Vermillion, a beginner will appreciate the fine jumping, speed and acceleration of the Falcon MkII. A smooth machine that is an almost perfect Grand Prix choice. Master mode will not seems as difficult anymore. 4.10 Fighting Comet MAX SPEED: 412km ACCELERATION: B MAX BOOST SPEED: 593km BOOST TIME: 9 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 56 TURN PERFORMANCE: D TURN BALANCE: B JUMP: A ACCELERATION: B BOOST MAINTAIN.: A COMMENT: Lightning fast. The Comet leaves all in its wake when it boosts, but when it doesn't, it is left in the wake of it's rivals. All the same, a smart pilot will be able to defeat anyone with this in a one-on-one race, but in the rigours of a GP, it's average cornering and weak body might be found out. Use the Fighting Comet to set fast times in the Time Trial/Practise mode. 4.11 Jet Vermilion MAX SPEED: 456km ACCELERATION: D MAX BOOST SPEED: 602km BOOST TIME: 4.2 seconds BODY STRENGTH: 100 TURN PERFORMANCE: E TURN BALANCE: B JUMP: D ACCELERATION: E BOOST MAINTAIN.: B COMMENT: The Jet Vermillion is insanely fast, but it has the worst acceleration in the game, the worst jump in the game, and the worst steering in the game. For any beginner, forget this machine ever existed. In the domain of professionals, master this machine to lap the ghost in the Championship course. It steers surprisingly well on ice considering it's ratings. If you can keep the Jet of the walls, it sets damn good times. 4.12 Which machine should you choose? This comes down to game mode, availability and a little bit of personal preference. If you are attempting a Grand Prix: Immediately discard the Jet Vermillion and Silver Thunder. You don’t want these in this event. The Fighting Comet should also go, as it’s not strong enough to cope with being bashed around. These reason also goes for the Wind Walker, which has a body strength rating of just 50. The Fireball is next to be cut, as it is just not good enough. It’s not fast, its cornering is average - nothing makes it stand out from the pack. The same goes for the Hot Violet. The J.B. Crystal is too slow and so it is also cut. So we are left with the Sly Joker, the Falcon MkII and the Stingray. If you are setting fast times in the Training mode: Two choices here. When speed is all that matters, you don’t pussy- foot around with the J.B. Crystal. Of course you go for the big guns, namely the Jet Vermillion and the Fighting Comet. While the Comet is weak, the Vermillion won’t accelerate and neither can turn brilliantly, a little practise (and some skill) is all that’s required to shave half seconds of lap times everywhere. ================================================= 5.0 THE COURSES F-Zero: Maximum Velocity contains 22 all new tracks. A brief description and guide to beating them is listed below. More track info coming in a later version of this FAQ. Pawn 1 - Bianca City This track is an excellent introduction to the game, striking a balance between excitement and ease of use. Nice wide lanes with plenty of overtaking opportunities, none of the bends are too sharp. Take the first jump to cut the corner and boost over the slow down area to cut some serious seconds of your time. The most challenging corner is the gentle 180 degree bend before the start-finish straight. This is the second easiest course in the game. Pawn 2 - Stark Farm This track is quite difficult for beginners. Narrow with lots of corners, the course has numerous areas where the surface has broken up, causing your craft to slow down if hit. Several 90 degree bends and one very narrow 180 degree turn make this track a difficult nut to crack. Use your boost at the start of the long straight - straights are a rarity on this course. At a lot of places on this course, moving room is minimal, so if you get a half chance to overtake, do so. Stick to the inside running on all corners and don’t hit the wall. Pawn 3 - Empyrean Colony A wider track, not too dissimilar from Bianca City, this course poses no real problems. One very wide 180 degree bend is easy for anyone with a little cornering practise to negotiate. The only tricky part comes in split road section, giving you the choice of going left or right. Speed up markers appear on both sides, and hitting them all without slamming into the side of the track may be difficult for some, but is essential for a fast time. My preferred option is to go to the left hand side, but neither of the sides are noticeably quicker. Some people say that going to the right makes it easier to take the following sharp left corner, but I have no problems going either side. Pawn 4 - Stark Farm Another wide track, however this one narrows in places due to dirt stuff. This dirt should be avoided as it works like the dart zones in F-Zero X ie. it slows you down. With one easy 180 degree turn, this track should present you with no real problems. The turn at point B should be mastered - turns like this cannot be stuffed up if you want to do well at F-Zero. Just before the straight is where you should use up your remaining boosts - there is a section where the track winds through the slow-down zone, but if you boost, you can rocket your way past opponents with ease along the black stuff. Pawn 5 - Clouds Carpet A challenging track, Clouds Carpet is drastically varies in width. Some sections of the track are slim-line racing, while others are nice and wide. Three 180 degree turns mean positioning your craft to take the correct line through the corners is essential. A large section of track is missing towards the end of the lap, requiring you to jump across the chasm. This is where the greatest of shortcuts comes in: Instead of jumping across in a straight line, you pick up the boost on the left. Just before you hit the boost plate, you veer left - still hitting it, but so you are going on a sharp angle. Just collect the jump, and steer left in the air. Hopefully you will be able to land just on the track. This may require some practise, but it is the best shortcut in the game. Knight 1 - Tenth Zone East A wide track with one 180 degree turn, several 90 degree turns and a challenging chicane (left then right 90 degree turns). Nothing too difficult here with lots of overtaking opportunities - especially on the straights, but also by taking the inside line on some of the more gentle corners. East Ten Side is a basic introduction to the Knight class, but not necessarily a warning for what lies ahead. Knight 2 - Beacon Port A very twisty track, distinctive by the way the track splits in two and forms a large figure of eight. There are many sharp 90 degree corners and a couple of almost 180 degree bends. At point A, a hard left is required. This cup seems to me to be the one for cornering. Deciding on which way to go at the figure 8 is again your choice - but my opinion is you turn right and always stay right (experienced cornerers only). This section looks a lot harder than it actually is, but you should be warned. Avoiding colliding with other vehicle at the crossing is purely down to luck. Hitting the speed up markers on this track requires good anticipation of the following corners, otherwise you will be slamming the course's side walls in no time. Knight 3 - Synobazz This track contains some devious mines which deplete power from your vehicle if hit. Fortunately the mines can only be hit once, but the craters they leave will slow down your craft if run over. The actual track consists of one tight 180 degree corner, a twisty S bend, and a 270 degree turn containing the mines. A jump ramp is also present, which must be hit to avoid some damaged track. Some of the damaged track appears to be on fire, and will drain power from your vehicle if hit. Knight 4 - Ancient Mare A very difficult track, the Ancient Mare track is distinctive by it's "upside down triangular" split in the road. The problem in this area is magnified because the back end of the triangle is virtually impossible to turn on due to the icy road (this is identified by the track turning white and your vehicle skidding out of control if attempting to steer). The best way of heading back in the correct direction is to hit the speed up ramp at the base of the triangle. This will ricochet your craft along the right heading, requiring only corrective steering on your part to avoid slamming into the side of the track where the road narrows. At the end of this massive section of ice is a very tight fit. Barge your way through, unless you chose a weak, stupid, little machine like the Crazy Horse or Fighting Comet. A section of track is also missing towards the end of the lap, but fortunately a jump ramp is present to help you across. Knight 5 - Stark Farm A very easy track with a split in the road that has two very different sections depending upon the choice you make. Going left results in a longer stretch of road and some narrow sections of track, but overall your speed will be maintained. Going right results in a shorter trip and a jump over a missing section of track (a jump ramp is provided and you actually leap over part of the road from the left fork). However, after the jump an un- avoidable section of damaged track appears which severely slows down your vehicle. I would therefore suggest you always turn left, but if you go right mistake it is possible to drop down onto the crossing track at the jump by angling your craft to the right at the jump ramp. Bishop 1 - Bianca City Bianca City is a very straightforward track with no real challenges, just a few 90 degree bends and the 135 degree turn that should present no problems. Boost directly after the 135 degree right turn and into the straight. Bishop 2 - Ancient Mare The major troubles here are the ice and the split road. With the split road, all you need to do is remember which side you entered, because if you branched off left you must exit left and vice versa. The road surface here is icy and is therefore very slippery. Further on two 180 degree turns loom and both of these are icy too, which make for a large challenge. Boost are best used on the large straight. Bishop 3 - Crater Land Crater land is a very unique track. There are three splits in the road, the first of which gives you the choice of speed up markers (left) or power recharge (right), the second gives you speed up markers each side, and the third gives you the choice of power recharge (left) or speed up markers (right). In between the second and third splits are energy fields, or as they are more commonly referred to as, elevators. These obstacles pull your craft to the left and right. This is not a problem on the wider stretches of road, but requires precise counter-steering where the track narrows and the elevators remain. Bishop 4 - Clouds Carpet A very twisty narrow track makes this course very tricky, however this can be counteracted by the use of one good move, and one sensational move. We'll get to those later. Leading up to point A is a few basic turns, and at the aforementioned point, take the left boost if possible, and propel your machine across in front of the pack (if possible). Here is a good time to be in first, as the slimline areas can be clogged up. Now to those shortcuts. Leading into to the first one, you must take a very sharp left so you can pick up the jump. Then fly over the edge of the track and you can pick up some valuable places. And for the excellent move, you use the next jump, in conjunction with the Long Jump Technique to fly over. The next turn may become a little difficult for novices, but by the time you attempt this cup, you should be decently trained in piloting an F-Zero Machine. Using this, you can cut some serious seconds of your lap times, while everyone else is navigating a 180 degree turn. Bishop 5 - Bianca City Bianca City is twisty and narrow in places, with three wide 180 degree turns and a couple of chicanes (one with sections of damaged track). Overall this is a fairly straight- forward track, that shouldn't be of any trouble to anyone. With a rocket start, no-one will easily catch you - if you drive well and take a look at your "mark" thingy - this tells you where your opponent is. And if you're not driving on master difficulty. Queen 1 - Crater Land A course with no left turns. The first experience of Queen class is very gentle, this course is almost an oval with no tricky corners. Just round and round for a very easy ride. Get the boost and cut the corner at the first jump - very professional pilots will land on the next jump plate. First-timers need to watch out for damaged areas of track, but jump ramps are available to help you over - never skip one. Remember to press down on the D-Pad (ie. long jump technique) while jumping to get some more air. Queen 2 - Tenth Zone East The second course of the Queen Cup has 5 breaks in the track, each of which does not quite line up straight. Jump ramps help you across, but you must correct direction while in the air, and remember to press down on the D-Pad to add a few extra inches to your jump - you'll need them! Or, you can use the shortcuts. For the first one - at the you need a severe left to even consider it - this is for machines with high grip that don't spin out of control on sharp turns such as this one. The second one is easier to pull off, but upon landing, make sure you don’t end up going the wrong way because you couldn't get enough right-hand turning ability. However, if you do pull off the two shortcuts on each lap, and you lose, you should be dragged into the street and shot. Queen 3 - Laputan Colony This course would be pretty straight forward were it not for the spin markers. Hit these little puppies and your craft will spin 180 degrees on the spot, leaving you facing the wrong direction. Things are not made any easier by these appearing immediately after speed up markers, so be careful when hitting them. The hardest ones to avoid are around part B - but hit any of them and your race is almost over. Queen 4 - Fire Field This track is peppered with mines that blow up and damage your craft if hit. The flaming craters they leave behind also damage your vehicle if run over, so avoid if possible. A tricky double hair pin turn needs particular care to avoid mine damage. Queen 5 - Fire Field The mines on this track are positioned in rows making them easier to avoid. Jump ramps appear before each row of mines, so position the vehicle right and you will sail over most of them, hopefully not landing on one! At the split road, I recommend going left - but only if your machine is low on energy. Also, there is a very difficult shortcut - try it in practise heaps before you attempt it in a GP. Championship The course begins with a straight, with the pit lane is on the left. As you end the straight there are some quick turns - right, left, then a wide 180 degree turn. The only difficulty is that there are four mines to avoid here. Then after the 180, there are three dart zones. The first one is on the left, the second on the right and the third is back on the left. As you pass the third dart zone there is a 90 degree left turn. Stay left after this turn to avoid the damaged track and mines on the right. After the mines there is a an easy right turn and then two jumps - left first, then right. You can't get both, but take the one on the right. Press down upon landing as not to take any power losses. After the jumps are two more easy turns, right then left. Following this there are two side-by-side boost plates - you must get one of them. This is followed by a weird shaped chicane, consisting of what would usually be an easy left and an easy right, except for the tracks condition. Some sand-coloured stuff litters the track and therefore steering is twice as hard as steering with ice. But don't give up yet. There is then a skinny section of the course on a right turn, and following that there is a boost in the center. Immediately after hitting that, steer right (or drift - but drifting is harder in this situation) to pick up another boost on your right. On laps 2-5, boost as soon as you get half-way through the aforementioned skinny section. It's the bottom most section of the track. Beginners - have fun... ================================================= 6.0 TRACK OBJECTS There are many objects that can be found on the course in F-Zero. While some can help you, others are hindrances and should be avoided at all costs. Here is an outline of the objects: 6.1 Pit Lanes Recover your energy by going through the unmistakeably green pit lanes. After your machine has taken a battering at the hands of your mean rivals and the track, you need to avoid suffering low power. That’s why you use the pit lanes. Generally they are located to the side of the course just after the finish line, but this is not always the case - Queen 3 has two pit lanes - both found on split road situations. On courses like Fire Field (Queen 4’s Landmine Circuit), a weak machine can be pummelled, and you may need to brake in order to pick up the required high levels of energy you need. In Training, the pit lane doesn’t mean much, as you shouldn’t need it that much. 6.2 Dash Plates Instantly increase your speed to 639 km/h by going over a dash plate. The are pink, arrow shaped and prolific in courses like Queen 3 and Pawn 3. These are to be hit whenever possible as they are required to set mad times. Depending on the Boost maintenance rating of your machine, these boosts may last a very short or very long time. 6.3 Jump Plates Jump (duh) long distances with these beauties. Useful for taking the shortcuts in Pawn 1, Pawn 5, Knight 4, Bishop 4, Queen 2, Queen 1 - you get the picture. You can also fly over the slow machines that annoyingly get in your way. Jump plates are light blue and they appear to be a straight, horizontal line. Just remember to hold down to increase jumping distance and as not to lose energy and speed when you land. Just remember that almost every jump is a shortcut, but not every machine can make it - the Jet Vermillion is an appalling jumper of long distances. When in the air, you can turn by using blast turns. This is a good tactic if you are offline or get bumped in the air, but hopefully you’ll never need to use it. 6.4 Ice Appears a hell of a lot in the Ancient Mesa course. Your craft can turn sharper corners on ice, but will spin out unless you can master cornering on this surface. While speed is not decreased, your craft will have noticeably lower acceleration, so it is very essential that you don’t ram into the back of anyone - and stay off the walls. It looks sort of like ice - bluish-white and shiny, but once you get driving on it, it’s unmistakeably ice. If you hit the wall and start sliding backwards on ice, rapidly tap the accelerator to stop and get back to normal. 6.5 Dart Zones The slow down area. To be avoided at all costs unless boosting, in which case it’s really not that bad at all. There are two types of dart zones; the first looks like dirt - a solid black covering of the course; and the second, which appears a lot in the Pawn 1 course is more patchy. The difference is quite minimal - both slow you down heaps but your turning is slightly more wayward on the dirt-like substance. But all problems can be avoided by good cornering or by boosting over the troublesome patches. 6.6 Land Mines The two Fire Field courses at the end of the Queen cup are littered with land mines. I can’t really be bothered counting them. But you really should be bothered avoiding them if your machine has a low body strength rating. Because often, one mine leads to another which leads to the wall and before you know it, you’ve got low power. So for all of you who use the Fighting Comet, Wind Walker (Crazy Horse) or the Falcon MkII to a lesser extent, leave the land mines alone. Mines are very obvious in appearance and when hit, create a section of damaged track (see section 6.11). They take a small section of your energy meter away and can be a help or a hindrance. But how can they be a help...? Well it’s quite simple: if you use a tank like the Silver Thunder and especially the “eternal tank” - The Jet Vermillion - you’re in business, because not only do the mines deal a very small amount of damage to strong machines, but all machines can gain a speed advantage out of land mines. You may or may not have noticed when you hit one, your speed increases. This is a great thing for those who struggle to get to top speed early enough to make an impact with the Jet Vermillion. Now all you have to do is clip the mine - don’t run head on into it, but graze its side and spurt off at approx. 550km/h in the direction you wanted to go in. Now this would be even better if it dealt minimal damage, I hear you saying - but it’s a “gain a bit and lose a bit” situation. You mustn’t hit so many of the bombs that you lose a lot of energy and begin to suffer from low power. You must hit the right balance. I should also warn you that quite often the rebound of the mine can be a bit difficult to control ,but if you practise a lot, you’ll get better. 6.7 Spin Markers Appearing on Queen 3, these small, round, gray thingies spin you around 180 degrees. They can be frustrating for a beginner, but they are actually quite easy to avoid, even when boosting. Some spin markers will actually spin you in the general direction of where you wanted to go, but this is unlikely. Generally speaking, you’ll go either into a wall and drop one or two places, or you’ll go into two walls and drop some more places. They are situated in a very easy to remember pattern around Queen 3, so you shouldn’t have any problems remembering where they are and therefore avoiding them. 6.8 Black Bombs This is the best name I could come up with for these. They come in the opposite direction to you, but at a very slow speed, so they are not that had to avoid. As with land mines, you lose energy from your power bar if you hit one, but also with mines, you can use them to your advantage. If you need a boost but don’t have one, just graze the side of one of these, and enjoy a speed boost. Of course, you still lose some energy, but there is no need to worry about hitting one or two of these. 6.9 Gravity Belts I’m not exactly sure what these are called, but they appear most noticeably after the second jump on Queen 5. They flash in different colours and pull your craft to the surface, therefore (obviously) reducing the jumping distance of your craft. This can be quite frustrating, especially when you are trying to pass an opponent by flying over him. 6.10 Pull Magnets Like giant conveyor belts, they pull you from one side of the course to the other. Well, it’s not as bad as that sounds. “Moving section of track that is easily recognisable and seen well in advance which does you no damage” is a better and more accurate name, but it’s too long. These appear on Bishop 3’s Crater Land course, which is heaps of fun for all. If you use L and R to slide in the opposite direction to that of the belts, you will almost completely negate the effect of them and everything will return to normal. 6.11 Damaged Track This can appear as part of the course, or from the connection of machine and land mine (but not machine and black bomb). You lose some damage when going over this, so there is no need to go out of your way to hit it. On the other hand, if you can’t avoid it, then there’s no real damage done. On Knight 3 - the great Explosive Circuit at Synobazz - make sure you make the jump before the massive sections of Damaged Track, because with that much of the stuff around, there is no point going through it, and you’ll lose heaps of energy. Plus it’s quicker to take the jump. ================================================= 7.0 HINTS AND TIPS It wouldn’t surprise me if you need help with this game. It is quite challenging, and I’m not going to bad mouth anyone who hasn’t beaten master difficulty yet. If you haven’t beaten Expert, well, then this section is definitely for you. All the hints, tips, cheats and other stuff that you’ll need to win. 7.1 Unlocking machines and courses Pretty self-explanatory here. Just do what it says and you’ll get the machines/courses Dirty Joker: Beat the Pawn, Knight & Bishop series on Standard. The Stingray: Beat all Pawn, Knight and Bishop tracks on Expert. Silver Thunder: Beat one series on Master difficulty. Falcon MK-II: Beat all four series on Expert (including queen). Fighting Comet: Beat Master Class on all four Series. Jet Vermilion: You have to complete each GP on Master difficulty with each machine. Or you can also get it by finishing the championship course 255 times. Or do the cheat (I really don’t recommend it though) that can be found in section 7.4. Queen Series: Beat Pawn, Knight and Bishop on Expert. Championship Register a ranking-worthy time in every course and Mode: every series, to unlock the 21st track. Master You must beat a series on Expert to unlock Master difficulty: difficulty. Note that you will only unlock the Master difficulty mode for that series. 7.2 Expert Techniques The Expert Techniques are essential for winning on the higher difficulty levels of Expert and Master. You need the Rocket Start to get out in front early, the Long Jump technique to make the shortcuts and the Blast Turns to make those corners which you, well. wouldn’t have made otherwise. Rocket Start Unlike most rocket starts in racing games, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity requires the racer to have his engine in a revved up, but not high- pitch sounding noise. Don’t make it too soft or high-pitched, because then you will either start normally or slow down ridiculously a few hundred meters into the race. Blast Turn Tapping the accelerator while turning is how you can execute a blast turn. That’s as simple as it gets in this game, and this should take less than ten minutes to master. Otherwise, you’re stuffed. Although, you will learn later about all the cornering techniques available to you. Long Jump By pressing down on the Control Pad, you can increase the distance of your jumps. This is great for getting the few extra inches required to pull off the shortcuts in F-Zero. Also, keep holding down until after landing, so that your machines lands safely and doesn’t lose speed and energy when landing. 7.3 General Tips Beating the CPU, cornering techniques, general hints... it’s all here. CORNERING TECHNIQUES There are many ways of making corners in F-Zero, in addition to the blatantly obvious “steer with the control pad” idea. While it isn’t hard to make the turns, the top pilots are not out to just make the corners, they are out to make them brilliantly. And by using strafe running/drift turns, lean turns, blast turns and more, making these turns has never been so easy. In principle... Blast Turns Explained in Expert Techniques above. Drift Turns THE technique to master for setting the fastest possible times in F- Zero, Drift Turns are complicated but so effective that you’ll never want to stop using it. It’s not only a great timesaver, but it’s also fun to use - the fun gained by skidding along sideways at high speed is almost unexplainable. Similar to strafe-running (in a very obscure way), drift turns are done by turning one way, holding the OPPOSITE shoulder button, and tapping the accelerator until you start moving forward, and then floor it, and if you have done it properly you’ll have just taken the corner at a higher speed than ever before, and come out of the corner at a much higher speed than you previously thought possible. Hang on though, I did say before “Until you start moving forward”? Yes, you will be almost going sideways, and yes, you will have major problems trying it if you’re a beginner to F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. But once mastered, this technique will cut heaps of seconds off your times. Just remember to use the opposite shoulder button, and if it doesn’t work, chances are you’re not using the accelerator correctly. Just practice on courses like the two Ancient Mesa courses, and for practice on courses without ice, try Queen 1 and/or Pawn 1, easy courses where drift turns make all the difference. You probably should also note that you need a fair bit of room to do a decent Drift Turn if you’re a beginner, so forget trying it for the first time on a course with heaps of skinny sections. It works best with machines like the Jet Vermillion, Fighting Comet and The Stingray that you will otherwise have a few difficulties getting the best out of. Lean Turns Done by using the corresponding shoulder button in conjunction with the control pad. This is something you should be using immediately. It’s really easy, and for everyone who played the sensational F-Zero X on the Nintendo 64, it’s the same as sliding, but you don’t lose any speed for doing it. It makes turns almost as sharply as with Blast Turns, but you don’t lose that little bit of speed. Drifting This seems so minor, but it’s usefulness cannot be underestimated. Use drifting to its best effect when going in and out of pit lanes, but also at corners like the one near the end of Knight 2, and the many others I just can’t quite remember where a minor deviation is needed. Just drift, and with a slight turn, or at low speed, no turn at all, you breeze through little corners like that one. Another great use of drifting is where the conveyor belt thingies are in Pawn 1, you need to avoid the dart zone directly afterwards. Drift right (or left, depending on your preference and machine) to miss the dart zone. Note that drifting is done by using the Left and Right shoulder buttons, for those who don’t know the controls properly, and also that you lose absolutely no speed while drifting, making it the preferable option to a slight control pad adjustment. Hugging the Corners It might seem a bit obvious, but some people never learn that the sharper you take a corner, the less time it takes. And faster times mean better a Grand Prix placing or larger bragging rates, depending on your mode of gameplay. There’s nothing wrong with “electrocuting” yourself at corners, by going slightly through the protective barriers at the side of the corners. Unless, you go too far, and you start to lose speed. You need to recognise that you can’t gain time this way - and therefore it’s simply not worth it (duh). Some things you have to repeat for the idiots of the gaming world. That’s it for the cornering, but this isn’t the only way that you can save time - there’s also shortcuts. THE SHORTCUTS It’s important to note that almost every jump is either a shortcut for the machines that jump far or an overtaking opportunity for everyone else. But I’m also including the dart zones you can boost over to save time in this section, because I couldn’t think of a better place to put them. Oh yeah, please notes that for tanks like the Jet Vermillion, these shortcuts may be a bit hard. Pawn 1 The jump plate just before the first major corner is a shortcut. All you have to do is hit it, and jump the corner. You can also boost through the massive dart zone - a huge timesaver. Pawn 4 Boosting through the dirt means higher speed, a more direct route and less cornering. A win-win-win situation. Pawn 5 At the major jump, take the left boost and start turning left. You should “rejoin” the course at such a mad angle that you fly straight ahead. Knight 4 The jump here is a shortcut, but a hard one to do. Firstly, make sure you are boosting, as you’ll struggle to make it without boost. Hit as far left on the jump as you can without actually hitting the wall, and turn as sharply left as you possibly can. You’ll avoid a fair bit of the course when you land on the home stretch. Knight 5 Boost through the dart zone stuff if you go left at the split road. Bishop 4 Two shortcuts here. The first one is the jump just before the ice starts - hit it and fly over the corner. The next jump is the second shortcut. Boost before jumping, and avoid the tight hairpin by flying over the gap and back onto the track just before the sharp left turn into the home straight. Queen 1 Use the boost plate and first jump plate to fly over the corner, and then boost through the dart zone because chances are after the shortcut you are going to miss the jump plate. Queen 2 Really hard to do, only try these shortcuts if your machine is going at full speed and has an A class jump. So Jet Vermillion users - ignore the following shortcut - you won’t be able to do it. At the second jump, boost, and turn very sharply to the left. You may or may not be able to do it, but if you can, you can back it up by a 45 degree turn to the right after the next jump and cut even more corners. As I said, it is hard, but with some practice you should be able to achieve it. Queen 5 At the first jump, turn right and dodge the corner and mines. This, if done perfectly, will land you in the right path to get the second jump (which isn’t a shortcut) without too much alteration of your direction. Championship Take either jump and fly across, cutting the corner. This is something that the Hot Violet ghost does not do which you must. GENERAL TIPS >> Whatever you do, do not use the Jet Vermillion if you can't get a rocket start with it. Or if you can’t do perfect blast and lean turns. In fact, don’t use it unless you can keep it off the walls for a whole five laps without braking. >> Always avoid spin markers even more so than bombs. On master mode, spin markers can drop you from first to tenth. >> Only use a machine you can steer. So for all you beginners who have just used the Jet Vermillion code - wait. >> Practice a course you're not good at until you know where every jump, boost, shortcut, corner and mine is. >> Practice makes perfect - don't ever give up. You’re completely entitled to get frustrated and annoyed, but don’t go and sell the game second-hand after five hours because you can’t turn 180 degree corners, or you can’t come first on expert on every course. >> Use every shortcut in the game. The CPU machines will cheat so much that you’ll need it to keep in front/get in front, and it’s also required for setting fast times. >> Master rocket starts, blast turns, lean turns and the long jump immediately. >> The Jet Vermillion is not a Grand Prix machine. >> Championship is the ultimate practice course - it has a bit of everything - mines, boost plates, jumps, shortcuts, dart zones, sharp corners, skinny track etc. The list of features to this course go on and on and if you want to practice your [insert skill here], you can do it on the Championship course. 7.4 JET VERMILLION CODE Forget winning every Grand Prix on master with every machine - this is how you get the Jet Vermillion. However, I don’t exactly look too favourably on this - you can be honest and get it via Championship. I used the cheat because I thought the ways to unlock the Jet Vermillion were to - set - 255 times in Championship or beat every Grand Prix on master with every machine. These were two very unenviable tasks that I don’t have the time or the patience to do. Anyway, on with the code: Go to the following URL: >> http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/afzj/vermil/index.html and on the keyboard section at the very bottom of the page, enter the name of the save you are using, then press enter (the right-hand button for those of you who don't read Japanese). This will give you a password. Now on the machine select screen for the Grand Prix, press L, R, Start, R, L, Select to enter the password screen. Now enter your password - case sensitive - and you'll have the Jet Vermillion. It will appear as a selectable machine above (in Grand Prix) or to the left (in Practice) of the Hot Violet. Note: this will only work for your name, and once you have done this, it can not be undone without deleting your save game file. Thanks to the F-Zero: Maximum Velocity Secrets File (written by John Riccardi - madoushi@raverpants.com) at GameFAQ’s for revealing this code to me. ================================================= 8.0 GLITCHES AND WEIRD STUFF If you have got a glitch or seen something that was crazy in F-Zero, then e-mail me: wheels128@ignmail.com. 1. You may have noticed that on Queen 2 - the Plummet Circuit with so many jumps - the slow machines never seem to make the jumps. Yet they always come back ,only to keep missing the jumps. It gets even worse, though, because once I had a mid-air collision with the J.B. Crystal on lap one, and he didn’t make it, because I saw that machine “disappear in a flash of light”. However, he rammed me into the wall just before a jump on lap five. I failed to make the jump due to my loss of speed, and had to redo the course. Why then, when you’re knocked off the course do you have to redo it when the CPU machines don’t? Or why don’t they just stay dead when they are killed? More coming soon... ================================================= 9.0 RANKINGS What’s the point of Ranking passwords? Ranking passwords are a way of comparing F-Zero gamers worldwide in a best-of-the-best, world championship idea, without having to hold a massive tournament somewhere in Japan or the USA, where no-one from outside that country would attend. How do I get my passwords? To get your code, enter the Rankings screen, choose a class, then choose your name, and choose the track you want to know the code for. Now hold L, and then press Up, Right, Right, B, Left, B, Right, A. The tracks subtitle (e.g. Stretch Circuit, Ultimate Circuit)will change into a code. This is your ranking password for that course. Where do I use my password? At the official Japanese Nintendo site, you can insert your password along with some details about yourself in their form at the bottom of this page: >> http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/afzj/kiroku/index.html This page is also where those fast times are shown, which are very, very quick. Some of those times I think are impossible for the average gamer to get close to. ================================================= 10.0 INTERNET LINKS F-Zero links and other gaming sites My Site: fzc.cjb.net F-Zero Central will be the home of F-Zero racing on the internet when it’s finished - look for it by mid-September. F-Zero: Maximum Velocity Players Site: surf.to/fzeromv The place for you to send your fast times and talk F-Zero. FzeroX - groups.yahoo.com/group/fzerox F-Zero X is still popular, judging by the amount of people who use this group. This is the player’s site for F-Zero X F-Zero Advance Microsite: www.gameboy.com/fzeroadvance A pretty poor effort by Nintendo for the site - they could have done a lot better. But it’s the OFFICIAL SITE for the game. Nintendo Japan - F-Zero Advance: www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/afzj/kiroku/ Nintendo of Japan has heaps of information - but it’s in Japanese. Also check the following gaming sites: > games.ign.com - great resource for all consoles > gamefaqs.com - ultimate place for faq’s and guides > nintensity.com - the best gamecube site on the internet > gamespot.com - another good general gaming site ================================================= 11.0 CREDITS I’ve probably left out everyone important, but here goes: Thanks to everyone who wrote an faq on F-Zero (John Riccardi, Hylian Hero, Phil Armstrong, Darren@everden.com and everyone else I’ve forgotten), Nintendo and everyone at Nintendo for bringing out such a great game, Christian Miller, Wes McKinney, Dave Crawford, and everyone else who is/was involved in the F-Zero players site. Thanks also to gamefaqs.com for being a great host of message boards and guides/faq’s/walkthroughs for all games on all consoles. And most of all, thanks to you, the gamers, who support the F-Zero series and who read my guide. ================================================= 12.0 FAQ HISTORY/UPDATES Version 1.0 - began the guide. It’s quite extensive and took me a while to complete. UPCOMING VERSIONS Version 1.1 - I will have more conclusive track guides, that cover everything you need to know on each course. I may have a guide for the Silence Open C course as well. A translation guide for those who imported the game from Japan will also be included in the next version. Want to see something else covered? Then E-mail me: wheels128@ignmail.com