F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Encyclopedia
F-Zero Maximum Velocity is a futuristic racing video game
developed by Nd Cube and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance
(GBA). The game was released in Japan, North America and Europe in 2001 as a launch title for the GBA. It is the fourth released game in the F-Zero series
and the first to be released on a handheld game console
.
Players control fast hovering crafts and use their speed-boosting abilities to navigate through the courses as quickly as possible. The game takes place twenty-five years after F-Zero.
For each lap completed the player is rewarded with a speed boost, to be used once any time, one of the "SSS" marks will be shaded green to indicate that it can be used. A boost will dramatically increase a player's speed, but will decrease their ability to turn. A boost used before a jump will make the player jump farther, allowing the player to use a shortcut. Boost time and speed varies according to the machine, and is tuned for proper balance. For example, one machine boasts a boost time of twelve seconds, yet has the slowest boost speed of the entire game. Players can also take advantage of the varying deceleration of each vehicles. Some vehicles, such as the Jet Vermillion, take longer than others to decelerate from top boost speed to normal speed, once the boost has been used up. Players can also take advantage of this effect on boost pads.
The Grand Prix is the main single player component of Maximum Velocity. It consists of four series named after Chess
pieces "Pawn", "Knight", "Bishop" and "Queen", the fourth of which can be unlocked by wining the others on "Beginner" mode. They have five races in four difficulty settings, "Master" mode is unlocked by wining expert mode in each series, the player unlocks a new machine after completing it. The player needs to be in the top three at the end of the last lap in order to continue to the next race. If the player is unable to continue, the player will lose a machine and can try the race again. If the player runs out of machines, then the game ends, and the player has to start the series from the beginning.
Championship is another single player component. It is basically the same as a "Time Attack" mode, except the player can only race on one, special course: the Synobazz Championship Circuit. This special course is not selectable in Multi Cartridge vs.
Maximum Velocity places a particular emphasis on skillful use of the chosen vehicle's capabilities and knowledge of the tracks. In the hardest difficulty, "Master", what would be the slowest vehicle to the player will easily pass the player, even if he or she is using the fastest vehicle. Computer-controlled opponents will also come back even if, on the very rare occasion, they fall off the track, and will catch up to the player within seconds, no matter how dramatic a shortcut is taken or boost used. Also, under the appearance of a hard-to-use vehicle, some, though they may supposedly have poor acceleration or handling, exhibit remarkable capabilities in expert hands. Most worldwide records have been set using the Jet Vermillion, which is supposedly the vehicle with the worse turning and acceleration. Master players overcome this with ingenious control and take advantage of its superb boost deceleration, speed, and top-of-the-line toughness. Some of the other vehicles the player has access to, though they may appear quite easy to use, have no such potential.
, Samurai Goroh, Pico, or Dr. Stewart. However, one of the F-Zero cars resembles Falcon's Blue Falcon. The pilot, Kent Akechi, also claims to be Falcon's son.
Single cartridge
In single cart, only one player needs to have a cartridge. The other players will boot off the link cable network from the player with the cart using the GBA's netboot capability. All players drive a generic craft, and the game can only be played on one level, Silence. Silence, along with Fire Field, are the only areas to return from previous games. Aptly, Silence in Maximum Velocity has no background music, unlike in most other F-Zero games.
Multi cartridge
In multi cart, each player needs to have a cartridge to play. This has many advantages over single cart: All players can use any machine in this game that has been unlocked by another player. Players can select any course in this game. After race is finished, all of the player's ranking data are mixed and shared ("Mixed ranking" stored in each cart).
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
developed by Nd Cube and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
(GBA). The game was released in Japan, North America and Europe in 2001 as a launch title for the GBA. It is the fourth released game in the F-Zero series
F-Zero
is a futuristic racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 23, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992...
and the first to be released on a handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
.
Players control fast hovering crafts and use their speed-boosting abilities to navigate through the courses as quickly as possible. The game takes place twenty-five years after F-Zero.
Gameplay
Every race consists of five laps around a race track. The race will end prematurely if the player lands outside of the track after a jump, destroys their machine by depleting its energy, completes a lap in too low of a rank, or drops to 20th place; all of these conditions necessitate the player using an extra machine (if available in the Grand Prix) to try again.For each lap completed the player is rewarded with a speed boost, to be used once any time, one of the "SSS" marks will be shaded green to indicate that it can be used. A boost will dramatically increase a player's speed, but will decrease their ability to turn. A boost used before a jump will make the player jump farther, allowing the player to use a shortcut. Boost time and speed varies according to the machine, and is tuned for proper balance. For example, one machine boasts a boost time of twelve seconds, yet has the slowest boost speed of the entire game. Players can also take advantage of the varying deceleration of each vehicles. Some vehicles, such as the Jet Vermillion, take longer than others to decelerate from top boost speed to normal speed, once the boost has been used up. Players can also take advantage of this effect on boost pads.
The Grand Prix is the main single player component of Maximum Velocity. It consists of four series named after Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
pieces "Pawn", "Knight", "Bishop" and "Queen", the fourth of which can be unlocked by wining the others on "Beginner" mode. They have five races in four difficulty settings, "Master" mode is unlocked by wining expert mode in each series, the player unlocks a new machine after completing it. The player needs to be in the top three at the end of the last lap in order to continue to the next race. If the player is unable to continue, the player will lose a machine and can try the race again. If the player runs out of machines, then the game ends, and the player has to start the series from the beginning.
Championship is another single player component. It is basically the same as a "Time Attack" mode, except the player can only race on one, special course: the Synobazz Championship Circuit. This special course is not selectable in Multi Cartridge vs.
Maximum Velocity places a particular emphasis on skillful use of the chosen vehicle's capabilities and knowledge of the tracks. In the hardest difficulty, "Master", what would be the slowest vehicle to the player will easily pass the player, even if he or she is using the fastest vehicle. Computer-controlled opponents will also come back even if, on the very rare occasion, they fall off the track, and will catch up to the player within seconds, no matter how dramatic a shortcut is taken or boost used. Also, under the appearance of a hard-to-use vehicle, some, though they may supposedly have poor acceleration or handling, exhibit remarkable capabilities in expert hands. Most worldwide records have been set using the Jet Vermillion, which is supposedly the vehicle with the worse turning and acceleration. Master players overcome this with ingenious control and take advantage of its superb boost deceleration, speed, and top-of-the-line toughness. Some of the other vehicles the player has access to, though they may appear quite easy to use, have no such potential.
Story
Maximum Velocity takes place a twenty-five years after Captain Falcon, Dr. Stewart, etc. "piloted their way to fame". Due to the aforementioned, it is the only F-Zero game without Captain FalconCaptain Falcon
Douglas Jay Falcon, better known by his alias, , is a playable character in the racing video game series F-Zero. He first appeared in F-Zero, and has been called the poster boy of the F-Zero franchise. Nintendo first envisioned Captain Falcon as a flagship character to represent the release of a...
, Samurai Goroh, Pico, or Dr. Stewart. However, one of the F-Zero cars resembles Falcon's Blue Falcon. The pilot, Kent Akechi, also claims to be Falcon's son.
Multiplayer
Maximum Velocity can be played in two multiplayer modes using the Game Boy Advance link cable, with one cartridge, or one cartridge per player. Two to four Players can play in both modes.Single cartridge
In single cart, only one player needs to have a cartridge. The other players will boot off the link cable network from the player with the cart using the GBA's netboot capability. All players drive a generic craft, and the game can only be played on one level, Silence. Silence, along with Fire Field, are the only areas to return from previous games. Aptly, Silence in Maximum Velocity has no background music, unlike in most other F-Zero games.
Multi cartridge
In multi cart, each player needs to have a cartridge to play. This has many advantages over single cart: All players can use any machine in this game that has been unlocked by another player. Players can select any course in this game. After race is finished, all of the player's ranking data are mixed and shared ("Mixed ranking" stored in each cart).