Mute City and Big Blue both feel challenging to me. I tend to do much better on all the other tracks. I think it's more to do with the fact that these tracks are the most commonly selected and also the easiest, so most of the other players are able to do pretty decently, and everyone ends up bunched up together.
this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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Mute City and Big Blue both feel challenging to me.
It's really weird: Sometimes I finish 30th and I still finish ahead of a S- player with 80+ wins.
And I’m sitting here and can’t win anything and I really don’t know why. I played the hell out of F-Zero on the SNES (and also on the Switch).
But I’m always 20-40… in the 99 battles no matter how hard I try and usually manage to get to the end in Grand Prix and Mini-Prix.
Maybe I’m missing something? Do you have some tips and strategies?
I find myself usually in the Top 10 in the beginning, but then I somehow tumble down in the masses of people until I’m stuck around 40…
Did you manage to beat the original game on master difficulty? If you beat King League on master difficulty in the Golden Fox, then you should be able to stand your ground against A-tier (or even A+).
The most problems I've seen by other racers:
- not timing their start correctly; push throttle shortly before GO!
- they don't press down when jumping
- they are bad at cornering tight corners or U-turns; you should take them like in reality: From the outside to the apex. Also get off throttle and press L/R
- avoiding bumpers: You should have grown an intuition how the bumpers behave. I see people often trying to avoid them in curves unnecessarily when they will actually go out of the way
- power management: I had to learn that I have to use boost at different places than in OG F-Zero. I also need to avoid using boost when making an error (in the original you were ranked out at 4th position, so you had to get speed immediately after an error)
Where do you have the most problems? What are your best tracks? What is your rating?
First, thanks for you long answer!
Is Master the difficulty you have to unlock? I can’t remember, so probably not. I have it unlocked though…
I have no problems at all with the things you mentioned:
- I always get the good boost
- I press down while jumping
- cornering: let go of trottle (if needed) and use L/R
- the power management I have not completely mastered tbh
As silly as it sounds, the problem are the other cars (as always haha), but for real: once I’m in the pack I’m loosing speed and get pushed all over the place… even with the spin attack. And then I’m stuck there and usually end up around 30.
My rating is B+ now, I usually beat 3/4 opponents. And I think I’m around level 15.
Of course there are still a few driver errors, but I struggle most with getting out of the pack, if you now what I mean.
I guess I just have to git gud, like always.
Is Master the difficulty you have to unlock? I can’t remember, so probably not. I have it unlocked though…
Yep, expert difficulty in the original game is not enough; the AI is capped at 432 km/h at expert. The new game is like playing at master difficulty.
My rating is B+ now, I usually beat 3/4 opponents. And I think I’m around level 15.
That's okay then, it took me quite some while for my first win, I think it was B+ or A-. So don't worry.
Regarding power management: Did you finish Port Town II in practice mode under the time limit for the achievement? You need to use boosts where you normally wouldn't (well aside directly from the start).
And regarding the pack: I drive as if they weren't there (while using spin attack), meaning I drive my optimal racing line and I often can clear the pack in difficulty corners fast. Well except Mute City.
Yep, expert difficulty in the original game is not enough; the Al is capped at 432 km/h at expert. The new game is like playing at master difficulty.
Ah this explains a lot, thanks! I already played a bit of the OG F-Zero… and now I even wish more for a new one.
That's okay then, it took me quite some while for my first win, I think it was B+ or A-. So don't worry.
Good to know, I thought I was missing something :)
Regarding power management: Did you finish Port Town I in practice mode under the time limit for the achievement? You need to use boosts where you normally wouldn't (well aside directly from the start).
I wasn’t aware… I will try this later!
And regarding the pack: I drive as if they weren't there (while using spin attack), meaning I drive my optimal racing line and I often can clear the pack in difficulty corners fast. Well except Mute City.
Haha, this is easier said than done, but I think my racing line is (obviously) not as great as I thought.
Curious what car you use.
I was using the fire stingray but switched to the wild goose (haven’t been having too much luck with either though).
I'm driving the Blue Falcon. I preferred it over the Fire Stingray in the original game because I thought the Stingray was boring (drive below 478 km/h and you can take every corner at full throttle).
But they changed the handling for the Falcon slightly. At first I tried using the D-Pad but something was off; so I now always use the stick, but I thought that still something was wrong. So I made a comparison of the Silence track, and yeah, that weird 180 degree turn was much much easier in the original game. The stick can't change direction fast enough, so I now need to brake (yes, brake with the Y-button!) on Silence.
Regarding your choice (Wild Goose), it seems that S-tier drivers prefer the Wild Goose and the Golden Fox, so that's probably the meta. I guess that could also be the reason why I think that they aren't driving the optimal line. Also the Stingray was nerfed hard, there should be a 40 km/h difference between the Golden Fox and the Stingray, but I'm not seeing it. The Blue Falcon is faster than the Golden Fox on Death Wind, I will close in when behind a Golden Fox.
Awesome thanks for the detailed reply! Yeah when looking at the leaderboard I did see a lot of gooses which I why I chose it. FWIW I have been doing better with the goose than the stingray, but haven’t gotten top 10 yet.
Was going to ask if you used d-pad or stick so thanks for touching on that! I was using d-pad on the joy-cons which seemed nice but the d-pad on the pro controller seems shitty. I have the SNES switch controller so maybe I’ll try that today.
Awesome thanks for the detailed reply! Yeah when looking at the leaderboard I did see a lot of gooses which I why I chose it. FWIW I have been doing better with the goose than the stingray, but haven’t gotten top 10 yet.
Something fishy is going on: I tried the Stingray. No preparation, no practice, just straight into a Mute City race. I won with a lead of 2 second on the first try. I have not driven the Stingray since 30 years. I drove exactly like in practice mode on the SNES.
I don't understand this. I constantly see people struggling to keep up with the Golden Fox in the Stingray. The Stingray should just woosh by the Golden Fox without boost. So I guess they balanced the cars in a different way, I guess it has to do with boost and power management.
Was going to ask if you used d-pad or stick so thanks for touching on that! I was using d-pad on the joy-cons which seemed nice but the d-pad on the pro controller seems shitty. I have the SNES switch controller so maybe I’ll try that today.
I'm also using the pro controller. It would definitely be interesting how the SNES controller behaves. When playing old F-Zero with the pro controller's stick, the handling is exactly like it should be.
Friendly reminder that FZ is a very technical game where skills can go higher than most battle royal games where luck have a lot of impact. I also suspect Nintendo didn't add tier system to dispatch players based on their level.
I think there is some kind of matching based on tier. Last weekend I didn't see those players with 80+ wins until I had won the Knight League. But I definitely saw level 40 players. And yeah, it's weird, which one is the "actual level": The level, the tier or the number of race wins?
Still seeking my first win, have gotten second a couple of times. Hasn’t lessened my enjoyment though, easily been my most played game since it came out.
That's great, keep on getting those 2nd places because at some point that S+ driver will crash out in the last corner driving into a red bumper. That driver might be me... I've gotten this way a few freak wins, but I also threw away many wins...
A good way to get your first win is team battle. S+ drivers won't participate in those, as they want that S2 or S3 or higher ranking and team battle gives you no rivals. It's also good way to chill out.
If you really want your first win, then practice Silence. A lot of people choke on Silence and the front runners are usually chill because the championship is decided by that point. Practice getting clean laps on Silence, meaning always hitting that jump (and avoiding the mines), and not bouncing into the barrier (touching the barrier in corners is ok). Usually 3 practice runs on Silence is enough for the Grand Prix.
Finally got it! Switched things up and started using Goose, which has really clicked with my play style.
Big congrats! Your first win is also worth more because of the brutal competition nowadays!
Which track?
And next stop: Mini Prix!
The biggest of blues.
@PinkOwls I have an attachment to the original F-Zero for being a type of challenge mode for the player back when I bought it for my Wii U. However, I've always felt, "God, how cool would this game be if it had multiplayer?" I love that F-Zero 99 not only fulfills this dream but goes above and beyond into transforming it into a battle royale game. F-Zero works PERFECTLY in this regard; the game is too much fun. :blobfoxcrylaugh:
Yeah, same here. I always wanted a 2-player version of the original F-Zero and obviously a successor. F-Zero 99 indeed surpasses any wish, but I don't really look at it as a battle royal game, but an over-the-top "true racing" game.
I've always looked at F-Zero as a "true racing" game and its name implies that it is one level above Formula 1. F-Zero is really technical and you have to find the perfect turn-in point and when to apply throttle again. Especially at master difficulty you have to find the optimal racing line while also dealing with traffic. And although you very rarely have to use the brake, lifting off is kind of like a break. This is what separates F-Zero from the original Super Mario Kart. In Mario Kart you kept the gas button pressed at all times and could make all corners.
The original Mario Kart still required technical skill though and you had to think about racing lines (especially where to start a power drift). Current Mario Kart 8 is frustrating me because there's always something happening, like someone using their lightning. Those constant interruptions prevent you from getting into a rhythm. And I don't want to talk about those city circuits in the expansion pass. MK8 is not a racing game, but it's really fun with others in the same room.
F-Zero 99 is a pure racing game with some gimmicks.