F-Zero GP Legend

 Game Boy Advance
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
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  1. Tilde_Gunderson
    Dec 10, 2016
    6
    F-Zero GP Legend is a solid racing game, especially on the Gameboy Advance, but there are far too many issues that keep it from being a perfect game.

    Each machine has different stats: Body (the amount of damage it can take), Boost (how fast the machine goes when you boost), and Grip (how well the machine turns). Each machine is supposed to have a balanced build (EG: If it has a strong    F-Zero GP Legend is a solid racing game, especially on the Gameboy Advance, but there are far too many issues that keep it from being a perfect game.

    Each machine has different stats: Body (the amount of damage it can take), Boost (how fast the machine goes when you boost), and Grip (how well the machine turns). Each machine is supposed to have a balanced build (EG: If it has a strong Body and good Boost, it has poor Grip), so there's not one notably rigged machine.

    However, in this game, Grip is the only stat that really matters. There is almost no racetrack where having a strong boost really makes a big difference, but more than half of them have hairpin turns that, unless your Grip is rank A, you're going to be constantly bumping into walls and hazards (and off the track, depending on the stage). Never choose a machine with Grip rank B or worse, or heaven forbid, rank E.

    The second problem is the story. There are eight story paths you could take that follow different F-Zero characters (like Captain Falcon, Zoda, Jody Summers, etc.) Each of them have five races and cutscenes, explaining what they're doing and the conflicts they face (and their resolution).

    Compared to F-Zero X and older, this sounds awesome! The F-Zero universe has all these well-illustrated characters that feel like they need a story to flesh out their character arc. But not only do you get the stories of only about ten of the characters, but each of them is so poorly written and have no development in the grand scheme of things.

    Example: You're introduced to a character named Zoda, who's this weird-looking criminal that apparently died 150 years ago in an accident with another character, Rick Wheeler. This is explained in Rick's story, where he's working for the police force, still hunting him down trying to figure out why both of them are still alive.

    This is a really cool concept, but what happens in the story? You chase Zoda down, he's replaced with another character (that has no dialogue), you have to save someone else, and then you get a "to be continued" kind of dialogue.

    Do you get an explanation in Zoda's story? Not a chance!

    This Story Mode had so much promise, but when you go nowhere with it, it's just a frustrating experience.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best Game Boy Advance Game of 2004
35
#35 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2004
32
#32 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Weekly Famitsu
    73
    7 / 7 / 7 / 8 - 29 [Vol 781]
  2. GMR Magazine
    80
    Offers racing thrills that compete with those in full-sized games. [Dec 2004, p.125]
  3. Eurogamer
    80
    The mixture of task and race-based challenges, refined controls and delicately poised difficulty level are adequate compensation.
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