The peak of the F-Zero saga, designed by Sega and Amusement Vision under Nintendo's watch. Mind-bending speed, dizzying tracks and AI hardwired for combat. Brutal difficulty but unmatched arcade racing thrills. Still undethroned today.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player3+
Description
The pilot races at extreme speed on futuristic tracks in this Nintendo and Sega GameCube F-Zero GX. Published by Nintendo/Sega, released in Japan in October 2003. Futuristic racing game with magnetic levitation vehicles, extreme tracks and dizzying speeds.
F-Zero GX review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Launched at dizzying speeds, the levitation machines streak across circuits of neon and polished metal in a frankly futuristic glare. The sense of velocity springs as much from the design as from the fluidity, every track turning into a chute of light. A razor-sharp science-fiction aesthetic that hasn't aged a day.
Raging guitars, electronic beats and frantic tempos hurl every race into a futuristic rock trance. The music sticks to the supersonic speed, spiking reflexes as much as adrenaline. This raw energy, cut for extreme driving, has lost none of its galvanising nerve.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
At a thousand miles an hour on suspended tracks, the slightest brush rarely forgives: mastering inertia, spending your own energy on boost, memorising every turn is high art. This brutal demand, magnified by flawless fluidity, delivers sensations few racers have recaptured. A summit of pure speed, intact today.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Hurling a machine at staggering speeds across suspended tracks, brushing the edge on every banked turn: the sense of speed here reaches a rarely matched peak. Mastery has to be earned, but every perfect line delivers a pure rush. Demanding and spectacular, a must for fans of extreme racing.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Skimming the wall at over a thousand kilometres an hour while hunting the perfect line sets up a quest for mastery you rarely nail on the first run. Shaving off a few hundredths and unlocking machines and parts rewards every attempt, and each challenge instantly calls for the next. The difficulty is fearsome and at times punishing, yet that pure, demanding speed remains exhilarating to this day.
Difficulty
"Punishing"
Past six hundred miles an hour, the slightest line error costs you dearly: winding tracks, lethal rails and ruthless AI leave no margin. Managing your energy, which doubles as shield and boost, turns every corner into a gamble. The Story Mode remains a peak of controlled frustration, and that surgical demand is what forged its legend.
The Japanese edition of F-Zero GX is the original pressing of the Amusement Vision project, released by Nintendo with a specific domestic sleeve. Collector value comes from that distinct presentation and from the game's historical status as one of the peaks of the Sega-Nintendo collaboration of the era.
Is F-Zero GX still worth playing in 2026?
A hyper fast futuristic racer by Amusement Vision and supervised by Toshihiro Nagoshi, F-Zero GX imposes a speed and a driving demand rarely equalled in the genre. The twisted tracks, the customisable machines and the unforgiving difficulty make it an absolute reference. The hard rock soundtrack and the assertive futuristic aesthetic still work. For anyone seeking the most precise and demanding driving on the console, the title remains an essential piece, still regularly cited among the very best racing games ever conceived in history.
