F-Zero 99

[Randoman]

Is anyone here into F-Zero 99? What do you think of it? How good are you at it? Who do you main?

I'm really into F-Zero 99 these days, to the point where it's eating too much into the time I should be spending finishing my first playthrough of Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

I think it's crazy and intense, in all the right ways. I mean, what other racing game has you pitted against 98 other human players? Despite how many human players are actually in the race, the races feel pretty fair, and the battle royale gameplay really lends itself well to F-Zero. The comeback mechanic in the super sparks and the skyway feels really well implemented, especially in terms of how it doesn't directly punish those who race well/are in front of the pack.

I'd say I'm relatively good at F-Zero 99. I've managed to get 5 1st place victories within the first one and a half weeks of the game being released, though I sadly haven't been able to score any more 1st place victories since then. I usually place within almost anywhere within the top 35 when I race (I may be 33rd in one race, 5th the next, 15th the race after that, etc.). As for the Grand Prix's (assuming I don't get too reckless with boosting in the first track) I'm able to do relatively well in them. Here are my best placings for the leagues so far:

Mini League:
Blue Falcon - 4th
Golden Fox - 5th
Wild Goose - 4th
Fire Stingray - 7th

Knight League:
Blue Falcon - 7th
Golden Fox - 9th
Wild Goose - 8th
Fire Stingray - 6th

Queen League:
Blue Falcon - 6th
Golden Fox - 11th
Wild Goose - (I'm working on it)
Fire Stingray - (I'm working on it)

I main the Blue Falcon and the Golden Fox. I really don't get how people can use the Wild Goose and the Fire Stingray as their mains. I mean, low acceleration is one thing, but barely healing from the pit zones is a huge dealbreaker for me. The durability means so little when the low healing speed means your health usually won't go back to being full (not without reducing your boost usage drastically). Meanwhile, the Blue Falcon and Golden Fox can reliably get back to full health after each pit stop with mild to moderate boost usage. I mean, if you can reliably main the Wild Goose and Fire Stingray, more power to you. Those two vehicles either don't suit my playstyle very well, or I'm missing something huge, in terms of how to have keep and gain enough health to be able to boost frequently with those two vehicles.

[ciphertul]

I'm sorry, but I find this game to just be a slap to the face.

[Zanarkin]

I'm really enjoying it. I'm not too bad. I can somewhat frequently get in the top 30, with sometimes managing a top 10 win. Usually with the Wild goose or Fire stingray. Their turning ability is really key I find. Golden Fox is good, but I find it hard to manage boosting + and also not breaking down. Specially when you start the race in the middle of a pack.

Also, the bonus of the Fire sting ray is that, if you can maintain the speed and not touch any corners, then your speed will be almost always at max or close to max. The fire sting ray usually allows 1 boost per turn if you want to keep a net zero usage of power. I think it is similar with the Wild Goose. That one is really good if you find yourself crashing a lot. I find that boosting constantly is only good if you can reliably be front running. Otherwise, players will knock you around too much and will make you think twice about going for a boost.

Oh, also, I like going wild goose on grand prix, specially since I'm not so good on the more difficult tracks when there are people around and I find a beefy car that can take a lot of hits and mistakes lets me outlive the competition. It is how I ended up placing 18th in the first grand prix I played to completion. Also the fire stingray is amazing on time trials. I unlocked all my portrait backgrounds with it, with one exception (which I don't remember but I used Fox for it).

Edited September 29, 2023 by Zanarkin

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

It's pretty fun! A really cool way to revitalize the "F-Zero formula", and bring back a dormant franchise. It's a bit chaotic, but seems to reward skilled play. I haven't played too much, and haven't yet placed in the single digits, or even seen a Grand Prix to completion. Maybe someday, though!

[Randoman]

I thought I'd give you guys an update on my F-Zero 99 feats and such. Here are my current records for the Queen League:

Queen League:
Blue Falcon - 5th
Golden Fox - 5th
Wild Goose - 5th
Fire Stingray - 2nd

I'm just as surprised at the 2nd place Fire Stingray victory as you guys. I got insanely lucky with using the super boost at the last lap and last quarter of Mute City II and Red Canyon I, letting me steal 1st place just as I landed a couple of seconds away from the finish line. That also helped me avoid the huge amount of grey and red bumpers that the race leaders would normally have to deal with on the last lap.

I've noticed that using the super boost on later laps makes it last much longer than using the super boost on earlier laps, so maybe that played a factor as well (though I definitely wouldn't save the super boost for more than one total lap, since you're wasting a lot of super sparks and another potential super boost). People have also mentioned on youtube that the super boost seems to last longer the further behind you are. Though one thing about the super boost that's for certain: if you can time using it so it'd normally end on sections where it's unsafe to land (eg: a spot where the skyway has no normal road underneath it, or during a sharp turn), you can force the super boost to be extended until the skyway brings you to a safe landing spot. After trying out both using the super boost as soon as it's obtained, and using it only in areas where the skyway takes significantly huge shortcuts, I'm definitely finding it's more useful to save the super boost for shortcut areas. Using super boosts to avoid normal paths with huge/multiple turns is also a good strategy.

I also managed to get 1st place three times in total today (twice with the Fire Stingray on Red Canyon, and once with the Fire Stingray on Mute City II).

@ZanarkinI think your advice on using normal boosts once per lap with the Fire Stingray and relying on high top speed over boosting really helped me get better with the Fire Stingray, so thanks for that!

Feel free to post your F-Zero 99 feats and tips as well. I'm eager to hear about your 1st place victories once you get them.

[Zanarkin]

16 hours ago, Randoman said:

@ZanarkinI think your advice on using normal boosts once per lap with the Fire Stingray and relying on high top speed over boosting really helped me get better with the Fire Stingray, so thanks for that!

Glad my tip was useful! I do love the fire sting ray because of how well it turns. Though I started using the golden fox to a little more success. I find though that with Fox I find my self falling behind very quickly specially if I want to hold the highway until later in the track. The red bumpers are also killers. I accidentally used the boost too quickly when I was in the top 10 using Fox, hit a red. And almost made it to the stop, but some guy just devoured me cm before the finish :C

[henrymidfields]

I haven't got into it, because I don't really like having to subscribe stuff just for a few downloads. But I'd be very happy to play this over Mario Kart nowadays. Mario Kart's Grand Prix (except maybe the Nintendo 64 version) is just not fun, when you're knocked down from 1st to last just because of some CPU opponents got lucky items. The relatively few times I played F-Zero, they generally require actual skill and quick thinking and the times I messed up was really when I messed up. 

[Zanarkin]

Oof, I feel like the people have really improved at F-Zero. Of the few times I have done the King league, I can't seem to make it to top 20. Always seem to rank out when I'm really close. I just want to unlock Fire Field for the time trials.

I was doing really well in Kinght League just now, had tons of kills under my belt, but choked just before the end and crashed out. I was doing well in score too ;_;

Edit: Nevermind! I just managed to do it. I even finished fire field! Although, the practice time seems tough to do. Best I managed was 3:13...

Edited November 9, 2023 by Zanarkin

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 10/1/2023 at 5:41 PM, Randoman said:

I thought I'd give you guys an update on my F-Zero 99 feats and such. Here are my current records for the Queen League:

Queen League:
Blue Falcon - 5th
Golden Fox - 5th
Wild Goose - 5th
Fire Stingray - 2nd

Congrats on these! I don't think I've ever placed top 10 in a Grand Prix, altgough I have seen all of them to completion - and unlocked all tracks - at the very least.

On 11/9/2023 at 7:21 AM, Zanarkin said:

Oof, I feel like the people have really improved at F-Zero. Of the few times I have done the King league, I can't seem to make it to top 20. Always seem to rank out when I'm really close. I just want to unlock Fire Field for the time trials.

One thing I've noticed is, the earlier I jump in to a Grand Prix (within the ten-minute window), the harder it tends to be. Those tend to fill up instantly, whereas near the end of the timeframe, they might only get 30 racers, and have to fill up the remaining slots with CPUs. My suspicion is, the CPUs are just weaker on average than human players. So the more CPUs I'm facing, the easier a road to the fifth course I'll have.

By the way, congrats on surviving the King League and unlocking Fire Field! It was also my last track to acquire. I hope, at some point, that they'll make the three "fifth tracks" playable in other contexts. Like in the "Expert Tracks" lobby.

[Zanarkin]

22 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

One thing I've noticed is, the earlier I jump in to a Grand Prix (within the ten-minute window), the harder it tends to be. Those tend to fill up instantly, whereas near the end of the timeframe, they might only get 30 racers, and have to fill up the remaining slots with CPUs. My suspicion is, the CPUs are just weaker on average than human players. So the more CPUs I'm facing, the easier a road to the fifth course I'll have.

By the way, congrats on surviving the King League and unlocking Fire Field! It was also my last track to acquire. I hope, at some point, that they'll make the three "fifth tracks" playable in other contexts. Like in the "Expert Tracks" lobby.

That is how I managed to do it. When I play Grand Prix now I tend to wait a bit and join a room with fewer players and make sure it doesn't get too full. If it does, I usually leave.

I do hope they become more common in normal game play. They are very fun and challenging courses, and I would like a 99 car race in fire field. Just imagine the chaos on the sharp turns.