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F-Zero Climax(JP) is a Game Boy Advance video game released in October of 2004. It was released exclusively in Japan by Nintendo, and is as of yet the last game in the series. The gameplay is extremely similar to the previous games in the franchise. However, the game contains a track designer. The F-Zero X Expansion Kit also came with an advanced track designer, but this was the first time that it was built in with the game, and the first time for a track designer to be featured in a handheld F-Zero game. The stages you make can be played in Time Attack and in the game's multiplayer mode. The game features the most tracks and characters of any handheld F-Zero game to date.

Gameplay[]

It plays similar to the other F-Zero games.

Plot[]

Reception[]

Nintendo World Report's Daniel Bloodworth thought the Grand Prix mode, which should be the focus of the game, is "woefully lacking". Bloodworth criticized track length of the first 3 cups; he clocked-in at 20–30 seconds per lap and finished three cups within 20 minutes on standard difficulty. He concluded "combined with the low difficulty and re-used environments and music, it all ends up feeling rather unsatisfying." While the fourth cup is more difficult, Bloodworth was taken back by its sudden spike in difficulty—even when playing every cup on Expert or Master. Also, many of its courses were rehashes from the first F-Zero game and GP Legend. During Siliconera's playtest, they praised Climax's track design and varying levels of difficulty between courses—easier courses are relatively straight compared to later ones which require honed drifting skill. They mentioned the game demanded players to have quick reflexes and master the track layout on difficulties beyond novice since the AI-controlled opponents are unforgiving. Siliconera noted players have to be proficient at both types of speed boosting. Bloodworth explained a properly timed double speed boost can substantially alter the momentum of a race. Compared to GP Legend's controls, Siliconera thought the spin attack "is a neat trick to use, that adds a new element to the game." Bloodworth liked the personalized button configurations, especially since vehicles feel stiffer and the game does not allow players to adjust a vehicle's balance between maximum acceleration and maximum top speed.

Bloodworth said Climax is "probably the most polished of the 2D iterations of this franchise." The game features expanded backgrounds, improved track detail, and a more distinguishable separation between the course and ground below. Siliconera thought Climax could've looked better, but the game "reuses many of the tile sets from GP Legend and Maximum Velocity." Furthermore, Bloodworth was disappointed with the music tracks being mostly rehashes from the original game and F-Zero X—a sentiment Siliconera agreed with. The voice work of the announcer fell short to Bloodworth. He explained the announcer is sometimes helpful, but also report events inappropriately or too frequently.

Siliconera criticized Climax for feeling more like an expansion pack than a sequel. They compared the game's Survival mode to GP Legend's story mode and consider it not as deep, "but the challenges are much tougher." Siliconera thought the track editor and its ability to be shared with other players as the game's greatest feature. Bloodworth concluded Climax has plenty of Survival and Zero Test challenges, and slots to save created courses, but the lackluster Grand Prix holds back the game. Nintendo World Report and Siliconera felt that the game was a likely candidate for localization in regions outside Japan due to GP: Legend's recent nondomestic release, but this never happened. F-Zero: GP Legend was released in Japan in late 2003, but the US version was delayed into late 2004 to coincide with the anime's release. Climax was the third F-Zero game on the GBA and the last to be released in the franchise before its hiatus.

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