F-Zero: GP Legend (video game)

This article is about the video game. For the anime of the same name, see F-Zero: GP Legend (anime).

F-Zero: GP Legend
North American Box Art
Details
Developer	Suzak
Publisher	Nintendo
Director(s)	Yutaka Hirata Azusa Tajima
Producer(s)	Satoru Iwata Hitoshi Yamagami
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance, Wii U, Nintendo Switch
No. of players	Single player, Multiplayer
Release dates
North America	GBA: September 20, 2004 Wii U VC: March 12, 2015 Nintendo Switch Online October 11, 2024
Japan	GBA: November 28, 2003 Wii U VC: October 1, 2014 Nintendo Switch Online October 11, 2024
Europe	GBA: June 4, 2004 Wii U VC: January 1, 2015 Nintendo Switch Online October 11, 2024
China	Nintendo Switch Online October 11, 2024
Australia	Nintendo Switch Online October 11, 2024
Ratings
CERO	All Ages
ESRB	E
PEGI	3+
USK	0+
Installments
Previous game	F-Zero AX
Next game	F-Zero Climax
External websites

F-Zero: GP Legend (F-ZERO ファルコン伝説, F-ZERO farukon densetsu^[?]) is a futuristic racing video game for the Game Boy Advance handheld. Developed by Suzak, it was released in Japan in 2003, and in Europe and North America in 2004. It is the second F-Zero game released for the Game Boy Advance, after F-Zero: Maximum Velocity.

F-Zero: GP Legend is the fifth released installment in the F-Zero series and the successor to F-Zero GX. Considered a reboot of the franchise, the game is based on the anime, and differs considerably in story and setting from its predecessors. GP Legend features gameplay very similar to the original F-Zero and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity.

On October 1st, 2024 it was revealed that F-Zero: GP Legend would be released for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members, paired with its successor F-Zero Climax. Users of the Japanese version of the service also gained access to the game's e-Reader content.

Gameplay

F-Zero: GP Legend offers time trials, a Challenge mode (called Zero Test), and four Grand Prix events. Link cable racing allows up to four players to compete together.

The game features over 30 playable characters, 8 of whom are available in Story mode, including newcomer Rick Wheeler, the evil Black Shadow, and series hero Captain Falcon. As in earlier games, a story-driven campaign leads players through a series of futuristic races across the diverse environments of many different planets.

Story mode

Story mode is one of the two modes available at the start of the game, along with Grand Prix mode. In this mode, the player engages in a series of missions that describe the story of the game. Eight characters total can be played in this mode, though only Rick Wheeler is available from the beginning. The other characters must be unlocked by advancing through the story.

Grand Prix

In Grand Prix mode, the player chooses from one of the 34 playable characters (most of whom have to be unlocked), and races through a series of 5 different tracks. Unlike the previous games, the names of the cups in GP Legend are not derived from chess pieces, playing cards, etc. Instead, the cups carry the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum cups commonly used in racing video games. The Platinum cup can be unlocked by beating the first three cups on "Novice" and "Standard" difficulty. On "Expert" level, each track from the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Cups are replaced with a harder version, and the name of the track has the Roman numerals "II" to denote that the track is the second version. In each race, racers is scored by their finishing position. The points are totaled up after each race, and the pilot with the most points wins. 100 points is the maximum amount that a pilot can earn in a single race, and 15 is the minimum, unless the pilot's craft is destroyed, and the pilot gains no points. If the player's craft is destroyed, they has the choice to use a spare machine (4 is the max) and redo the race, or quit the cup. Unlike in F-Zero GX, the player does not get a spare machine after destroying 5 machines.

Time Attack

In Time Attack, the player races through 5 laps on a single track, alone or against a ghost racer, and tries to beat the best time. A scoreboard of the top five best times for each track is displayed on the track selection screen, along with the best time for a single lap. After getting the best time, the player can choose to save his/her ghost to race against later, though only one ghost can be saved at a time.

This is the mode where the player gets access to Championship.

Training

Training mode allows the player to race around a track of their choice for practice purposes. The player is able to choose the number of laps, the number of opponents, and the difficulty level. The player is only able to race on tracks that they have already completed in Grand Prix mode, however.

Zero Test

Zero Test is a mode in F-Zero: GP Legend. In it, the player attempts to complete a series of challenges, usually involving reaching the end of a specific portion of track within the allotted time. There are 4 available classes (C, B, A, and S), each one featuring 12 different tests. The classes are unlocked in sequence; each class the player completes unlocks the next class. Times are rated from bronze to silver to gold, with gold times being extremely difficult to achieve.

Link

In Link mode, the player races against up to four other human opponents via Game Boy Link Cable. Two different modes, Single-Pak and Multi-Pak, are available.

Returning Characters

• Captain Falcon on Blue Falcon
• Dr. Stewart on Golden Fox
• Pico on Wild Goose
• Samurai Goroh on Fire Stingray
• Baba on Iron Tiger
• Gomar and Shioh on Twin Noritta
• Jack Levin on Astro Robin
• Kate Alen on Super Piranha
• Beastman on Hyper Speeder
• Leon on Space Angler
• Billy on Mad Wolf
• Blood Falcon on Blood Hawk
• Silver Neelson on Night Thunder
• Mighty Gazelle on Red Gazelle
• Draq on Mighty Typhoon
• Roger Buster on Mighty Hurricane
• Super Arrow on King Meteor
• Mrs. Arrow on Queen Meteor
• Mr. EAD on Great Star
• John Tanaka on Wonder Wasp
• Dr. Clash on Crazy Bear
• James McCloud on Little Wyvern
• Jody Summer on White Cat
• Zoda on Death Anchor
• Octoman on Deep Claw
• Bio Rex on Big Fang
• The Skull on Sonic Phantom
• Antonio Guster on Green Panther
• Michael Chain on Wild Boar
• Black Shadow on Black Bull

New Characters

F-Zero: GP Legend introduced four new playable characters, namely:

• Rick Wheeler on Dragon Bird
• Lucy Liberty on Elegance Liberty
• Misaki Haruka/Miss Killer/Luna Ryder on Moon Shadow
• Lisa Brilliant on Panzer Emerald

Circuits

#				(Expert)	(Expert)	(Expert)		Story Mode & Time Attack Exclusive Circuits
1	Mute City Tradition Park	Silence Box Rink	Port Town Forked Road	Mute City Tradition Park II	Silence Box Rink II	Port Town Forked Road II	Mute City Mute City I	Big Blue Calm Sea
2	Red Canyon Junction	Sand Ocean Caterpillar	Silence Honeycomb Rink	Red Canyon Junction II	Sand Ocean Caterpillar II	Silence Honeycomb Rink II	Big Blue Big Blue	Illusion Secret
3	Mist Flow Clip Oval	Mute City Expansion Park	White Land Flower	Mist Flow Clip Oval II	Mute City Expansion Park II	White Land Flower II	Silence Silence	Red Canyon Seven-Corner Speedway
4	Lightning Volute	Big Blue Slip Highway	Fire Field Wreckage Circuit	Lightning Volute II	Big Blue Slip Highway II	Fire Field Wreckage Circuit II	Port Town Port Town II	Mute City Championship
5	Fire Field Blast Track	Mist Flow Front & Back	Red Canyon Peak Jump OR Illusion Abyss Drop*	Fire Field Blast Track II	Mist Flow Front & Back II	Red Canyon Peak Jump II OR Illusion Abyss Drop II*	Red Canyon Red Canyon
6							Sand Ocean Sand Ocean
7							White Land White Land II
8							Fire Field Fire Field

*Random^{[citation needed]}

e-Reader support

The title of this section is official, but it comes from a non-English source.
If an official name from an English source is found and it is different from the current title, the section should be moved to the appropriate location.

The "Pillow Pack" of the standard forty cards

In Japan, F-Zero: GP Legend had support for the e-Reader. Swiping the GP Legend cards while playing the F-Zero: GP Legend game allowed for extra tracks, only available with the cards. There were sixty cards total: Machine Cards that unlock racers, Challenge Cards that unlock staff ghosts for Time Attack, and Course Cards that unlock new courses. Forty of these cards were available through standard retailers, while the other twenty were available exclusively through the Bandai Carddass vending machines.

This ability was not available in the US or European versions of the game, as the e-Reader proved unpopular in the US and was never released in Europe. As such, the e-Reader content is built into international versions of F-Zero: GP Legend with additional unlock requirements added.

The twenty unique e-Reader+ Cup tracks are as follows:

Card Number	Track Name
001	Mute City Tiles Square
002	Red Canyon Long Drive
003	Sand Ocean Undulation Wave
004	White Land Twenty-Five Rink
005	Fire Field Rumble Grand
006	Illusion Death Hand
007	Red Canyon Best Choice
008	Mist Flow Flower III
009	Red Canyon Dirt Dart
010	Port Town Dukedom Circuit
011	Mute City Counter
012	Lightning Grid Maze
013	Big Blue Pigeon
014	Sand Ocean Make Or Break
015	Lightning Light Bulb
016	Port Town Falcon
017	Illusion Ace of Hearts
018	Silence Kamitoba
019	Mist Flow Screw
020	White Land Yeti Foot

Reception

F-Zero: GP Legend received generally favorable reviews from critics, and currently holds a 7.7 rating on review aggregator Metacritic. Craig Harris of IGN.com gave the game an 8.0 out of 10, calling it "a solid and well-designed game", while also commenting on its many similarities to F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. Eurogamer reviewer Tom Bramwell gave GP Legend an 8 out of 10, and praised many elements of the game. Avery Score of GameSpot also gave the game an 8.0, giving special mention to its sound. Jeremy Parish of 1-Up.com gave GP Legend a more negative review, grading it a with "C" and complaining about the game's dated appearance.

Gallery

• 

  E3 2004 Press Kit Logo

• 

  E3 2004 Press Kit Logo Character Artwork

• 

  Japanese boxart

• 

  European boxart

Cut Content

Main article: F-Zero: GP Legend on The Cutting Room Floor

Trivia

• Compared to other F-Zero games, this installment references F-Zero GX artwork, specifically venues, during Grand Prix and story modes.

• 

  Green Plant Intersection reference

• 

  F-Zero GX

• 

  Fire Field Undulation

• 

  F-Zero GX

• 

  Port Town Aero Dive

• 

  F-Zero GX

External links

• Nintendo Japan's F-Zero Falcon Densetsu webpage