But it didn't take long for the first chink to appear in the mighty N's armor. Mario Kart 64, while true to its predecessor in many respects, simply didn't raise the bar in any way, and lacked the balance and playability that most Nintendo titles are known for. Similarly, the recently released Yoshi's Story tried to continue the original's tried-and-true 2D gameplay - without a real understanding of what made Yoshi's Island great in the first place. If it wasn't for new franchises like Wave Race or 1080° Snowboarding, it might seem that Nintendo had lost its magic.

In comes F-Zero X, put together by a Japanese EAD team composed of several key Wave Race programmers. First screenshots of the game showed a bland, dated-looking sequel with very little visual punch, a virtual Xerox copy of the beloved Super NES racer. But in this case, looks are indeed deceiving. F-Zero X is no Mario Kart 64. Like Wave Race or Sony's Gran Turismo, the game stands out among other racers, with perfectly tuned controls and a number of innovations.

For starters, most third-party racers struggle to come up with five distinct tracks, while F-Zero X packs in more than 24 tracks and 30 cars, most of which are hidden and have to be earned first. When racing the first two tracks, the overall feel and experience are eerily similar to the original F-Zero. You compete with hovering cars, seemingly inspired by '60s art-deco appliances on floating tracks high up in the sky. You accelerate, you brake, you boost ahead of enemies and try not to hit the lethal track sides that deplete your energy.

But after the traditional "get used to the game, it's getting serious soon" stage, F-Zero X pulls out all the stops. Although visually similar to the Mode 7 F-Zero, the polygonal tracks in the new 64-bit version curve, twist, and curl in the third dimension and rush by at such intense speeds, it's easy to forgive the lack of trackside detail or backgrounds. There is, of course, a reason for the bland scenery and simple road graphics, and this time, it's not limited cartridge space. There are up to 30 cars on screen at the same time, racing along at a steady 60 frames per second. That's 30 cars, all behaving differently, skidding into turns, bumping into each other, and boosting out of harm's way. The feel of hitting a "zipper" and jetting right through the middle of a pack of 15 cars is so electrifying that it takes a great deal of discipline not to purposely smash into everyone like an out-of-control cue ball. You really have to admire Nintendo's strict design policy and restraint in producing a title that looks visually dated in stills and only show its true qualities when in motion. It's almost as if Nintendo decided to extract the essence of racing - maximum speed and perfect control - and throw out anything that could stand in its way.

Extreme speeds can often negatively reflect on control and hamper gameplay, but F-Zero X avoids the pitfalls of Extreme-G or Wipeout, with dead-on control and collision physics. On top of that, the tracks are so well-designed that if players are good enough, they will be able to avoid every obstacle and never bump into a wall or fall off the track. However, the learning curve is steep, and even seasoned players will spend weeks perfecting their drift techniques and reaching the mysterious, hidden X Cup (which follows right after the mysterious, hidden Joker Cup). To leave the field open for the future, Nintendo even added "64DD hooks" that allow for add-on disks like track editors or course updates - assuming the ill-fated disk drive ever makes it out.

The control scheme accurately reflects Nintendo's mantra of delivering a game that beginners can enjoy but only experts can master. For example, many players will be content steering their craft left and right with the analog stick and braking for the tougher turns. But this won't get you far on the higher difficulty modes. Pressing the right shoulder button while turning right (or Z while turning left) will enable sharper turning. However, reversing this routine will produce drift turns, which, coupled with strategic boosts, will get you around corners without losing any momentum at all.

In an interesting twist on the tire and fuel management of many sim racers, F-Zero X offers the choice of either preserving energy for the defensive shield or using it to boost ahead of the competition with the press of a button. Every lap, you can replenish energy reserves on the fly by driving over special energy fields that are strategically placed on every track.

Unlike its weapons-based brethren, F-Zero X relies on pure racing. There are no lock-on missiles or fancy gadgets to put yourself ahead of the competition. The only aggressive feature the N64 version adds to the franchise is the ability to knock other racers off the track by smashing into them or draining their energy by pulling off a new spin move. To fully exploit this, the team even added the Death Race mode, an elimination race where players have to knock out all other racers as quickly as possible. On the multiplayer front, F-Zero X offers four-player, head-to-head races at 60fps, with an innovative "slot machine" feature. If the option is switched on, players knocked out of the race early on can mess up the other drivers' energy by playing slots.

If there is one complaint we have with the game, it's the lack of a multiplayer GP mode. But since most other racers can't even manage to come up with a smooth two-player Vs. race, this is really a moot point. Otherwise, F-Zero X impresses on all levels. From the rocking guitar tunes (courtesy of the same composer who created the original's music) to the insanely addictive Grand Prix races, the game is a blast.