F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (2001). Play online

Summary

F‑Zero: Maximum Velocity debuted as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance, marking the first time the high‑speed series raced on a handheld. The core loop hinges on five‑lap circuits where each completed lap fuels a single boost that rockets your hovercraft forward while sharply reducing turning grip; different vehicles sport distinct boost lengths, top speeds, and deceleration profiles, making the boost a tactical tool for jumps and secret shortcuts.

Single‑player Grand Prix is split into four chess‑themed series—Pawn, Knight, Bishop and the unlockable Queen—each featuring five races across four difficulty levels. Defeating Expert mode in a series opens Master mode and rewards a brand‑new machine.

Up to four players can link their GBAs; single‑cart play forces everyone onto the generic craft in the silence‑themed track (without music), while a multi‑cart setup lets each racer pick any unlocked vehicle and course. The game creates a pseudo‑3D feel through clever scaling and double‑layer bitmap rotation.

Critics were kind, granting an 86/100 Metacritic score and high marks from outlets such as IGN and Eurogamer. By 2005 it sold roughly 273,000 units in the U.S., 334,000 in Japan, and topped one million worldwide, cementing its spot as a beloved handheld racer.

Storyline

F‑Zero: Maximum Velocity, often just called Maximum Velocity, is set 25 years after the original F‑Zero and introduces a brand‑new Grand Prix circuit. The game follows the tradition of high‑speed, anti‑gravity racing, but it’s notable for being the second F‑Zero title that omits the series staples Captain Falcon, Samurai Goroh, Pico and Dr. Stewart, a change first seen in BS F‑Zero Grand Prix 2. Players take the helm of daring pilots who command sleek hovering machines, battling through futuristic tracks that push both speed and reflexes to the limit. The storyline centers on this fresh league of racers, each vying for supremacy in a world where the legacy of the original race lives on only in the roar of the engines.