F-Zero GX Custom Machine Guide
Version 1.3 updated November 3, 2003
Version 1.0 released September 1, 2003
(C) 2003 Mike Yi (Mr. Blarney)
[email protected]
This is a free document, not to be used for profit...
=====================
Sections:
1. Introduction
2. Parts List
3. Machine Name Encoding
4. Special Machine Names
5. Machine Name Decoding
6. Tips for Building Custom Machines
7. Sample Custom Machines
8. Miscellaneous and Credits
=====================
1. Introduction and Version History
*Introduction
In F-Zero GX, there's a lot of parts to use for your custom
machines, and a lot of different combinations and names. But when you
post your machine to a messageboard, it's hard to tell what kind of
parts were used. This FAQ is designed to outline the parts obtainable
in the game, their unlock method, and the naming method of the
machines.
*Version History
1.0: First edition. Included sections 1-5, and 8.
(September 1, 2003)
1.1: Updated parts of the original, added sections 6 and 7.
(September 8, 2003)
1.2: Made some corrections, added to sections 7 and 8.
(October 8, 2003)
1.3: Updated section 8 a little.
(November 3, 2003)
=====================
2. Parts List
The parts are separated into type and sorted by strength and
weight. Thanks to help from various peoples' email, I think I've got
the scheme right this time, except for the AX exclusive parts. As far
as my knowledge goes, the 'Special F-Zero AX Link' parts can only be
obtained in Japan, with a special licence card that came with the game.
No news yet on the US unlock method. If any thing's still wrong, tell
me. All the story parts can also be unlocked by playing AX. The numbers
in parentheses is the unlock order. Beating EXPERT and MASTER
difficulties will also unlock parts that can be unlocked in NOVICE and
STANDARD.
*Body Parts
Name | Unlock Method | Weight | Body | Cost
| | | |
Speedy Dragon | Ruby Sapphire Emerald EXPERT | 240kg | E | 10
Splash Whale | Story Chap. 9 HARD / F-Zero AX | 280kg | E | 8
Liberty Manta | Grand Prix STANDARD (1) | 380kg | D | 7
Optical Wing | Story Chap. 2 HARD / F-Zero AX | 420kg | D | 8
Brave Eagle | Diamond Cup EXPERT / F-Zero AX | 460kg | D | 8
Funny Swallow | Free Starting Part | 490kg | D | 0
Holy Spider | Story Chap. 5 HARD / F-Zero AX | 540kg | C | 8
Rapid Barrel | Grand Prix NOVICE (1) | 580kg | C | 5
Silver Sword | Story Chap. 1 HARD / F-Zero AX | 620kg | C | 8
Sky Horse | Available from Start | 640kg | C | 4
Space Cancer | Story Chap. 6 HARD / F-Zero AX | 680kg | C | 8
Aqua Goose | Available from Start | 700kg | C | 4
Wild Chariot | Story Chap. 7 HARD / F-Zero AX | 800kg | B | 8
Fire Wolf | Available from Start | 840kg | B | 3
Mad Bull | Special F-Zero AX Link | 900kg | B | 8?
Valiant Jaguar | Grand Prix NOVICE (4) | 1000kg | B | 4
Giant Planet | Story Chap. 4 HARD / F-Zero AX | 1020kg | B | 8
Grand Base | Available from Start | 1380kg | A | 5
Dread Hammer | Story Chap. 8 HARD / F-Zero AX | 1440kg | A | 8
Big Tyrant | Grand Prix STANDARD (4) | 1500kg | A | 5
Megalo Cruiser | Story Chap. 3 HARD / F-Zero AX | 1600kg | A | 8
*Cockpit Parts
Name | Unlock Method | Weight | Grip | Cost
| | | |
Windy Shark | Grand Prix STANDARD (5) | 220kg | E | 5
Rave Drifter | Story Chap. 1 HARD / F-Zero AX | 230kg | E | 8
Aerial Bullet | Available from Start | 240kg | E | 3
Dark Chaser | Story Chap. 4 HARD / F-Zero AX | 250kg | E | 8
Moon Snail | Available from Start | 260kg | D | 4
Crystal Egg | Story Chap. 8 HARD / F-Zero AX | 270kg | D | 8
Blast Camel | Free Starting Part | 280kg | D | 0
Wonder Worm | Diamond Cup EXPERT / F-Zero AX | 290kg | D | 8
Sonic Soldier | Story Chap. 9 HARD / F-Zero AX | 310kg | C | 8
Scud Viper | Grand Prix STANDARD (2) | 320kg | C | 7
Bright Spear | Available from Start | 330kg | C | 4
Red Rex | Story Chap. 5 HARD / F-Zero AX | 350kg | C | 8
Muscle Gorilla | Grand Prix NOVICE (5) | 360kg | C | 4
Cyber Fox | Story Chap. 2 HARD / F-Zero AX | 370kg | C | 8
Super Lynx | Grand Prix NOVICE (2) | 460kg | B | 5
Heat Snake | Story Chap. 3 HARD / F-Zero AX | 480kg | B | 8
Energy Crest | Available from Start | 500kg | B | 5
Spark Bird | Story Chap. 6 HARD / F-Zero AX | 530kg | B | 8
Crazy Buffalo | Special F-Zero AX Link | 600kg | A | 8?
Combat Cannon | Story Chap. 7 HARD / F-Zero AX | 620kg | A | 8
Garnet Phantom | Ruby Sapphire Emerald EXPERT | 640kg | A | 10
*Booster Parts
Name | Unlock Method | Weight | Boost | Cost
| | | |
Sunrise 140 | Free Starting Part | 140kg | E | 0
Euros -01 | Diamond Cup EXPERT / F-Zero AX | 160kg | E | 8
Impulse 220 | Story Chap. 3 HARD / F-Zero AX | 220kg | D | 8
Jupiter -Q | Story Chap. 1 HARD / F-Zero AX | 230kg | D | 8
Saturn -SG | Grand Prix NOVICE (6) | 240kg | D | 4
Bazooka -YS | Available from Start | 250kg | D | 3
Mars -EX | Special F-Zero AX Link | 270kg | D | 8?
Comet -V | Story Chap. 2 HARD / F-Zero AX | 330kg | C | 8
Triangle -GT | Story Chap. 7 HARD / F-Zero AX | 340kg | C | 8
Boxer -2C | Available from Start | 350kg | C | 5
Bluster -X | Story Chap. 5 HARD / F-Zero AX | 360kg | C | 8
Tiger -RZ | Available from Start | 380kg | C | 4
Scorpion -R | Available from Start | 400kg | C | 4
Extreme -ZZ | Story Chap. 4 HARD / F-Zero AX | 480kg | B | 8
Meteor -RR | Story Chap. 8 HARD / F-Zero AX | 500kg | B | 8
Raiden -88 | Grand Prix STANDARD (6) | 530kg | B | 5
Titan -G4 | Grand Prix NOVICE (3) | 540kg | B | 5
Punisher -4X | Story Chap. 6 HARD / F-Zero AX | 580kg | B | 8
Triple -Z | Grand Prix STANDARD (3) | 660kg | A | 7
Devilfish -RX | Story Chap. 9 HARD / F-Zero AX | 800kg | A | 8
Thunderbolt -V2| Ruby Sapphire Emerald EXPERT | 860kg | A | 10
====================
3. Machine Name Encoding
Every Body and Cockpit part has an alternate name in addition to
their original name. The Booster part determines how the machine is
named by choosing the adjective and noun from Body and Cockpit (one
each) and possibly adding a suffix. Charts of the names and methods
follow, along with an example at the end. Charts are in alphabetical
order.
*Body Names
Body Name A | Body Name B
|
Aqua Goose | Frost Drake
Big Tyrant | Jumbo Emperor
Brave Eagle | Strike Condor
Dread Hammer | Gallant Gauntlet
Fire Wolf | Burning Coyote
Funny Swallow | Pretty Pigeon
Giant Planet | Cosmic Circle
Grand Base | Great General
Holy Spider | Sacred Glider
Liberty Manta | Flying Squid
Mad Bull | Rowdy Beetle
Megalo Cruiser | Heavy Bruiser
Optical Wing | Photon Blade
Rapid Barrel | Shock Magnum
Silver Sword | Arch Javelin
Sky Horse | Acro Mustang
Space Cancer | Astro Crab
Speedy Dragon | Quick Wyvern
Splash Whale | Flash Grampus
Valiant Jaguar | Berserk Panther
Wild Chariot | Strong Tank
*Cockpit Names
Cockpit Name A | Cockpit Name B
|
Aerial Bullet | Air Shot
Blast Camel | Blaze Giraffe
Bright Spear | Shining Lancer
Crazy Buffalo | Mighty Bison
Crystal Egg | Royal Rider
Combat Cannon | Tornado Master
Cyber Fox | Jet Vixen
Dark Chaser | Shadow Sniper
Energy Crest | Fever Unicorn
Heat Snake | Flame Lizard
Garnet Phantom | Jewel Mirage
Moon Snail | Lunar Lobster
Muscle Gorilla | Spicy Tusk
Rave Drifter | Active Gambler
Red Rex | Crimson King
Scud Viper | Misty Serpent
Sonic Soldier | Highway Fighter
Spark Bird | Plasma Kite
Super Lynx | Ultra Legion
Windy Shark | Slash Typhoon
Wonder Worm | Miracle Insect
*Booster Schemes
Booster | Adjective | Noun | Suffix
| | |
Bazooka -YS | Body A | Cockpit A |
Bluster -X | Body B | Cockpit A | -X
Boxer -2C | Body A | Cockpit B |
Comet -V | Body A | Cockpit B | -V
Devilfish -RX | Body A | Cockpit A | -RX
Euros -01 | Cockpit A | Body B |
Extreme -ZZ | Cockpit A | Body B | -ZZ
Impulse 220 | Cockpit B | Body B |
Jupiter -Q | Body B | Cockpit A |
Mars -EX | Cockpit A | Body A | -EX
Meteor -RR | Cockpit B | Body B | -RR
Punisher -4X | Cockpit B | Body A | -4X
Raiden -88 | Cockpit A | Body B | -88
Saturn -SG | Body B | Cockpit B |
Sunrise 140 | Cockpit A | Body A |
Scorpion -R | Body B | Cockpit A | -R
Thunderbolt -V2| Cockpit B | Body B | -V2
Tiger -RZ | Cockpit B | Body A |
Titan -G4 | Body B | Cockpit A | -G4
Triangle -GT | Body B | Cockpit B | -GT
Triple -Z | Cockpit A | Body A | -Z
Example: Aqua Goose + Super Lynx + Titan -G4: Titan -G4
designates Body B + Cockpit A + -G4. The adjective for Aqua Goose's
alternate name is Frost. The noun for the Super Lynx is Lynx. So the
Machine's name is: Frost Lynx-G4.
If you understand Japanese, then you can go to
http://okayama.cool.ne.jp/megatazo/, and at the bottom there is a
Javascript program that names machines according to selected parts.
And now, thanks to Leo Dillon, there's an English naming program
at
http://www.snorland.com/scripts/fzero/. Now there's no more
wondering what the machine name will be with a set of parts... so don't
ask me!
====================
4. Special Machine Names
Actually, that's not the whole story. There's actually quite a
few special cases where the name does not follow the regular scheme,
but rather has a special name. These machines are not necessarily
better than average, but their unique name makes them special. I
haven't tested all the names, so if you find something wrong or
something new, tell me! The machines are sorted by weight, and part
names are abbreviated for space reasons. Stats are in order of Body,
Boost, and Grip.
Name | Stats | Weight | Body | Cockpit | Booster
Queen Sapphire | E C D | 880kg | Splash Wh. | Crystal E. | Comet -V
Bird Of Paradise | D D D | 900kg | Optical W. | Moon Snail | Impulse
Ground Wave | D D C | 920kg | Liberty M. | Sonic So. | Jupiter
Out Rider | D D E | 960kg | Funny Sw. | Windy Sh. | Bazooka
Icarus Wing | D D E | 980kg | Funny Sw. | Dark Ch. | Saturn
Fortissimo | D D C | 1000kg | Optical W. | Red Rex | Jupiter
Trickster | D D C | 1010kg | Optical W. | Cyber Fox | Impulse
Paper Craft | E E A | 1040kg | Speedy Dr. | Garnet Ph. | Euros -01
Savanna Buggy | D E B | 1060kg | Optical W. | Heat Snake | Euros -01
Dragoon | E B C | 1100kg | Speedy Dr. | Bright Sp. | Raiden
Red Salamander | E C B | 1100kg | Splash Wh. | Heat Snake | Triangle
Gargoyle | D C C | 1170kg | Funny Sw. | Bright Sp. | Boxer -2C
Liberator | D C C | 1170kg | Funny Sw. | Scud Viper | Bluster
Blue Streak | C C D | 1170kg | Holy Sp. | Wonder Wo. | Triangle
Carbunkle | C E B | 1180kg | Holy Sp. | Heat Snake | Euros -01
Long Shot | C C E | 1220kg | Rapid Bar. | Aerial Bu. | Scorpion
Enigma | C C D | 1250kg | Silver Sw. | Wonder Wo. | Triangle
Valkyrie | D D A | 1290kg | Optical W. | Garnet Ph. | Jupiter
Splash Mermaid | C D C | 1290kg | Aqua Goose | Cyber Fox | Impulse
Astro Scorpion | C C E | 1330kg | Space Can. | Dark Ch. | Scorpion
Fantasista | D A C | 1360kg | Liberty M. | Scud Viper | Triple -Z
Salvation | C B D | 1390kg | Rapid Bar. | Blast Cam. | Raiden
Emerald Pegasus | C D B | 1390kg | Sky Horse | Spark Bird | Impulse
Hermit Crab | C B E | 1410kg | Space Can. | Rave Dr. | Meteor
Master Work | C B D | 1440kg | Sky Horse | Moon Snail | Titan -G4
Centaurus | B E B | 1490kg | Wild Char. | Spark Bird | Euros -01
Alexander | C B C | 1530kg | Silver Sw. | Bright Sp. | Punisher
Liberty Triton | B D B | 1540kg | Fire Wolf | Heat Snake | Impulse
Super Nova | B C E | 1610kg | Giant Pl. | Rave Dr. | Bluster
Triumph | B E B | 1690kg | Valiant J. | Spark Bird | Euros -01
Grand Elephant | B B E | 1710kg | Valiant J. | Rave Dr. | Extreme
Beat The Beast | B B C | 1740kg | Fire Wolf | Muscle Go. | Titan -G4
Bahamut | B D A | 1770kg | Mad Bull | Crazy Bu. | Mars -EX
Scorcher | B E A | 1780kg | Valiant J. | Garnet Ph. | Sunrise
Aqua Griffin | C A C | 1810kg | Aqua Goose | Sonic So. | Devilfish
Fire Ball | B C A | 1830kg | Fire Wolf | Garnet Ph. | Boxer -2C
Leviathan | A E E | 1830kg | Dread Ha. | Dark Ch. | Sunrise
High Roller | A D E | 1980kg | Big Tyrant | Rave Dr. | Bazooka
Eliminator | C A A | 2000kg | Rapid Bar. | Combat Ca. | Devilfish
Desert Camel | A D D | 2030kg | Big Tyrant | Blast Cam. | Bazooka
Trailblazer | A E B | 2080kg | Dread Ha. | Energy Cr. | Sunrise
Hippopotamus | A D D | 2110kg | Megalo Cr. | Crystal E. | Saturn
Poseidon | A B E | 2170kg | Dread Ha. | Rave Dr. | Meteor
Van Guard | C A A | 2180kg | Aqua Goose | Combat Ca. | Thunder.
Bandersnatch | A B C | 2190kg | Grand Base | Sonic So. | Meteor
Sockdolager | A C C | 2210kg | Big Tyrant | Muscle Go. | Boxer -2C
Notorious Gear | A D A | 2260kg | Dread Ha. | Crazy Bu. | Impulse
Big Ace | A B E | 2330kg | Megalo Cr. | Rave Dr. | Meteor
Don Quixote | A D B | 2330kg | Megalo Cr. | Energy Cr. | Jupiter
King Neptune | A B B | 2380kg | Grand Base | Super Lynx | Titan -G4
Almagest | A B B | 2390kg | Grand Base | Spark Bird | Extreme
Nightmare | A A E | 2480kg | Grand Base | Aerial Bu. | Thunder.
Final Revolution | A B A | 2620kg | Dread Ha. | Crazy Bu. | Punisher
Hard Banger | A A A | 3080kg | Megalo Cr. | Combat Ca. | Thunder.
Big thanks to
http://okayama.cool.ne.jp/megatazo/ for the list.
====================
5. Machine Name Decoding
So you've got a machine name, but you don't know what pieces will
make it up? To find out, you've basically just got to do the encoding
steps backward:
1. Check if it's a special name or not.
2. If not, then check the suffix.
3a. If there is a suffix, then you've got the Booster. The Body and
Cockpit should easily be derivable from there by matching the adjective
and noun as appropriate to the charts in section 3.
3b. If there is no suffix, then the job is a little tougher. You'll
need to find the adjective and noun in the Body and Cockpit lists to
find the Booster. To help, I've ordered the lists alphabetically here.
*Adjective List
Body Adj. A | Body Adj. B | CPit Adj. A | CPit Adj. B
| | |
Aqua | Arco | Aerial | Active
Big | Arch | Blast | Air
Brave | Astro | Bright | Blaze
Dread | Berserk | Crazy | Crimson
Fire | Burning | Crystal | Fever
Funny | Cosmic | Combat | Flame
Giant | Flash | Cyber | Highway
Grand | Flying | Dark | Jet
Holy | Frost | Energy | Jewel
Liberty | Gallant | Heat | Lunar
Mad | Great | Garnet | Mighty
Megalo | Heavy | Moon | Miracle
Optical | Jumbo | Muscle | Misty
Rapid | Photon | Rave | Plasma
Silver | Pretty | Red | Royal
Sky | Quick | Scud | Shadow
Space | Rowdy | Sonic | Shining
Speedy | Sacred | Spark | Slash
Splash | Shock | Super | Spicy
Valiant | Strike | Windy | Tornado
Wild | Strong | Wonder | Ultra
*Noun List
Body Noun A | Body Noun B | CPit Noun A | CPit Noun B
| | |
Barrel | Beetle | Bird | Bison
Base | Blade | Buffalo | Fighter
Bull | Bruiser | Bullet | Gambler
Cancer | Circle | Camel | Giraffe
Chariot | Condor | Cannon | Insect
Cruiser | Coyote | Chaser | King
Dragon | Crab | Crest | Kite
Eagle | Drake | Drifter | Lancer
Goose | Emperor | Egg | Legion
Hammer | Gauntlet | Fox | Lizard
Horse | General | Gorilla | Lobster
Jaguar | Glider | Lynx | Master
Manta | Grampus | Phantom | Mirage
Planet | Javelin | Rex | Rider
Spider | Magnum | Shark | Serpent
Swallow | Mustang | Snail | Shot
Sword | Panther | Snake | Sniper
Tyrant | Pigeon | Soldier | Tusk
Whale | Squid | Spear | Typhoon
Wing | Tank | Viper | Unicorn
Wolf | Wyvern | Worm | Vixen
Okay, there's actually an easier way. Leo Dillon's program
mentioned above also converts names back to parts. Even special names.
Big props to him.
====================
6. Tips for Building Custom Machines
Here's a few general tips for building machines. Supplemented by
xDark_Knightx's tips.
1. The letter grades aren't everything. A machine with letter
grades of A A A won't do well since it won't have any steering ability.
2. This leads to the second tip: Look at the graph in the lower-
left of the design screen. The up line tells body (energy?), down tells
cornering. Left is acceleration and right is top speed.
3. Experiment with graph and stat types until you find a balance
that is good for you. Some people will prefer machines that turn
quickly or slip, and others will like cars that turn slower but smooth.
4. If you're in Time Attack or Versus, don't be afraid to have
multiple cars to use for different tracks. Different tracks call for a
different style of play. Also, in Grand Prix, you might want a machine
with higher body than usual to account for the interference from other
competitors.
*Weight Class of Machines
As described in the manual, lighter cars turn better, have better
acceleration and grip, but lower top speeds than heavier cars. In
general, for most racing purposes, a Medium or low Heavy class machine
will work best. Light machines don't seem to have the top speed
necessary for competition, and Very Heavy machines don't have the
cornering ability for most tracks.
Class | Weight Range
Very Light | ~ 790kg
Light | 800kg ~ 1190kg
Medium | 1200kg ~ 1790kg
Heavy | 1800kg ~ 2790kg
Very Heavy | 2800kg ~
*General Effects of Part Choice
Besides the weight and stat, parts have certain effects on the
machine graph. After some experimentation, I haven't really found much
of a pattern in how switching one part for another will change the
graph. In general, though, Max Speed is highly dependent on booster
choice, Body and Cornering are affected greatly by body and cockpit
choice, and Acceleration is based in all three parts.
====================
7. Sample Custom Machines
*Frost Lynx-G4: Aqua Goose + Super Lynx + Titan -G4
Medium Class | C B B | 1700kg
Ah, the Frost Lynx-G4. A very solid car for use in the Grand Prix
races. It has incredible speed and reasonable cornering. It's narrow
for more room for error. It's got reasonable body to stand up to other
cars. It's also buyable very early in the game, with the Super Lynx and
Titan -G4 unlockable on the second and third NOVICE wins, and for only
13 tickets. The Frost Lynx-G4 is a solid machine that is a basis for
comparing other ships. The Super Lynx and Titan-G4 are also nice parts
for many machines. Derivatives include the Acro Lynx-G4 and King
Neptune.
*Energy Wing-Z: Optical Wing + Energy Crest + Triple -Z
Medium Class | D A B | 1580kg
The Energy Wing-Z is actually quite similar to the Frost Lynx-G4,
but it has a few advantages to the Frost Lynx-G4. While its top speed
is just slightly lower than the Frost Lynx-G4, on straight courses, it
can maintain higher speeds with boost. It has slightly better cornering
but it slides more than the Frost Lynx-G4.
====================
8. Miscellaneous and Credits
*Number of Custom Machines
There are 63 parts, 21 in each category. So, there are 21^3 =
9261 different ways of making a machine.
*Best Parts and Machines
I still don't have much in the way of how individual parts work,
and I don't have a lot of machines here. Send me some machine designs,
and if I get around to updating the FAQ, maybe yours will appear here.
*Parts not yet listed
Apparently, there's a few more sets of parts, like the Bahamut,
that are only available in Japan. Details are a little shaky, but
apparently there are demo locations where you can download the
Gladiator (Galaxy Falcon + Rush Cyclone + Hornet-FX, stats E D A) to
your memory card. Also, there seems to have been a special event in
Akihabara where two cars Thunder Storm (Rage Knight + Hyper Stream +
Velocity-J, stats D C B) and El Dorado (Hard Shell + Round Disk +
Shuttle-M2, stats B B C) could be downloaded. There also appears to be
a fifth set of special parts composing the Chrono Symphony (Blood Raven
+ Maximum Star + Crown-77, stats C D A), with official unlock method
unknown. Rumor is that this may be a prize for the official Time Attack
contest.
We know this information thanks to an Action Replay code found by
Avis, unlocking all the parts. With the 25 parts in each category,
there are now 15625 different machines. Let's hope that there's a way
to legitamately get all of these parts to the US...
*Comments and Corrections
In fact, just send me any comments or questions you have about my
FAQ. Also, if you see anything wrong, tell me! I'd love to improve this
to the best it can be. Just don't send me questions asking what parts
make up a certain machine. I've written that part already! My e-mail's
at the very bottom of the document.
*Credits
It's tradition to put thanks at the end of the FAQ, right?
GameFAQs: A great database of information in its FAQs and
community... You'd never find this guide if it weren't for GameFAQs.
Nintendo and SEGA: Making great games for people around the world
for many years. F-Zero GX is just one of the many many brilliant titles
out of these two companies.
http://okayama.cool.ne.jp/megatazo/ : I don't remember which post
I found this link in (sorry!), but this greatly sped up the creation of
this FAQ, especially in the Special machines section.
Leo Dillon: Making that awesome name encoder/decoder program.
Definitely very useful.
*End of the FAQ
There's nothing more to be said... Print this out, and have fun!
Send me feedback!
Mike Yi (Mr. Blarney)
[email protected]
