Front | Games | Anime | Articles | Guides | Media | Links | Forums | Extras | About

 

Extras | Frequently Asked Questions

I'm a relatively busy person. Relatively. Usually, I'll get all sorts of e-mail about F-Zero, or the site in general, so here's a page created mostly to save my sanity. It's not that I don't like your e-mail, I do, and it's great to get feedback from people... but here's a list of popular questions that I usually get, with the usual answers I give out.

F-Zero Games:

Q: Can you practice on tracks like Mute City II and Red Canyon I in the original F-Zero?
A: Not that I know of. You can probably make a hack for it with a Game Genie or Action Replay.

Q: What do you get for beating the original F-Zero?
A: Satisfaction?

Q: How do I use Jet Vermilion?
A: There's an informative Guide now up which should help you get a handle on this machine.

Q: Why don't you cover Wave Race 64? Didn't that start out as an F-Zero game?
A: In an interview a long time ago, Shigeru Miyamoto said something to the effect of "Wave Race 64 started out as a futuristic hovercraft racing game, like F-Zero." (That's not a direct quote). Mr. Miyamoto is often misquoted in interviews, and I've never found conclusive evidence that this was the case. If anyone has more information (or in-progress screenshots), I'll gladly eat my words.

Q: Where can I get a copy of F-Zero X Expansion Kit?
A: You'll have to have an N64, a Japanese F-Zero X cartridge, a memory expansion pak, a 64DD accessory (hooks to the slot under the bottom of the N64), and finally the F-Zero X Expansion Kit disk. If you can pull it all together, consider yourself lucky.

Q: Where is F-Zero AX?
A: Good question, but I don't have an answer. I'm sure you could find in it Japan, but America is so large, and arcades (especially with new games) are few and far between. And as for Europe, I have no clue what's going on over there. AX was more of a Japanese thing, anyway.

Q: Is F-Zero: Maximum Velocity a remake of the original F-Zero?
A: No, the but the engine is based loosely on it. However, all tracks, characters, and music are new. This is a common mistake... in Japan, the game is simply known as "F-Zero for Game Boy Advance," which caused a few translation problems when it was first announced.

Q: Is F-Zero: GP Legend a remake of the original F-Zero?
A: No, GP Legend is like a combination of F-Zero and F-Zero GX, with a lot of new content thrown in there. Using the e-Reader (in Japan, anyway) you can scan in classic F-Zero tracks. If you have a sharp ear, you can hear a few classic music themes, too, like Silence and Red Canyon.

Q: Will the US and Europe versions of F-Zero: GP Legend feature the e-Card extras built-in?
A: No clue. I'm not Nintendo. But I hope so. It'd be sad to see all those new tracks and racers left out of the later releases.

Q: Any word on F-Zero GX2 or F-Zero DS?
A: Nope, but if I hear any, I'll put it on the site ASAP.

F-Mode, the site:

Q: Why choose the name "F-Mode?"
A: Well, first of all, when you hear "F-Mode," you automatically know what it is, and if you don't, it may just pique your interest to check it out. And I just wanted to do something different than "Planet Mute City World Online 64" or "Ryan's Super-Fantastic F-Zero Site!" So F-Mode it is. Plus, on Google, this is the #1 site named "F-Mode," so that says something.

Q: I want to submit a guide/scan/custom emblem/information/etc. How do I do that?
A: On the bottom of most pages, it says "E-Mail Submissions." Click on that, add whatever you wish to send as an attachment, and we're good to go. If you have anything F-Zero related that I don't have on the site, send it to me.

Q: Why doesn't F-Mode put a date on it's updates?
A: It's so the site feels fresh. I don't like it when I come across a fan site, and it says "I've been busy lately, but I'm going to do an update this weekend," and then I see that was written in March 2001. Also, now that F-Zero doesn't have many huge games on the horizon after GP Legend, this way I can drop out for a few weeks, and when I come back, it won't be so darn obvious. By the way, you can thank Dave Crawford (of F-Zero Central... RIP) for suggesting that to me.

Q: Why are some of the guides out of date?
A: I'll admit it: I'm not as thorough as a site like GameFAQs. But then again, I have so few FAQs hosted on the site right now. I don't have an automatic process, updating is done manually.

Q: Why don't you cover other futuristic racing games, like Wipeout and Extreme-G?
A: Well, considering "F-Mode" doesn't tie me down to F-Zero, I guess I could cover just about anything, right? But I'm not a fan of the Wipeout series (I've only tried the N64 edition), and Extreme-G doesn't come close to the speed and thrills of F-Zero (it's the original, plain and simple).

Q: Do you have any ROMs?
A: No, GameSpy doesn't allow it, and I'm not promoting piracy on my site.

Q: Why can't I download music?
A: Well, first, make sure you're logged into File Planet. Don't fret, it's a free thing. It's one of the conditions of IGN/GameSpy's hosting service (I get virtually unlimited space and bandwidth, but I have to run banner ads and use FilePlanet for downloads). If you're already logged in, you should be good to go. Please also note that FilePlanet does occasionally go down for maintenance.

Q: Do you have a stereo version of "Mute City Cover" from F-Zero GX?
A: I know it's mono, but I have no way of making a good copy of the music myself. If anyone wants to send one in, I'll be happy to post it online. UPDATE: Finally, thanks to Wnoe, a stereo version of Mute City Cover has been found. Here's the link.

Q: Are the F-Zero GX MP3's illegal?
A: Well, that's a grey area. I'm not completely sure, but if Nintendo or Amusement Vision or Sega or IGN/GameSpy (or even the original composers) contacts me, I'll gladly take them down. That said, they've been up since November '03 without a problem.

Q: Why does the site design change so much?
A: I'm a visual person, so if something doesn't look good to me, I want to change it.

Q: Are you hiring site staff?
A: No. I rather enjoy having F-Mode all to myself. However, if you want to contribute something, always feel free to do so. Just shoot me an e-mail.

Site links and such:

Q: May I link to your site?
A: Certainly. Here's a link to F-Mode's banner page, if you wish to use one. Also, if you do link to me, please e-mail me, because there's a good chance I can link back to you.

Q: Do I have to use "F-Zero to the Max" in the link or description?
A: No. That's more like a tagline.

Q: Why isn't my link going through to your site?
A: Are you sure that there's a hyphen between "F" and "Mode" in the URL? That seems to cause the majority of the 404 errors these days.

Q: Will you be an affiliate with my site?
A: I don't do affiliates, unless your site is super-special. And even then, it'll just show up as a regular link on the Links page.

Q: Can you join my web ring?
A: I don't do web rings.

Q: Can you join my top sites list?
A: I don't do top site lists.

Q: Can you link to my emulation web site?
A: I don't link to emulation web sites.

Q: Can I link from my site to your music section?
A: Yes, you may, however, make sure you specify that it's on F-Mode.

Q: Can I hot link images from F-Mode?
A: No, please don't do that. While I'm on IGN/GameSpy, and I have virtually unlimited web space and bandwidth, I'd rather not abuse it, or let anyone else abuse it.

Q: Can I link from my site to F-Mode's MP3 files directly?
A: No. See above.

Ryan "ArsonWinter" Painter, the site proprietor:
Q: Do you use instant messaging programs?
A: I use AOL IM. My handle is "ArsonWinter", as surprising as that may be. You can use that to talk to me, but please don't bug me. I'm not afraid to block people.

Q: What other games do you like?
A: Game series, in no particular order: Mario games, Metroid games, Star Fox games, Wario Ware games, FPS games, Tony Hawk games, and Star Wars games. If you want specifics, just off the top of my head: Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, Half-Life, Ultimate Brain Games, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Super Monkey Ball, Advance Wars, Pilotwings 64, Tetris, and Tetris Attack.

Q: What F-Zero games do you own?
A: All of them. I have two copies of F-Zero: MV, and I've imported F-Zero: GP Legend from Japan. Yes, I still intend to buy the North American version of the game when it ships this September.

Q: What game systems do you own?
A: Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, GameCube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System (broken), and Dreamcast (broken).

Q: Are you a Nintendo fan boy?
A: Isn't it obvious? I'm actually one of the few fanboys that doesn't say "U" instead of "you," which automatically helps me on GameFAQs message boards, horrible spelling notwithstanding.

Q: Do you use ROMs/emulators?
A: It's complicated. I do have the ROM versions of several F-Zero games (no, I will not give them out, no matter how much you ask). I have them because I use ROMs to grab sprites and so on for use on F-Mode. I do not play them, and I don't have any ROMs for games I don't already own. Again, I'm not promoting ROMs and emulators. They're still illegal, but they do make my job easier.

Q: What is Tide Blue?
A: I am the co-creator and editor of Tide Blue. It's like a freeform writing site. Occasionally, I'll use my content from Tide Blue on F-Mode, and vise-versa.

Q: Quick! Favorite movie?
A: Kill Bill (both movies together) or The Empire Strikes Back. I haven't decided which is better.

Q: Suggest an online streaming radio station to me.
A: Okay. I like to listen to WFMU (that was a real question).

Q: Why did GameSpy give you hosting?
A: ... I'm still trying to figure that out!

E-Mail Submissions