F-Zero 99 - Mirror Knight League
3We all know they would implement this in, in which the courses are each flipped horizontally. Seems to be a staple of racing games, and has been for decades, particularly those coming from Nintendo. So while it was neat to see, the Mirror Knight League is no surprise, at least for me. Though it isn’t strictly every course flipped horizontally, as I’ll get into.
While I aim for as high a position as possible, I consinder a Grand Prix run a success if I’ve made it to the end of a race. And naturally, as I had never played the mirrored versions of Sand Ocean, Death Wind I, or Silence before, all of that is new to me. And even though we’ve had flipped versions of Mute City I and Big Blue, I hadn’t played on them much. As such, I might be disadvantaged against those who spent the entire weekend practicing. But that’s all right. While I aim for the top, I’m not dismayed if I don’t get there.
00:00 - Race #1
Course: ??? (Muted City)
Mode: Grand Prix
Vehicle: Golden Fox
Rivals: Poyo, Soy (ソイ), Proto, Donomyte
Yes, this is not strictly a mirrored version of Mute City I, but of the modified version, including that long bouncy straightaway. This is a course I’ve played in a few times, though of the mystery courses, it’s the one that turns up the least for me. I probably should’ve played it safe on the first lap and let other racers detonate those mines, as I can’t count on myself to reliably and consistently weave through them. Nevertheless, as long as I place in the top 80, I’m satisfied. (I mean, look: by the second lap, they’re all gone!)
03:18 - Race #2
Course: Big Blue (Mirror)
Mode: Grand Prix
Vehicle: Golden Fox
Rivals: ヒカリピクミン (Glow Pikmin), Newtype3x, ケイ (Kay), さとる (Satoru)
Though this might look like the mystery course version of Big Blue (which I call “Big Bluish”), it’s not quite the same. It shares some elements, such as those ramps to jump over the water, but it doesn’t have those HUGE minefields at certain places. This is also the first course to introduce the stacks of Super Sparks, though I avoided them in this race because I thought they were street cones and thus obstacles.
06:37 - Race #3
Course: Sand Ocean (Mirror)
Mode: Grand Prix
Vehicle: Golden Fox
Rivals: Proto, Soy (ソイ), ケイ (Kay), Micah
It was in this race where I accidentlaly bumped into what I thought were street cones, and I realized it gives a bunch of Super Sparks! And now I know to seek them out, not to avoid them. Perhaps I could’ve gotten a second Skyway though, had I had better aim in the latter two laps.
10:17 - Race #4
Course: Death Wind I (Mirror)
Mode: Grand Prix
Vehicle: Golden Fox
Rivals: ヒカリピクミン (Glow Pikmin), Proto, Sacha, Soy (ソイ)
The higher you place, the more likely you’ll keep seeing the same rivals over and over in a Grand Prix. But I wasn’t really too concerned with who my rivals are; it’s just an observation I’ve had. No, I was focused on surviving, because the fourth race of a Grand Prix means half the field ranks out at minimum! And with the nerfs done to the Golden Fox—lower top speed, lower boost speed, lower Power Down speed, can no longer do boosts in Power Down for free—Death Wind I becomes even harder with its Golden Fox unfriendly long straightaways and short pit zone. This version has a very similar layout to the non-mirrored version, but has a lot of those Super Spark stacks scattered around to encourage building up Skyway meter, and any time you don’t have to worry about the wind is good for me!
13:18 - Race #4
Course: Silence (Mirror)
Mode: Grand Prix
Vehicle: Golden Fox
Rivals: Proto, ヒカリピクミン (Glow Pikmin), Donomyte, Soy (ソイ)
I was NOT looking forward to this one…Silence is a course I’m not very good at, due to the scarcity in which I get to play it with opponents. I can practice in Grand Prix, but optimal conditions don’t really help me train as much as so-called “real world experiences” for me. And this is a horizontally flipped version! It seems that the mines have been replaced with bumpers, and there are more of them. There’s also a jump I didn’t notice until after I passed it and I saw the racers ahead of me leaping over that turn. I also got too greedy and prioritized the Gold Bumper over the pit zone, which perhaps I shouldn’t have, as otherwise, I’d likely use the Skyway on the fourth lap, when it means more.