12 Months, Sixty Dollars and a GBA: May

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
from Nintendo

I love F-Zero.  The N64 version is probably my favorite, but the franchise as a whole provides one of the best, turbo-charged racing games you will ever play. So when I was at Too Many Games earlier this month and saw the GBA F-Zero for only $4, May's installment of 12/60/1 was a no-brainer. (Apologies MUST HAVE Music and More, I'll be back in June...)  Little did I realize just what I was in for.

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for the GBA is TOUGH.  I mean, I've played my fair share of F-Zero and still this game kicked my butt, repeatedly.  For the shameful record, I never completed the Pawn circuit on Beginner as of writing this article and it was not for the lack of trying.  However, I'm not sure that my difficulties were with in the game, I think it has more to do with the inherent learning curve that is associated with these kinds of games.  Simply put, you have to learn the tracks and race them repeatedly to master the game.  I know this because I have pretty much mastered the first track and now win it while lapping all of the other cars. Given the busy month I've had, I wasn't able to devote the kind of time it requires, but rest assured, I will, because while the game is hard it is also fun.
I'm also not entirely sure that I'm not having trouble with the controls on the GBA:SP I am using.  The shoulder buttons either activate the booster or the brake depending on how you set it up.  Unfortunately, I was unable to settle on a configuration that really fit my play.  So part of my difficulty could merely be in getting comfortable with the controls.

But none of that takes away from the fact that F-Zero: MV  is a lot of fun.  It's everything that is great about F-Zero, only it goes with you.  And the fact that I was able to find it for under $5 means, that you don't have to break the bank just to enjoy a great racing game on the go!  The graphics are solid, the sound is decent, but the game play is pretty much spot on.  If you can find F-Zero:MV for under $5 I strongly recommend you snag it.  Heck if you can find it for $10, you should still snag it.