"After saving Jody, Falcon finally catches up to Black Shadow..."
— Tagline dialogue before the Chapter start. |
Black Shadow's Trap is the sixth Chapter in the F-Zero GX Story Mode.
The setting appears to take place near some Construction Yard, as there are a few small cars driving along the road, large 'Trucks' as well, and a Building with "Storage 04" written on the side of it. There is also a crane located at the end of the Track. (See Story Details Below)
In this chapter, Captain Falcon's objective is to reach the end of the course without letting his speed drop below a specified limit or else the speed-sensitive bomb attached to the Blue Falcon will explode. The minimum speed will vary by difficulty:
- Normal = 700 km/h
- Hard = 750 km/h
- Very Hard = 800 km/h
Story[]
Captain Falcon has finally caught up with Black Shadow after a long and difficult chase through the Lightning area. Black Shadow taunts Falcon, before using his dark magic to bind Falcon, leaving him unable to move. Black Shadow then summons Blood Falcon to attach a speed-sensitive bomb to the Blue Falcon, places Captain Falcon in his machine, and forces it to launch.
Falcon manages to break free of his binds in time to take control of the Blue Falcon. He is faced with one of the most dangerous roads in the area - a long, winding motorway littered with hundreds of other vehicles, hard shoulders, and graveled sections, among other obstacles. But Falcon, with his years of experience on the F-Zero circuit, is able to navigate through them all expertly. Unfortunately, the bridge at the end of the road is incomplete, and Falcon speeds over the edge. As he flies through the air, Falcon takes a single-chance opportunity with a vertical steer; the bomb mounted on the roof of the Blue Falcon strikes an overhead construction crane, and falls into the river below, saving Falcon from certain death.
Description[]
"If you use Drift Turn effectively, your speed won't drop!"
— Headline tip. |
This track is perhaps one of the longest to endure due to its length (47,295 meter distance). The player should decide on how best to adjust the Blue Falcon's stats for this course as this will affect the speed meter (more acceleration can have the Blue Falcon recover quickly from speed drops, and more Top Speed increases the maximum speed meter slightly). There are no boost strips available in the entire stage, but multiple boost panels are present to increase speed within certain areas. Energy conservation is key, boosting only when necessary, such as to avoid potential life-threatening slowdowns from hitting walls or obstacles. Because there is no time limit, the player is allowed to take their time maneuvering around the course so long as their speed does not dip below the minimum. Due to conditions, it is impossible to turn back without triggering the bomb.
The Bomb on the Blue Falcon.
Unique to this stage is two different types of (possibly unmanned) machines. They come in two sizes: the large wide vehicles, and the small racer-sized machines. The smaller ones can be knocked out with ease for a small ounce of energy or to clear away an obstacle, but this can be slightly dangerous to perform. Only knock out the small vehicles should they pose a serious threat, and best use the side turn as to not lose control while spinning. Although the larger machines can be decommissioned using a spin attack, these machines should best be avoided due to their size and strength. They also move slightly away from the Blue Falcon's position when nearby. Sharp turning is required on most sections of this track.
Close to the end of the track past the 11,000-meter mark is multiple dirt filled roads. One long strip of dirt road will cause the mission to fail unless boosting is used. Boosting is needed during this part, as soon as they reach the start of the unavoidable dirt road. The player will need to boost consecutively until all three dirt roads are cleared. Past this is longer dirt roads that can be avoided, but the safe zones are being obstructed by more NPC large vehicles. If the player has enough energy, they may boost through this dirt obstacle too. Just before the end is a slowly twisting road that will shift to a large turn. This is the final challenge before the player reaches the straight road toward the goal. If the timer goes off for the bomb, the player still has roughly 3 seconds before the Blue Falcon explodes, meaning they can possibly still clear the mission if the bomb's timer went off close to the finish, as long as they cross the goal line before time runs out (it is safe to unleash boosts at the final straight road, noted by the distance counter appearing in the center of the screen).
Dialogue[]
- Black Shadow: "Falcon! You've come to die. I needn't have wasted time looking for you then!"
- Captain Falcon: "Let's settle this at the Grand Prix. Not like this, it's the coward's way."
- Black Shadow: "The Coward's Way? You make it sound so noble. I just plan on eliminating anyone who stands between me and the prize, simple as that. Hah ha, Falcon! Take This!"
- Captain Falcon: "Gwaaah! What are you doing?!"
- Black Shadow: "Come out Blood Falcon!"
- Black Shadow: "......are you ready?"
- Blood Falcon: "Yeah, I'm ready."
- Black Shadow: "Farewell, Captain Falcon."
- Blood Falcon: "Ha ha ha! You and Blue Falcon can die together! HAAA Hahahahahaha!"
Trivia[]
Start of the Mission. Within the immediate first split second of loading, one can see the Blue Falcon starting above an invisible surface.
- This Chapter's premise is a reference to the 1994 movie Speed. In that movie, the villain Howard Payne has wired a bomb planted on a bus to go off if it drops below 50 mph (80 km/h).
- The speed at which Captain Falcon must not drop on the very hard difficulty makes an obvious reference to it as it is 10 times the speed that the bus must not drop.
- The smaller NPC machines resemble the NPC machines from the original SNES F-Zero and the ones seen in GX may have been modeled or designed after them.
- In earlier builds of this track, a Boost panel was present center-left inside the first dirt strip.[1]
- Here's the intro music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMddTnZHY14
Gallery[]
.png "Black Shadow's Trap Map (3D).png (2.27 MB)")
Videos[]
| Chapter #5 Save Jody! |
Chapter #6 Black Shadow's Trap |
Chapter #7 The F-Zero Grand Prix |
| Chapters | ||