F-Zero GX Staff Ghost FAQ by Korgath (kbfaq@hotmail.com) Version 1.00 24-07-2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Introduction 2. Frequently Asked Questions 3. Custom Machine Recommendations 4. Individual Staff Ghost Guide 4.1 Ruby Cup 4.2 Sapphire Cup 4.3 Emerald Cup 4.4 Diamond Cup 4.5 AX Cup 5. How to Contact Me 6. Credits & Legal Rubbish ============================================================================== 1. Introduction ============================================================================== Welcome to my F-Zero GX Staff Ghost FAQ, created by me, Korgath, to help my fellow F-Zero GX players beat the staff ghosts once and for all, without snaking. That's right, this guide is for people who want to beat the staff ghosts more or less fair and square. I'm not going to discuss what snaking is; the other FAQs can explain that for you. I would also like you to keep in mind that this is my first FAQ ever written, so bear with me. Before I start with all the details I'd like to clarify one thing: I'm not going to hold your hands. I expect you to already be fairly skilled and familiar with F-Zero GX. If you are fairly capable against Master Class AI on most tracks you should do fine, otherwise I suggest you concentrate on some other stuff before bothering with the staff ghosts. ============================================================================== 2. Frequently Asked Questions ============================================================================== Q: Why this FAQ? A: I've decided to create this FAQ, in spite of numerous guides being available on F-Zero GX, because I had been kind of dissapointed on infor- mation regarding beating the staff ghosts. Most FAQs tend to say "go ahead and snake" or just don't talk about it at all. I don't mean to bash other FAQs, but when I wanted to beat them (without using unfair techniques) I had to figure a lot of stuff out on my own. There are plenty of people who've beaten them by now, but from what I've seen it's definitely not well-known what methods to use when dealing with them. Also, I've always wanted to write a guide, preferably for a somewhat well-known game on a subject that hasn't been covered a million times before. Hopefully this FAQ will be useful for a number of people. Q: What's a "staff ghost"!? A: Staff ghosts are transparent vehicles which you can unlock for every track that tend to have very fast records. They are always non-custom vehicles and allegedly raced by genuine people (from the staff) and not AI, hence the name. Arguably the hardest challenge of F-Zero GX, they're not for the faint of heart. However, they are far from impossible to beat. As I will show you with this FAQ, if you have the right vehicle and strategy they aren't anything you can't beat with some patience, practice and experience. Q: OK, so how do I unlock them? A: First, you have to unlock it by racing on any track in Time Attack by reaching the staff ghost's record within a 10 second difference. That means that if a staff ghost has a record of 3 minutes you'll have to be fast enough to reach 3 minutes and 10 seconds to unlock the staff ghost. Naturally you'll also unlock the staff ghost if you manage to beat its time right away. If you succeed you'll get a message right after you've finished racing and some tickets for your trouble. Q: But how can I use the staff ghosts? A: First you have to go to Customize -> F-Zero Shop -> Items, where you will be able to purchase the staff ghost you just unlocked. Then go to Time Attack, select a Cup and then press the Y button. It will then read if your memory card has ghosts on them, but even if it doesn't you still have to do this to be able to use the staff ghosts. Then you can select the ghost you want to race against, but don't forget to press the X button to actually select it. Then go pick your machine and you're done! Q: Do I get some sort of reward for beating them? A: Aside from some tickets, nothing but an ego boost I'm afraid. I suggest only doing this once you've already unlocked everything else, since you'll have to be fairly experienced at the game to beat them, even with this guide. If you've managed to unlock all the character movies and beat all Very Hard story chapters you'll probably do fine. Q: Anything else I should know before going on? A: This should be common sense if you've unlocked everything else by now, but I'll mention it just in case. When I say that you should boost in this guide, I don't mean just once or twice in a while, but all the time with as little time in between the subsequent boosts for maximum speed. What's also essential is that you know how to quick-turn. Quick-turning means that if you want to go to the left, you should first tap the right shoulder button, then go all the way to the left with the stick and the left shoulder button. If done succesfully this should make you turn very sharply with a minimum decrease in speed. Don't forget to do the opposite if you want to go right. Bumping into stuff will usually make you lose lots of speed and generally ruin your attempt at beating a staff ghost, so try to drive as perfectly as possible. Try to hit the sides of a boost pad instead of going right over it; if done correctly you'll hear 2 boosts and go a little faster. ============================================================================== 3. Custom Machine Recommendations ============================================================================== In order to beat the staff ghosts with your sanity intact you will almost always have to use custom machines. However, it can be hard to figure out what custom machine is best on which course. Therefore I have decided to write a little about the custom machines that you're going to use if you follow this guide. Note that there may be better custom machines to use than the ones I recommend, it's just that I personally found it the easiest using the ones I'm going to describe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Acro Cannon-G4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Sky Horse Cockpit: Combat Cannon Booster: Titan-G4 Description: You're going to be using this machine a lot, since it's the most well-rounded custom machine that I've ever used. Stable, fast and agile, few staff ghosts can stand up to this vehicle. Very good for basically any track that doesn't require near-constant boosting or extreme cornering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Photon Phantom-G4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Optical Wing Cockpit: Garnet Phantom Booster: Titan-G4 Description: This is the machine you'll want to use on tracks that require lots of cornering. It's fairly similar to the Acro Cannon-G4, however it's less stable but far more agile. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cosmic Cannon-G4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Giant Planet Cockpit: Combat Cannon Booster: Titan-G4 Description: An extremely stable vehicle with poor cornering, it is to be used on very linear tracks that require lots of boosting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Combat Planet-Z ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Giant Planet Cockpit: Combat Cannon Booster: Triple-Z Description: Identical to the Cosmic Cannon-G4, but with an engine that is slightly better at boosting, but worse in other areas. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frost Lynx-G4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Aqua Goose Cockpit: Super Lynx Booster: Titan-G4 Description: I see this vehicle being recommended a lot to people asking for a good vehicle to beat Master cups with since it's pretty fast and easy to get the parts for, but it really isn't that great for beating staff ghosts IMO. The Acro Cannon-G4 is better in almost every way, but there's a reason why I'm still mentioning it here. Its Body Part, the Aqua Goose, is very good on surfaces with lots of roundings, making it perfect for Fire Field - Cylinder Knot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hard Banger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Body: Megalo Cruiser Cockpit: Combat Cannon Booster: Thunderbolt-V2 Description: An extremely heavy vehicle which only purpose in this guide is to defeat the staff ghost of Mute City - Sonic Oval. Not good for much else, really. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fat Shark ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is not a custom machine, but I'm going to mention it anyway because it's still a very useful machine. Fat Shark is pretty heavy and can get a little unstable but it has the best booster in the game by far, even when compared to custom machines. Therefore it definitely has its uses on some tracks. ============================================================================== 4. Individual Staff Ghost Guide ============================================================================== Here I will give you some help on every single staff ghost in order to beat it as easily as possible. I will mention the staff ghost record, my personal record and my personal recommendation on what vehicle to use. Ofcourse, I cannot guarantee that this is the absolute best way of beating a staff ghost, but I can guarantee that this is the way I did it. IMPORTANT: You should ALWAYS set your machine settings to 100% MAX SPEED unless SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED OTHERWISE. ============================================================================== 4.1 Ruby Cup ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mute City - Twist Road ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Death Anchor Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 00'59"964 Personal Time: 00'59"772 Strategy: The first track of F-Zero GX also happens to have the hardest staff ghost to beat. If you can beat this you'll probably have done the hardest part of F-Zero GX, and if you can't for now, just try it again sometime later. I've tried lots of vehicles and strategies, but the only one that worked for me was the Acro Cannon-G4. There's far more to this track than just hitting boost all the time. Try to mimic the staff ghost as best as you can, since your vehicle is capable of the same things as the Death Anchor, but is a little faster. It's going to be a very close match either way; take the corners as perfectly as you possibly can and do everything you can to beat him, no matter how insignificant it may seem. If you stay ahead of him in the first lap you're doing okay. In the second and third lap there is a possibility that the staff ghost will go a little faster than you, but if you drive well enough you will generally stay ahead. All I can say now is don't give up, if you can do this the rest will probably be a lot easier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Casino Palace - Split Oval ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Black Bull Recommended Machine: Fat Shark Staff Ghost Time: 00'56"691 Personal Time: 00'56"409 Strategy: Welcome to the Battle of the Boost! You'll be going very fast on this track, and there's no machine better for that than Fat Shark. Unfortunately, he's kind of unstable, especially when you're almost going 2000 km/h, so you have to steer carefully. You should almost always be in front of Black Bull, since it'll probably be impossible to catch up with him if he's in front of you. Try to follow a linear line as much as possible without losing speed and be careful of the curve before the finish or you'll fly off. Naturally, take the right path on the 1st lap and the left path on the 2nd and the 3rd lap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sand Ocean - Surface Slide ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Big Fang Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'56"743 Personal Time: 01'54"926 Strategy: This track is pretty straight forward since the Acro Cannon-G4 is better in every respect anyway. Just don't bump into things, use all your boosts and win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lightning - Loop Cross ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Wild Boar Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'59"907 Personal Time: 01'55"275 Strategy: Very easy and straight forward. So much so that there's nothing I need to say. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aeropolis - Multiplex ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fire Stingray Recommended Machine: Photon Phantom-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'15"297 Personal Time: 02'14"097 Strategy: As long as you don't underestimate Fire Stingray you'll do fine. He starts out slowly but becomes fairly competitive throughout the race. Don't forget to hit some mines in the 1st lap for some extra speed. ============================================================================== 4.2 Sapphire Cup ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Big Blue - Drift Highway ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Night Thunder Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'07"331 Personal Time: 01'05"217 Strategy: Didn't expect Night Thunder to be a staff ghost, huh? Well, I don't know how they managed to control him the way they do, but he ends up being somewhat competitive. He'll be in front of you for the duration of the 1st lap since he starts way faster than you do, but you'll easily surpass him in the 2nd and 3rd lap, provided you drive well. Make sure that you heal up sufficiently at the end of the 2nd lap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Port Town - Aero Dive ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Black Bull Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'25"689 Personal Time: 02'22"872 Strategy: Pretty easy. The downhill part at the end of the lap is a good place to start boosting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Green Plant - Mobius Ring ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Death Anchor Recommended Machine: Cosmic Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'35"169 Personal Time: 01'33"406 Strategy: Thankfully not nearly as hard as Twist Road, Death Anchor isn't that great on this particular track. Hit some mines in the 1st lap for extra speed, and stop boosting before the healing strips or else it'll be very hard to control your machine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Port Town - Long Pipe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Wild Boar Recommended Machine: Fat Shark Staff Ghost Time: 02'26"802 Personal Time: 02'26"321 Strategy: One of the harder staff ghosts, IMO. Try to hit every boost in the 1st lap, including the ones at the part with the moving pillars, and if you do it right you should be ahead of Wild Boar for the entirety of the 1st lap. It might take some practice getting all the boost pads with Fat Shark, so take your time. I recommend not boosting until the part with the moving pillars. Stop boosting once you get to the wobbly part and, if you have some energy left, boost again right before the healing strip (but stop boosting once you are in the 3rd lap and then repeat your lap 2 strategy). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mute City - Serial Gaps ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Night Thunder Recommended Machine: Photon Phantom-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'26"549 Personal Time: 01'25"533 Strategy: Be thankful that the staff ghost isn't godly on this hellish track. You'll probably have more problems being fast and not bumping/falling than worrying about Night Thunder, though he's no slouch on this track. I tried mapping out some sort of a boost strategy but I really can't think of a sure-win strategy on this track. Night Thunder is going to be ahead of you in the 1st lap, unless you get favorable results from the mines. Don't forget to cut off as much ground as you can from the jump pads without flying off the course. Boost wherever you think it will be most useful, since it's hard to keep your energy levels predictable (at least, that's been my personal experience). Basically, you need to drive without screwing up too badly, which can be pretty hard on this track, and you'll probably win. ============================================================================== 4.3 Emerald Cup ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fire Field - Cylinder Knot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Black Bull Recommended Machine: Frost Lynx-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'40"909 Personal Time: 02'39"864 Strategy: This staff ghost is pretty hard to beat. The Frost Lynx-G4 isn't as good at boosting as Black Bull, but it's probably best to use it anyway since it handles wobbly ground very well. He will probably be ahead of you for the duration of the 1st lap. Try to mimic the staff ghost as best as you can while not missing any boost pads. Try to find a spot where you can boost a lot without losing too much speed, like the end and the beginning of this track. You'll probably find it pretty tough to beat anyway, so good luck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Green Plant - Intersection ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Mighty Hurricane Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost time: 02'24"897 Personal Time: 02'21"053 Strategy: Easy. Once you start boosting he'll be no nowhere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Casino Palace - Double Branches ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fire Stingray Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'59"117 Personal Time: 02'56"939 Strategy: This won't be very hard, as long as you don't screw up too much. Make sure that you don't go too fast; at some parts of this track it's very easy to fly off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lightning - Half Pipe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Sonic Phantom Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'50"296 Personal Time: 02'46"087 Strategy: Another easy one. Make good use of your superior machine and win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Big Blue - Ordeal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fire Stingray Recommended Machine: Photon Phantom-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'50"808 Personal Time: 02'49"303 Strategy: Even though my personal record isn't that much better than the staff ghost one it's still not very hard. Even if he ends up being in front of you it's still fairly easy to catch up with him, since he slows down a lot at the sharp corners in the tunnel. Use your boosts effectively and you should be able to win. ============================================================================== 4.4 Diamond Cup ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cosmo Terminal - Trident ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Black Bull Recommended Machine: Combat Planet-Z Staff Ghost Time: 02'58"650 Personal Time: 02'56"354 Strategy: This track is pretty easy with Combat Planet-Z. Black Bull will probably be in front of you for the duration of the 1st lap, but try to follow his path. Once you're in the 2nd lap just boost, boost, boost and you should gain in on him. It doesn't really matter which path you take once you start boosting, but try to maximize your speed when you're falling by pointing your machine downwards and flattening it right before you land. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sand Ocean - Lateral Shift ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Hyper Speeder Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'09"849 Personal Time: 02'09"496 Strategy: This is an interesting challenge. You see, the staff ghost uses a technique called Shift Boosting. Basically, you can gain a speed increase from leaving the surface temporarily, like cutting the corners on this lap whilst temporarily being off the track. Normally, you'd have to spend quite some time mastering this technique, but luckily he can still be beaten without having to use this technique. He will have quite a lead on you at the start of the 2nd lap, but that's ok, since you're going to boost like crazy. If done succesfully, you'll catch up on him somewhere in the 3rd lap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fire Field - Undulation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Twin Noritta Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'06"916 Personal Time: 02'03"826 Strategy: Pretty easy.. It's probably best to jump off the sides at the drop-off rather than going over it normally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aeropolis - Dragon Slope ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Death Anchor Recommended Machine: Cosmic Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'59"076 Personal Time: 02'53"872 Strategy: Very easy if you properly utilize the drops in the 2nd and 3rd lap. Remember to point your machine downwards and to flatten it right before you land for maximum speed when falling. I prefer to boost once I land for even more speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phantom Road - Slim-line Slits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Queen Meteor Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'03"268 Personal Time: 02'00"710 Strategy: Hard track, easy ghost. Try to drive safely and only boost at the end and beginning part of the lap where it's relatively wide. Don't worry too much if you bump a little here and there; Queen Meteor's so easy that you can afford that. ============================================================================== 4.5 AX Cup ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aeropolis - Screw Drive ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Rolling Turtle Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'06"690 Personal Time: 01'06"340 Strategy: Drive well and try to hit the healing strips sufficiently. Should be doable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Outer Space - Meteor Stream ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Wild Goose Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 01'38"178 Personal Time: 01'36"932 Strategy: For some reason Wild Goose gains lots of speed when he starts skating around. You'll know what I mean once you race him... anyway, it might take some practice, but try to hit all the boost pads. At the end of the 1st lap you should take the right path, then take the left path, then the right path again in the 3rd lap. It's not that hard with some practice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Port Town - Cylinder Wave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fat Shark Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 02'06"837 Personal Time: 02'04"133 Strategy: Easy, just boost whenever you can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lightning - Thunder Road ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fire Stingray Recommended Machine: Acro Cannon-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 03'18"272 Personal Time: 03'15"265 Strategy: My personal favorite track of F-Zero GX is also pretty straight forward to beat. It's not always that easy to not screw up when you go really fast on this track but with some practice this should be fairly doable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Green Plant - Spiral ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Rainbow Phoenix Recommended Machine: Photon Phantom-G4 Staff Ghost Time: 03'50"740 Personal Time: 03'46"463 Strategy: Similar in difficulty as Thunder Road, Spiral is another one of those tracks that just require some good practice. It's a fairly long track so it might be hard to keep yourself from screwing up, but if you drive good enough you should be able to keep a +/- 4 second lead that you get from the 1st lap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mute City - Sonic Oval ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Staff Ghost: Fat Shark Recommended Machine: Hard Banger Staff Ghost Time: 00'46"893 Personal Time: 00'46"659 Strategy: Impossible without the right set-up, make sure to set your engine at 30%. Also, you MUST quick-turn on this track or you'll never win (see FAQ if you don't know how). Watch the staff ghost carefully and try to mimic him as best as you can. If done correctly you'll probably catch up with him in the 3rd lap. It takes some practice to do this correctly, so don't give up. ============================================================================== 5. How to Contact Me ============================================================================== You can contact me at kbfaq@hotmail.com for pointing out general mistakes in my guide or to give your own suggestions on how to beat a particular staff ghost (and I will, ofcourse, give credit where it's due). Please read this guide carefully before e-mailing me, especially if it's a question. If it's already answered in this guide or it has nothing to do with staff ghosts I will most probably delete it. ============================================================================== 6. Credits & Legal Rubbish ============================================================================== Thanks go to: - Nintendo and Sega for making this awesome game. - MFO's F-Zero GX section for giving me some ideas on what custom machines would be effective. - GameFAQs for hosting my guide. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. This FAQ is copyright 2004 to Dennis Gieze. Redistribution of this file is allowed as long as no money AT ALL is made off of it and the contents of this guide have not been altered in ANY WAY. The newest version will always be available at www.gamefaqs.com