Nintendo eShop Spotlight: AiRace Speed For 3DS Gives F-Zero Fans A Fast-Racing Fix

Nintendo eShop Spotlight is a continuing Sunday series in which My Nintendo News takes a look at eShop titles new and old, for both Wii U and 3DS.

As an eShop title costing a mere $4.99, AiRace Speed by QubicGames impresses in numerous ways. The game lives up to its title, as courses fly by in a blur, pushing the processing power of the 3DS to an unexpected degree for an eShop game. Tracks are also well constructed, and there are a healthy number of them (18 total), all of which offer a blistering challenge if players seek to obtain a gold medal. The graphics are top-notch as well, with the ships and courses featuring sleek, detailed visuals. Despite the fact that the game does not offer competitive racing beyond high scores, F-Zero fans can quell some of their desire for high speed, futuristic racing with AiRace Speed.

At the same time, AiRace Speed leaves plenty to be desired in a couple of areas. The controls are similar in nature to the StarFox series: A for boost, B for brake, L and R bank left and right. And while these controls are responsive in AiRace Speed, and certainly appropriate for a flying game, the speed with which the player is able to execute them just doesn’t match the speed of the courses, and the controls eventually become more frustrating than helpful when trying to earn higher rankings and advance to the later courses.

The music is another aspect of the game that is severely lacking. The soundtrack for each course is essentially just a badly looped, thumping electronica track that suffers from a sheer lack of musical content, while also failing to match the nuances of the gameplay. The music should stop or change when the player crashes, but instead it carries on mindlessly through shifts in the game’s action.

While the music and controls could have been afforded some extra attention, AiRace Speed’s graphics, expertly-designed courses, and sheer fast-as-anything gaming experience still make it a worthy addition to the 3DS eShop.

7.0/10