Shop sim racing equipment
Shin’en Multimedia’s Fast Racing series has filled the F-Zero-shaped void on Nintendo platforms for nearly 15 years, with the series tracing back to 2011’s Fast Racing League on Wii. Its Wii U follow-up, Fast Racing Neo, gained more recognition for its blistering speed and impressive visuals. That game then received an enhanced port in the form of Fast RMX, a Switch launch title released in 2017.
Eight years later, Fast Fusion is the first proper sequel to Fast Racing Neo, forming part of a surprisingly strong Switch 2 racing game launch lineup alongside Mario Kart World and an arcade-perfect Ridge Racer port.
Don’t slow down
At first, Fast Fusion seems instantly familiar, with strikingly similar menus, presentation and gameplay. As with Fast RMX, you race WipeOut-style anti-gravity ships at breakneck speed on science fiction-esque circuits.
The series’ central colour-swapping mechanic returns, which sees you switch your engine between blue and orange and match them accordingly with coloured boost pads. Match the right colours, and you’ll get a helpful speed boost, while combining the wrong colours slows you down.
Boost pads are spread out, so it’s less demanding than it sounds, but chaining them together will give you a speed advantage, rewarding your reflexes. Meanwhile, collecting orbs scattered around the track replenishes a boost meter you can activate at any time.
Tighter controls make Fast Fusion’s ships feel wonderfully responsive, which is a blessing because you rarely need to slow down – the speed is relentless and exhilarating.
On top of the colour-swapping mechanic, Fast Fusion introduces a new jump ability, allowing you to find hidden shortcuts or collect out-of-reach orbs.
This introduces a compelling risk versus reward element: finding a shortcut gives you an advantage, but mistiming a jump will see you slam into a wall at 200 mph, resulting in a fiery crash as your ship breaks apart. It’s well balanced, too: exploiting jumps by going out of bounds to skip a track section results in a reset.
With no tutorials, mastering Fast Fusion’s various mechanics can feel overwhelming at first. And yet it’s far more forgiving than F-Zero GX (which is also playable on Switch 2 via the new GameCube library available for Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers), WipEout and RedOut. This is primarily thanks to the wide track designs.
A slimmer package
Fast Fusion’s championship mode is divided into three leagues that increase in difficulty. With only 12 tracks spread across four cups in each league, the selection is much smaller than Fast RMX, which features a whopping 36 tracks.
That’s not a fair comparison, though, because many of these are repeated from Fast Racing Neo to pad out the roster. This isn’t the case in Fast Fusion: every track is new, but they become too familiar after a few hours, so a few more locations would be welcome.
Mercifully, Shin’en Multimedia has confirmed that more tracks are coming in a free content update, including a remastered version of Alpine Thrust from Fast RMX.
Fortunately, the variety of locations makes up for the shortage, from deserts with alien whales jumping out of the sand to forests with swinging logs to avoid. Another track takes place during a storm with tornadoes that can throw you off course, creating a moody atmosphere. Set high in the clouds at dusk, the final track is seemingly inspired by Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back.
With more banked corners, loops and sudden drops than a stomach-churning rollercoaster at Alton Towers, navigating Fast Fusion’s twisty tracks is like going on a thrilling theme park ride.
Progressing through the championship requires some grinding. Race cups are unlocked by spending credits earned from winning races or collecting boost orbs, so you’ll sometimes need to grind to earn in-game currency. While payouts are generous, we had to repeat a few tracks to unlock the final cup.
Credits can also be used in the new titular Fusion mode. No, the title isn’t just a callback to WipEout Fusion and Formula Fusion, later renamed Pacer.
Here, you can merge two ships together to create unique designs with boosted stats. Some combinations result in better top speed, acceleration or boost. Others reduce the weight, but, frustratingly, you can’t see how fusions improve a ship’s stats until after you’ve spent credits. You also can’t upgrade individual parts. It’s a novel addition, but it lacks depth.
A visual showpiece with a caveat
Impressively, Fast Fusion boasts four graphics modes in docked mode, ranging from a 1080p/60fps Performance mode to a 4K/30fps Ultra Quality mode. Shin’en Multimedia is even considering adding a 120fps mode in a future update.
The standard Quality mode offers the best compromise, maintaining 4K and a smooth 60fps without a noticeable dip in visual fidelity. Reducing the performance to 30fps in a game where the sense of speed is integral to its appeal isn’t worth the trade-off for some higher quality shadows.
Fast Fusion frequently looks superb, with an eye-watering sense of speed that makes you forget to blink and rock-solid performance in each mode. Calling it a generational leap over Fast RMX is perhaps a stretch, but the vaster environments have a greater sense of scale and effects like the engines pop in HDR.
Visually, it’s easily one of the Switch 2’s standout launch titles. That said, the image quality is bewilderingly blurry even in Quality mode, with noticeable pixelation artefacts plaguing environments and ships that get worse as you speed up.
According to Digital Foundry, the Switch 2’s upscaling solution is to blame here. Luckily, Shin’en Multimedia is already working on a fix, with a patch introducing a new Pure graphics mode next week, which should result in cleaner image quality.
These blemishes are less noticeable when played in handheld mode at either 1080p/60fps in Performance mode or 1080p/30fps in Quality mode.
With only 12 tracks, Fast Fusion’s campaign is much shorter than Fast RMX. After you finish the first league, the game credits roll, leaving you with two more championship leagues that repeat the same tracks with tougher opponents. There appears to be some AI rubber banding, but it’s more obvious in the higher leagues, with opponents blasting past you and stealing the lead even when you’ve had a flawless run.
Beyond the Championship mode, time trials see you attempt to beat the fastest times on a specific track, but it’s a shame there’s no option to create custom race championships.
Then there’s Super Hero, a returning hardcore mode where you must not only finish in first place but do so without crashing, or it’s game over. It’s as brutally punishing as it sounds, with the added challenge of your boost and shield bar depleting whenever you jump.
While there’s sadly no online multiplayer, Fast Fusion supports split-screen for up to four players while somehow still achieving 60fps, which is no mean feat. Conveniently, a second player can also play multiplayer on an original Switch thanks to the Switch 2’s Game Share feature, but image quality takes a noticeable hit.
Fast Fusion’s energetic electronic soundtrack is another highlight, with themed songs for each circuit perfectly suiting the fast-paced racing. Speaking of audio, the ship engine sounds are strangely muted, even with the sound effects turned all the way up.
Criminally cheap
Fast Fusion’s budget price makes any shortcomings easier to overlook. As we said in our hands-on, Fast Fusion is criminally cheap for a game of this calibre. At £13.49 / $14.99, it’s considerably cheaper than Mario Kart World and even costs less than Fast RMX, presumably to compensate for the smaller track roster.
With the controversy surrounding Switch 2 game prices, it’s a genuine bargain that shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s certainly better value than the Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a glorified tech demo that should have been a free pack-in.
For returning Fast RMX players, Fast Fusion offers a familiar experience. Its replay value is also limited thanks to a lack of online multiplayer and a short single-player campaign.
Despite these flaws, the development team has created yet another brilliant, blindingly fast futuristic racer. Frenetic racing, fresh mechanics and a budget-friendly price make Fast Fusion a must-have on Switch 2 – don’t let it be overshadowed by Mario Kart World.
Shin’en Multimedia has proven itself once again. Surely, it’s only a matter of time until Nintendo lets this talented team make a new F-Zero game.
Chat with the Community
Sign Up To CommentIt's completely Free