F-Zero Climax Ladder Submission Rules

Basic Rules

  1. Any players who do not adhere to the following rules are subject to having their times removed from the ladders.

  2. Joint accounts are not allowed. Submit times only achieved by yourself in the single-player modes. This is an individual competition; it's not meant for teams.

  3. Multiple accounts for the same player are not allowed. If you need help accessing your old account, the site admin can assist you.

  4. FZC reserves the right to request proof of your times. Proof could be requested at random, or if there's a concern that false times might have been submitted. Any requests for proof will be handled by a member of the FZC staff.

  5. Turbo controller functionality is banned.

  6. Accepted ways to play:

    • The original GBA game cartridge
    • A flash cartridge ("Flashcart"), with an unaltered ROM of the original game - see the Save State Rules below
    • The Wii U Virtual Console release - the Save State Rules below apply to restore points
    • The Switch Online release - the Save State Rules below apply to suspend points and rewinds
    • Specific versions of the mGBA emulator, with an unaltered ROM of the original game - see the Emulator Rules and Save State Rules below

    The original release of F-Zero Climax in 2004 was very limited, making game cartridges difficult to acquire, especially as more time passed. Additionally, the Wii U VC release was Japan-only and region-locked. So in 2020, FZC began allowing the mGBA emulator for F-Zero Climax to address the accessibility issues. Although the worldwide Switch Online release in 2024 eased the accessibility situation, mGBA is still allowed (again, governed by the Emulator Rules below).

  7. Only submit times that are shown on your records screen.

  8. The use of cheat devices such as Action Replay are forbidden on the ladder.

Emulator Rules

Because of the nature of unofficial Emulators, some extra rules are needed to allow times set when using them. These rules are intended to prevent abuse or cheating as much as possible, and to ensure the fairest competition possible with runs done on official platforms.

The following are rules to be followed when setting times in F-Zero Climax while playing on emulator:

  1. The only allowed emulator as of right now is mGBA desktop version 0.8.x. If a new major version comes out it will first be investigated before being accepted.

  2. Video proof must capture the entire emulator window, including the title bar which shows the FPS and version number. you are allowed to rearrange the screen layout but there must be at least one window showing the requested information unaltered.

  3. Video proof is required for top 10 times and the video must be linked in the Video Link field of your submission. videos don't have a limit in quality and at minimum should be recorded using the GBA's native resolution (240x160) and framerate.

  4. The game must run at full speed at all times. if your computer experiences slowdowns from having many programs open at once, close them until the emulator runs well. If the video causes the slowdown, lower video quality until there's no slowdown.

  5. You must choose "mGBA [version used]" in the Platform field of your submission.

And furthermore, instructions for setting up the emulator:

  1. Download and install an allowed version of mGBA at https://mgba.io/downloads.html

  2. By default all settings are correct, but ensure the following:

    • Frameskip is set to 0
    • Ensure cheats are disabled / there are no cheats loaded
    • Do not bind autofire to prevent accidental use
    • FPS target should be "Native (59.7275)"

  3. (Optional) If you want to use an existing save data with everything unlocked, you can download the following file and place it in the same folder as your ROM with the same name as your ROM: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16BbTwqw1vAPY2U8EUfa3ueQ0g-h2BJOz/view?usp=sharing

Save State Rules

When submitting runs to the FZC ladder, save states, restore points, etc. may only be used as described below.

3-Laps: Before the countdown of the 3-lap attempt first starts.

Fast Laps: Before exceeding 1200km/h, not while in boost state and before entering the Fast Lap.

FZC Best and World Record Submission Rules

To have a FZC Best or World Record accepted to FZC, it must follow the requirements of full video proof. If a FZC Best/WR does not adhere to the requirements listed for full video proof, the time is subject to immediate removal from the ladder*.

Requirements of 'Full Video Proof:'

  1. The video must be a full recording of the actual run from start of the race to finish.

  2. The video must display the ending stats from the race after it is over.

  3. If the video is being recorded from a camera and not directly from the source, the player must bring the controller up to the camera at the end of the race and push buttons on the game pad to indicate that what is happening on display is in sync with the players input.

  4. The video must always be available to the public. If at any point you remove your video for any to see, FZC reserves the right to take down your time associated with that video.

*FZC Bests/World Records submitted to FZC previous to the date of March 1st 2013 do not need to adhere by the requirements of 'Full Video Proof.'

F-Zero Central Ladder Guidelines

Read here - these are not enforceable rules, but guidelines for all players to follow.

Change log

Changes from December 2024 onward

23rd March 2021

added Flashcarts to the rules.

6th September 2020

The emulator proof rules have been changed to use the newly available Platform and Video Link fields. Thread

30th August 2020

Updated the rules for usage of save states/restore points.You must now add your save state/restore point before the countdown of the 3-lap attempt first starts, and for fast-laps before exceeding 1200km/h, not while in boost state and before entering the Fast-Lap. A topic for the discussion can be found here.