F-Zero GX import woes

Importers have been doing a roaring trade in F-Zero GX these last few days, but unfortunately for gamers relying on Datel's FreeLoader, it's become apparent that the game suffers from a number of glitches. For some reason, this time the clash of English hardware and Japanese software has meant that some text doesn't appear on the main menu, and that some indicators (e.g. the lap time display) are missing from the in-game HUD.

However, Datel has been working hard at the problem, and although they haven't yet established a boot method that will overcome the glitching, which may be a hardware issue with PAL Cubes, they have produced an Action Replay solution that fixes the problem on either a PAL or NTSC GameCube. Cue hundreds of simultaneous groans as FreeLoader-owning gamers wish they'd spent the extra tenner on Action Replay, and the odd yelp of excitement from somebody in the back.

Datel is still looking for a way to boot and play the Japanese copy of the game successfully using just FreeLoader, but in the meantime they're offering this fix, and we suggest that anybody looking for an import copy of F-Zero GX either make sure that they have US/Jap switchable hardware or an Action Replay on hand. Otherwise it might be advisable to wait for the game's US release on August 25th.