While the game is a 2D racer, its Mode 7-styled graphical effect allows the track to be scaled and rotated around the vehicle to simulate a 3D environment.

Nintendo World Report praised the game's extensive Survival and Zero Test challenges, but complained about the Grand Prix's short duration and unbalanced difficulty.

Survival consists of mission-based objectives such as navigating courses with depleted health, and racing an opponent on a short guardrail-less track without flying off-course at the finish line by braking.

The game can also generate a track-specific password that can be inputted on any Climax cartridge for conversion back to the custom track.

[7] Information on F-Zero Climax's existence and title was leaked by Japanese retailers weeks before its official announcement by Nintendo.

[4] Yukata Hirata and Azusa Tajima served as directors, Hitoshi Yamagami as producer, and Kenji Hikita as composer.

[17] Nintendo World Report's Daniel Bloodworth thought the Grand Prix mode, which should be the focus of the game, is "woefully lacking".

[4] During Siliconera's playtest, they praised Climax's track design and varying levels of difficulty between courses—easier courses are relatively straight compared to later ones which require honed drifting skill.

They mentioned the game demanded players to have quick reflexes and master the track layout on difficulties beyond novice since the AI-controlled opponents are unforgiving.

[4] Compared to GP Legend's controls, Siliconera thought the spin attack "is a neat trick to use, that adds a new element to the game.

[4] Siliconera thought Climax could've looked better, but the game "reuses many of the tile sets from GP Legend and Maximum Velocity.

"[6] Furthermore, Bloodworth was disappointed with the music tracks being mostly rehashes from the original game and F-Zero X[18]—a sentiment Siliconera agreed with.

[6] Bloodworth concluded Climax has plenty of Survival and Zero Test challenges, and slots to save created courses,[18] but the lackluster Grand Prix holds the game back.

[4] Nintendo World Report and Siliconera felt that the game was a likely candidate for localization in regions outside Japan due to GP: Legend's recent nondomestic release,[4][6][18] but this never happened.