F-Zero X introduced the ability to attack other racers, a Death Race mode, and a random track generator called the "X Cup".

In the Death Race, the player's objective is to rapidly annihilate or pass the 29 other racers, and the X-Cup generates a different set of tracks each time played.

[2][3]: 4  Taking place after the original tournament was discontinued for several years due to the extreme danger of the sport, F-Zero X begins after the Grand Prix is brought back with the rules and regulations revised under the same name as the video game.

[6] Each has its own performance abilities affected by its size and weight, and a grip, boost, and durability trait graded on an A to E (best to worst) scale.

If the player has a "spare machine"—the equivalent of an extra life—then falls off a track or runs out of energy, the race can be restarted.

[11] The higher the difficulty level selected, the tougher the opponents, and less spare machines the player starts with.

Transparent re-enactments of Time Attack performances, allow racing against ghost racers, recorded by the player or game developer.

[17] The game debuted at the Nintendo Space World event on November 20, 1997, publicly playable for the first time.

[21] The ROM cartridge size necessitated data-saving optimizations,[citation needed] including a half-sized monaural soundtrack and real-time stereo ambient effects.

[1][25] It was released in North America on October 27,[26] in Europe on November 6,[5] and in China for the iQue Player on February 25, 2004.

[32] The 64DD is a peripheral for the Nintendo 64, released only in Japan, and designed in part to provision cartridge games with expansions on inexpensive 64 megabyte floppy disks.

IGN singled out the course editor as the Expansion Kit's strongest feature because the designers used a similar tool in-house for the original circuits.

The player can add half pipes, cylinders, and numerous road surfaces, such as slip zones.

[34] This provisions the possibility of many disk-based expansion packs such as track editors or course updates,[1] but no more were made, and this one was not utilized outside Japan due to the 64DD's commercial failure.

[35][36] Critics generally praised its fast gameplay, abundance of courses and vehicles, keeping a high framerate with up to thirty racers on screen at the same time, and track design.

[21] Next Generation stated: "From the rocking guitar tunes (courtesy of the same composer who created the original's music) to the insanely addictive Grand Prix races, the game is a blast.

[10] Although the optimizations are strict, critics exalted the steady rate of 60 frames per second, which some thought made up for the lack of graphical detail with little room for improvement.

[1][7][37] The Electric Playground found the framerate to give "the game a major boost in the feel department [making it] seem like your vehicle is bursting through the sound barrier".

[47] The Electric Playground said it goes hand-in-hand to the simulation of speed in the game, but that "I wouldn't in a million years buy music like this to listen to".

[43] GameSpot's retrospective review gave it 6.5/10, calling it "the black sheep of the series" when compared with the other F-Zero games in "visual style and technical flair".