FAST Fusion

[Maryokutai]

We have no Switch 2 tag!☹️

We have a Switch 2 tag!🙂

 

Played through all the cups on baby difficulty so I feel like I can say some stuff about this. If you have played the previous game feel free to skip a few lines. Fundamentally this feels very similar to RMX or Neo on WiiU, which often got compared to F-Zero, but I never quite understood why. It features heavy, weighty gliders that are more reminiscent of WipeOut than Nintendo's tight racer, though it also ditches the former's weapons, so in terms of design it's somewhere in-between. Like the previous games you collect orbs around the track that feed into your boost gauge, switch colour to drive over appropriately marked speed pads – the usual.

 

The new stuff comes in the form of, well, everything just being better. I really like Shin'en and their games, but sometimes they can have a whiff of tech demo upon which someone dropped a relatively basic videogame. Fusion is a massive step forward in that regard and actually feels like a really accomplished racing game in its own right. I think this is mostly due to two things: handling is significantly improved and track design more ambitious than before. While it does retain the heaviness, the floatiness and all that jazz it now feels more in line with what it wants to be as a racing game. It's hard to describe but like they finally figured out the right weight, the right track widths or something – I can't put my finger on it but it just straight up plays better.

The tracks, meanwhile, ditch most of those rather cheap-ish hazards that could lead to instant respawns, while also ramping up the length in some cases, though without any single lap overstaying its welcome. The first cup can feel a bit tame and underwhelming but it really improves with the second and stays on that high for the other two.

 

Also new is a surprisingly well integrated jump mechanic you can use to reach shortcuts or collect orbs that fill your boost quicker. But the jump itself slows you down a tad and there's many parts where you can just jump to your death, so it's a very deliberate feature that has to be timed well and used sparingly. Speaking of orbs, not only do they fill your boost during the race, but they also double as currency, which you can spend to unlock cups, ships and music tracks. And to keep the combo going, the music is a lot more diverse than ever before – different genres, themes and instruments make every track stand out more than in previous games where the synthetic sounds could blend together rather quickly.

 

There's some shortcomings here, too, of course. 12 tracks isn't a ton and it doesn't have any online multiplayer. But then you consider this was made by basically only three people (the credits mention six, but three of them did the music) and I think those negatives start to be easy to forgive, especially as they already announced a free content upgrade down the line. @mfnick will also be pleased to hear that unlike the other racing game on Switch 2, which costs roughly 70 bucks more depending on territory, this one allows you to freely remap your buttons. Also, speaking of options, it has four graphics modes (two in handheld), but I can't speak too much on that because all bar one are for displays with higher resolutions than my TV.

 

No screenshots because I haven't yet figured out how to share them without using their app. Or maybe you just can't.

[mfnick]

Thanks @Maryokutai. This sounds good enough to take a punt on now. Downloading.

[spatular]

6 hours ago, Maryokutai said:

there's many parts where you can just jump to your death

 

pretty much every time i jumped (sometimes by accident) i hit something and my ship exploded, so yeah like you say need to be careful with that!

 

good price too, which was nice after being ripped off buying controllers

[Maryokutai]

Yeah, I killed myself quite a bit early on, too, when I still confused air brakes with the upper shoulder buttons.

 

Also I totally forgot to mention its eponymous feature, Fusion. Haven't used it that much yet but it basically boils down to you being able to fuse two gliders together, which will increase its stats but also its weight. You can also undo it again for a small credit fee because the fused vehicle will take over the spot of the two you used, so they remain inaccessible unless you de-fuse again. I don't think there's much more to it than that and you can only fuse two base vehicles, but I think it'll be necessary for the higher difficulty cups, probably.

[DANGERMAN]

@MaryokutaiI will make a Switch 2 tag this weekend! 

[Pikman]

On 06/06/2025 at 20:00, Maryokutai said:

We have no Switch 2 tag!☹️

 

Played through all the cups on baby difficulty so I feel like I can say some stuff about this. If you have played the previous game feel free to skip a few lines. Fundamentally this feels very similar to RMX or Neo on WiiU, which often got compared to F-Zero, but I never quite understood why. It features heavy, weighty gliders that are more reminiscent of WipeOut than Nintendo's tight racer, though it also ditches the former's weapons, so in terms of design it's somewhere in-between. Like the previous games you collect orbs around the track that feed into your boost gauge, switch colour to drive over appropriately marked speed pads – the usual.

 

The new stuff comes in the form of, well, everything just being better. I really like Shin'en and their games, but sometimes they can have a whiff of tech demo upon which someone dropped a relatively basic videogame. Fusion is a massive step forward in that regard and actually feels like a really accomplished racing game in its own right. I think this is mostly due to two things: handling is significantly improved and track design more ambitious than before. While it does retain the heaviness, the floatiness and all that jazz it now feels more in line with what it wants to be as a racing game. It's hard to describe but like they finally figured out the right weight, the right track widths or something – I can't put my finger on it but it just straight up plays better.

The tracks, meanwhile, ditch most of those rather cheap-ish hazards that could lead to instant respawns, while also ramping up the length in some cases, though without any single lap overstaying its welcome. The first cup can feel a bit tame and underwhelming but it really improves with the second and stays on that high for the other two.

 

Also new is a surprisingly well integrated jump mechanic you can use to reach shortcuts or collect orbs that fill your boost quicker. But the jump itself slows you down a tad and there's many parts where you can just jump to your death, so it's a very deliberate feature that has to be timed well and used sparingly. Speaking of orbs, not only do they fill your boost during the race, but they also double as currency, which you can spend to unlock cups, ships and music tracks. And to keep the combo going, the music is a lot more diverse than ever before – different genres, themes and instruments make every track stand out more than in previous games where the synthetic sounds could blend together rather quickly.

 

There's some shortcomings here, too, of course. 12 tracks isn't a ton and it doesn't have any online multiplayer. But then you consider this was made by basically only three people (the credits mention six, but three of them did the music) and I think those negatives start to be easy to forgive, especially as they already announced a free content upgrade down the line. @mfnick will also be pleased to hear that unlike the other racing game on Switch 2, which costs roughly 70 bucks more depending on territory, this one allows you to freely remap your buttons. Also, speaking of options, it has four graphics modes (two in handheld), but I can't speak too much on that because all bar one are for displays with higher resolutions than my TV.

 

No screenshots because I haven't yet figured out how to share them without using their app. Or maybe you just can't.

Agree with all of this. I’m loving it!

 

I tried the 4k settings and honestly, it’s hard to tell the difference, I thought it was 4k until I checked 😅. I doubt I could tell unless maybe seeing them side by side. I’m going to use the higher frequency and 1080p setting anyway 👍

[DANGERMAN]

I've added the Switch 2 tag

[Maryokutai]

Thanks!

 

I unlocked the highest difficulty/speed class today and finished the first two cups there. Damn this game is good. In previous games this speed class was borderline unplayable, it turned everything into such a mushy low-res pixelfest you couldn't make out anything so you just hit boost and started praying. But this time around it's actually properly working and hitting both its resolution and framerate targets, plus the handling can deal with the speed, too. It's super intense as well, because one mistake can cost you the race but at the same time it doesn't push CPU favourites, so even if you only get 3rd or 4th in a race you can still turn it around in some cases.

 

Really good launch game. Everyone who helped make Welcome Tour outsell this should be ashamed of themselves.

[Pikman]

This is the S2 game I keep going back to, it's amazeballs!
 

I'm only on the middle difficulty so far, more down to time than anything as I struggle to play it on the small screen and need to wait until there's nobody using the TV

I did spend a lot of money on 2 of the best ships, but I can't afford to fuse them yet, lol.

[Maryokutai]

I found a really good combination that has carried me through both middle a high speed classes. Have to double-check which one it is, but I think I just combined the fastest ship with one that had a good boost value (I think acceleration is mostly negligeable).

 

Handheld mode can be a bit tricky, some stuff is harder to see and I get the feeling its dynamic resolution drops quite low there compared to TV mode. It's fine on the lowest speed class though, so I've used it a bit for the easy Hero Mode challenges.

[mfnick]

This is definitely a Tv only game. Handheld it’s very blurry & the ship takes up a lot of screen. Only done the first championship so far. Seems decent, it’s not grabbed me yet though. 

[Pikman]

I finally got to Hypersonic last night, I regret it this morning though as I stayed up waaaaaay too late.

I hit the zone and got 1st across all of Sub and Supersonic (this might also have been because I fused a killer ship/craft).

[Maryokutai]

You're also just getting better at the game I'd say, it has a very organic learning curve and after spending time on Hypersonic I find the other two almost chill.

 

Didn't think I'd say this but I actually do miss a proper online mode. You can sort of fake it by sharing the game via Gamechat but it's an absolutely miserable experience and also not quite the same thing as just being able to open a lobby and play with friends and randoms.

 

[Pikman]

Could also be that, I hope so. My eyes were so sore by the time I gave up last night
I'll go back and see if they seem easier, that would be interesting.

 

I think I would find online a stressor too far, MK is bad enough. This game needs crazy concentration already, haha.