F-Zero
Encyclopedia
is a futuristic racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
(SNES). The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 23, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992. F-Zero is the first game of the F-Zero series
and was one of the two launch title
s for the SNES in Japan, but was accompanied by additional initial titles in North America and Europe. In late 2006, F-Zero became available for the Virtual Console
service on the Wii
.
The game takes place in the year 2560, where multi-billionaires with lethargic lifestyles created a new form of entertainment based on the Formula One
races called "F-Zero". The player can choose between one of four characters in the game, each with their respective hovercars. The player then can race against computer controlled characters in fifteen tracks divided into three leagues.
F-Zero is acknowledged by critics to be the game that set a standard for the racing genre and the creation of the futuristic sub-genre. Critics lauded F-Zero for its fast and challenging gameplay, variety of tracks, and extensive use of the graphical mode called "Mode 7
". This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero. As a result, the title reinvigorated the genre and inspired the future creation of numerous racing games. In retrospective reviews of the game critics agreed that it should have used a multiplayer mode
. F-Zero became part of the Player's Choice
line by selling at least a million copies.
F-Zero is a futuristic racing game
where pilots race inside plasma
-powered hovercar
s in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds exceeding . There are four F-Zero characters that have their own selectable vehicle along with its unique performance abilities. The objective of the game is to beat opponents to the finish line while avoiding hazards such as slip zones and magnets that pull the vehicle off-center in an effort to make the player damage their vehicle or fall completely off the track. Each machine has a power meter, which serves as a measurement of the machine's durability; it decreases when the machine collides with land mines, the side of the track or another vehicle. Energy can be replenished by driving over pit areas placed near the home straight
or nearby.
A race in F-Zero consists of five laps around the track. The player must complete each lap in a successively higher place to avoid disqualification from the race. For each lap completed, the player is rewarded with an approximate four-second speed boost called the "Super Jet" and a number of points determined by place. An on-screen display will be shaded green to indicate that a boost can be used, however the player is limited to saving up to three at a time. If a certain amount of points are accumulated, an extra "spare machine" is acquired that gives the player another chance to retry the course. Tracks may feature two methods for temporarily boosting speeds; jump plates launch vehicles into the air for a few seconds providing an opportunity for cutting sections of track and dash zones. F-Zero includes two modes of play. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a league and races against other vehicles through each track in that league while avoiding disqualification. The Practice mode allows the player to practice seven of the courses from the Grand Prix mode.
F-Zero has a total of fifteen tracks divided into three leagues: Knight, Queen, and King. Difficulty is determined by the league selected and difficulty level chosen. The game has three initial difficulty level
s: beginner, standard, and expert. The master difficulty level is available for a given league once that league on the expert class is completed. The multiple courses of Death Wind, Port Town, and Red Canyon have a pathway that is not accessible unless the player is on another iteration of those tracks, which then in turn closes the path previously available. Unlike most F-Zero games, there are three iterations of Mute City that shows it in either a day, evening, or night setting. In BS F-Zero 2, Mute City IV continued the theme with an early morning setting.
, Dr. Stewart, Pico, and Samurai Goroh. IGN
claimed Captain Falcon "was thrust into the limelight" in this game since he was the "star character". An eight-page comic was included in its SNES manual that carried the reader through one of Captain Falcon's bounty missions.
had approximately fifteen months to develop completely. In Japan, only it and Super Mario World
were initially available for launch. In North America and Europe, Super Mario World shipped with the console, and other initial titles included F-Zero, Pilotwings
(which also demonstrated the console's "Mode 7
" pseudo-3D rendering capability), SimCity
, and Gradius III
. The game was produced
by Shigeru Miyamoto
and designed by Isshin Shimizu. The title was downloadable over the Nintendo Power
peripheral in Japan and was also released as a demo onto the Nintendo Super System
in 1991. Takaya Imamura
, one of the art creators for the game, was surprised to be able to so freely design F-Zeros characters and courses as he wanted since it was his first game.
Notable in the development of F-Zero was its use of Mode 7 graphics. Mode 7 is a form of texture mapping available on the SNES which allows a raster graphical
plane to be rotated and scaled freely, simulating 3D
environments without processing any polygons. The Mode 7 rendering applied in F-Zero consists of a single-layer which is scaled and rotated around the vehicle. This pseudo-3D
capability of the SNES was designed to be represented by both F-Zero and Pilotwings
, with 1UP.com
stating these two games "existed almost entirely for the sake of showing them off".
An F-Zero jazz album was released on March 25, 1992 in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications
. It features twelve songs from the game on a single disc composed by Yumiko Kanki and Naoto Ishida, and arranged by Robert Hill and Michiko Hill. The album also features Marc Russo (saxophones) of the Yellowjackets
and Robben Ford
(electric guitar).
line by selling at least a million copies. F-Zero was widely lauded by game critics for its graphical realism, and has been called the fastest and most fluid pseudo-3D racing game of its time. This has been mostly credited to the development team's pervasive use of the "Mode 7" system. Eurogamer
's Tom Bramwell commented "this abundance of Mode 7 was unheard of" for the SNES. This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero. Jeremy Parish of Electronic Gaming Monthly
wrote Mode 7 created the "most convincing racetracks that had ever been seen on a home console". Parish said F-Zero used the SNES's technology "to give console gamers an experience even more visceral than could be found in the arcades". 1UP.com
editor Ravi Hiranand agreed arguing F-Zeros combination of fast-paced racing and free-range of motion were superior compared to that of previous home console games. IGN
's Peer Schneider
assured readers F-Zero was one of the few 16-bit era
video games to "perfectly combine presentation and functionality to create a completely new gaming experience". The game was praised for its variety of tracks, and steady increase in difficulty. GameSpy
's Jason D'Aprile thought the game "was something of a finesse racer. It took lots of practice, good memorization skills, and a rather fine sense of control." Matt Taylor of The Virginian-Pilot
commented that the game is more about "reflexes than realism", and it lacked the ability to save progress between races. F-Zeros soundtrack was lauded.
In GameSpot
's retrospective review by Greg Kasavin, he praised F-Zeros controls, longevity and track design. Kasavin felt the title offered exceptional gameplay, with "a perfect balance of pick-up-and-play accessibility and sheer depth". Retrospective reviews agreed that the game should have used a multiplayer mode. IGN's Lucas Thomas criticized the lack of a substantial plot and mentioned F-Zero "doesn't have the same impact these days" suggesting "the sequels on GBA very much pick up where this title left off".
F-Zero has been credited with being the game that set a standard for the racing genre and inventing the "futuristic racing" sub-genre of video gaming. IGN ranked it as the 91st best game ever in 2003, discussing its originality at time of release and as the 97th best game ever in 2005, describing it as still "respected as one of the all-time top racers". During the 10-Year Anniversary Contest in 2005, GameFAQs
users voted F-Zero as the 99th best games of all time. ScrewAttack
placed it as the 18th best SNES game. F-Zero reinvigorated the racing genre inspiring the future creation of numerous racing games inside and out of the futuristic sub-genre, including the Wipeout series
. Amusement Vision's President, Toshihiro Nagoshi
, stated in 2002 that F-Zero "actually taught me what a game should be" and that it served as an influence for him to create Daytona USA
and other racing games. Amusement Vision collaborated with Nintendo to develop F-Zero GX
/AX, with Nagoshi serving as one of the co-producers for these games.
subscription service for the Satellaview
attachment of the Super Famicom
instead. Using this add-on, gamers could download titles via satellite and save it onto a flash ROM
cartridge. The sequel was released under the Japanese names of BS F-Zero Grand Prix and BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 during the mid-1990s, making them the second installments of the franchise. There are tracks named as a follow-on from F-Zero—such as "Mute City IV", since Mute City I-III appeared in the original game. BS F-Zero Grand Prix contained a new track along with the original 15 tracks from the SNES game and four different playable vehicles. According to Nintendo Power
, the game was under consideration for an North American release via Game Pak. IGN states BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 features one new league containing five tracks, a Grand Prix and a Practice mode.
Although the F-Zero franchise made the transition to 3D graphics on the Nintendo 64
with the release of F-Zero X
in 1998, Mode 7 graphical effects continued to be used for the Game Boy Advance
(GBA) installments Maximum Velocity
and GP Legend
. The third sequel F-Zero: Maximum Velocity was released for the GBA in 2001. This installment was described by GameSpy as a hard overhaul of F-Zero and featured improvements to its graphical effects. F-Zero GX/AX, released for the Nintendo GameCube
and the Triforce arcade system board respectively in 2003, was the first video game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega
. GX is the first F-Zero game to include a story mode while AX was called by GameSpot as the first to get a "proper arcade release". The most recent installment in the series – F-Zero Climax – was released for the GBA in 2004 and is the first F-Zero game to have a built-in track editor without the need for an expansion or add-on.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES). The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 23, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992. F-Zero is the first game of the F-Zero series
F-Zero
is a futuristic racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 23, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992...
and was one of the two launch title
Launch title
A launch game, or launch title, is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
s for the SNES in Japan, but was accompanied by additional initial titles in North America and Europe. In late 2006, F-Zero became available for the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
The game takes place in the year 2560, where multi-billionaires with lethargic lifestyles created a new form of entertainment based on the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
races called "F-Zero". The player can choose between one of four characters in the game, each with their respective hovercars. The player then can race against computer controlled characters in fifteen tracks divided into three leagues.
F-Zero is acknowledged by critics to be the game that set a standard for the racing genre and the creation of the futuristic sub-genre. Critics lauded F-Zero for its fast and challenging gameplay, variety of tracks, and extensive use of the graphical mode called "Mode 7
Mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super NES video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different effects. The most famous of these effects this can create is the application of a perspective effect on a background layer...
". This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero. As a result, the title reinvigorated the genre and inspired the future creation of numerous racing games. In retrospective reviews of the game critics agreed that it should have used a multiplayer mode
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
. F-Zero became part of the Player's Choice
Player's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
line by selling at least a million copies.
Gameplay
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
where pilots race inside plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
-powered hovercar
Hovercar
A hovercar is a transport vehicle appearing in works of fiction. It is used for personal transportation in the same way a modern automobile is employed. You must steer it, like you would a normal vehicle...
s in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds exceeding . There are four F-Zero characters that have their own selectable vehicle along with its unique performance abilities. The objective of the game is to beat opponents to the finish line while avoiding hazards such as slip zones and magnets that pull the vehicle off-center in an effort to make the player damage their vehicle or fall completely off the track. Each machine has a power meter, which serves as a measurement of the machine's durability; it decreases when the machine collides with land mines, the side of the track or another vehicle. Energy can be replenished by driving over pit areas placed near the home straight
Straight (racing)
In many forms of racing, the straight is that part of the race track in which the competitors travel in a straight line, as opposed to a bend. The term is used in horse racing, motor racing and track and field athletics....
or nearby.
A race in F-Zero consists of five laps around the track. The player must complete each lap in a successively higher place to avoid disqualification from the race. For each lap completed, the player is rewarded with an approximate four-second speed boost called the "Super Jet" and a number of points determined by place. An on-screen display will be shaded green to indicate that a boost can be used, however the player is limited to saving up to three at a time. If a certain amount of points are accumulated, an extra "spare machine" is acquired that gives the player another chance to retry the course. Tracks may feature two methods for temporarily boosting speeds; jump plates launch vehicles into the air for a few seconds providing an opportunity for cutting sections of track and dash zones. F-Zero includes two modes of play. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a league and races against other vehicles through each track in that league while avoiding disqualification. The Practice mode allows the player to practice seven of the courses from the Grand Prix mode.
F-Zero has a total of fifteen tracks divided into three leagues: Knight, Queen, and King. Difficulty is determined by the league selected and difficulty level chosen. The game has three initial difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
s: beginner, standard, and expert. The master difficulty level is available for a given league once that league on the expert class is completed. The multiple courses of Death Wind, Port Town, and Red Canyon have a pathway that is not accessible unless the player is on another iteration of those tracks, which then in turn closes the path previously available. Unlike most F-Zero games, there are three iterations of Mute City that shows it in either a day, evening, or night setting. In BS F-Zero 2, Mute City IV continued the theme with an early morning setting.
Setting
F-Zero is set in the year 2560, when humanity's multiple encounters with alien life forms had resulted in the expansion of Earth's social framework. This led to commercial, technological and cultural interchanges between planets. The multi-billionaires who earned their wealth through intergalactic trade were mainly satisfied with their lifestyles, although most coveted more entertainment in their lives. This resulted in a new entertainment based on the Formula-1 races to be founded with vehicles that could hover one foot above the track. These Grand Prix races were soon named "F-Zero" after a rise in popularity of the races. The game introduced the first set of F-Zero racers: Captain FalconCaptain Falcon
Douglas Jay Falcon, better known by his alias, , is a playable character in the racing video game series F-Zero. He first appeared in F-Zero, and has been called the poster boy of the F-Zero franchise. Nintendo first envisioned Captain Falcon as a flagship character to represent the release of a...
, Dr. Stewart, Pico, and Samurai Goroh. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
claimed Captain Falcon "was thrust into the limelight" in this game since he was the "star character". An eight-page comic was included in its SNES manual that carried the reader through one of Captain Falcon's bounty missions.
Development and audio
F-Zero was one of the launch titles for the SNES that Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and DevelopmentNintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
, commonly abbreviated as EAD, is the largest division inside Nintendo. It was preceded by the , a team of designers with an art background responsible for many different tasks, which Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka originally belonged to...
had approximately fifteen months to develop completely. In Japan, only it and Super Mario World
Super Mario World
, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...
were initially available for launch. In North America and Europe, Super Mario World shipped with the console, and other initial titles included F-Zero, Pilotwings
Pilotwings
is a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division, led by producer Shigeru Miyamoto. The game was originally released in Japan on December 21, 1990, shortly after the launch of the SNES...
(which also demonstrated the console's "Mode 7
Mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super NES video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different effects. The most famous of these effects this can create is the application of a perspective effect on a background layer...
" pseudo-3D rendering capability), SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
, and Gradius III
Gradius III
Gradius III, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling shooting game originally released for the arcades in Japan and Asia in . It is the second sequel to the original Gradius for the arcades following Gradius II, and was followed by Gradius IV. Gradius III was rereleased for the Super Nintendo...
. The game was produced
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
by Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
and designed by Isshin Shimizu. The title was downloadable over the Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power (cartridge)
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom and the Game Boy, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.During the days of the Family...
peripheral in Japan and was also released as a demo onto the Nintendo Super System
Nintendo Super System
The Nintendo Super System is an arcade system used to preview Super NES games in the U.S. It was essentially the Super NES hardware with a menu interface that—similar to Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 hardware for NES games—allowed players to play select SNES games for a certain amount of time depending...
in 1991. Takaya Imamura
Takaya Imamura
is a Japanese artwork designer for Nintendo. He designed the characters from the F-Zero and Star Fox series of video games. He is credited for creating many of the characters, universe, and overall concept of those franchises. He is the original designer of Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud in Super...
, one of the art creators for the game, was surprised to be able to so freely design F-Zeros characters and courses as he wanted since it was his first game.
Notable in the development of F-Zero was its use of Mode 7 graphics. Mode 7 is a form of texture mapping available on the SNES which allows a raster graphical
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
plane to be rotated and scaled freely, simulating 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
environments without processing any polygons. The Mode 7 rendering applied in F-Zero consists of a single-layer which is scaled and rotated around the vehicle. This pseudo-3D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
capability of the SNES was designed to be represented by both F-Zero and Pilotwings
Pilotwings
is a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division, led by producer Shigeru Miyamoto. The game was originally released in Japan on December 21, 1990, shortly after the launch of the SNES...
, with 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
stating these two games "existed almost entirely for the sake of showing them off".
An F-Zero jazz album was released on March 25, 1992 in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
. It features twelve songs from the game on a single disc composed by Yumiko Kanki and Naoto Ishida, and arranged by Robert Hill and Michiko Hill. The album also features Marc Russo (saxophones) of the Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion/smooth jazz quartet.-History:The original group, called The Robben Ford Group, was formed in 1977, and consisted of Robben Ford, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip and Ricky Lawson, all top-notch L.A. session musicians...
and Robben Ford
Robben Ford
Robben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...
(electric guitar).
Reception and legacy
F-Zero became part of the Player's ChoicePlayer's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
line by selling at least a million copies. F-Zero was widely lauded by game critics for its graphical realism, and has been called the fastest and most fluid pseudo-3D racing game of its time. This has been mostly credited to the development team's pervasive use of the "Mode 7" system. Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
's Tom Bramwell commented "this abundance of Mode 7 was unheard of" for the SNES. This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero. Jeremy Parish of Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
wrote Mode 7 created the "most convincing racetracks that had ever been seen on a home console". Parish said F-Zero used the SNES's technology "to give console gamers an experience even more visceral than could be found in the arcades". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
editor Ravi Hiranand agreed arguing F-Zeros combination of fast-paced racing and free-range of motion were superior compared to that of previous home console games. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Peer Schneider
Peer Schneider
Peer Schneider is one of the founders of videogames and entertainment website IGN. He is currently Senior Vice President of Content & Publisher at IGN Entertainment...
assured readers F-Zero was one of the few 16-bit era
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
video games to "perfectly combine presentation and functionality to create a completely new gaming experience". The game was praised for its variety of tracks, and steady increase in difficulty. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's Jason D'Aprile thought the game "was something of a finesse racer. It took lots of practice, good memorization skills, and a rather fine sense of control." Matt Taylor of The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
commented that the game is more about "reflexes than realism", and it lacked the ability to save progress between races. F-Zeros soundtrack was lauded.
In GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's retrospective review by Greg Kasavin, he praised F-Zeros controls, longevity and track design. Kasavin felt the title offered exceptional gameplay, with "a perfect balance of pick-up-and-play accessibility and sheer depth". Retrospective reviews agreed that the game should have used a multiplayer mode. IGN's Lucas Thomas criticized the lack of a substantial plot and mentioned F-Zero "doesn't have the same impact these days" suggesting "the sequels on GBA very much pick up where this title left off".
F-Zero has been credited with being the game that set a standard for the racing genre and inventing the "futuristic racing" sub-genre of video gaming. IGN ranked it as the 91st best game ever in 2003, discussing its originality at time of release and as the 97th best game ever in 2005, describing it as still "respected as one of the all-time top racers". During the 10-Year Anniversary Contest in 2005, GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
users voted F-Zero as the 99th best games of all time. ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
placed it as the 18th best SNES game. F-Zero reinvigorated the racing genre inspiring the future creation of numerous racing games inside and out of the futuristic sub-genre, including the Wipeout series
Wipeout (video game series)
Wipeout is a series of futuristic anti-gravity racing games developed by SCE Studio Liverpool. The series is well-known for its fast-paced gameplay and high-quality 3D visual design, as well as its association with electronica and electronic dance music.-Gameplay:Wipeout is a racing series that...
. Amusement Vision's President, Toshihiro Nagoshi
Toshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...
, stated in 2002 that F-Zero "actually taught me what a game should be" and that it served as an influence for him to create Daytona USA
Daytona USA (arcade game)
Daytona USA is a 1993 racing video game by Sega. Considered one of the highest grossing arcade games of all time, Daytona USA was Sega's first title to debut on the Sega Model 2 arcade board, and at the time of its 1993 introduction, was considered the most visually detailed 3D arcade racing game...
and other racing games. Amusement Vision collaborated with Nintendo to develop F-Zero GX
F-Zero GX
is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. Developed by Sega's Amusement Vision department and supervised and published by Nintendo, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America . F-Zero AX, the arcade counterpart of GX, uses hardware conceived from a business...
/AX, with Nagoshi serving as one of the co-producers for these games.
Sequels
Nintendo initially developed the sequel of the first F-Zero game for the SNES, although it was broadcasted in several versions on the St.GIGASt.GIGA
is the name of a defunct satellite radio company that was formed as a subsidiary of satellite television company WOWOW and later became semi-independent, forming a keiretsu with its parent. Using the BS network to broadcast digital radio via direct broadcast satellite as a test on November 30,...
subscription service for the Satellaview
Satellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
attachment of the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
instead. Using this add-on, gamers could download titles via satellite and save it onto a flash ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
cartridge. The sequel was released under the Japanese names of BS F-Zero Grand Prix and BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 during the mid-1990s, making them the second installments of the franchise. There are tracks named as a follow-on from F-Zero—such as "Mute City IV", since Mute City I-III appeared in the original game. BS F-Zero Grand Prix contained a new track along with the original 15 tracks from the SNES game and four different playable vehicles. According to Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, the game was under consideration for an North American release via Game Pak. IGN states BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 features one new league containing five tracks, a Grand Prix and a Practice mode.
Although the F-Zero franchise made the transition to 3D graphics on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
with the release of F-Zero X
F-Zero X
, is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Nintendo's EAD division, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America, in 1998. In 2000, an expansion of the game was exclusively released in Japan providing numerous extra features not in the original game. F-Zero...
in 1998, Mode 7 graphical effects continued to be used for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
(GBA) installments Maximum Velocity
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
F-Zero Maximum Velocity is a futuristic racing video game developed by Nd Cube and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance . The game was released in Japan, North America and Europe in 2001 as a launch title for the GBA...
and GP Legend
F-Zero: GP Legend (video game)
Doug Buel from The Tampa Tribune stated F-Zero: GP Legends effort to unite Nintendo's racing franchise with Japanese animation "works pretty well", but highlighted the game's inability to show all of the racers on the screen at once as its worst feature...
. The third sequel F-Zero: Maximum Velocity was released for the GBA in 2001. This installment was described by GameSpy as a hard overhaul of F-Zero and featured improvements to its graphical effects. F-Zero GX/AX, released for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and the Triforce arcade system board respectively in 2003, was the first video game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. GX is the first F-Zero game to include a story mode while AX was called by GameSpot as the first to get a "proper arcade release". The most recent installment in the series – F-Zero Climax – was released for the GBA in 2004 and is the first F-Zero game to have a built-in track editor without the need for an expansion or add-on.