F-Zero 99 and the franchise's predecessors

[Herbizarre]

With the release of F-Zero 99 on the Switch NSO following the latest Nintendo Direct, I think a thread regarding this franchise is long overdue. Let's dive in !

I grew up with the first F-Zero on the Super Nintendo. I used to only do the Practice mode back then, and I kept listening to the game's songs. Back then, while I did like the game, I wasn't all that pulled into it like I was with Pokémon or some other games of that time. Later on, I got Super Smash Bros. Melee, which made me rediscover the F-Zero franchise through its Mute City and Big Blue stages along with their remixes. That's when I learned of Captain Falcon himself, leading me to main him in subsequent Smash games to come (yes, even Brawl, where he was dirt garbage in competitive).

While I skipped F-Zero X initially, I did manage to play F-Zero GX at a friend's home at one point and got the game myself. Best 15 euros spent ever. While F-Zero GX is a very difficult game, it is quite rewarding once you master the basics. I haven't got into any other F-Zero games until my first emulator days, which led me to the GBA games of Maximum Velocity, GP Legend and Climax, which took a lot of inspirations from the Super Nintendo game in regards to the playstyle, especially MV. Playing the GP Legend and Climax games led me to the Anime of the same name which, funny enough, can be watched on Youtube since all episodes are uploaded there and somehow still up to this day. F-Zero is also infamous for not having had a new game in a very long time until F-Zero 99. In fact, it has been almost 19 years since the release dates of F-Zero Climax (released on October 21st of 2004, and only in Japan). And fans have been clamoring a return of the franchise since the Wii era.

Regarding the franchise's lore, it can be quite confusing at first due to poor managements of old dedicated wikias, which uses informations from a very old F-Zero X website that was not canon... Yet most people assumed it was the case and everybody ran with it until fairly recently, where a new wikia strives to correct all the wrongs. Tangent aside, each F-Zero venues and pilots have their own lore or biography describing all of them, which has been left somewhat unexplored due to the nature of a racing game not focusing on such things, despite some Story Mode existing for F-Zero GX and GP Legend. Which is a shame, since there is a lot to do with all the information we get from the games (for example, exploring the rivalry between Captain Falcon and Samurai Goroh and why they became enemies, or how Doctor Stewart managed to save every single pilot from death after an event known as the "Huge F-Zero Accident", leading to a 3-year suspension of the F-Zero sport).

I spoke long enough, I think. I'd like to hear what other people have to say about this franchise. As for me, I'll keep on racing in F-Zero 99 !

 

[skynerel]

I had F-Zero for super nintendo and F-GX for gamecube.

I was always impressed by how good F-Zero GX looks, the music, the courses and how to forget the amazing character bios. I think this franchise has a potential to be semi-open world. Like let me explore Mute City please? Some of this characters come from different planets, let’s go to those places as well. This could be a grand space adventure. They can keep the races as the main point of the game, but wouldn’t it be great if they had side quests and a storyline where we explore the stories of this characters? There’s a tone that can be done and limiting the existence of this franchise just to the racing aspect is very close minded.

 

[JollyYoshi]

F-Zero 99 has been my only “true” F-Zero experience. I’ve played a bit of SNES F-Zero on NSO but never really got into it. I’ve found F-Zero 99 to be an absolute blast. I don’t know why, but it feels easier to approach than the SNES version.

Back in the Nintendo Direct thread, I mentioned that I might prefer a Mario Kart 99 over an F-Zero though I realized that Super Mario Kart feels way too simple compared to F-Zero.

I’ve heard some F-Zero fans disappointed it is not a completely new game. The disappointment is understandable, but I think this release will help F-Zero sustain more releases, meaning happier fans. I’m glad that F-Zero is getting some light and that I get to play this fantastic game.

 

[Herbizarre]

I gotta say, I like how the game's different palettes and pattern swaps references the BS F-Zero Grand Prix game that was on a streaming service way back in the 90s. For example, one can colorize the Golden Fox in a way that resembles the "Green Amazone" from BS F-Zero, which was also a speedy and frail machine lik the Golden Fox.*

Which machine do you people main ? I usually go with Golden Fox and make sure to front run as much as I possibly can, but at times it's quite hard to do so. And later on, the Bumper cars eventually become a problem, especially in tracks with lots of turns like Sand Ocean or Port Town 2.

 

[skynerel]

I used the Blue Falcon a lot for the NES version. In GX I used a couple of different machines: Sonic Phantom, Space Angler, Red Gazelle, Blue Falcon and custom made.

 

[Herbizarre]

Yeah, in GX those are good choices of non-custom machines, although Space Angler falls quite hard at high level play. Sonic Phantom especially is great since it reaches a good speed cap, turns well and boosts well. Its light weight makes it somewhat fragile, but it's not too bad.

Some machines fares better at certain setting percentages. For example, Mighty Hurricane in GX is infamous for its unbreakable grip at 100% Max Speed settings, but if set to something like 80%, it takes turns way better at the cost of some max base speed.

I'm curious : for those that used custom machines in GX, which one was your favorite combination ? Back in the day, I liked a machine called the Ultra Wolf, which was a nice, balanced machine, though nowhere near as powerful as some other combinations of custom parts used by top players.

 

[Robert Akio]

Don't know how late I am. But the fact there is a new F Zero at all is just.. wow. It's impressive to me.

 

[noctiluca]

F-Zero 99 was very fun to play. I played the original F-Zero 10 years ago, I was reminded of how fun it can be. The music is exceptional, as is the art direction. The customisability of the vehicle colours was a nice addition, but I disliked that the terminal track of each cup was locked to the Grand Prix. I managed to attain S- rank, but the game was rather dull after all the tracks were released.
I enjoyed F-Zero X, with the main drawpoint being the music again. Even though they are both rock inspired, something about the way guitars and the percussion are used gives it distinct identity against the original. The wacky characters added to the memorability.
I tried F-Zero GX, but I could not never really get into it. It feels 'too polished', and the music is not to my liking, I can't really explain why. It's too 'modern-sounding', I think. I think at that point in my life, I preferred retro aesthetics. If they create a new F-Zero, I think it should take inspiration from the original 2 and not GX.

 

[Herbizarre]

Don't know how late I am. But the fact there is a new F Zero at all is just.. wow. It's impressive to me.

It is never too late ! And indeed, it is impressive. It's just a shame that the supposed lack of fresh ideas for the series made it stagnant for a long time. ><

F-Zero 99 was very fun to play. I played the original F-Zero 10 years ago, I was reminded of how fun it can be. The music is exceptional, as is the art direction. The customisability of the vehicle colours was a nice addition, but I disliked that the terminal track of each cup was locked to the Grand Prix. I managed to attain S- rank, but the game was rather dull after all the tracks were released.
I enjoyed F-Zero X, with the main drawpoint being the music again. Even though they are both rock inspired, something about the way guitars and the percussion are used gives it distinct identity against the original. The wacky characters added to the memorability.
I tried F-Zero GX, but I could not never really get into it. It feels 'too polished', and the music is not to my liking, I can't really explain why. It's too 'modern-sounding', I think. I think at that point in my life, I preferred retro aesthetics. If they create a new F-Zero, I think it should take inspiration from the original 2 and not GX.

I won't lie, I didn't expect the numerous decal/color combination to be done, especially since the peoples behind the artworks must have done pixel-art for each machine, decal/color combo in EACH machine positions (front, back, side etc). Indeed, having the last tracks of each league locked in Grand Prix sucks, especially since most newcomers would wonder how they'd survive such tracks at all !

F-Zero X has a very nice soundtrack, not to mention it is the first game to have an expanded roster from just the original four to 30 pilots ! And yes, each pilot have their own quirks, especially in F-Zero GX where more of their bios are revealed, and how each playable pilots have their own interview session when you finish a GP with their machine. It always amuses me how for some reason, the devs decided that most of the pilots were taller than the average human. I do see what you mean about GX feeling too-polished. For a 2003 game it looks stunning, even now its graphics can compare well to what we have in some games. The soundtrack is nice, though I don't get to listen to it often enough. That, and hearing remixes of songs using the F-Zero X soundfont is always a treat

What I would like to see next in F-Zero 99 would be the BS F-Zero-exclusive tracks. There are ten of them, which were broadcasted way back in the late 90's on the Satellaview, and while there were tracks similar to the original game (Mute City IV, Big Blue II and Silence II), there were new venues in Sand Storm, Forest and Metal Fort. The latter two venues have been unreleased to the public, and considering how these tracks work (Forest's first two tracks having NO HEALTH PATCH to heal at all), these would be fun to race around.