A topic that has been on my mind for the last few months and therefore plastered over any Nintendo fan gathering site/forum is whatever happened to the F-zero series?
For those of you who don’t know F-zero is Nintendo’s future set high space racer, although high speed doesn’t really do it justice most of the time. It is also the series of games where the Super Smash bros character Captain Falcon comes from. If you haven’t heard of it before I can’t really blame you since the last F-zero games released where the downloadable version of the N64’s F-zero X on the Wii and before that F-zero GX on the Gamecube.
Those of you who played the Gamecube version I hope feel the same as me in that you were treated to one of the most addictive fast paced racers ever made. With a huge number of unlockable courses and drivers/ships as well as some frantic split screen multiplayer action. It was certainly one of the gems of the Gamecube’s roster and upon transition over to the Nintendo Wii was still one of my favourite games to play when friends came over. So this brings me back to the question of why such a classic franchise has not seen the light of day since the Gamecube? Knowing that this week marks the five year anniversary of the Wii’s launch I’d estimate that F-Zero GX is at least eight years old by now.
Is it a question of popularity? My opinion on the matter may be bias, but from feedback I’ve had asking other Nintendo fans it seems I’m not alone in the thirst for more eye ball melting action. Looking back though Nintendo do seem to have generation gaps on some of their biggest name franchises such the Metroid series that completely missed the N64 and then led into a trilogy across the Gamecube and Wii. I’m hoping this isn’t the case as the 3DS is crying out for another great title on the horizon after the recent spell of releases to keep the owners happy and what better then some more handheld racing? Mario Kart 7 is a brilliant game with charm and fun, but that’s not to say there isn’t room for a faster paced racer where speed and skill always win the race.
Come on Nintendo what do you say?
SirMime 