Now is the Perfect time for F-ZERO to Return

Art by AzureBladeXIII

Thirteen long years. That's how much time has passed since the last F-ZERO game was released on a home console. Its been twelve years since the last portable F-ZERO entry. Since the release of F-ZERO GX and F-ZERO: GP Legend, Nintendo's futuristic racing series has been sidelined, stuck in whatever high tech garages they use in Mute City, waiting for the day it can finally rev up it's engines once again. Well, in my humble opinion, that time is now.

F-ZERO GX was the last time we saw a console release in the series and that
was way back in 2003.

Mario Kart 8 sold well on the Wii U, reaching over 8 million in a period of a little over three years. However, the upgraded Deluxe edition on the Switch has sold over 4 million units and the game hasn't even been out for a full year yet. Splatoon 2 is already shaping up to outsell the original game with over 3 million and like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a year hasn't even passed since it released. People that missed out on Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon on the Wii U were probably experiencing these titles for the first time and existing fans also helped move sales. Let's not forget that ARMS, a brand new Nintendo IP, managed to to sell more than 1 million copies in June, the very month that it was released. For a new IP, that is highly impressive.

What I'm getting at is that the Switch is yet another Nintendo system that prints money. It also helps that Nintendo's ads are seriously on point. Switch ads are short, simple and to the point, showing off the system as a home console and a handheld and with more than 10 million Switch units sold, people are loving what Nintendo is selling. Combine the Switch with Nintendo's killer ads and there is no better time for Captain Falcon and the gang to return in their home franchise.

I can already hear some of you saying that we've got Shin'en Multimedia's FAST RACING series, which has similarities to F-ZERO. Both are insanely fast, futuristic racers. Heck, FAST RACING NEO and FAST RACING RMX  have the very same announcer from F-ZERO GX. I've heard some people say NEO and RMX are "basically F-ZERO". Similar as these two franchises may be, they are still different animals.

The FAST games let you change phases to get boosts when passing over the appropriate color. F-ZERO lets you boost whenever you please after completing the first lap at the expense of machine energy. You can bump into your opponents in FAST and send them off course but there is little in the way for you to hurt the opposition. F-ZERO gives you two options for attacking other racing outright, spinning and side attacks. Another key difference between the two series, and this is a big one, is characters. F-ZERO has Captain Falcon, Samurai Goroh, Pico, Dr. Stewart, Blood Falcon, Black Shadow and a host of other crazy comic book inspired fellows. Characters are one of the main reasons Nintendo's games are so universally loved. You could make the argument that they may not be as developed as lots of other story driven games, but Mario is loved by many despite Luigi having far more depth to him than his older brother (who also happens to be adored by throngs of fans). In contrast, the FAST games have no characters to speak of.

By no means am I trying to cite the FAST series as a lesser franchise by saying all of these things. I'm merely pointing out the differences between two similar games. The FAST games are highly enjoyable with a lot to offer and I'm glad they have a home on Nintendo systems. Having said that, the FAST games are not F-ZERO and in spite of those similarities, it never will be.

FAST RMX is great, but F-ZERO it ain't. 

Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in the way of F-ZERO's return is Nintendo itself, or to be more precise, the the man who had a major hand in creating the series, Shigeru Miyamoto. The man has made it clear that he does not simply want to release another F-ZERO game. I'm all for innovation but not every game needs to reinvent the wheel. A new way to play has hardly stopped the company from releasing new entries in the New Super Mario Bros. series, one that is heavily criticized for being too samey. The Mario Kart franchise, while outstanding has hardly had much in the way of mind blowing ideas in years. Hasn't stopped Nintendo from cranking them out. Miyamoto is a genius but genius doesn't make you right all the time. That he can't understand why fans want F-ZERO to return is very puzzling to me.

Metroid made a comeback without doing anything radically different from what we saw from the games before. Why does F-ZERO have to do something bold or new to warrant a return? If Nintendo is unsure of making a new F-ZERO, they could outsource it to another developer, F-ZERO GX, what many to consider to be the best of the series was developed by Amusement Visions, one of SEGA's now defunct second parties. If any company should be tasked with handling Nintendo's anti-gravity racer, it should be none other than Shin'en Multimedia. They have more than proved themselves worthy of making a competent, blistering speed racer. With the Switch being a runaway success, Nintendo has nothing to lose and everything to gain from bringing F-ZERO out of its long retirement.