Information about F Zero

F-Zero
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto (producer)[1] Kazunobu Shimizu (director)[1]
Engine	Mode 7
Release date(s)	SNES JP November 21, 1990 NA August 13, 1991 EU June 4, 1992 Virtual Console NA November 19, 2006 JP December 2, 2006 EU December 8, 2006
Genre(s)	Futuristic racing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E)
Platform(s)	SNES, Virtual Console
Media	4-megabit cartridge

F-Zero (エフゼロ, Efu Zero, F-ZERO) is a futuristic racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was first released in Japan on November 21, 1990 and later in North America on August 13, 1991 and in Europe on June 4, 1992. F-Zero was downloadable over the Nintendo Power peripheral in Japan^[2] and was also released onto the Nintendo Super System. In late 2006, F-Zero became available for the Virtual Console service for the Wii.^[3]

As the inaugural game of the F-Zero series of video games, it was first released in Japan as one of the two debut titles for the Super NES^[4] but in the U.S. this launch title was accompanied by more games.^[5] With its original scenario and style of gameplay, F-Zero was the first of its kind^[6] and also featured a groundbreaking technological achievement at that time.^[6] Its success led to a series of games across multiple gaming platforms. The special edition of this game is called BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix,^[6] which was released for the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom in Japan, contained new tracks and vehicles. BS F-Zero Grand Prix, a direct sequel, was also only released for this attachment, however this was due to the impending release of the Nintendo 64.^[7][6]

Gameplay

F-Zero is a futuristic racing game where pilots race on circuits inside plasma-powered hovercars in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds that can exceed 400 km/h. The goal of F-Zero is to beat opponents to the finish line while avoiding hazards such as land mines, slip zones and magnets that pull the vehicle to certain sides of the track in an effort to make the player damage their vehicle or fall completely off the track. A race in F-Zero consists of five laps around the track.^[6] The player must complete each lap at least the position that the game requests without staying at the last place, which otherwise means disqualification. For each lap completed the player is rewarded with an approximate four second speed boost and a varying number of points determined by place.^[6] One of the "SSS" marks will be shaded green to indicate that the boost can be used. If a certain amount of points are accumulated, an extra "spare machine" is acquired. F-Zero includes two different modes of play. In the Grand Prix mode, the player chooses a league and races against twenty generic vehicles^[7] of different colors through each track in that league. The Practice mode allows the player to practice seven of the courses from the Grand Prix.^[7]

The game introduced the first F-Zero characters; Captain Falcon, Dr. Stewart, Pico, and Samurai Goroh. Each of the four characters have their own selectable vehicle along with its unique performance abilities.^[6] Each machine has an energy meter, which serves the purpose as a measurement of the machine's health and is decreased, for example, when the machine hits the side of the track or another vehicle.^[7]

Leagues

F-Zero has a total of fifteen tracks divided into three leagues. Additionally, the game has three initial difficulty levels; beginner, standard, and expert.^[7] Completion of the expert class in any league and placing third or better in all five courses unlocks the master difficulty level.^[9] Some tracks have areas that can be opened and closed: Death Wind, Port Town, and Red Canyon. When there is a closed area it is not possible to go in that direction unless on another version of the track, which then in-turn closes the direction previously accessible. Unlike most F-Zero games, there are three iterations of Mute City, showing it in day, evening, and night settings. In BS F-Zero 2, Mute City IV continued the theme with an early morning setting.

Story

Near the end of the 20th century mankind was gripped by the fear of being invaded by extraterrestrials. However, by the year 2560 humanity's countless encounters with these alien life forms throughout the Universe expanded Earth's social framework to astronomic proportions. Trade, technology and cultural interchange are carried out between planets. The multibillionaires who earned their enormous wealth through this intergalactic trade were satisfied with their rich lifestyles. However, they also yearned for new entertainment to stimulate their lazy lives, so a new entertainment based on the old F-1 races was founded. People came to call these Grand Prix races simply, "F-ZERO".^[7][6]

History

Reception and legacy

F-Zero has been praised for its controls, longevity and track design but criticized for its lack of a multiplayer mode.^[11][6] The game is considered both visually stunning and the fastest and smoothest pseudo-3D racer ever on a console of its time.^[12][13] However, during development of F-Zero, Takaya Imamura was surprised to be able to so freely design the characters and courses as he wanted since it was his first game.^[13] It is one of the first SNES titles to pervasively use a special exclusive hardware feature of the system called "Mode 7".^[14] This graphics-rendering technique allowed different kinds of scaling and rotation effects of bitmap graphics, which F-Zero used to simulate 3D environments^[13] without processing any polygons.^[6] Such techniques in games were considered to be revolutionary in a time when games were restricted to static/flat backgrounds and 2 dimensional (2D) objects.^[6]

In 1992, Toshihiro Nagoshi was head of Sega’s AM2 development team when he played F-Zero on the SNES for the first time. When Nagoshi experienced F-Zero, not only did the realism impress him but Nagoshi commented F-Zero "actually taught me what a game should be". F-Zero served as an influence for him to create Daytona USA and other racing games.^[13][7] Many years later Nagoshi would later serve as one of co-producers for F-Zero GX.^[17]

The F-Zero soundtrack which was released in 1992, features twelve tracks composed by Yumiko Kanki and Naoto Ishida and arranged by PeeWee and Michiko Hill.

Special edition

BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix was released in two parts and was rebroadcasted on the St. Giga network on each occasion. This game was available to download from a satellite TV channel and once downloaded, it could be played at any time. The game had one new league containing five different tracks^[6] and replaced the four playable vehicles with similar machines in performance and appearance. The graphics are improved over the original game, and the speed and fluidity has increased a bit. The tracks are named as a follow-on from F-Zero - the first track is called "Mute City IV", since Mute City I-III appeared in the original game. The music for the game is the same as before, but the title does have some added sound effects, such as when other racers weave past each other.

Broadcast dates

From...	To...	Chapter Title
10 Aug 1997	16 Aug 1997	BS F-ZERO Grand Prix 2 Dai 1 Shuu
17 Aug 1997	23 Aug 1997	BS F-ZERO Grand Prix 2 Dai 2 Shuu

(taken from The Nintendo Database (Waybacked, page no longer exists)

References

External links

• F-Zero Instruction manual
• F-Zero at MobyGames

•  • [ e] F-Zero video games and anime

F-Zero • BS F-Zero • F-Zero X • • AX / GX • • Climax BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix • F-Zero X Expansion Kit F-Zero GP Legend (anime) Characters • Planets