F-Zero 99 (Available Today! - 14th September 2023)

[RedShell]

Finally got the damn KO a rival badge:

That was actually more difficult than winning a race.

 

22 hours ago, Glen-i said:

I don't particularly enjoy being the doomsayer when it comes to F-Zero (Just ask the N-E Discord), because despite the fact that I don't enjoy the series, a more diverse range of genres from Ninty is a good thing. (Unless it's open world, that's never good)

But you see this a lot on ResetEra and the like, people shouting "Metroid Prime and Paper Mario are getting Switch remasters, now's the perfect time for F-Zero GX!" And it's bordering on delusion, because GX is nowhere in the same league as far as success goes.

If Nintendo came out and said we don't see the profit potential in remastering GX. People would riot and declare them out of touch, but I'd be in the back thinking "Yeah, I totally get that."

F-Zero GX is in the awkward spot of being a GameCube game, a GameCube game that sold poorly for the GameCube. Because of that, a remaster is quite the risk, and you can't really put it on a hypothetical NSO GameCube app, because GC games would take up far too much space digitally. It's why we see other F-Zero games get re-released digitally constantly, but not GX.

Now of course, never say never, but I don't believe F-Zero 99 is a litmus test for future F-Zero titles, I just think someone pitched the idea, and the higher ups thought "Yeah, this is a cool new idea that F-Zero hasn't done before". It lines up with the reasoning why Ninty haven't done a new entry for so long. They just didn't have any ideas for new ways for it to go, because "F-Zero, but for GameCube" clearly wasn't good enough.

Interesting stuff. As I mentioned before, I had no idea that the F-Zero series had sold so poorly, knowing the reality of the situation now though I'm even more grateful for the existence of F-Zero 99. But yeah, hopefully it will be a success (however the success of a NSO "freebie" is measured) and there will be more to come from this series in the future.

7 hours ago, Helmsly said:

On the one hand I am enjoying this, just as you said it's been a nice surprise. On the other hand, i have no idea how to improve and get better

I'd say ignoring all other players can be a good strategy (well, unless you're trying to KO a rival ) it's easier said than done, but if you can focus as much as possible on the track/racing and less on the absolute mayhem that's going on, then it should lead to a much better position. At which point it naturally becomes less chaotic and is more a matter of just holding your nerve around the CPU obstacles and a few players.
Good timing of the Skyway can help a lot too. Holding on to it until there's a tricky section of a track approaching, or sometimes even until the last couple of turns on the final lap can make a big difference.

[Dcubed]

I think the bigger issue than raw sales is the fact that F-Zero is typically positioned as a bit of a tech showpiece franchise for Nintendo.  Much like its sister series Pilotwings, F-Zero was developed as a tech demo for the SNES' Mode 7 tech, and then used to show off advancements in 3D technology.

With Nintendo moving away from pushing graphics horsepower, and the Switch not exactly being much of a powerhouse itself? F-Zero is in a bit of a bad spot from a creative perspective...  Though that being said? It would certainly be a great fit as a launch title for Nintendo's shiny new Switch successor

Anyway, thoroughly enjoying F-Zero 99 myself.  Though the physics don't really feel quite right here, and it does feel a bit sluggish as a pure F-Zero racer, the sheer chaos of fighting against 98 other racers on the track is always fun.  It's always funny seeing like 20 other racers all explode right as you come to the end of the final lap 

Haven't managed to win a race just yet, but I haven't had much time to play it yet.  I'm sure my time will come soon enough though!

Edited Monday at 08:00 PM by Dcubed

[Jonnas]

I finally gave this a fair shake and... it's absolutely marvelous I think I have a new daily activity, playing this game is so fun! I am very partial to Wild Goose right now.

It's also exciting, the idea that this game is creating a whole new generation of F-Zero games out of the (big) blue. Build that fanbase!

Edited Tuesday at 09:39 PM by Jonnas

[BowserBasher]

Finally won my first race. I’m enjoying this in short bursts. 30 minute sessions tops.