F-ZERO 99 Brings Hope to a Long-Forgotten Franchise

Today, something happened that most did not ever see coming. A new F-ZERO game was shadow-dropped onto the Nintendo Switch for Nintendo Switch Online members. This marks the first F-ZERO game since F-ZERO: GP Legend on the Gameboy Advance back in 2003. That’s 20 years of no F-ZERO news or games until today. It may not be the game fans wanted, but maybe Nintendo is gauging interest in the franchise with this new release.

The game in question is F-ZERO 99 a battle royale racing game. Nintendo has released other 99 games in the past, like Super Mario 99, Tetris 99, and Pac-Man 99. All old games with a new twist to them, making them a 99-player battle royale to see who’s the best at their respective retro favorite.

F-ZERO 99 pits 99 players through the original tracks featured in the original SNES classic. Every high-speed racer will have to be careful of their power meter, a staple of the F-ZERO series. If you crash into guard rails or other pilots your meter goes down. If it reaches zero, you’re out of the game! Race clean and fast and you’ll survive the death circuit Nintendo has in store for us.

99 Problems But a New Game Ain’t One

That’s not all the tricks this game has, however. When racers collide, they can drop sparks and when enough of them are collected, they will bring the player to a skyway. Allowing them to easily avoid all other players. Pilots can also expend their power meter for a speed boost! Allowing for more risky gameplay. Players can also unlock cosmetic options after each game.

Could this mark a precedent for a new fully realized F-ZERO game in the future? It at least seems likely that Nintendo will keep making their 99 series of games. After 20 years of nothing, it’s shown that Nintendo has not forgotten about F-ZERO. Regardless, there is at least a glimmer of hope for fans of the franchise everywhere.
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