Erockthestrange
F-Zero 1990
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--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
September 11, 2020
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F-Zero is the racing franchise that Nintendo has forsaken. It predates the first Mario Kart game by a couple of years, so this means F-Zero was Nintendo’s first foray into establishing a series in the racing genre (the one-off NES title Excitebike withstanding). Once Mario Kart emerged on the SNES in 1992, both franchises coexisted for a few generations until Nintendo decided only to invest in the wildly popular Mario Kart series and leave F-Zero in the dust. We have not seen hide nor hair of F-Zero in almost twenty years, besides Captain Falcon’s long-running stand as a character in Super Smash Bros. I can’t say I’m surprised that Nintendo stopped investing in F-Zero and focused solely on Mario Kart as their juggernaut racing franchise. Why is this, you may ask? Because Mario Kart is accessible while F-Zero only reaches a niche demographic of gaming masochists. Why would Nintendo, a company that thrives on its user-friendly properties, put effort into a franchise that makes people want to tear their hair out due to sheer frustration? It wouldn’t make sense to do this from a marketing standpoint, which is why Nintendo gave up on the series many years ago. What Nintendo failed to realize is that this niche market still hungers for more of the meaty challenge that only F-Zero provides. As early as the first F-Zero game on the SNES, the series provided a high-octane racing experience that tested the limits of the racing genre.
The first F-Zero also tested the limits of what was capable on the new SNES. As a launch title for the system, its ulterior goal was to showcase the capabilities of the new console. If Super Mario World showcased an evolved translation of the NES side scroller, F-Zero showcased features that could not have been functional on the NES. The potential of the new “mode-7” feature on the SNES was exhibited greatly with F-Zero, almost as if the feature was crafted with racing games in mind. “Mode-7” graphics detail a rotated background layer, changing the perspective to give the illusion of 3D graphics. That’s right, this was the prototype for the 3D revolution that would become the standard for gaming, and it was used as early as a SNES launch title. While other SNES games used snippets of mode-7 graphics, F-Zero utilized them to the best of their capabilities. Racing games of previous generations were restricted due to graphical limitations. They were presented in a myriad of perspectives, but none of these did the racing genre justice. The new mode-7 graphics created the most ideal racing perspective for a console that predated the 3D era. Not only did the pseudo-3D graphics allow the player to see their car from the back, but it allowed the player to see what was directly in front of them. Racing games of previous generations could only render a minuscule amount for the driver to see on the road. F-Zero puts everything in clear sight so the player can anticipate everything from dirt pits, road curves, and other drivers. It seems simple, but this was a revolutionary change for the racing genre at the time.
The futuristic evolution of the racing game that F-Zero upholds in a technical sense is supported by its futuristic aesthetic. F-Zero is a racing game set in a time that nobody alive in 1990 or today will ever experience. The high-octane speeds the racers accelerate surpass any flux capacitor and, quite frankly, scare the hell out of my comparatively unadorned 21st-century being. The tracks are winding, and the backgrounds all look like concept art from Fantastic Planet. There is more context to F-Zero’s racing league and its drivers, but this is only elucidated in the game’s manual, which I do not possess (the SNES was before my time, and I played this game on my Switch). What the game presents is that the player has a choice between four different racers whose cars have distinct stats. The blue car (of which I’m only pretending not to know that this is Captain Falcon’s car because the game doesn’t tell the player) is the car with the most balanced level of speed, handling, and acceleration. It’s the perfect car for beginner players. The other cars have stats that exceed the blue car in some aspects but are lacking in others. This way, the small selection of racers the player has is at least varied. There are fifteen tracks divided into three grand Prix each with five tracks, and each grand Prix gets progressively more difficult.
Speaking of the difficulty, I think F-Zero should serve as a lesson that we as people should not attempt to surpass the limits of automotive technology. The racers of F-Zero drive at speeds in the 300-500 range, tripling the rates of speed of any present-day automobile. Driving at these perilous speeds is probably why F-Zero is so goddamn difficult. The player can see plenty of what’s in front of them, but good luck trying to avoid the many hazards each track presents. This can include having to execute the sharpest of U-turns, avoiding the patches of snow and dirt on the tracks, dodging unexploded ordnance, and not misstepping any of the various jumps that could lead to the driver’s death. The player has to contend with the other racers who swerve masterfully around the courses, even on the easiest difficulty. The other racers are ruthless and will defend their position as their lives depend on it. Even if the player is in first place, another driver will always be tailing them. One minor mistake on the player’s part will most likely cost them their position. Trying to pass other racers on the tracks tends to turn F-Zero from space-age NASCAR into space-age bumper cars. Passing the other racers without getting nicked is incredibly hard because the narrow tracks. The possibility of the player coming into contact with another racer is highly likely and will result in the player getting bumped around on the track like a pinball. The most frustrating aspect of this is the generic yellow and brown racers on the track who have no stakes in winning the race. Their only purpose is to cause grief for the player, acting as obstacles even when all the other racers are behind them. Some of them explode upon impact just to fuck the player over even harder. All of this battering and bruising the player will experience will lower their energy bar, which is essentially the car’s health meter. After too many clangs and clashes on the road, the energy bar will deplete and do a constant warning flash if it’s too low. There’s one long stretch of each track in which running on it will replenish the energy meter, but it only charges a minuscule amount. If that energy bar goes to zero, the car will blow up, and the player will have to start the race again. The game will only give the player three chances, and they will need all of them.
The ironic part about how innovative F-Zero was to the racing genre is how it seems like an arcade game. If I didn’t know any better, the demanding difficulty curve and the lives count scream arcade game to me. As one could probably tell from my reviews, I’m not a fan of games with this format made for consoles. The difficulty has little to do with my grievances here. Rather, it’s due to the lack of tangible rewards the player gets for overcoming the hardest racing game on the NES. All of the tracks, racers and grand Prix that are available from the start are all that are offered. What about the two or three racers always in fifth and sixth place? Unlocking their cars would at least be some incentive to keep playing the game. After winning a grand Prix, there is no grand ceremony giving the player a gold trophy. All the game will do is tally up the player's scores. I’m not someone who thrives off of bragging rights, so merely keeping scores like an arcade machine is not enough to satisfy me. There isn’t even a multiplayer mode that should be mandatory for any racing game.
If anyone out there thinks they are the Mario Kart grandmaster, playing F-Zero will be a humbling experience that will put them in their place. Alternately, if you’re someone who feels frustrated by being hit with a blue shell and losing a race, those unfortunate snags are nothing compared to the trials and tribulations on the futuristic tracks in F-Zero. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I had to play F-Zero on the easiest difficulty to experience the full game for this review. The easiest difficulty still managed to bend me over and make me its bitch. I got so frustrated with being tossed around on these tracks that I almost gave up. This is most likely the shared experience of many players of F-Zero, but I still kept playing. There is something so gratifying about progressively getting better at this game after struggling to even place in first on the beginning grand Prix. Learning how to properly drift and slide past those acute angles on the roads with little trouble feels like I’ve become more capable, something that no other racing game provides. That’s the appeal of this game that makes getting pummeled worth it. The game would’ve benefited greatly from providing the player with rewards for mastering it. The first F-Zero might have been a cutting-edge racing title that showcased the potential of the SNES’s hardware, but it still felt a little rudimentary.
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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com
The first F-Zero also tested the limits of what was capable on the new SNES. As a launch title for the system, its ulterior goal was to showcase the capabilities of the new console. If Super Mario World showcased an evolved translation of the NES side scroller, F-Zero showcased features that could not have been functional on the NES. The potential of the new “mode-7” feature on the SNES was exhibited greatly with F-Zero, almost as if the feature was crafted with racing games in mind. “Mode-7” graphics detail a rotated background layer, changing the perspective to give the illusion of 3D graphics. That’s right, this was the prototype for the 3D revolution that would become the standard for gaming, and it was used as early as a SNES launch title. While other SNES games used snippets of mode-7 graphics, F-Zero utilized them to the best of their capabilities. Racing games of previous generations were restricted due to graphical limitations. They were presented in a myriad of perspectives, but none of these did the racing genre justice. The new mode-7 graphics created the most ideal racing perspective for a console that predated the 3D era. Not only did the pseudo-3D graphics allow the player to see their car from the back, but it allowed the player to see what was directly in front of them. Racing games of previous generations could only render a minuscule amount for the driver to see on the road. F-Zero puts everything in clear sight so the player can anticipate everything from dirt pits, road curves, and other drivers. It seems simple, but this was a revolutionary change for the racing genre at the time.
The futuristic evolution of the racing game that F-Zero upholds in a technical sense is supported by its futuristic aesthetic. F-Zero is a racing game set in a time that nobody alive in 1990 or today will ever experience. The high-octane speeds the racers accelerate surpass any flux capacitor and, quite frankly, scare the hell out of my comparatively unadorned 21st-century being. The tracks are winding, and the backgrounds all look like concept art from Fantastic Planet. There is more context to F-Zero’s racing league and its drivers, but this is only elucidated in the game’s manual, which I do not possess (the SNES was before my time, and I played this game on my Switch). What the game presents is that the player has a choice between four different racers whose cars have distinct stats. The blue car (of which I’m only pretending not to know that this is Captain Falcon’s car because the game doesn’t tell the player) is the car with the most balanced level of speed, handling, and acceleration. It’s the perfect car for beginner players. The other cars have stats that exceed the blue car in some aspects but are lacking in others. This way, the small selection of racers the player has is at least varied. There are fifteen tracks divided into three grand Prix each with five tracks, and each grand Prix gets progressively more difficult.
Speaking of the difficulty, I think F-Zero should serve as a lesson that we as people should not attempt to surpass the limits of automotive technology. The racers of F-Zero drive at speeds in the 300-500 range, tripling the rates of speed of any present-day automobile. Driving at these perilous speeds is probably why F-Zero is so goddamn difficult. The player can see plenty of what’s in front of them, but good luck trying to avoid the many hazards each track presents. This can include having to execute the sharpest of U-turns, avoiding the patches of snow and dirt on the tracks, dodging unexploded ordnance, and not misstepping any of the various jumps that could lead to the driver’s death. The player has to contend with the other racers who swerve masterfully around the courses, even on the easiest difficulty. The other racers are ruthless and will defend their position as their lives depend on it. Even if the player is in first place, another driver will always be tailing them. One minor mistake on the player’s part will most likely cost them their position. Trying to pass other racers on the tracks tends to turn F-Zero from space-age NASCAR into space-age bumper cars. Passing the other racers without getting nicked is incredibly hard because the narrow tracks. The possibility of the player coming into contact with another racer is highly likely and will result in the player getting bumped around on the track like a pinball. The most frustrating aspect of this is the generic yellow and brown racers on the track who have no stakes in winning the race. Their only purpose is to cause grief for the player, acting as obstacles even when all the other racers are behind them. Some of them explode upon impact just to fuck the player over even harder. All of this battering and bruising the player will experience will lower their energy bar, which is essentially the car’s health meter. After too many clangs and clashes on the road, the energy bar will deplete and do a constant warning flash if it’s too low. There’s one long stretch of each track in which running on it will replenish the energy meter, but it only charges a minuscule amount. If that energy bar goes to zero, the car will blow up, and the player will have to start the race again. The game will only give the player three chances, and they will need all of them.
The ironic part about how innovative F-Zero was to the racing genre is how it seems like an arcade game. If I didn’t know any better, the demanding difficulty curve and the lives count scream arcade game to me. As one could probably tell from my reviews, I’m not a fan of games with this format made for consoles. The difficulty has little to do with my grievances here. Rather, it’s due to the lack of tangible rewards the player gets for overcoming the hardest racing game on the NES. All of the tracks, racers and grand Prix that are available from the start are all that are offered. What about the two or three racers always in fifth and sixth place? Unlocking their cars would at least be some incentive to keep playing the game. After winning a grand Prix, there is no grand ceremony giving the player a gold trophy. All the game will do is tally up the player's scores. I’m not someone who thrives off of bragging rights, so merely keeping scores like an arcade machine is not enough to satisfy me. There isn’t even a multiplayer mode that should be mandatory for any racing game.
If anyone out there thinks they are the Mario Kart grandmaster, playing F-Zero will be a humbling experience that will put them in their place. Alternately, if you’re someone who feels frustrated by being hit with a blue shell and losing a race, those unfortunate snags are nothing compared to the trials and tribulations on the futuristic tracks in F-Zero. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I had to play F-Zero on the easiest difficulty to experience the full game for this review. The easiest difficulty still managed to bend me over and make me its bitch. I got so frustrated with being tossed around on these tracks that I almost gave up. This is most likely the shared experience of many players of F-Zero, but I still kept playing. There is something so gratifying about progressively getting better at this game after struggling to even place in first on the beginning grand Prix. Learning how to properly drift and slide past those acute angles on the roads with little trouble feels like I’ve become more capable, something that no other racing game provides. That’s the appeal of this game that makes getting pummeled worth it. The game would’ve benefited greatly from providing the player with rewards for mastering it. The first F-Zero might have been a cutting-edge racing title that showcased the potential of the SNES’s hardware, but it still felt a little rudimentary.
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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com