F-Zero series
The
F-Zero series (abbreviated from
Formula Zero (Gravity)), was first published on
November 21,
1990 by
Nintendo and developed by
Nintendo EAD.In Japan the series is also known as F-ZERO (エフゼロ). The games are primarily set on a futuristic Earth, although some circuits have been set on different planets. The gameplay concept gives little focus to "car combat" but instead consists of high-speed racing at speeds that can exceed 2000 km/h. The series has been known for its graphical capabilities, inspiring pilots and settings, difficult gameplay, and stirring original music.
Story
=Original F-Zero Era
=
Further information: F-Zero (Story)As mentioned in the manual included with the
F-Zero X game and the
Skull's pilot profile, F-Zero is a successor to
Formula One races from the 20th and 21st centuries and F-Max Grand Prix from the 24th century.
It is now the year
2560, and due to the human race's countless encounters with alien life forms throughout the Universe, Earth's social framework has expanded to cosmic proportions. Now, trade, technology transfer and cultural interchange are carried out on an interplanetary basis. An association of wealthy space merchants created the F-Zero Grand Prix in an attempt to add some excitement to their opulent lifestyles. When the first one was held, people were angered at the brutality of the competition due to the various obstacles and traps along the raceway. As time passed, they got used to these dangers and soon demanded even more excitement in the race. Many believe the F-Zero championship is the highest claim to fame in the galaxy. It purportedly has billions of fans, many of whom like to
gamble on the outcomes of races.
=F-Zero X Era
=The original F-Zero ended due to the extreme danger of the sport. The huge accident saw many pilots get injured but miraculously, none were killed, thanks in part to
Dr. Robert Stewart.
Mighty Gazelle is of particular interest; he had barely survived and had to become a cyborg. The sport was brought back under the name F-Zero X (also the name of the
Nintendo 64 game). It is unknown, but likely that later games in the series such as,
F-Zero GX, will be taking place during the F-Zero X era on future Nintendo home consoles.
Characters
There are currently over 40 pilots available in the later games of the series, each with a unique story and reason for entering the F-Zero Grand Prix. Some of the characters are superheroes, supervillains, cyborgs, mutants, and the like, which makes the series akin to something out of an
American comic book.
F-Zero machines
|
Inside an F-Zero machine. |
An anti-gravity unit known as the "G-Diffuser System" and the black reverse magnetic plates located on the bottom of the F-Zero machines allow them to drive at high speeds while hovering just inches to a foot above the magnetic track.
["F-Zero manual." Moby gamesSite. Retrieved July 18, 2006. ] Out of the over forty-four known machines, about five don't weigh over a
ton. The
King Meteor,
Twin Noritta,
Wonder Wasp,
Cosmic Dolphin and
Silver Rat are examples of this minority. F-Zero machines are well-known for their ability to have a maximum speed exceeding that of sound. This is possible since F-Zero machines are built with micro-plasma engines. Each machine has four basic performance attributes: body, boost, grip and weight. Body, boost, and grip are rated on a scale from A to E (A being the best, E being the worst). Weight is usually displayed in kilograms and affects all aspects of the machine.
=Performance
=Body - The higher a machine's Body rating, the less damage it will sustain in a collision. Machines with a good Body rating are also able to withstand more attacks before they explode.
Boost - The Boost rating takes into account the duration of a vehicle's boost and how great a speed increase it provides. A machine with a high rating can travel at higher than normal speeds for an higher extended period of time.
Grip - Grip determines how well a machine negotiates turns. A higher Grip rating means that the players vehicle will steadfast turns. A machine with a low rating will drift around more, especially through tight corners.
Weight - Weight affects a vehicle's acceleration, grip, cornering ability, max speed, and the amount of damage it sustains in a collision. A lighter vehicle is superior in the first three categories, while a heavier vehicle has the advantage in the latter two.
=Engine Model Numbers
=The Engine Model Number for each pilots' machine is not merely a bunch of random numbers and letters, but in fact is totally influenced by specific pilot/machine attributes. For example, Deathborn's machine is called the "Dark Schneider", its Engine Model Number is,
DS021Px3. The DS can mean "Dark Schneider" or for two other machines "under the influence of" Dark Schneider (Black Bull/ Blood Hawk model number's share the same "DS" at the beginning). The "x3", represents the number of exhausts (or group of exhausts) and engines, that specific machine has, in the Dark Schneider's case, that's 3.
F-Zero circuits
The circuits have anti-gravitational guardrails and are set on the outskirts of cities situated high in planet atmospheres. The dynamic structure of the courses are colossal in scale, as most circuits feature a single lap that spans over six miles.
The following is a list of the main installments of the series, with the original year of release and the platforms they appeared on.
Other Games include (not part of the main series):
|
F-Zero, one of the first to use Mode 7 |
|
F-Zero X is the first 3D game in the series |
First game in the series,
F-Zero was the first SNES title to use a technique that Nintendo called "
Mode 7 Scrolling", a form of
Parallax scrolling, to simulate
3D environments. Such techniques in games were considered to be revolutionary in a time when most console games were restricted to static/flat backgrounds and 2 dimensional (
2D) objects. The result was developer
Nintendo EAD creating the world's fastest and smoothest 3D racer ever on a console at that time.
Zero Racers formally known as, G-Zero until June 1996, is a cancelled game for the
Virtual Boy. Zero Racers is a sequel to F-Zero on the Super Nintendo. A prototype exists, since the game was previewed by
Nintendo Power.
The
BS F-Zero series of games were released for the Super Famicom's satellite-based expansion,
Satellaview, in the mid 1990s in
Japan. The first game in this BS series was known as
BS F-Zero Grand Prix, it was a modified version of the first F-Zero game. A year later, it was then followed by
BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix, it was more of an update than a sequel, as a result, it contains only one league with five tracks.
After a hiatus to the rest of the world, the series made the transition to 3D with the second (official and international) installment,
F-Zero X on the
Nintendo 64. Fans were expecting a repeat from the previous game, a racer that pushed the console to its max. Nintendo set out to do just that with F-Zero X, unfortunately with thirty machines on one circuit meant that the N64 had to do plenty of work, leaving little processor power left over for track graphics, texturing and music. The result is a game that looks rather bland, with little texture detail, simple car models and courses (which can sometimes be easily seen gaining or losing polygons) and a mono soundtrack. F-Zero X simply tried to do too much at once. A
64DD expansion known as
F-Zero X Expansion Kit was released in Japan only and was the last add-on disk. The Expansion Kit added three new machines, the ability to create original machines, new background musics (including an F-zero style arrangement of
Mario Kart 64's background music for "Rainbow Road", presumably to go with the track of the same name that appeared in
F-Zero X and shared its course design with its Mario Kart incarnation) and a course editor.
The next game,
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, was the first incarnation of the series for Nintendo's
Game Boy handheld. This is the first F-Zero title with 3 save slots and to feature customizable controls.
The next F-Zero title, for the
GameCube, surprised many fans with the revelation that the new game,
F-Zero GX would be developed by
Sega's
Amusement Vision team (known for the
Super Monkey Ball game series) and to feature a story mode for the first time ever. This game, initially known as F-Zero GC, retained the core gameplay of the previous games.The only arcade edition of the F-Zero franchise was called
F-Zero AX. It was released alongside of its Nintendo GameCube counterpart in the latter part of 2003.
F-Zero: GP Legend (its Japanese name is
F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu, which roughly means
Legend of Falcon), is the second game featuring a story mode, however this one is based on the
anime series of the same name. This results as the main character not being Captain Falcon, but a new character named Rick Wheeler.
The third GBA incarnation was released only in Japan.
F-Zero Climax featured a track editor and new characters/machines.
Despite the
Wii's
unique controller, a future F-Zero game on the Wii will most likely be using the
classic controller instead.
Miyamoto feels that some games will actually work better with the classic controller. He mentioned F-Zero as one such game.
["Miyamoto Shares Wii Secrets." IGN.comSite. Retrieved July 23, 2006. ]The precise
chronology of the
F-Zero universe is debated among fans. As time progressed and more games were released, the exact order of the overall timeframe became complex and heavily disputed. There are bits and pieces of definitive information to connect the home console games to each other. However, there is no definitive explanation for how every game relates to each other in a standardized timeline of events. The F-Zero series of games has two, if not three separate timelines due to the home console and the GBA games with their anime counterpart.
Huge accident
Much of the ambiguity of the chronology of the
F-Zero series is due to the fact there is a lack of information of when and where exactly the huge accident took place. How far it happened after the first F-Zero game and the exact year it happened before F-Zero X with relation to F-Zero GX. Evidence that can be considered contradictory to the claim the huge accident happened four years ago prior to F-Zero GX is Mighty Gazelle's pilot profile in F-Zero X. While it states that he was injured in a "freak accident" three years ago, the beginning of the F-Zero X instruction manual also states that the huge accident happened several years ago.
["F-Zero X manual." World of Video gamesSite. Retrieved July 1, 2006. ]This concludes that the manual is inferring that Mighty Gazelle's accident and the accident that suspended the Grand Prix are two separate events. However in F-Zero GX, Mighty Gazelle's pilot profile states that he took the worst damage in the huge accident that suspended the Grand Prix four years ago. This also concludes that the
Amusement Vision division of
Sega, cause confusion to arise as a result of combining these two events into one.
GBA games
To make a GBA timeline somewhat complicated to produce is the fact that F-Zero Maximum Velocity takes place twenty-five years after the 1991 Super NES title F-Zero game. Due to this, Maximum Velocity is a
reboot continuity to the home console games and separates itself from the
GP Legend/
Climax timeline.
["Maximum Velocity page." All game guideSite. Retrieved July 22, 2006. ] Basically, if one was to map out a single timeline, it's currently impossible to know where the huge accident, F-Zero X and GX takes place compared to the first F-Zero game and Maximum Velocity.
Facts
The general rule of thumb is that the games are the final authority. The information in the
instruction manuals is also
canon, unless contradicted by the games, anime or mistranslation. Manuals are marketing and technical material, and thus are not always subject to the scrutiny of the creators of the game. Information from other official sources, such as
Nintendo Power magazine and its Official Strategy Guides, may also be acceptable, though this is not acknowledged by all fans. Here is a list of the Nintendo-published games in order of release, with the known information regarding their place in the timeline:
F-Zero, the first released game in the series takes place in the year 2560.
BS F-Zero series has no apparent backstory, its place in the timeline is unaltered.
F-Zero X takes place seven years after the huge accident, as indicated in the manual.
F-Zero X Expansion Kit has no apparent backstory, its place in the timeline is unaltered.
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity is a continuation of the setting and storyline of the earlier F-Zero games. Maximum Velocity takes place 25 years after the 1991 Super NES title in the year 2585. Players race against the descendants of the original F-Zero racers.
F-Zero GX allegedly takes place a year after F-Zero X.
F-Zero: GP Legend the video game and the anime
F-Zero GP Legend separate themselves from the other games since both takes place in the year 2201. Also, they feature some different incarnations of
Captain Falcon,
Zoda, and other characters. Due to all of this, GP Legend is considered a
reboot continuity.
F-Zero Climax, a direct sequel to GP Legend means this is also considered a
reboot continuity.
Music
| Title | Composers | Publisher | First Printing! Catalog # | | F-ZERO | Naoto Ishida & Yumiko Kanki | Tokuma Japan | March 25, 1992 | TKCA-30516 |
| F-Zero |
| F-Zero Arranged | Naoto Ishida & Yumiko Kanki | Tokuma Japan | 03.25.92 | TKCA-30516 |
| F-Zero Arranged Soundtrack |
| F-Zero Blues Remix |
| F-Zero Guitar Album |
| F-Zero OSV |
| F-Zero X - Guitar Arranged Version |
| F-ZERO X Guitar Arrange Edition | Taro Bando & Hajime Wakai | Player's Planet, Media Factory | January 27, 1999 | ZMCX-101 |
| F-Zero X OST | Taro Bando & Hajime Wakai | Pony Canyon | September 18, 1998 | PCCG-00459 |
| F-Zero GX/AX OST | Hidenori Shoji, Daiki Kasho & Alan Brey | Scitron Digital Content Inc. | Jul 21, 2004 | SCDC-00358 |
Anime
F-Zero: GP Legend originally aired all fifty-one episodes from 2003 - 2004 in Japan as a part of
TV Tokyo's lineup. Fifteen episodes were produced before the GP Legend's cancellation in America. Based on the video game F-Zero GP Legend, the series presented the F-Zero racers with a radical different look from the home console games. However, most of their persona is done the sameway. While not exactly having Captain Falcon as the main star, it still has some familiar faces, including new ones as well.
F-Zero - The Story of Captain Falcon comic
An eight-paged comic included in the manual of the 1990 SNES F-Zero game. It had the original character designs of Captain Falcon, the three other original pilots, unknown F-Zero pilots and the F-Zero announcer - Mr. Zero. For the first and only time in the F-Zero series, the comic carried the reader fully through one of Falcon's bounty missions. Also, the comic had the first and only full appearance in the F-Zero series of Captain Falcon's sidearm and him using the Falcon Flyer.
["Comic." f-modeSite. Retrieved July 24, 2006. ] While largely forgotten and ignored, this is actually the source of some persistent
fanon beliefs.
References in other games
This is a list of
games that have contained cameos or references to the
F-Zero series.
*
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) — At the back of
Hinopio' Inn, deep within
Barrel Vocano, there are three small models of spaceships sitting on top of boxes. Two of them are
F-Zero machines, the
Blue Falcon, and
Fire Stingray.
Kirby Super Star (SNES) — One of the treasures you can find in the
Great Cave Offenive is
Falcon's Helmet, which is indeed
Captain Falcon's helmet from
F-Zero.
Super Smash Bros. (N64) — Players can choose to be Captain Falcon as their fighting character. They can also view Captain Falcon during the opening cinematic.
Pokémon Stadium 2 (N64) — In
My Room mode, when you decorate room with a
Nintendo console (obtained from the
Game Boy Color games) you can see a still screenshot of a number of
Nintendo games playing on the TV. Then you insert the
Super NES one of the games you can see
F-Zero.
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC) — Players can choose to be Captain Falcon as their fighting character. They can also view Captain Falcon racing in the Blue Falcon against Samurai Goroh racing in the Fire Stingray during the opening cinematic.
**
Stages: F-Zero Grand Prix: Mute City, F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue.
**
Adventure Mode: Big Blue Marathon.
**
Music: Mute City, Big Blue, F-Zero X victory music
**
Trophies: Captain Falcon, Captain Falcon [Smash 1], Captain Falcon [Smash 2],
Dr. Stewart, Falcon Flyer,
F-Zero Racers,
Jody Summer,
Mute City,
Samurai Goroh.
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (GBA) /
Mega Party Game$ (GCN) — One of
9-Volt's classic
Nintendo microgames is based on the original
F-Zero. In it, you must dodge the other cars at high speed.
Jam with the Band (DS) — One of the songs is the
F-Zero Medley, which includes the
Mute City and
Big Blue themes.
Shadow the Hedgehog (GCN/PS2/XBOX) — The boss of Lethal Highway is called "Black Bull" (the name of Black Shadow's vehicle). Also, the boss of The ARK is called "Blue Falcon" (Captain Falcon's vehicle). This is probably due to the fact that
Sega, developed
F-Zero GX and
F-Zero AX.
F-Zero GP Legend - An anime based on F-Zero
Wipeout (a series of games with similar themes by
Sony)
;Notes
*
History of F-Zero at IGN*
The Official F-Zero GX Website*
F-Zero: Falcon Legend (Animation in Japanese)*
F-Zero World Records Page
