F-Zero

Infobox VG
title = F-Zero


developer = Nintendo EAD
publisher = Nintendo
designer = Shigeru Miyamoto (producer)cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/snes/driving/fzero/tech_info.html | accessdate=2008-09-21 | publisher= GameSpot | title=F-Zero - Tech Info] Kazunobu Shimizu (director)
engine = Mode 7
released =SNES
vgrelease|Japan|JP|November 21, 1990
vgrelease|North America|NA|August 13, 1991
vgrelease|Europe|EU|June 4, 1992
Virtual Console
vgrelease|North America|NA|November 19, 2006
vgrelease|Japan|JP|December 2, 2006
vgrelease|EU|December 8, 2006
genre = Futuristic racing game
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: Everyone (E)
platforms = SNES, Virtual Console
media = 4-megabit cartridge
requirements =
input =

nihongo|"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 (SNES). The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 13, 1991 and in Europe on June 4, 1992. The title was downloadable over the Nintendo Power peripheral in Japan [cite web|url= http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n03/index.html|title=Nintendo Power|accessdate=2007-08-05| publisher= Nintendo|language=Japanese|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061215234433/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n03/riyou/mosikomi/sf.html|archivedate = 2006-12-15] and was also released onto the Nintendo Super System. In late 2006, "F-Zero" became available for the Virtual Console service on the Wii.

This is the inaugural game of the "F-Zero" series and one of the launch titles for the SNES. "F-Zero" was released in Japan as one of the two debut games, [cite book |last=Sheff |first=David |title= |origyear=1993 |edition=First |publisher=Random House, Inc. |location=New York |isbn=0-679-40469-4 |accessdate=2007-07-16 |pages=p. 361] but in the U.S. it was accompanied by additional titles.cite web |url= http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3155264 |title=Out to Launch: Wii |accessdate=2007-07-03 |last=Parish|first=Jeremy |date=2006-11-14 |publisher=1UP.com] Players control fast hovercraft and use their speed boosting abilities as well as any shortcuts on the tracks to navigate through the courses as quickly as possible.

"F-Zero" is considered to be the game that essentially created the futuristic racing sub-genre. [cite web| url = http://top100.ign.com/2003/91-100.html| title = IGN's Top 100 Games| accessdate = 2008-10-03| author = IGN Staff| date = 2003-04-29| publisher = IGN] The title is also known for setting a standard for the racing genre; [cite web | url=http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?featuretype=ret&fea=SnesWeekDay5 | title=SNES Week: Day 5| accessdate= 2007-12-03| last = Allen | first= Matt| publisher=NTSC-uk] critics lauded "F-Zero" for its fast gameplay, variety of tracks, music, as well as its extensive use of a graphical mode called "Mode 7". This graphics-rendering technique was considered to be at the time a groundbreaking technological achievement that made the title the first racing game to be developed this realistically. [cite web|url= http://ign64.ign.com/articles/120/120418p1.html |title=F-Zero X| accessdate=2007-07-16|author=IGN Staff |date=1998-07-14| publisher=IGN] As a result, the title reinvigorated the racing genre [Citation |title=Electronic Adventures|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|pages=p. 4 |date=1998-12-01] [cite web| url = http://top100.ign.com/2005/091-100.html| title = IGN's Top 100 Games| accessdate = 2008-10-03| author = IGN Staff| year = 2005| publisher = IGN] and inspired the future creation of numerous racing games.

Gameplay

"F-Zero" is a futuristic racing game where pilots race on circuits inside plasma-powered hovercars in an intergalactic at speeds that can exceed nowrap|400 km/h. The objective of the game 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. The player must complete each lap in a successively higher place or be disqualified and unable to finish the race. For each lap completed, the player is rewarded with an approximately four-second speed boost and a number of points determined by place. One of the "SSS" on-screen displays will be shaded green to indicate that a 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 vehiclescite web|url= http://www.vc-reviews.com/review/150/f-zero.php| title=F-Zero (Virtual Console - Super Nintendo)|accessdate=2007-08-05 |publisher= Virtual Console Archive] 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 mode.

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. 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.

Leagues

"F-Zero" has a total of fifteen tracks divided into three leagues: Knight, Queen, and King. Additionally, the Death Wind, Port Town, and Red Canyon courses have areas that are not accessible unless the player is on another version of those tracks, which then in-turn closes the direction previously available. The game has three initial difficulty levels; beginner, standard, and expert. Completion of the expert class in any league unlocks the master difficulty level. [cite web|url= http://www.cheatscodesguides.com/super-nes-cheats/f-zero/|title= F-Zero Cheats| accessdate= 2007-09-27|date=1998-11-17|publisher= CheatsCodesGuides|work=IGN Entertainment] 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.

tory

"F-Zero" takes place in the year 2560 when 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 were at first outraged with the brutality of the competition, but eventually demanded more excitement. They soon after called these Grand Prix races simply, "F-ZERO".cite book | editor=Nintendo EAD | title=F-Zero instruction manual |date= 1991-08-13| publisher=Nintendo| language=English| pages=pp. 3-5, 7-9, 11]

Development and reception

A merger between Nintendo's various internal research and development teams lead to the creation of Nintendo EAD, which was lead by Shigeru Miyamoto. EAD's first projects were "Pilotwings", "Sim City", "F-Zero", and "Super Mario World". "F-Zero" was one of the launch titles for the SNES that EAD approximately fifteen months to complete. [cite web|url= http://cube.ign.com/articles/089/089011p1.html |title=Gamecube Developer Profile: EAD | accessdate=2008-10-04 |author=Anthony JC |coauthor=Pete Deol| publisher=IGN|work=N-Sider] Takaya Imamura was surprised to be able to so freely design "F-Zero"'s characters and courses as he wanted since it was his first game.

"F-Zero" was widely hailed as being visually impressive for a home console game; it has been called the fastest and smoothest pseudo-3D racer of its time [cite web|url= http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/165/165423p1.html |title=F-Zero: Maximum Velocity review| accessdate= 2007-12-10 |last=Harris|first=Craig |authorlink= Craig Harris (journalist) |date=2001-06-14 |publisher=IGN |quote=One of the first titles for the Super NES was also one of the system's most technically impressive games as well -- when F-Zero was released on the Nintendo 16-bit system a decade ago, it offered the fastest, smoothest pseudo-3D racer ever conceived for a home system...] Citation| last= Parish | first= Jeremy| publication-date= September 2007| title= The Evolution of 2D| periodical= Electronic Gaming Monthly | publisher= Ziff Davis Media| issue= 219| pages= 107| id= ISSN 1058-918X] and the first racing game to offer such graphical realism.cite web | url = http://www.cubed3.com/news/4825/| title = The Who's Who in Gaming| accessdate = 2007-12-03 | last = Karn | first = Bianco| date = 2006-06-30| publisher = Cubed³| quote = Their [Shigeru Miyamoto and his new team of 30 people] first title was the Sci-Fi racer F-Zero, also the first game to unlock the special hardware feature known as Mode 7. This allowed intense graphics unlike anything seen before, special effects such as scaling and rotation allowed for a 3D looking world to be created effortlessly.] This all due to the fact that "F-Zero" was one of the first SNES titles to pervasively use a special exclusive hardware feature of the system called "Mode 7".cite web|url= http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=4&cId=3152604 |title=Purple Reign: 15 Years of the Super NES|accessdate= 2007-08-16 |last=Barnholt|first=Ray |date=2006-08-04 |publisher=1UP.com|pages=p. 5] This graphics-rendering technique allowed different kinds of scaling and rotation effects of bitmap graphics, which the game used to simulate 3D environments without processing any polygons. The Mode-7 rendering done in "F-Zero" consists of a single-layer which is scaled and rotated around the vehicle. Such techniques in video games were considered to be revolutionary in a time when games were restricted to static/flat backgrounds and 2-dimensional (2D) objects.cite web|url= http://retro.ign.com/articles/879/879428p1.html|title=F-Zero (SNES) review| accessdate=2008-10-07|last=Thomas|first=Lucas|date=2007-01-26|publisher=IGN] The game was also praised for its variety of tracks and its multiple levels of difficulty.

"F-Zero" became part of the Player's Choice line by selling at least a million copies.cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/snes/driving/fzero/similar.html?mode=versions |title= Release Summary: F-Zero|accessdate= 2008-04-18|publisher= GameSpot] An "F-Zero" album was released on March 25, 1992 in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications. It features twelve songs from the game on a single disc composed by Yumiko Kanki, Yukio Kaneoka and Naoto Ishida and arranged by Robert Hill and Michiko Hill. [cite web | title=F-Zero| publisher = Square Enix Music Online | url = http://www.squareenixmusic.com/albums/f/fzero.shtml | accessdate =2008-03-04]

Legacy

The pseudo-3D capabilities of the Super NES were designed to be a showcase in the video games "F-Zero" and "PilotWings" [cite web|url= http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/135/135423p1.html |title= F-Zero: Maximum Velocity preview |accessdate= 2008-10-04|author=IGN Staff|date= 2001-03-08 |publisher= IGN] which 1UP.com stated these two games "existed almost entirely for the sake of showing them off". "F-Zero" inspired the future creation of numerous racing games inside and out of its own subgenre, such the "Wipeout" series and "Daytona USA". Amusement Vision's President, Toshihiro Nagoshi, commented in 2002 that "F-Zero" "actually taught me what a game should be" and it served as an influence for him to create "Daytona USA" and other racing games. Amusement Vision collaborated with Nintendo to develop "F-Zero GX/AX" and Nagoshi served as one of the co-producers for these games.cite web| url= http://cube.ign.com/articles/356/356325p1.html |title= Interview: F-Zero AC/GC|accessdate= 2007-07-15|author=IGN Staff |date= 2002-03-28 |publisher=IGN] [cite web|url= http://cube.ign.com/articles/427/427647p2.html |title= F-Zero Press Conference| accessdate= 2007-07-18| author=IGN Staff |date=2003-07-08 |publisher= IGN|pages=p. 2]
Nintendo was developing a sequel of the first "F-Zero" game for the SNES. The game was instead broadcasted in several parts on the St. Giga subscription service for the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom.cite web|url= http://guides.ign.com/guides/480123/page_12.html |title=F-Zero GX Guide | accessdate=2008-10-04|last = Schneider|first = Peer|authorlink=Peer Schneider| publisher=IGN] Using this add-on, gamers could download titles via satellite and save it onto a flash ROM cartridge. [cite web|url= http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_zelda/page22.html |title= The History of Zelda |accessdate= 2008-09-21 |publisher= GameSpot |pages= ] The sequel was released under the names of "BS F-Zero Grand Prix" and "BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix" during the mid-1990s, making them the second video game of the franchise. The "BS F-Zero" games have four playable vehicles that share similar attributes as the ones from the original SNES game. 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. "BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix" features one new league containing five different tracks, a Grand Prix and a Practice mode.cite web|title=BS F-Zero 2 Grand Prix|url= http://cheats.ign.com/objects/573/573890.html |publisher= IGN|accessdate=2006-06-19] When "F-Zero" was released onto the Virtual Console service, the game was praised by GameSpot for its controls, longevity and track design. The reviewer felt the game offered exceptional gameplay, with "a perfect balance of pick-up-and-play accessibility and sheer depth". However, both IGN and GameSpot, who gave the title a 7.5/10 and 8/10 respectively, agreed that the game could've used a multiplayer mode.cite web|url= http://www.gamespot.com/wii/driving/fzerosnes/review.html|title= F-Zero review (Virtual Console)| accessdate=2007-07-17 |last=Kasavin |first=Greg| date= 2006-11-19|publisher= GameSpot] cite web|url= http://wii.ign.com/articles/759/759087p1.html|title=F-Zero (Virtual Console) review| accessdate=2007-07-16|last=Thomas|first=Lucas|date=2007-01-26|publisher=IGN]

References

External links

* [http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole/games/detail/Pw3uFrEofIz6Yxh7ICrjlMqiDrRoVHlM "F-Zero" at Nintendo.com]
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