F-ZERO (SNES)
As the saying goes: “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. Despite their obvious desirability, definitive launch titles remain rare. The full wishlist for a game showing off new hardware has always been a dauntingly long one. As the 16-bit generation kicked off, the very least players could hope for was something previous systems couldn’t run. If the game was something competing consoles couldn’t emulate, all the better. Ideally, the game would need to be technically ambitious and thematically adventurous: an experience different to what had gone before. Developers would face all of these demands whilst grappling with unfamiliar architecture and a looming deadline. However, when the Super Nintendo launched, one game managed all of the above.
It’s hard to think of a bigger-hitting launch game than F-Zero. Introducing many console gamers to their first taste of 3D whilst simultaneously revitalising and reinventing the futuristic racing genre, F-Zero wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It was the day-one killer app most systems could only dream of. On the surface, this blisteringly fast racer sticks to its Japanese roots. Colourful menus and larger-than-life, retro-future vehicles and protagonists remain faithful to the blueprint established by influential sixties anime Speed Racer. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ve a game that’s paradoxically vibrant and gritty, inviting and ominous. Even the name of the now-iconic Mute City, a bustling tech metropolis that hosts races with vehicles screaming around at 500kph, seems a contradiction. Perhaps the menacing nature of the courses, which feature mines, jumps, ice sheets and magnetic traps, lend something to its air of foreboding.
The action begins at the iconic Mute City
Fans of Super Mario Kart will see the series’ genus in F-Zero. Smouldering courses surrounded by molten lava, snowy circuits with slippery patches and barren deserts with patchy terrain all foretell the progenitor of the kart racer. It isn’t just its themes, either. Split-routes, jumps, speed pads and a deployable boost are all integral facets of the gameplay. F-Zero places a greater focus on racing and pure speed, eschewing power-ups in favour of a damage bar that bleeds the player’s top speed after a few bashes with opponents or the scenery. If the bar depletes, your ship promptly explodes. Handily, the player can drive through a pit lane, repairing some of the damage, lap-by-lap.
The first game to utilise Mode 7, a rendering method that sees sprites racing around flat 3D environments, F-Zero offered a unique experience. It’s not restricted to the laws of conveyor-belt scrolling racers, where the track would appear to rotate around the vehicle. The player has freedom of movement in all directions and the effect is significant. Handling is accessible yet significantly more immersive: you have to think about the best lines to approach twisty sequences of corners, how much speed to scrub for sharper corners, how much to compromise positioning when overtaking and so on. Nintendo didn’t stop there, assigning directional drift to the shoulder buttons, which adds an excellent means of helping take tight corners around hazards without too much deviation. For all the talk of F-Zero’s technical firsts, at its heart lies a beautifully playable, fun racing game. It’s incredibly rapid and smooth. Nimble handling feels completely intuitive, and with crafts presenting different grip characteristics, each demands slightly adapted cornering approaches.
The first game to utilise Mode 7, a rendering method that sees sprites racing around flat 3D environments, F-Zero offered a unique experience. It’s not restricted to the laws of conveyor-belt scrolling racers, where the track would appear to rotate around the vehicle. The player has freedom of movement in all directions and the effect is significant. Handling is accessible yet significantly more immersive: you have to think about the best lines to approach twisty sequences of corners, how much speed to scrub for sharper corners, how much to compromise positioning when overtaking and so on. Nintendo didn’t stop there, assigning directional drift to the shoulder buttons, which adds an excellent means of helping take tight corners around hazards without too much deviation. For all the talk of F-Zero’s technical firsts, at its heart lies a beautifully playable, fun racing game. It’s incredibly rapid and smooth. Nimble handling feels completely intuitive, and with crafts presenting different grip characteristics, each demands slightly adapted cornering approaches.
FOCAL POINT: BIG BLUE
There probably isn’t quite enough I can write about F-Zero’s second course, Big Blue, to justify a full Landmark Levels feature. Still, this excellent course is worthy of its own paragraph. Whilst Nintendo would revisit oceanic settings plenty of times in the years that followed via Mario Kart and Wave Race, its appearance in a futuristic racer is eye-catching. Most of F-Zero is a high-wire act, with the player oscillating between intense concentration and full-blown stress. Big Blue, however, with its tranquil location, diverting mix of gentle sweeps and occasional 90-degree bends, is a pleasure to drive. There’s nothing too fiendish, but enough in the way of corners to ensure it never feels a chore. Later on, the game offers up two rather more hair-raising courses in this style, the dystopian Port Town I & II. Incredibly satisfying to conquer, these are altogether more threatening thanks to their grungy veneer and a sequence of magnetic traps that draw the player off line, draining their shields.
Fifteen courses across three tournaments will test even the most seasoned of gamers. Rather than different speed classes, the game opts for three difficulty levels. Mere mortals should be able to beat the easiest setting, whilst Normal presents a really decent challenge for more experienced gamers, and the hardest setting should see committed die-hards practising for a long time. The feeling of hurtling through a sequence of sweeps, as you fight to retain speed and keep the ship out of the electrified walls, is thrilling. Timing the apex of a hairpin to get a good run out of the corner, is equally satisfying. Using the drift buttons to avoid clipping other ships in the nerve-wracking cross-winds chaos of the Death Wind tracks make for a memorable experience, whilst the dystopian Port Town tracks prove a wonderful racing test complicated by a smattering of hazards.
Compared to other racers of the time, there’s no question F-Zero’s environments look sparse. However, the relatively minimalist look is something it makes work. Strong background colour schemes tend to do the lion’s share of the work, as the eye is drawn to the attractive crafts, top-quality sprite scaling and the sheer velocity of the action. In a far cry from what the genre would become known for in the years that followed, the music here is fairly low-key. Occasionally, BGMs will add a bit of trepidation, but it’s mainly left to the whirly engine sound effects to power the audio side.
Compared to other racers of the time, there’s no question F-Zero’s environments look sparse. However, the relatively minimalist look is something it makes work. Strong background colour schemes tend to do the lion’s share of the work, as the eye is drawn to the attractive crafts, top-quality sprite scaling and the sheer velocity of the action. In a far cry from what the genre would become known for in the years that followed, the music here is fairly low-key. Occasionally, BGMs will add a bit of trepidation, but it’s mainly left to the whirly engine sound effects to power the audio side.
I did say F-Zero isn’t perfect, and it’s because of a few small quibbles. AI rubberbanding glues competitors to your tail, regardless of whether you’re having a great race or merely keeping out of trouble. Tapping the walls appears a trigger for them to pressure or pass you. Whilst this keeps the racing close, it’s frustrating to complete four perfect laps, only to lose a race on one mistake. Now and then, clipping a backmarker (many of whom are found unhelpfully meandering at slow speeds) will send you pinballing between the track barriers and can ruin a race in the blink of an eye. The inclusion of backmarkers makes sense as it means the player is always having to remain engaged in picking a path through the field. That said, having them appear at the start of the second lap, implying the rearmost runners have barely moved, is a bit silly. The absence of a two-player mode was considered by some a disappointment at the time of release, but given F-Zero’s multiplayer test pilot was ultimately adapted to create Super Mario Kart, this can be forgiven.
Insane speeds, twisty layouts and a multitude of hazards make F-Zero a thrilling challenge
I’ll end by returning to the original point: you don’t get launch games as good as F-Zero. It’s a mark of the game’s enduring quality that what should have been a solid benchmark for Mode 7 would remain one of its finest examples. Many developers tried, but few matched its technical aptitude, stunning course design and brilliant handling that fit the new modus of racing game like a glove. Superbly playable, and for a first venture with new technology, a remarkable achievement.
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VERDICT
"A devastating turn of speed and packed with incredibly cool tracks... It’s a mark of F-Zero’s enduring quality that what should have been a solid benchmark for Mode 7 would remain one of its finest examples. An outstanding racing game." OVERALL: 9/10 |
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