Nintendo’s vault of video game franchises is overflowing. From modern heavy hitters like Splatoon to evergreen mascots like Mario, the big N should always have the ability to pair a great gameplay idea with a cast of characters that fans love. In a recent interview with VentureBeat, former Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aimé said he feels that there are people within Nintendo right now attempting to find the spark that will reignite F-Zero back into existence.
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In the interview, Reggie is quick to move past any talk that F-Zero is abandoned, instead insisting that it just needs a gameplay idea to make it work in the modern age. “My bet is that somewhere in the Kyoto development centers, some developer is playing around with an idea that might be applied to F-Zero.” He also said that it was never Nintendo’s intention to move past Captain Falcon and friends, but it’s simply how the company does business.
That’s cold comfort for those still holding the flame for franchises like F-Zero and Mother, the latter of which Reggie has brought up as a nonstarter within Nintendo at the moment. Nintendo higher-ups have often spoken about new games needing new ideas, leading to scenarios where they reinvent the wheel rather than give fans what they want.
This idea of adding something new to F-Zero has been brought up in the past. Retired Nintendo artist and designer Takaya Imamura told IGN in 2021 that “without a grand new idea, it’s hard to bring it back.” He also said the series wasn’t dead. Shigeru Miyamoto also spoke to IGN about it in 2013, saying he “[doesn’t] really have a good idea for what’s new that [Nintendo] could bring to F-Zero that would really turn it into a great game again.” This is something similar to what he repeated to French outlet Gamekult the year before.
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Originally released as one of the Super Nintendo’s launch games, F-Zero is known nowadays as the home franchise for flaming punch connoisseur Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. That’s what happens when you go decades between games in any franchise, and the name F-Zero is mostly a joke answer to questions about what will come of Nintendo’s next Direct. Still, there is a core group of fans who just want the publisher to bring back the futuristic racer in HD for new fans to discover.
