Nintendo has a very strained relationship with some of its oldest franchises. While some properties like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda have thrived ever since their first games, not all of Nintendo's creations have been treated equally over the years. Some names that come to mind are Star Fox or Mother, but few franchises have been so thoroughly neglected as F-Zero. Nintendo's high-speed racing series was once touted as the future of racing, but for years it's seemed like the future that F-Zero promised will never be fully realized for today's era of gaming.
As discouraging as the history of F-Zero's lack of support may be, Nintendo has recently shown a slight shift in direction that could, at the very least, give F-Zero fans something nice to consider moving forward. With the upcoming releases of Metroid Dread and Breath of the Wild 2, Nintendo appears to going back to a darker era. It's largely reminiscent of the era that Majora's Mask and Metroid Fusion released in, and it could be a great opportunity for F-Zero. If Nintendo is willing to return to the series any time soon, a darker revival of the series could be a great way to get started.
Following Nintendo's Trend Of Darker Games
A dark installment to a classic franchise certainly wouldn't be out of character for Nintendo. The company may be widely known for its family-friendly titles, but there have been times where it does something that is very tonally different from what it's known for. Some of Nintendo's darkest games have even turned out to be some of its best, and it seems that the company might try to replicate that success in the near future. Breath of the Wild 2 is perhaps the main indication of this, because it seems to mirror the same approach that Nintendo took with Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
Giving F-Zero a game that takes on a darker tone would fit in perfectly with the rest of the games that Nintendo is supporting right now. While Breath of the Wild 2 satisfies action-adventure players and Metroid Dread gives Metroidvania fans something to dig into, a darker F-Zero could be an excellent way to bring racing games into this current trend. It would also be in very similar company to Metroid Dread, as the Metroid and F-Zero franchises have both suffered from a lack of support for far too long.
The Realistic F-Zero That Almost Happened
Perhaps one of the biggest things supporting a dark revival of F-Zero is the fact that it was almost halfway to actually happening. In an interview some months ago, famed developer Giles Goddard revealed that his studio Vitei pitched a super-realistic F-Zero game to Nintendo. The pitch was reportedly turned down because Nintendo was more interested in new IP, but the very idea of an F-Zero with a more realistic style already lends itself to a potentially excellent game.
If the F-Zero franchise were to take a more realistic approach, it could really embrace Nintendo's current era and get grittier than the series has ever been before. That's not to say there should be an F-Zero game that's rated M, Nintendo would sooner bring back the Virtual Boy, but a game that has more a more high-stakes story with destructive action could be great for the series. If the problem with F-Zero is that Nintendo doesn't think anything new can be done with it, changing its tone could be the best possible option.
Putting Captain Falcon Back In The Driver's Seat
While F-Zero fans would benefit greatly from just about any new game in the series, there's one person in particular who would potentially benefit from a darker F-Zero the most: Captain Falcon. The driver of the Blue Falcon may have been introduced in F-Zero, but nowadays that's the last thing that he's recognized from. The franchise has been dormant for so long that Captain Falcon is more closely associated with Super Smash Bros. than he is for his own series. While the character has thrived in the party-fighting game, it's a sad indication of how underrepresented F-Zero has become by Nintendo.
Giving the franchise a gritty game would have the potential to finally let Captain Falcon shine in the place he came from. Captain Falcon has a rich backstory that many gamers don't know about because of how infrequently it's touched on in other games. A new game would have the opportunity to delve into his character and give him the development he deserves. Some kind of adventure mode that centers on Captain Falcon may not be the kind of innovation that Nintendo is looking for gameplay-wise, but it would certainly be a shot in the arm for the usual F-Zero structure.
Of all Nintendo's storied franchises, F-Zero is perhaps the one that has been neglected the most. It can be frustrating for fans that grew up with those franchises and don't have an easy way to access the latest installment. This is especially so for F-Zero fans considering the last console game, F-Zero GX, came out on the Nintendo GameCube. There really is no sign of a new F-Zero game at this point, but hopefully if one ever comes, it will take a unique approach with the franchise that gives it a proper revival.