One of Nintendo’s most beloved classics could be set to make a return on Nintendo Switch after an almost 20-year absence.
Nintendo fans have been calling for the return of the F-Zero series for a long time – myself included. The futuristic racing series debuted on the SNES and offered high-stakes racing with speed that made Super Mario Kart look stuck in the mud. Sadly, outside of cameo appearances in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Captain Falcon’s return appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , fans haven’t had anything new for the series since 2004’s Japan-only F-Zero Climax.
That might be changing sometime soon according to the latest batch of rumours from Nintendo Prime, which state that 2003’s GameCube title F-Zero GX is getting a Nintendo Switch remaster courtesy of Luigi’s Mansion 3 developer Next Level Games. This isn’t the first time rumours of a GX remaster have shown up, as independent video game writer and researcher Liam Robertson hinted at the same thing last August. However, this is the first time we’ve heard about Next Level Games’ involvement.
F-Zero GX is often heralded as the peak of the series’ run and was developed by Super Monkey Ball creator Amusement Vision; now known as Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio – developer of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. It featured a story mode for the first time in the series' history, as well as a souped-up version of the franchise’s signature gameplay that managed to outdo the speed of prior entries.
You got boost power
F-Zero has been dormant for a long time now, and outside of hardcore fans, it’s not a franchise with a lot of brand recognition. So what better way to bring the series back into the limelight than with a remaster of its best entry. With its work on Punch Out, Luigi’s Mansion, and Super Mario Strikers, Next Level Games have shown itself to be one of the best studios in the world at creating gorgeous, cartoony animation. So the remaster of GX seems to be in good hands.
Hopefully this remaster will include the tracks from F-Zero AX – the arcade game that was released alongside the GameCube title. Ten years after the original release of GX it was discovered that the entire F-Zero AX game was hidden in the files of the GameCube game.
Sadly, this seems to confirm that there's no chance of us getting a Nintendo Switch Online GameCube update. Between this, Metroid Prime Remastered , and Super Mario Sunshine’s inclusion in Super Mario 3D All-Stars , it looks like Nintendo’s own GameCube titles are relegated to getting remasters to sell separately. Time will tell, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
