On July 26, 2025, theF-Zeroseries was born in Japan. The Super Nintendo game released about a year later in North America, and in fact, it will celebrate its 30th year anniversary in the states in August.F-Zerois beloved by many, but the franchise has not seen an entry since 2004’s Game Boy Advance gameF-Zero Climax,as well asF-Zero GXthe year before it on the GameCube. It is time for a return ofF-Zero.
Recently, thecreator of Captain Falcon explained why there hasn’t been a newF-Zerogamein years. Nintendo often tries hard to innovate with its games, forgoing true sequels for creativity. A game likeSuper Mario Odysseyis almost nothing likeSuper Mario 3D World, for example. However,SplatoonthoughSplatoon 3certainly appear to be true sequels, so Nintendo does go that route from time to time.F-Zerocould return by giving players more of the same, but it could also innovate and bring something new to the table.
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Just More F-Zero
F-Zeroon the Super Nintendo is where it began, and there are those who certainly fell in love with the series withF-Zero Xon the N64. The Game Boy Advance games (F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, F-Zero: GP Legend,and the aforementionedF-Zero Climax) all had a following as well, and the series even had arcade iterations. Many fans considerF-Zero GXon the GameCube to be the best game of the series, though. The game maintained the fast-paced and difficult racing of the series but also introduced a story mode that players very much enjoyed. While Captain Falcon was always known as a protagonist in the series, and of course one of themascots ofSuper Smash Bros.as well, the Falcon Punching character is the pilot that players main during the campaign forF-Zero GX, which allowed the community to feel closer to him than ever.
Recently,F-Zero GXproducer expressed interest in returning to the series, something that many Nintendo fans would be excited about. Toshihiro Nagoshi said that he would be willing to work with Nintendo on a new game, and the time is right. If Nagoshi were to handle a game with theF-Zero GXformula on the Nintendo Switch, for example, the racing game could simply be a more of the same concept, which is a good thing.
Something Entirely New, an Open World GTA-Inspired F-Zero Game
There is another route that Nintendo could take withF-Zero, and that is forgoing the old formula and trying something entirely new. If Nintendo is serious about not wanting to bring about a new game in the franchise without innovation, then aGrand Theft Auto-inspired open-worldF-Zerogame could be the route to go. There arefascinating facts about Captain Falconthat many do not know including the idea that he is a mysterious bounty hunter. Nintendo could play up on that.
A game in which Captain Falcon can drive around Mute City chasing down bounties in an open world could be extremely interesting. Driving around in that open world and being able to get out of a vehicle at any time to interact and Falcon Punch and Falcon Kick opponents at will could be great. Low-level enemies could be taken down in beat-em-up fashion by Captain Falcon, but of course, the game would still very much revolve around races, as opponents could challenge and be challenged to races regularly. Meanwhile, Grand Prixs would still be a major part of the game. If Nintendo did not want the game to lean too much towards theGTAside (a hard M rated game), the game could be somewhere in betweenrecently pulledLEGO City: UndercoverandGTA,which would be a sweet spot for The Big N.
Whether it be a simple return to form of what would basically be a Nintendo Switch version ofF-Zero GXor something innovative and unique like an open-city bounty hunting adventure,F-Zeroneeds to return.
