After nearly 20 years, the F-Zero franchise came back in a huge way in 2023.
If you’re familiar with Shacknews lore, you know the F-Zero franchise holds a special place here. Coming into the year, F-Zero was undoubtedly one of the most dormant franchises at Nintendo, and longtime fans had nearly given up hope that a new installment would arrive any time soon. The community received the most pleasant of surprises during the September Nintendo Direct, where the company not only revealed F-Zero 99–a battle royale spin on the classic racer–but shadow dropped it the same day.
F-Zero 99 is the first game in the series since 2004’s F-Zero Climax for the Game Boy Advance. In the near 20 years since that release, Nintendo has revisited many of its lesser-known properties, but F-Zero never managed to make the cut. In fact, it became a running joke among fans that modern gamers probably think that Captain Falcon is a character that originated from Super Smash Bros.
Not only did F-Zero get an awesome comeback in 2023, it got an unexpected one. If anything, the release of F-Zero 99 is a good reason to never give up hope on that childhood franchise you’d like to see make a return.
Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2023 feature.
Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_
