Pains me to say: F-Zero 99 has to be the greasiest attempt at renewing interest in dead IPs.

I'll try and not make this "bloggy", but...

-A battle royale version of the SNES game?

-Hidden by a paid online service (so not really "free")?

-And a "99" game, which are notorious for dying in the eShops so quickly (Mario 35, Tetris, Pac-Man)?

Was this only a creation of Nintendo after FINALLY being annoyed by fans for 20 years and shutting them up? I was already adjusted to the fact that the series wasn't coming back, as much as I wanted a new game. Star Fox had better attempts with 64 3D and the slammed Zero (which was the result of how disliked the GameCube and DS games were to begin with). Advance Wars had a better attempt just this gen.

A shame, Nintendo! A shame...

Yeah this was a great direct but this was the slimiest most corporate thing Nintendo included.

I don't think "oh nice Nintendo still cares about f-zero" or "it's free" are great arguments anyway.

Nintendo to F-Zero soon enough after this (as with SF Zero):

Just as with any other company with a struggling IP (Bandai Namco with SoulCalibur after VI, Capcom with Darkstalkers after Fighting Collection, which are BOTH a shame as THOSE were good), so not an all out Nintendo thing.

Safe to say after this direct there will never be a new f-zero. No interest in this 99 rubbish will be impossible to play against 99 other people at that speed.

Yeah the reason why we see less and less genres in the AAA space, and why less and less AAA IP is being used:

It's all about doubling down on the one thing that sells and abandon all the rest.

I can see capcom only making RE, just like Activision only makes COD.

They basically become a "one game" factory.

They don't want you to "race" by traditional definition... They want it to be a party game... What was the game where everyome runs like idiots through a course like a Japanese game show? My kids play it from time to time. That's fzero 99

Its based on F-Zero for the SNES which is much slower than X and GX. I gave it a shot, because I dont like judging games I havent played.

It is just slow compared to X or GX. Not to mention a literal cooldown on attack movies and a lack of physics that added a lot of technical depth to GX.

I get that Nintendo doesnt want to make a new game without adding some hook to stand out from predecessors, but really, listening to the fans is what they should do here. Rather than insult them with stuff like this. If there is one silver lining from this. It is that some Nintendo fan probably made this their last straw and are now making their own spiritual successor.

I mean, the SNES original was the best selling in the franchise (Maximum Velocity afterwards), so it makes sense in THAT regard. Plus, GX being one of the lower selling titles, only doing decent enough for a Player's Choice release and not Toshihiro Nagoshi's inflated numbers (seriously, even Todd Howard would be careful than to lie about sales, Nagoshi...). Fast by Shin'en was already the result of a "last straw" of F-Zero being absent after GP Legend/Climax.

At this rate, I've accepted that Captain Falcon was more known in Smash than his own game. Like Morrigan Aensland in Capcom vs (Marvel, SNK, Tatsunoko) more than Darkstalkers.

@nintendoboy16: Saleswise, sure?

Buzz and reputation? GX takes the crown there. People are still talking about GX 20 years later. F-Zero on the SNES did not have that kind of longevity.

I mean, look at the platform GX was on. Same console that gave us Melee, Metroid Prime and where SoulCalibur II was more popular. Same console that wasn't well liked until it DIED. That's not really surprising.

Yeah, doubt I'll even try it. F-Zero on SNES is boring as hell, lol.

Mario 35 was really fun. Very cool of them to remove it.

Wow, this looks absolutely horrible haha.

Wtf happened???

A corny song, for a corny attempt by Nintendo. It's like it was written about those Nintendo ips, Nintendo left to die. XD

@nintendoboy16: nintendo always listens to their pocket books. If you want real sequels to these kinds of games, you need to stop riding nintendos jock which you seem to be too happy to do. I have been annoyed with nintendo for 20+ years for not putting any real effort into a golden sun sequel. But look around, we have games like sea of stars that do a pretty damn good job of it, if not even better.

It's the end of a console cycle. I didn't think (and I was right) we would see anything major including a new F-Zero. It's about time for the Switch to walk into the sunset.

Honestly, i don't think this is that bad of an idea ... yeah it sounds dumb on paper, but having in mind that most kinds don't know what the hell F-Zero is, this sounds like a good idea to re introduce the franchise to modern audiences. If this thing has any kind of sucees, it may ... just may be what they need to finally and oficially bring it back.

I mean, it's better than nothing.

Bet you that they want to create an impressive f-zero game, but their hardware is so shitty that if they were to make a new one, it'd look like it was made for the GC in 2005.

Played a little last night and had a good time. Like the other 99 games, I'll probably put it on for 20mins every now and then.

Not the F-Zero anyone wanted, but if you want Nintendo to do more, at least give it a download.

Not really into the F-Zero franchise myself but think it looks kind of neat. Will probably play this every now and then.

I’ve only read good things about the game. I’ll wait to play a bit before judging. I think it could be a stepping stone to a more traditional game in the franchise.

The game is tons of fun honestly .. yes nothing to write home about but still it is cool and fun ..

Yes many people are disappointed myself included .. but you never know maybe one day Nintendo will deliver a proper F-Zero game ..

The whining here 😾

I tried it last night and I had a lot of fun. I like this game way more than I expected to. Maybe if this gets supported by the fans, we can get a proper F-Zero on the next Nintendo console.

I’m yet to play it, but it’s interesting how quickly people make judgments without having played the game. I don’t get how it’s “greasy” corporatism when it is included as part of a solid, affordable, paid service, and it IS an IP fans have wanted to receive some attention for a while. So I don’t get how this is a bad thing.

I see that people are calling the game one of the best of the year on other sites. I wonder if any people here who made snap judgments will play the game for an adequate amount of time and assess it fairly, not based on their personal expectations of what should have been made.

I'm sorry, but "solid, affordable"?

Yeah, so "affordable" for a platform with historically bad performing online since the Wii, the only way to play certain retro games with NO option of buying said games standalone, made WORSE when certain platforms are behind an "expansion pack" that makes it more expensive. And part of a series of games that, once again, do not last long on the eShop, something Mario, Pac-Man and Tetris proved.

An IP that was wanted, that feels like absolute bait into getting a crappy online service. Again, worse than Star Fox.

Game Pass Ultimate is more affordable.

I was hoping that it was going to switch out of the SNES graphics and give us something like GX, but alas. It's another 99 or whatever game. I'll pass on it like the others.

Nintendo Switch has gotten Pikmin 1 and 2, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, now TTYD.

People (myself included) are begging Nintendo for Windwaker and Twilight Princess.

Moral of the story- Nintendo knows Gamecube is hot.

I bet GX gets a remaster on Switch 2.

This reminds me- I miss Mario 35. Really liked that one.

Personally this is the only F-Zero game I've been interested about in many years....

wouldnt call it greedy.. its being added to a subscription people are already paying.

it is however lame for fzero fans wanting a mainline game

Hopefully that means something for some ungodly pricing by scalpers.

Reaction to F-Zero 99 has been universally positive from what I’ve seen.

This game is addicting.

Yeah, this game was one incredible pleasant surprise.

Terrible first impression. But the game is really fun now that I have palyed it for a bit. Easily the best Battle Royale on the Switch. I also bought Fast RMX as a response to my initial disappointment, so now I got to excellent games!

@Willy105: Yeah, it's actually pretty fun. I understand the negativity though. My firts reaction was of the, "I've been waiting literally half my life for more F-Zero and they give us... THIS!?" But then calmed down, tried it out, and it's a good time. Probably the best use of their whole "99" thing yet.

@judaspete: One thing that makes this game stand out from other 99s is you actively interact with other players. Rather than them just occationally sending you something.

Same dude, it's the one I've enjoyed the most of their BR games. Guess Mario is "too lucrative to let people play like that". Or something. I still have no fucking clue what Nintendo is thinking.

Same dude. Wasn't even gonna try it, but did anyway, and after understanding how it works, it's actually fun. Just hope this isn't the only F-Zero related thing we'll get. Also hope they don't randomly delete it when I'm into it.

Also, FAST RMX is easily the best F-Zero like game I've played. Not as tight as F-Zero GX, but still better than stuff like Wipeout.

The game has been getting glowing reviews.

I fear this is another part of the Nintendo Vault.

This game will likely go away in a year or two. Because Nintendo are being weird like that. I really hope the success of this game pushes Nintendo to make more F-Zero games.

Yeah, I prefer Fast RMX over wipeout, it feels more responsive than Wipeout.

@Maroxad: That's from GameXplain. A borderline Nintendo fansite. Like Nintendo Life is. Hell, like DualShockers is for PlayStation.

We need to be hearing from GameSpot. IGN. Hell, Kotaku even (who's current and former staffers been on a huge anti-Nintendo tirade to the point of xenophobia, particularly from Luke Plunkett and Sisi Jiang). At this rate, I'd hear from Jim Stephanie Sterling. And I abhor Sterling.

@nintendoboy16: Its free, just find out for yourself. Its the best F-Zero ever made.

@nintendoboy16: Every review I have seen has been positive at worst, absolutely enthusiastic at best. Pretty much everyone seems to agree this is the best of the Nintendo Switch 99 games.