Is F-Zero Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk

Available September 5, 2019 in the Nintendo Switch Online store. One of the best launch titles ever, and here's why...
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[@kimps7]

This vid further pushed the notion that it sucks getting new games nowadays compared to back then. The days of excitedly opening up your video games in the car to read the manual on the way home are gone. I miss old school manuals -_- or hell, even GETTING a manual.

[@thekingslayer1831]

kimpy07 I ever I made a game, I'd be sure to include a manual. Screw modern day conventions, manuals in video games are where it's at, BOIIIIIIIII!

[@sonicmario64]

Yeah, I've never understood why modern video games no longer include instruction manuals that would allow players to learn how to play each game before they're able to play them. Now, this is totally understandable for digitally-released games, but it's rather ironic that physical copies of games don't have them anymore, and it's like the companies that make the games actually want you to figure it all out on your own (AKA the hard way). :P

[@sonicmario64]

@phillip martin: But still, there's something so satisfying about having a physical copy of a booklet that tells you how to play the game properly, especially if it's loaded with nice-looking artwork that is always fun to check out.

[@semajracubolk]

Manuals were great! Now we just have forced tutorials that cannot be skipped...

[@Peter_1986]

@phillip martin In-game manuals are only cool if they are _optional._ I hate when a game _forces_ me to finish a bunch of stupid tutorial quests when I haven't asked for it. One game that did the in-game tutorials really well was "Super Mario 64" for the N64 - that game had signposts with information exactly where you needed them, so that you could read them _if you wanted to._

[@PonderingGhost]

Showing love for the Golden Fox. Mad respect to you. Driving that craft is truly a difficult task.

[@BdHund]

The sad part is that to have any chance of winning any league on master you have to master that craft

[@CharlesHepburn2]

Bought this along with my SNES the day it came out. My serial number on my SNES was less than 1500. The mode 7 graphics wowed me back then and is still pretty cool today.

[@monkeydotbizness]

This game is a very intense for a nearly 30 year old 16 bit racing game. Pretty impressive.

[@LITTLE1994]

It's 31, now.

[@MerkhVision]

Definitely. It’s amazing how thrilling it can still be despite being relatively primitive!

[@lunardancer6047]

F-Zero is amazing. I'm a little hesitant to call it my favourite racing game ever simply because I find the best way to experience racing games is with a group of people all sitting on the same couch furiously jostling about. But whenever I want to play a racing game on my lonesome, F-Zero is it every time, so I guess in that sense it is a personal favourite. Something about is so soothing yet exhilarating at the same time. The game is pretty damn hard, and requires precision and concentration, yet with that rad soundtrack and fast yet smooth scrolling effect, you can't help but fall into a trance playing it. And because of the buzz from the trance, when you fail, instead of getting mad, you just try again. So in that sense it's one of the least frustrating hard games ever as everything happens so fast, you just learn from the mistakes and try again.

[@plasmaastronaut]

wipeout 1,2 & 3 on the PS1 were better

[@MerkhVision]

Well said! Because the gameplay loop is so satisfying it’s easy to put the time into getting better at the game without it becoming frustrating

[@NexusVerbal]

Worth playing even though there's no two player mode. That's always bugged me.

[@buddeman27]

yeah... i wish there were multiplayer...

[@animeloverxX93]

There is F-Zero VS, which allows online multiplayer via emulators. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eom7imx5hJ6eq8k I also know about someone, who is working on a device that allows the player to play SNES games online on a real Super Nintendo. Of course, the games themselves needed to be edited in order to allow for each player having his own full-screen multiplayer working. If you want, you can watch a stream of the device in action here (it is called ''UltraNet''): kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXuUXn-md6ubrMk There is also a community dedicated to F-Zero and romhacks related to it, so if you liked F-Zero, feel free to check it out here: discord.gg/HqeXuwJ Edit: Oh and by the way, the creator of UltraNet is depending on funds. It could very well be that he can't pull through with this, if he doesn't gain financial support through others. If anyone likes the idea of playing SNES games online on real hardware and would like to help the guy out, here is his patreon: www.patreon.com/ultranetsnes

[@gab_v250]

Well, the lack of multiplayer was the factor that led to the creation of Super Mario Kart (1992)

[@MerkhVision]

This game really does still hold up. I played it for the first time a few years ago without any nostalgia and I really had a lot of fun with it!

[@Peter_1986]

I borrowed this game from some friends back in around 1996 (I was born in 1986), and it _really_ blew me away back then. It was a surreal experience to move this fast in a Super Nintendo game from 1990, and it didn't even really have any slowdowns or anything.

[@thebigness71]

The Gamecube version was fun too.

[@anotherdimension2691]

I have the "Big Blue" theme song as my ringtone...impossible not to love that song!

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Any song in F Zero is dope

[@achimsinn7782]

I always preffered F-Zero over Mario Kart. Here I said it. fight me. But I really liked the way the cars control much better in F-Zero in comparison to the first Mario Kart game(s) and I'm not such a big fan of the comedic theme of Mario Kart in a racing game. Plus the fact that there were no weapons or power ups was another huge upside for F-Zero - no f******* homing shell or lightning bolt hitting you on the last round costing you the win.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

One look at this game and you could tell the Genesis was done. The colors and the music were like a Generation ahead.

[@gedaman]

That soundtrack is amazing!

[@tonyrodrigues9425]

Yup

[@AmariMarvelous]

The soundtrack is a whole vibe in itself! 💯

[@MohanRam]

The Switch could use a new F-Zero game.

[@stormcloudtheory]

Nintendo in general could use a new F-Zero game.

[@Simon0]

@@stormcloudtheory the problem in my opinion is that I don't feel anything can ever match f zero gx. That's like the ultimate f zero and I don't believe there will ever be a better one. Just my opinion of course 🙂

[@ItsAnGoose]

@@Simon0 that seems to be nintendos opinion too

[@belfeghost]

F-Zero 99 released 5 days ago for online subscriptions

[@Ernesto87]

Everytime I played F-Zero, I would always choose The Blue Falcon.

[@StillTheVoid]

Ha.

[@gonzalesjoe7245]

LONG LIVE SNES BEST SYSTEM EVER MADE

[@noskoolikeoldskool]

biggest flaw this game had was that it was only one player.

[@fm-jl7xe]

i think that would have made the game less smooth

[@niconico8432]

One of the best channels on youtube. So much great content.

[@SNESdrunk]

leif erikson Thanks!

[@davidhunter2824]

F-Zero for the SNES is still one of my favorite racing games of all times. Even in 2024, I will still be playing this game.👍

[@Clebardman]

Have you played Rock'n'Roll Racing ? Made by Silicon & Synapse before they were known as Blizzard, published by Interplay (sounds good already, isn't it ?), the game has pretty much the same setting than F-Zero, but takes a top-down perspective like Micromachines and has some RPG elements to the formula. probably my favorite racing game ever.

[@Ramjet164]

It’s isometric, not top down like micromachines.

[@wawuglio]

OH MY GOSH! The greatest racing game of all time! This was speed on speed!

[@GadGades]

I didn't know it was a launch game. Thought it came out after Mario Kart. It's definitely one of the coolest future racing games.

[@kabochaVA]

Not only was it a launch title, it was primarily intended as a technical demo. When the Super Famicom was released in Japan, there were only 2 games available: F-Zero, and Super Mario World. ~ F-Zero was made to showcase the "Mode 7" of the Super Famicom, as well as present how the shoulder buttons could be used in a racing game (the Super Famicom was the first console to have pads with shoulder buttons!). ~ Because it was intended as a technical demo, F-Zero doesn't have an introduction (when you switch on the console, it goes directly to the select screen). They didn't have the time to make an elaborate intro, so they described the universe in the manual instead. ~ So what started out as a technical demo (think along the line of Wii Sport or Wii Play) ended up being an awesome game!

[@mikemartinez2745]

F- zero was made just for the launch. To show what the SNES was capable of.

[@lhfirex]

Craziest thing to me is every F-Zero game I've played has been an awesome racer. There's only 3 I know of (not counting ports) but they're all really good and IMO like top 2 or 3 best racers on their systems.

[@Ramjet164]

Todd Crabtree there’s the snes, n64, GameCube & 3 gba games.

[@yendyvilma2681]

I didn't even know there were more.

[@MerkhVision]

@@Ramjet164 there are GBA FZero games!? Thanks for letting me know, I gotta go check those out!

[@Ramjet164]

@@MerkhVision there’s 3 I believe (well that I’ve got) all gold 😉

[@maaxross9894]

Is F-ZERO - The Manual Worth Reading Today? 😂

[@denimchicken104]

Oh my god why is he driving the golden fox?! Is he a psycho?

[@Parttimepoet22]

That’s so cool. I miss reading the instruction booklet on the way home from the store.

[@muhanc.a.9299]

Is TopGear 2 Worth playing today? A video I'd like to see.

[@laurafear3853]

Yes

[@kenlymendoza2759]

So you are 300 ft above ground? Now i understand that one track that looked like circuit boards was actually a city below. Not feeling smart right now.

[@kirbyhero256]

I'm a little surprised to hear that SimCity was a launch title. I remember reading an article about it in Nintendo Power but I could've sworn the issue was from the latter half of the SNES's lifespan.

[@astreanightfang2622]

so the backround to f 0 is, everyone got so rich they got bored of it and decided to race in the most extra way possible

[@lunch_trey]

The more I play F-Zero the more I like it better than any Mario Kart.

[@Cragnous]

Dude can't believe I'm correcting you but there's actually 3 cups and King is just the 3rd cup (but is also the hardest one, kind of like Star cup in Mario Kart.) Also there's 4 difficulty, once you finished all the races on Hard, you unlock Master and that's when shit gets real, Firefield on Master is brutal!

[@SNESdrunk]

Cragnous Ah, forgot to note that, thanks. I'll make an annotation. Needless to say I've never beaten this game

[@Cragnous]

I had it at launch with SMW, played both games non stop. I still play them on the Wii every now and then.

[@user-gs8jv4oq6w]

Damn dude you must be really good

[@rickdavis32]

Did you use the jump pads and secret areas they usually took a lot of effort to figure out but were worth it. I only think there were 2 though.

[@Cragnous]

@@rickdavis32 There's one shortcut in Port town(1&2) but it's not worth it because you lose time and the other is in Red Canyon 2 and it saves a lot of time, it makes that track a nice break in the King cup.

[@trip2themoon]

The Fire Stingray is unique among racing vehicles in that as well as having the top speed it also has the best handling. I don't think I've ever played another racing game where the fastest cars has the best handling. It's usually one or the other. I always wished that F zero had weapons, that would have made it much more interesting. I've heard though that F Zero was designed as pretty much a playable demo.

[@KennyMcCormick99]

Aaahhh, He didn't tell me to have a good rest of my day!!

[@rogerrabbitonpcp6021]

I scored this off eBay ages ago w the manual for under $20 n agree the manual RULES now I know where captain falcon came from

[@Allanrpsx]

damn that soundtrack tho

[@retrogamingmaniac]

Awesome video snesdrunk! I love your vids bro!

[@SNESdrunk]

RetroGamingManiac Thanks!

[@cube2fox]

How does the original F-Zero compare to the GBA F-Zero games? I had the first one for GBA, it was a launch title too.

[@eachtooth2199]

Best soundtrack indeed👌

[@teddym2808]

great game but no height perception which they totally missed the mark on.. it's like what is below you is just on the side next to you.

[@Zipfei_Kloatscher]

The soundtrack is awesome!

[@AztecAstro19]

Love this game and the soundtrack is SO. FUCKING. GOOD.

[@mattpavey3062]

One of my fav games

[@LITTLE1994]

The original F-Zero is DEFINITELY worth playing if you ask me. It's so intense and fun. Only thing I don't like is lack of multiplayer and the CPU opponents always race in a "line".

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

If I had to pick one retro game to play it would be F-Zero. And then I would nag until I could take Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar as well.

[@slanderman3296]

Capt falcon always reminded me of judge dredd

[@andywatson7994]

Captain Falcon looks like judge Dredd

[@filescape8738]

What kind of question is the title?!? Well maybe it is worth playing to us retro gamers. I hope Switch has a reboot.

[@tonyrodrigues9425]

The game music is awesome

[@asdaww.4084]

Is A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol Worth Playing Today? Is Rock n' Roll Racing Worth Playing Today?

[@RetroTechSelect]

I really need to grab the instruction booklet! Not only did I miss out on the comic, but I didn't even realize you could lengthen your flight when mid-air at first... *bonk*. Great review, BTW. Check out mine, if you have the time to - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHjYiqp9pa5joaM I'd really appreciate the feedback.

[@nobilesnovushomo58]

SNES D: I know people get somewhat uptight when I critique Zelda... Me: using his criticisms to gauge his perspective on one of my favorite games as a reference for all the other reviews to see if their critiques are the same level, thus if he said this game was lackluster, I’d know the other game he said was lackluster, that I have yet to know, was pure gold, and to buy it.

[@buddeman27]

i played the Blue Falcon through most of the beginning, because its one of the most iconic cars... just so happens to also be ideal for beginners... although, i did settle for the Fire Stingray because it has the most power, has best handling, & the fastest and i could use the boosts to accelerate... but i had problems in the king league on expert... so, i moved on to the Wild Goose, and it had everything i liked about the other 2; high speed, ideal acceleration, good power, and pretty good handling... but the Golden Fox... where do i even start... i hate the handling; its ice physics on every turn... the power is crap; u start pinballing 1 time, and its over, unless u have enough power left, in which case, sure, u could catch up... speed isnt much of a problem... the only time i use it is when i know im gonna fall behind and need to catch up w/out using a boost... and yet, u (or the player who recorded this footage) somehow wield the Golden Fox like the Master Sword... how?

[@mr.e6033]

I love this game!

[@kahlilsmoot9922]

This game is awesomeness

[@josullivan5604]

my sister and i were in a passive aggressive competition with f zero. i would load it up and my times were surpassed!? this could not stand!

[@mattweber2512]

It's one of those iconic games, but it has its annoyances. The cars weren't very balanced, the yellow one being particularly weak. When you're in first place it starts cheating with the AI always right behind you, and starts chucking all these dummy cars in your way. It also arbitrarily limits the tracks that you can play in the time trial mode which especially bothered me as a kid.

[@jordonvazquez7620]

im glad the fandom is keeping f-zero alive while nintendo keeps ignoring it like junk email.

[@ganon_t99]

Show me your moves!!

[@gwgux]

The beef I have with F-Zero is: WHERE'S THE SWITCH GAME? The SNES game is a classic and I still play it from time to time, but I feel like it's a missed opportunity to not have one for the Switch.

[@marctouss1862]

act raiser's manual is better.. f-zero's was cool though..

[@allnamesaretakenful]

I never liked this game, but I also don't like racing games that don't let you shoot at the other vehicles.

[@Gojiro7]

is that comic in the actual instructions manual or is that something from Nintendo powers line of comics?

[@anthonyc.trimarchi1769]

I had this game at launch in 1991. It was good. One of the better driving games on the NES/SNES systems. Although I always liked "The Duel: Test Drive 2" far better for SNES which came out about a year later. The SNES port was good right up there with the PC version. But F-Zero was innovating for it's time and as a launch game. Here's a play through of Duel as it was more of an obscure game on the SNES: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpC7n4Cfmth3jZY

[@HypnoSwag]

The N64 sequel was VASTLY superior, and made it more easily accessible for newcomers.

[@sandroribeiro9491]

No. N64 is good but is the worst of 3 f zero

[@belfeghost]

Mandatory commentary demanding F-Zero 99 video

[@kenrickeason]

Falcon Punch!!!!!!!!!!

[@christophe2201]

ood at its time but now, it's only a crap that screw up the eyes!

[@matthewbraith0411]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@KotsarisGR]

One of the most overrated games in Nintendo's library in my opinion. It was good for its time, and as launch title, but people who claim it was a masterpiece are out of their freaking minds.

[@staxstix]

How? The music is among the best on the system, and that is saying something. The gameplay is incredible for an SNES title: silky smooth, fast, challenging and yet has an easy to pick up arcade playing style - perfect learning curve. It has an almost hypnotic and addictive feel to it. The engine and its use of mode 7 is revolutionary from a technological standpoint. No racing game before and long after it conveyed speed as impressively, the controls are on point and the movement and physics of the vehicles are realistic to their crazy speeds. There are more arguments pointing towards F-Zero being a masterpiece than there are not. If this had a multiplayer mode it would be considered one of the games ever.

[@sandroribeiro9491]

@@staxstix yesssss bro, you are right

[@nythepremier]

Two things... The instruction book spelled beginner incorrectly. Also, none of the F-ZERO music make it to your SNES playlist--a complete travesty!

[@Nemireck]

nythepremier Didn't he include the music for Big Blue? I'll need to check against and correct myself if I'm wrong.

[@nythepremier]

Nemireck Big Blue showed up in the remix/arrangements, not the original music playlist. Also, that is not even the best remix of Big Blue lol...the new MK 8 is better and the original F-ZERO had way better tracks than Mute City and Big Blue IMHO.

[@SNESdrunk]

nythepremier It really is, bad job by me. But I guess that just goes to show how good the music is on so many Super Nintendo games

[@HybridDivide]

Nice video, but if you want to talk about backstory in a futuristic racing game fleshing out a believable world, you REALLY need to look into the lore of the WipEout series. (I know it isn't SNES, but you should check it out regardless. WipEout gets a lot of comparisons to the F-Zero series) Here's a video with team backstories: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZaXnneelt2dla8

[@Pichuscute]

This game's poor design really pisses me off. It was good at the start and has potential, but there are mechanics on some courses later in the game that absolutely ruin it all. I'd say only the later F-Zero games are worth playing by comparison (and even they sometimes have problems).