Some intrepid fans have been able to reproduce the lost tracks from the BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 Satellaview SoundLink event and have created BS F-Zero Deluxe, a patch to incorporate them into the SNES game.

The Satellaview was a digital satellite delivery (or broadcast) add-on for the Super Famicom. Like many prototypical digital distribution platforms, data retrieved from the service was only stored temporarily and could be overwritten whenever you downloaded something else. As such, if someone wanted to prese??rve a game, they had to dump it immediately before overwriting it, and obviously, few people did.

Against all odds, some games from the? service were preserved, including the first BS F-Zero Gra?nd Prix, which was composed of four separate broadcasts. This included five original tracks and four new races, which replaced the four racers of the original game. However, BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2, which consisted of two broadcasts, was considered lost. Despite a $5000 reward offered by the community, no one stepped forward with the data.

However, while the data itself was considered lost, a fan uploaded a playthrough of the BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 to YouTube in 2018. Using a number of elaborate techniques, project programmer Guy Perfect, was able to accurately duplicate the tracks within F-Zero. The entire process (along with a lot of deeper insight into the Satellaview itself) is detailed in this article on Press The Buttons.

The team then compiled all the Satellaview features and created the BS F-Zero Deluxe patch/expansion for F-Zero. This patch includes all 10 Satellaview exclusive tracks compiled into two BS-X cups, as well as the four additional vehic?les, which are availabl?e alongside the originals. There’s also a new ghost time trial mode.

I should perhaps point out that there was a previous release called BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2, but this was based on the broadcast "BS F-Zero 2 Practice," and wasn't part of Grand Prix 2 proper. It doesn't include the five recreated tracks. Also of note is the fact that the courses don't include original music, since the music was streamed to the SatellaView and wasn't actually played by the SNES hardware (there was also an ann?ouncer in the original broadca??st).

The BS F-Zero Deluxe patch is available via archive.org. I’d also recommend reading the article on Press the Buttons, as it re?ally highlights the lengths the team went to preserve these tracks?.

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Nintendo has announced that they're returning to the 99-player experience using the SNES version of F-Zero. F-Zero 99 is releasing today on Switch.

I know we're all hoping for either a remaster of F-Zero GX or a new title entirely, but this is what we get. The flat, mode-7 landscapes are given new life by placing 99 players on them to fight for the lead. The boost meter from later games returns. Rather than being allotted a certain number of turbo boosts, like in the SNES game, it follows the system started in F-Zero X where you can sacrifice? some of your shield?? to get a bit of extra speed.

A new feature has been added throug??h "super sparks." They litter the track, and if you collect enough of them to fill your meter, you get sent up to the "Skyway." The skyway is a special track above the normal track that gives you the ability to try and get away from the human-clutter track and get ahead.

It might not be what we're hoping for, but I'm looking forward to trying it. It's nice to see Nintendo ac??tually do something with the franchise beyond just telling us repeatedly that we can't have a new one.

F-Zero 99 is available starting today on Switch. It's "free" for anyone with a Switch Online subscrip?tion.

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Captain Falcon would be an awesome Tekken 8 character

Many Nintendo fans only know Captain Falcon as a Smash Bros character (despite his racing origins), and his melee-based fighting style seems well suited to a traditional fighting game. It stands to reason that his moves from Super Smash Bros., translate perfectly into Tekken 7! The Captain Falcon Tekken 7 mod by JSRRemix and Mr. Fletch completely rework N?oc??tis and impressively "shows his moves" like the powerful Falcon Punch and explosive Falcon Dive.

The mod has been blowing up since content creator UMIN uploaded an impressive reel of Captain Falcon's attacks and model on Twitter Saturday with almost one million views. In the past, they've debuted trailer-like videos for mods based on Overwatch 2's Kiriko, Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife, Soul Calibur's Ivy, and Hatsune Miku.

An impressive Captain Falcon Tekken 7 mod

//youtu.be/BKXIQ95F7Hw

Captain Falcon fits right into Tekken 7. In this Showcase video, he demonstrates the ability to juggle his opponents in the air with his precise kicks. He can also do a flip kick that looks impressive in Tekken 7. The Falcon Kick? does seem busted as it's so fast, but Noctis' abilities with his sword are also astronomically quick.

Captain Falcon's Up-B in Smash, the Falcon Dive, is used as a flashy conclusion to an air combo. Not many characters in Tekken 7 have t?his set up in the air, so it's a neat change t??o the flow.

What does the mod do?

[caption id="attachment_392025" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via UMIN's YouTube channel[/caption]

With the TKDataPatcher mod tool, you can add him to the game by using Noctis as the base character. You'll have to go to the Character ?Customize menu to get Captain Falcon ready.

Then, you can alter the shading of the hero; you can go with a darker, shadowy look to the racer. There's also a brighter toon shader option that fits his Smash Bros. look. Either way, you can't go wrong. UMIN has provided a download link to the mod featured in their video description. There's also a tutorial you can follow here to install TKDataPatcher.

Keep in mind that UMIN claims in the co??mments of the video that the mod is currently unfinished,?? but you can play the custom character right now.

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But the series is still slumbering

It's tricky to pin down Nintendo's rhythm when it comes to retro game announcements. That was true for the NES and SNES games featured in Switch Online memberships, and it's definitely still true for the newly-added Nintendo 64 game drops for Expansion Pack subscribers. Next up, on March 11, we've got F-Zero X �a cool choice as a deeper cut.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGGFEFULaRk

The Nintendo 64 days were some of my all-time favorites for the racing genre, so it'll be fun (and frantic) to revisit F-Zero X with online multiplayer on Switch. If you're coming in totally fresh, don't mind the simple-looking vehicles and tracks �it's all about the feel. And emulation-wise, as far as the Switch goes, this looks pretty good at a glance.

Nintendo has digitized the instruction manual, too �soak up everything you can.

While recent inclusions like Banjo-Kazooie and Majora's Mask feel like no-brainer crowd favorites, F-Zero X has a smaller (but still very dedicated) following. I'm happy to ??see it reach a new audience, even if it is gated behind a pricey subscription service.

My last experience with the F-Zero series was F-Zero GX on GameCube, which was great, but also ridiculously intense. Never a dull millisecond. It's been a long time for fans �too long! I'll never forget that quote from Nintendo's Takaya Imamura (who's now retired) about F-Zero being hard to bring back "without a grand new idea." As much as there's? probably more to the decis?ion than that, it seems to sum up the current reality pretty well.

If you need a refresher, here's an up-to-date list of N64 and Sega Genesis games featured i??n the $50-per-year Swi??tch Online + Expansion Pack plan.

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He also praises F-Zero GX like a champion

Every few months the specter of F-Zero rises again.

It's been a really long time (around 16 years)! And I'm kind of shocked that Nintendo hasn't dug up its corpse to shamble it along as a mobile game of some sort with a subscription service, microtransactions, and loot boxes for outfits. Damn! I think I just g??ave an executive ??the ammo he needed to make this a reality.

Remember (now ex-Nintendo employee) ?Takaya Imamura? Well, he worked on a ton of different games at Nintendo over the years, including Star Fox, and served as the lead artist on the original F-Zero. Imamura thinks that this series isn't quite dead yet (it's just resting!), and t?hat Nintendo could bring it back to life if they really wanted.

So what's the holdup? Speaking to IGN, Imamura states: "Of course, I’ve thought about it many times, but without a grand new idea, it’s hard to bring it back." He also followed up with the outlet noting that even though he's no longer with the company, F-Zero is not "dead," and that someone could pick up th?e torch in the future.

So we know that the series overall isn't blacklisted or anything; Nintendo proudly showcases it in projects like Smash Ultimate. But they really are waiting for the right?? moment to bring it back aren't they? They're tak??ing their sweet old time!

The Ma?n Who Invented Majora's Mask Reflects on 30 Years at Nintendo [IGN]

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'Hats off to myself...'

As of tomorrow, there will be one le??ss legend at the hallowed halls of Nintendo. Takaya Imamura, who worked as a prolific designer, producer, and director for the developer, will leave ??the company today after 32 long years of service.

"Today is my last day coming to work," Imamura said this morning on Facebook (as translated by Gematsu) "I took a selfie with the empty office building. It feels pretty sad to think about not coming here anymore… Hats of?f to myself for 32 year??s of hard work!"

I'm sure any Nintendo devotee would gladly join Imamura in his self-congratulatory wishes. The 54-year-old joined Nintendo back in 1989 as a graphic artist, designing the vehicles and pilots for anti-gravity racer F-Zero, including Captain Falcon. But perhaps Imamura's lasting legacy will be his work on the Star Fox franchise, ?as he is responsible for the design of its lead hero, Fox M?cCloud, alongside numerous other characters.

Imamura would go on to become the art director for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – creating the character of Tingle in the process – before working with development teams on titles such as Star Fox: Assault, Star Fox: Command, Tank Troopers, and Steel Divers. I mean, just coming up with Tingle should be enough for anybody's resume... right?

Not long after Imamura announced his departure, Tomoo Yoda - the general manager of Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. - noted that Imamura would be working with his company in a freelance capacity. So while it might be the end of the road for Imamura and?? Nintendo, his eye for delightfully designed c??haracters looks  set to continue in a whole new venture.

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'[Nintendo] already has Mario Kart' as far as 'fun and accessible' games go, he says

It's a good day when I get to talk about F-Zero.

I feel like I only get the chance a few times a year at most, but this Nintendo series has been dormant for far too long, and deserves a relaunch. Former producer (and now Yakuza franchise developer) Toshihiro Nagoshi ??think?s so too.

Speaking to Red Bull France, Nagoshi explained that he "wouldn't mind" working on F-Zero again. Here's the full quote, as translated by Nintendo Everything:

“Mmm… Putting aside the odds of it happening, I must admit I have a lot of affection for F-Zero GX. If the opportunity were to present itself, I wouldn’t mind. And in that case, I’d like to make it a challenging game. I believe that if Nintendo just wants a racing game that is ‘fun and accessible’, they already have Mario Kart for that purpose.”

You can tell he's clearly thought about this before the question was asked. Nagoshi has a vision for the franchise: one that involves a bit more technicality, and creates its own niche. It's amazing how Nintendo will trot F-Zero out every now and then?? like a mascot, but won't give it ??another go.

It's also not an impossible situation; to see Nagoshi working on F-Zero one day. Nintendo frequently taps other studios to work on big franchises, especially long-dormant ones (see Platinum and Star Fox, among many others). I think we'll see F-Zero ??make some sort of return eventually, and I hope passionate ex-developers like Nagoshi are involved.

Toshiro Nagoshi [Red Bull France via Nintendo Everything]

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Straight from founder Alex Ward

Roughly four years ago there was a rumor that Criterion Games (known for the Burnout series) was asked to develop an F-Zero ga??me for the Wii U. But due to "prior commitments," it never really took off. Well, Criterion's Alex Ward, the company's founder, set the record straight from his end on a recent episode of the Game Inf??ormer Show.

Speaking to the outlet, Ward noted that the report was "completely false," and that the request was from someone "junior" at Nintendo of Europe, and simply contained the phrase "some of us were talking...[about F-Zero]." Ward explains that this sort of side chat could be about anything (not an official request from Nintendo proper), plus they were owned by EA at the time and so many more things would have to happen up the chain of command?? before th?is was actually a real "offer." Alas, Ward contends that none of that ever happened.

The conversation starts at roughly the 2:15:00 mark, at which point Ward sighs and goes "here we go." Near the end of the discussion Ward does admit that if Miyamoto had come forward and EA actually came to the table "it could have happened," but that aforementioned junior member never had that access. When asked if Ward would do it if asked now, he replies "I'm not really big on F-Zero," dismissing the notion. Of course, a bunch of bags of money and a team that is big on the IP could make it happen.

Game Informer [YouTube]

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Dance around the world

One of my favorite albums of all time is the first Super Eurobeat Initial D Non-Stop Mega Mix. It gets my blood pumping for just about anything from workouts to general gaming, and the same goes for this newly revealed F-Zero Medley that's going to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate later this year.

The track is from none other than the legendary Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, signer and songwriter for Daytona USA, among other storied franchises like Virtua Fighter and Shenmue. Nintendo is really pulling out all the stops here with songs like Snake Eater from Metal Gear Solid 3 and a Mega Man 4 Medley from a Sonic composer on top of low key music from Snipperclips.

Nintendo usually kills it with Smash soundtracks and this seems?? to be no exception.

You can al?so waste your day away listening to this now that you're in the m?ood:

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Now he's a fighting game meme

Oh what may have been. What if Bubsy was the winner of the mascot war?s and Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were competing with an Accolade Box One? It sounds absurd, but almost as crazy as Captain Falcon representing the entire SNES brand.

Based on an interview with a designer for F-Zero, Takaya Imamura, it's come to light that Captain Falcon, future racer extraordinaiire, could have been the mascot of the Super Nintendo. Evidently the entire plan was based on the idea that some character named "Captain something" should be employed for their new system, one that would "match the colors of the Super Famicom con??troller."

Over time, Captain Falcon was molded into what became F-Zero, a flagship character for the franchise. Given his clout early on in the prototype process, it's easy to see how he ended up getting a coveted spot in the Super Smash Bros. roster on the Nintendo 64.

F-Zero Developer Interview [Nintendo]

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Fast Racing Neo

We've covered FAST Racing Neo before -- it's a really cool looking racing game that is seeking exclusivity on the Wii U. Now it's about to get a whole lot cooler, as F-Zero GX voice actor Jack Merluzzi has signed on for ?the announcer of the game.

The team is trying to get the game out to market "by the end of the year," and there will be announcer voiceover present for all?? tracks and vehicles. Hopefully this turns out great and gives the eShop the shot in the arm it needs in terms of indie race?rs.

Shin'en Multimedia [Twitter]

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Gotta go fast!

[Update: Looks like the Kickstarter is being cancelled after the creator was?? sent a large amount of negati??ve feedback. 

"We are going to cancel the project. Duo(sic) to the big amount of negativ(sic) feedback and the discussion about the Blue Falcon and the copyright, made our decision easy. The footage on the page was an earlier build and a prototype, it never should be in the final game in this form. As it is written down on the Kickstarterpage(sic). However, we have learned from that and we understand now that a F-Zero indie remake from a small dev. team is not what y??ou guys want. We thank everyone who shared our campaign? and who gave us feedback."

The devs noted that this prototype took t??hem four months to create and they may relaunch the project after they have redesigned?? the prototype. The Kickstarter page is still currently up, but has been edited to let people know the campaign is being cancelled.]

What do you get when you combine 30 racers, blistering speeds, and futuristic racetracks? Well it used to be F-Zero, but now Zero Gravity AX hopes to recapture that magic if its Kickstarter gets funded. 

Zero Gravity AX is promising some pretty neat features: customizable machines, 40 tracks, a track editor, character creator, career mode, and four-??player split-screen. All that at 1080p and 60fps. The Kickst??arter, launched yesterday, aims to raise at least a minimum total of $127,555.

Beyond that, stretch goals include an online mode, more localizations, and Oculus Rift support. The developers hope to launch on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and, of course, Wii U in August of 2016 with physical copies available as a rewa??rd for a modest $37.

Zero Gravity AX [Kickstarter]

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Sup Holmes every Sunday at 4pm EST!

_{[Sup Holmes is a weekly talk show for people ??that make great videogames. It airs liv??e every Sunday at 4pm EST on YouTube, and can be found in Podcast form on Libsyn and iTunes.]}

What a wacky coincidence! A few weeks back, we had Brandon Sheffield on the Sup Holmes. Brandon is the creator of Oh, Deer!,  a game that's heavily influenced by the classic racing games of Yu Suzuki. A week before that, we welcomed Aurelien Regard to the show, who's game The Next Penelope is heavily influenced by classic racing games like F-Zero and Rock 'n Roll Racing. Both men are also extrem?ely passionate about classic game consoles, with Brandon's focus weighing more on the TurboGrafx-16, and Aurelien's passion swaying more towards the Neo Geo. That small difference aside, it's cl??ear that these two fellas would have a lot to talk about should they ever meet in real life.

On Brandon's episode, we got to talking about the prospect of Shenmue 3, which had not been announced at the time of our recording. Brandon has met Yu Suzuki a few times though, which gave him something of an advantage in guessing what E3 had in store for the series. Still, even with that edge, it's a little spooky how spot on some of our guesses were regarding Suzuki-sans plans for his long dormant franchise. As for Aurelien, we didn't end up saying much about Shenmue, but there was some surprise Pocky and Rocky ??talk(y) that I definitely didn'?t see coming. Maybe they should kick start that one next. 

Thanks again to Brandon and Aurelien for hanging out with this, and be sure to tune in to the show today at 4pm EST when we welcome Dtoid community legend and creator of the first g??ame on?? Kickstarter Ben Shostak to the program. 

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But can we go deeper?

Mute City is my favorite DLC track in Mario Kart 8. Like, it's not even close.

Nintendo doesn't seem all that interested in making a new F-Zero, but at least we have dedicated fans out there keeping the series alive. Take this custom F-Zero X track by YouTube user Uchiha Madao, via NeoGAF: it's based on Mute City as it appears in Mario Kart 8.

"This track turned out pretty well but I had to tweak some parts because FZX's physics are more dangerous (the part where the cylinder joins the track is upside down and that is insta-death in FZX normally)," writes Uchiha. I didn't even know there was a track edi?tor for the game -- an Expansion Kit was released in Japan -- much less that people were making courses like this.

Gosh, that's cool. I'm gonna have the song in my hea??d all day.

Here's Mario Kart 8's version of Mute City:

And this is how Mute City normally looks in F-Zero X:

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Complex arduous hack could be good sign

With the GameCube controller adapter for the Wii U coming soon, a lot of people are hoping we'll be getting GameCube games on the Wii U eShop to boot. Getting another crack at some analog trigger-specific games like Super Mario Sunshine would definitely be a treat,?? especially for those ?who didn't get a chance to play them the first time around. I ran the idea past some programmer pals, and they all said "don't get your hopes up". Unlike the Wii, the Wii U doesn't have the guts for easy GameCube backwards compatibility. That doesn't make playing GameCube games on the Wii U impossible, but it might take a lot more work and money than it would be worth. 

Well it looks like the Wii U homebrew community managed to pull it off anyway, thought it's far from perfect. You can't run actual GameCube discs with this hack, and you have to switch over to Wii Mode to boot the emulation app, but it runs pretty smoothly after you get it going. The 3DS reportedly has to do something similar when running the GBA Ambassador games.

That's a lot of hoops to jump through, but it gives an old fan like me hope that Nintendo could find a way to do this on the level. While I have just about every GameCube game I ever wanted on their original discs, I may being willing to pay for the convenience of having a few of them on my current console. I'm sure Nintendo could make at cool million on Smash Bros. Melee on the Wii U eShop. Easy access to Roy and Pichu is worth at?? least $12.

_{[Image by Mushbuh]}

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Thanks for the heads up

I do love a good ratings board heads-up every now and then. The Australian Classification Board has listed Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and F-Zero: GP Legend as coming to the Wii U Virtual Console now that Game Boy Advance titles are allowed to do exactly that.

Aria of Sorrow is one of the good ones, as far as I'm concerned, and Chris Carter agrees with me, so that should just about settle it. As for GP Legend, this is a Suzak-developed adaptation of the F-Zero anime o??f the same name, which, ehhh. Apparently it's not bad?? at all (?).

You can tell me -- I'm listening. Also, playing GBA games on Wii U: how weird is it? I ask that as someone who almost exclusively played Fire Emblem on a Game Boy Player.

Australi??an Rating Board Outs Castlevania, F-Zero GBA for Wii U [IGN via Joystiq] [Image source]

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Nintendo's idea man doesn't have ideas on how to make F-Zero 'great again'

Mario Kart 8 is extending into a less traditional direction after the somewhat tired Mario Kart 7, but it appears the future isn't so bright for Nintendo's lesser-known, higher-octane racing series, F-Zero. The Mario Kart series has been plugging away for years, brand recognition in tow, but it's been along time since Captain Falcon has had a game to ply his adrenaline-fueled wares outside of the Super Smash Bros. series.

Speaking to IGN, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto said, "I think where I struggle is that I don’t really have a good idea for what’s new that we could bring to F-Zero that would really turn it into a great game again. ... I don’t know, at this point, what direction we could go in with a new F-Zero," then trotted out the well-worn "We come to the sho??w and we bring a lot of great franchises and everyone says, 'Oh, well, where’s this game that I want to play? Where&rsq??uo;s something new?' I only have so much capacity."

In an Entertainment Weekly piece from 2007, Miyamoto talked about working with outside studios on properties like F-Zero and Star Fox, stating, "Consumers got very excited about the idea of those games, but the games themselves did not deliver." Given how well received and well loved F-Zero GX (developed in collaboration with SEGA) was, I'm going to take this to simply mean the game didn't sell as well as Mario Kart and thus isn't getting the same consideration.

So a new F-Zero won't be coming from collaboration with outside studios (despite this year's amazing Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon being developed by the independent Next Level Games) and, internally, Miyamoto doesn't have any ideas ?for the franchise. Rest in peace, Cap'n. At least for now.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up For F-Zero [IGN]

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Also, F-Zero X, Link 'n' Launch, Metroid II: Return of Samus

If you haven't played Super Mario Bros. 3 yet, you can pick it up on the Wii Virtual Console for 150 Coins by way of Club Nintendo. Outside of Mario, F-Zero X (Wii VC) is 200 Coins, Link 'n' Launch (3DS) is 150 Coins, and Metroid II (3DS VC) is 150 Coins. It's a pretty simple offer?ing this month, with a solid, yet familiar lineup.

An unintended benefit of redeeming select Wii Virtual Console games with unwanted points is the ability to pick up the enhanced Wii U version eventually on the cheap, at a $1.00-$1.50 discounted rate. Specifically, it's only a matter of time until Mario 3 hits the platform, with a distinct possibility for F-Zero X at some point.

June [Club Nintendo]

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