F-Zero 99 Is One of 2023's Best Games 

Fingers crossed F-Zero 99 stays alive for a long time

Can we talk about how clean the presentation is? Between the hi-res chunky pixels and how some of the original art is incorporated, it looks so nice!

F-Zero 99 is the best 99-series game so far because it *makes losing fun.* When I'm playing Tetris or Pac-Man 99 and I lose in the top 10, I'm not thinking "Wow, that was a fun match!", I see it as time lost. With F-Zero's Rival system, even when you lose (there *are* 98 other contestants, after all), you still get a sense of progress and accomplishment. Might not have won the match, but I beat these four people's asses, so... If there's gonna be that many players with only one winner on top, making losing fun is crucial, and F-Zero 99 really nails it in that aspect. Banger game, glad we waited 19 years for a remake-spin-off

I think the strength of F-Zero 99 is that it understands the power of risk/reward. It's a total thrill. The tracks are challenging enough on their own (especially the "Pro" tracks), but you have to balance that against your power meter, which is both your ability speed up and take a higher position, *and* your ability to survive the race at all. If you want to win (or at least place high), you have to boost, you have to play aggressively. But every time you boost, your margin for error shrinks, and it shrinks fast. This constant balancing act keeps you on your toes in every race. And at the same time, it largely avoids the problem a lot of Racing games struggle with, where the person in first is nigh-unassailable, because it puts extra obstacles in their way in the form of "bumpers" controlled by the AI or sometimes even knocked out players that you can't super easily trivialise given how tough most tracks are (Death Wind is the only one I can see being susceptible to runaways), and the Super Sparks provide a catch-up mechanic that allows you to turn being stuck in the pack into an advantage, instead of the disadvantage it traditionally is. It is just... wildly addicting. This game needs to be talked about more, in a positive light, because it totally deserves it.

I’ll at least say this: F-Zero 99 is probably the most ambitious 99 game by far.

As a MASSIVE fan of the SNES F-Zero, this was the most exciting game announcement in the Direct for me. I barely touched the other 99 series games, but I see myself playing this one for months. I barely had time to play for an hour last night and I already can’t wait to get home from work to play more. Absolutely a game of the year contender for me.

I was one of those dissapointed when the F-zero reveal was the 99 game...then I played it and every dissapointed just vanished into thin air. The chaos, the clean retro graphics, the feeling of progression even if losing (rivals, getting car colors, decals, etc). At first I though I would never get good and would always end up been 50 or so...then I kept getting better, understood strategy, the best areas to boost, the slide mechanic, picking a car good to your style and suddenly I began been in the top 25...then then top 10 and now I have reach 2nd a few times, first place still eludes me but I now feel I can achieve it at some moment. It really is a great F-zero game in general and though skills is needed is mechanics to help those in the back are good and like the video mention gives a chance to everyone playing...until someone KO's you. The feeling of been KO just as you are almost tasting the finish line is the worse. I am not proud to admit my neighbour probably re-thinks my language on those moments xP

I think the fact that races in fzero have a set end unlike tetris pacman or even mario 35 gives fzero 99 the appeal of being very quick to boot up and play just one match which will only take about like 5 minutes AND I LOVE IT

This is a damn good F-Zero racer. A massive high-stakes hyper speed death race, where veterans can apply their skills for sure but newcomers will surely rise through the ranks and find positive gameplay. In that sense, it feels like a game with the core essence of F-Zero baked into it’s formula. I’m thankful for this release.

Keep in mind this: hard-core FZERO fans aren't the only ones who are playing this game; casuals and newcomers who are seeking a challenge are willing to pick this up, too. Hopefully, this does send a message to Nintendo to focus more on the series, and maybe have faith in it again.

I always thought the OG Fzero is underrated and I love that they gave it another chance like this. This is peak Nintendo giving you something you didnt know you wanted instead of something obvious.

I played it for several hours last night and it was indeed quite addicting! What this game really needs the most in my opinion is queuing up with friends, Tetris 99 has that so I hope it gets added. I tried queuing up with friends at the same time and we managed to get in some races together and it was soooo fun. I’d love to be able to join a random 99 player match with friends or even just have a private match with friends that could go up to 99 players. That would be incredible!

Back in the Direct, F-Zero 99 was poorly received by the community. But now that people have played it, the game's a Solid 10/10! It's highly addictive, extremely fun, has high replayability and more!

What I find magical about F-Zero 99 is that getting first place is such a satisfying achievement that feels almost exactly how it felt back in the day playing F-Zero GX beating stuff like the Very Hard Story Mode chapters or Master Class Grand Prix. Precious memories are being relived. This. _This_ is why I've been wanting a new F-Zero and I am happy.

I thought this was going to be a game I played for 5 minutes and put down because its too chaotic, but Jon is really right. It's the perfect amount of chaos, control, luck, and skill that makes me want to obsess over it until I get the W. Perfect pick up and play game for the Switch I'll probably end up sinking several hours into

I also really love the practice mode in all honesty. It looks like a simple mode for learning the tracks at first but then you think "I can do that better" and so you go again and again until you're racing your ghost neck and neck to shave milliseconds off of your time. This game has honestly singlehandedly made me excited for whatever they do with f zero next, having played none of the other games, and that's awesome.

The thing what makes this click for me is just the fact that you can have rivalries and 1on1 interactions. You see other people's names and they see yours. If you start targeting someone, they might recognize you and target you in return. At that point i doesn't even matter if you got top 10, you made THAT guy explode and finished the race. That's all that matters in the end.

Thing i love about it is makes it feel lore accurate. a literal death race to the end. 1st is great, not crashing out is better.

What I love is that as far as I know. There are no micro transactions. Nothing is locked behind a paid system and there's none of that energy or stamina stuff you see in other F2P games. Nothing is paywalled and nothing is pay to win.

I wrote this on the F-Zero subreddit (which seems to be coming around to the game more) but I'm going to write it here too. Like many others I'd prefer to have a new "proper" F-Zero game. But when you look at all the platforms that the series had after the original SNES game this is probably the best chance the series has at proving it can be successful since that game. The N64 and GameCube sold progressively worse, and handheld games didn't get the same excitement back in the GBA days as they get now. Combining the Switch's popularity with this being the first game in the series in 20 or so years and that the only barrier to entry is a $20 subscription that millions of players already have means something. And a point I made there that I think got overshadowed but is also very important, at least symbolically, the first three of the"99" games were blockbuster franchises: Tetris, Pac-Man, and Mario. I think it says something that F-Zero is the fourth game to get this treatment. We'll have to see if this actually results in a new "proper" game, but having this is still meaningful.

The rubberbanding works here because it still take some skill to get the orbs unlike Mario Kart that gives the weapons.

F-Zero 99 is actually my 2nd favorite F-Zero game. I have to say GX is the best for the sheer spectacle and speed. But this… this is addictive as hell. It’s amazing.

F-Zero 99 is almost exactly what I wanted for a while. Thinking about Miyamoto's famous quote, that they have no clue what to do with F-Zero, my mind always went to 30 player online races and Grand Prix. I would've loved it, if it was based on F-Zero Climax or GP Legend, since I'm also not a big fan of the original. But the addition of the newer mechanics makes it really great. Especially boosting with your energy. This'll definitely be a 99 game I'll actually play once in a while. That said, F-Zero Climax 99 when lol

I can't get enough of this game and I'm praying that Nintendo sees the positive reception over this kind of gameplay. If a new F-Zero plays like an iterated 99, then I can see a whole new generation of F-Zero fans coming up and growing with whatever Nintendo gives us.

Fzero 99 is my game of the year atm, absolutely loving it and been playing as much as I can. The number of times in the last few days I have been laughing and screaming in excitement.. my neighbours must think I'm mad 😅

I do hope they end up doing the same with Star Fox, 64 specifically, imagine a 99 player battle royale on a stage like the independence day one, random drops of laser upgrades, a multitude of airwings to choose, silver and golden rings as drops from players, bombs being super rare drops from Rob boxes, I would love that so much

There's a lot of internet vitriol from people who haven't even played and/or will not play this game. But everyone who actually embraced it for what it is, instead of mourning what it isn't, is PRAISING this game. And rightfully so! This is an outstanding use of the 99 battle-royale format, the action is frantic, white-knuckled fun, and the feeling of "okay just *one* more round" doesn't wear off easily. It's really good, especially for the price tag.

Amen to the request for a physical release. It would be a crime if Nintendo never releases this gem on cartridge!

Been living this game. My first FZero

As a fellow F-Zero enthusiast (X is my favorite as well!) I was initially very bummed out that the great idea of an F-Zero 99 ended up using the SNES game as a base but after the initial disappointment had settled, I definitely agree that this is a damn fun game. Easily the best 99 game since Tetris 99. I hope that if we ever get a brand new game in the series that a 99/online battle royale mode is included because it fits the series really damn well.

It's easily the best 99 game they've done, it actually feels like a good amount of effort has been put into it

This game is genuinely amazing. It’s absolute hilarious chaos, pure fun

Most fun I've had on an F-Zero game by far. Best 99 game too. I love it.

Just realized none of the other 99 games had the players interact with each other so directly, Tetris, Pac-Man and Mario just had sending stuff to other players, actually bumping into each other here makes a big difference.

This feels like actually being an F-Zero race. I've nevef played an F-Zero game before, but I'm really loving it and the goal of trying to beat your rivals is a much more obtainable goal starting off.

I didn't really care if we got an f zero game, but now i really want one. It's been so long since I've played one. Last time was on the GameCube

Couldn't agree more, Jon! It's simple and addicting, but it still offers the core experience of an F-ZERO game. Like you, I wasn't the biggest fan of the SNES game but my goodness I'm having such a good time with this. Getting better with the controls, learning the tracks, figuring out when to use the super boost, it makes for a fun time! People say F-ZERO fans got screwed over with this being rhe "New F-ZERO" game, but I also disagree with that. If anything, it gives me hope that Nintendo is gauging how much people like F-ZERO and to make a new one in due time. And in addition to all of that, there could be quite a few newcomers to this series; this could be their first F-ZERO experience. They may wind up loving it and try the F-ZERO X on the N64 NSO; they might just become a F-ZERO fan entirely. I'm so excited for F-ZERO and i hope it gets the attention it deserves.

It is excellent. They put a lot of work in making the multiplayer gameplay a fun addictive loop

Jon back at it again with the correct F-Zero opinions.

I have no idea why, but the animation of the vehicles spinning looks so satisfying

I loved this game, I'm so excited to get home and play again. To me, the concept totally makes sense in a F-Zero context. I mean, it's a race with pilots from all over the galaxy, so it would be a big event like the 99 races. I really hope that they develop even further this concept, with new courses, machines, customization options, social interations, new Grand Prix. As it is now the game is amazing and a lot of fun, but It's such a cool idea that it deserves to become much bigger than that.

I think this version of F-Zero has truly embodied the original lore of it being a chaotic death race, with dozens of racers exploding on the track at all times. The most clever mechanic seems to be that if you're in 1st place you don't have to worry about some other player messing you up, it is instead a test of skill: You need to dodge all of the exploding cars to maintain your lead. You don't have another player to target your rage at because they're not the ones responsible for you failing to dodge the exploding NPCs. That adds that extra layer of strategy to the game itself: Instead of simply driving fast there's good reason to stay behind other cars, so that they'll be the ones to explode the NPCs and not you. In essence F-Zero 99 introduced a version of drafting into the game itself, and that's incredibly clever.

It's really amazing and I love how everything looks and how fast it is to jump into a race

Let’s hope this game garners enough success that Nintendo uses it as a building block for a true new F-Zero.

F-Zero 99 made me remember how much I love F-Zero. Now I want another game that embraces the American comic book style of the original and X.

This game is going to be absolute carnage when flame field is added to the track roster

I really hope they add more tracks and vehicles eventually. I only ever choose the Blue Falcon because it looks the coolest of the vehicles. I know there aren't as many vehicles in the original game, but it would be nice to get some new ones.

I can't wait to see the chaos when the King League finally drops. Fire Field will be a very interesting track for 99 racers.

I expected to try it for 10-20 minutes since it looks like a novelty. 3 hours later I just want to play one more race, genuine surprise, well executed, very fun game. Fingers crossed Nintendo can get us more F-Zero before 2043.

This game is pretty fun, Nintendo be testing the waters with this.

My only gripe is the announcer doesn’t say “yeahhh the final lap!”. I know that’s an X thing, not the snes original, but come on that voice is iconic

Having a blast with it! I think it's a great way to experiment with F-Zero and I'm loving the presentation. Hopefully this leads to a new game with some fresh and fun mechanics.

As an F0 fan playing this game just feels like a full on new game. So much improvements over the SNES version and the chaos having 99 racers on a track offers just feels natural and welcomed given FZero 64 and GX were bonkers at times.

Completely agree. I’m already B Rank and can’t stop playing this game. F-Zero 99 is the best Battle Royals game on Switch, and I’m glad everyone is finally experiencing F-Zero’s amazing soundtrack as well. Port Town goes so hard.

The game is really great, but I am hoping they add friend lobbies. I'm a little bit disappointed that the first proper online f-zero has no way to play with friends

Loved this video! F Zero is really the only racing series I've ever liked and I'm so happy it's back. Also your voice is incredible and I subscribed just because it's so chill lol

Fzero 99 is exactly what Fzero should be. It has insane depth and its blindly fast and fun

F-Zero X is my favorite racing game of all time (I much prefer its camera and how it handles it to GX), and an F-Zero X 99 would be the peak of my existence

PAC-MAN 99 had the issue of it feeling very non-competitive. The attacks didn’t feel like they came from other players and the game’s meta emphasized NOT clearing any boards until things got to sub-50 players remaining because doing better actually made things HARDER for the player to win. It felt like a huge step down from Tetris 99. But ~this~, this feels like a logical step of the 99 series. A game that naturally feels conducive to having 99 players at once and a game that actually de-emphasizes the feeling of “if I don’t get 1st, then I failed.”

What an amazing way to get people into the F-Zero series, this game is INSANE!

My one complaint isn’t with the game itself, it’s with the people you play with. At the start of the race you’re given the option between two different courses. People will always choose Mute City or Big Blue. People want to unlock the other maps for training mode, but the majority of people refuse to do anything that isn’t one of the courses from smash brothers. They also did this in super Mario 35 where most people would always vote to do 1-1 or 1-2 over and over again.

All it needs is a split screen option, like in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe you can have a couch friend play next to you while you both are racing others online.

The drifting feels so much better in this game than the SNES original. I feel like that was the worst part of the first game. 100% agreed that this should get a physical release it already has a practice mode and quite a few offline components. I would love if they sold DLC for this game that added CPU versions of the main cups so you can still grind out cosmetics, as well as local modes with friends, and lobbies with friends online. I feel like it’s not quite as strong as Tetris 99 for me personally, but it’s definitely a close second. The moment to moment gameplay is much more involved, and I’m shocked with how well it runs. I never encountered any hiccups or dropped games. Having only played the other F-Zero games for a short while, I think this nails the fast and frantic gameplay of the rest of the series. Unlike Mario Kart, it’s very much racing focused. Drifting and proper cornering are a must. Even still, it never punishes the player for not being up to par with the rest of the pack. This game proves that Nintendo has room in their roster for two different but still fun racing series, and I’m glad this is the game that finally got them to revive the series. Fingers crossed it’s as good a revival as Awakening was for Fire Emblem.

For the physical release I hope they release a track editor for it so we could had fun making tracks in the game and share it for play online.

this games crack the more you play it the more you want to keep playing it

I completely agree, as soon as I saw this I immediately thought of how Miyamoto said they didn't make a new F-Zero game in 20 years because they didn't have any new ideas ... well they did it now, they came up with a way to modernize the formula that makes perfect sense.

This is chaotic in the best possible way. I’m having so much fun and bummed out that not many people are giving this game a chance

I love the original 1990 game and i put in so many hours as an adult into that game on my SNES classic. That said I love the original controls, theyre hard to learn but once you do master them, it is just a satisfying thing win. F-ZERO 99 has softened those controls making it easier to make turns. That is something I am still trying to adjust to because I often end up cutting a turn too early in this game. when you break away from the pack it feels so freeing and amazing. Losing a race is not bad either bc of how quick you can get into another one. I wanted a brand new title 3D original switch F-ZERO, but this game is fun too

I love how passionate and honest you are Jon. Keep talking about the things you love, we're all here for it!

I’ve never been into f zero because the skill curve is so high, this game is a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying it

Would have been cool if you could play online with friends. Would be fun going into a 99 lobby with a few buddies just crashin n bashin.

Shoutout to that one guy that paid like 30k to ask Nintendo about F-Zero at that investors meeting. I salute you, sir

Between this and Quake 2 Remastered, it's been a strange but great year for me where games I loved in high school got really fucking cool remasters, which act as amazing tributes to the games and contain tweaks (radical or slight) that arguably elevate them above their source material.

Im hooked. Ive gotten 3 first place finishes so far and 2nd place GP finishes. Im so hooked. What a brilliant game

I've had a ton of fun playing F-Zero 99 so far. It's my favorite NSO battle royale since SMB 35.

I get the addictive feeling of it! I kept ending up in the top 5 and knew that I could eventually hit first and have fun doing it. I eventually did and couldn’t stop smiling

To me, this game is the realization of what F-Zero was always meant to be. Of course, I have nostalgia for the SNES so perhaps that is no surprise.

Not the Fzero we wanted, but the Fzero we deserved for now at least

Couldn't agree more on all fronts, John! I never was a super fan of the original FZero since it could be fully best in a few hours, where SMK had faster difficulties and more characters. I became a huge fan of FZero with FZero X due to the amount of characters and fun gameplay, it did well transitioning to 3D. F-Zero 99 is a huge blast to play, to my surprise! It feels like a what if a SNES game were made in 2023 with all the modern elements. It's a ton of fun

I grew up with a SNES and I had lot of great moments with F-Zero. I always kept thinking on the other ships playing, competing or bumping you. The announcement left me very hyped and I have played a lot last night. I like the way Nintendo has approached this game, and I agree with Jon, there are many layers, can feel fresh and different (even if you play big blue every 15 minutes). No matter what I do I always keep crashing in Death Wind I, which is one of my all-time fav tracks (Sand Ocean is top for me). I love the music.

At first I was like this is not going to work very well as a 99 game and then I played it and I was like I love this game. And the muscle memory of playing the SNES F-Zero from the 90s pretty much came back to me and have done fairly well playing it.

These 99 games are becoming the best part of NSO. Wonder what other ones we will see

Something you didn't mention I thought was noteworthy, the controls feel really good. Part of it might have been the controller I was using (8 Bit Do Pro 2, dpad, not stick) but I think a lot of it was the software. Metroid Dread felt the same way to me, like they put extra effort into getting the controls just exactly right.

I played it this morning before work and I really enjoyed it. I definitely think as far as the 99 games go this one is probably my favorite. It is really fun and doesn’t cause me to stress out like Tetris 99 can.

from the little ive played, its really good! I cant wait to play more when i get the chance.

F-Zero SNES has finally reached it's potential. I love this game!

Game is way too addicting! The constant thrill of getting to first place while trying to survive and knock others out itches that risk/reward factor that gets me to hop into a new race as soon as I'm done. Can't wait until the other leagues start so we get to see the other tracks. Would also love it if they added the BS F-Zero tracks, since those would basically be completely new for like 99% of the playerbase.

I’ve never played an F-Zero game before but I got into it as soon as the direct ended. I got 2nd my first online race and I’ve been chasing that high ever since

It's a surprisingly fun game. It looks chaotic but it is 100 % fair unlike Mario Kart for example, where you will get cheated our of your well deserved first place sooner or later. Here, every death is 100 % on the player. Maybe I shouldn't have used that one boost earlier. Maybe I should have used the spin to take out that damaged car in front of me and get all my boost back. Maybe I should have slowed down instead of pin-palling against the walls. I have lost several races and so far, my best result was 8th place in one of the pro races, but I never felt cheated. Never felt frustrated either. It's always more like a "damn, I got reckless again."

I love it that if you successfully KO an opponent, your energy guage increases, and it will continue to increase with every KO

Through F-Zero and the Mode7 Snes showed its muscles. I believe that the next Nintendo console could be released with a new F-Zero, I think through a VR system. Btw it also depends on how much we play F-Zero99

This is honestly a top tier fzero game.

To me, this is probably NST's next well known game. Its been quite a bit of time since they've done something super brand new besides support and ports on the Switch. I 100% believe they should take the helm of F-Zero going forward!

I agree 100℅ John, I've already put in 5 hours on this game!

I love how this game uses the original ilustrations in the menu's, it's so neat!

I agree with everything that you've said, tried to play the SNES game before and wasn't that much of a fan, but gave F-zero 99 a chance and I also have spend as much time as I can playing it. It's so fun and addictive!!

The only thing I'm hoping for now is for Nintendo to update the game with the other 4 cars from BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 from the Satella so it would now have a total of 8 cars to choose and race with.

The game it's very fun I really hope fzero fans or not give it a try, I honestly hope they add match making with friends in a future update

8:13 Yooo, that's me!! 😮

I really want this to become a mainstay. Every future F-Zero title needs this as a side mode.