F-Zero 99 Announced, Launching On The Switch Today

Hey, if it worked for Tetris.

F-Zero 99

Nintendo’s F-Zero franchise has long been ignored by the Japanese publisher, so to see Nintendo announcing a new F-Zero project at today’s Nintendo Direct presentation is definitely a welcome sight. That being said, the form of the announcement might have caught people off-guard, as it’s been confirmed that F-Zero is receiving the Tetris 99 treatment. Enter F-Zero 99, a massive multiplayer racing game/battle royale hybrid based on the original F-Zero game that’s coming today as a free game for Nintendo Switch Online members. Have a look at the trailer above.

F-Zero 99 features the courses, machines and characters from the original SNES release, only modified slightly to accomodate for 99 players zooming around the track at one time. Players will need to manage their power meter, which depletes if a player makes contact with a wall or fellow racer. Once the meter is empty, that’s game over.

Considering F-Zero 99 is the first F-Zero game Nintendo have released in nearly 20 years, hopefully this is a good sign that the company has more plans for Captain Falcon and the gang going forward. With Nintendo also releasing remasters of GameCube titles like Pikmin 1 and 2 or Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, maybe F-Zero 99 will be the gateway for an F-Zero GX port too. Wouldn’t that be nice?

READ MORE: Why A Yakuza-Style Game Should Be F-Zero’s “Grand New Idea”

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.