[#10] F-ZERO (SNES)


Genre: Racing
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Original release: August, 1991

F-ZERO for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is far and away one of the more innovative racing titles of its time. Released back in August of 1991 in the United States, players young and old loaded up their F-ZERO cartridges to guide the likes of Captain Falcon (contemporary gamers will recognize him from the Super Smash Bros. series), Dr. Stewart, Pico and Sumurai Goroh through fifteen different tracks spread across three difficult levels (with a fourth to be unlocked).

Compete in the Knight League (Easy), Queen League (Moderate) or King League (Hard) as you play through three different versions of Mute City among other familiar F-ZERO territories. As the futuristic race progresses, the game speeds up with each player receiving a speed boost - so it's not over until it's over. While the initial release of F-ZERO met a few criticisms in execution, it would be a shame to be known as the guy who doesn't have F-ZERO in his Virtual Console library. Each of the four playable characters boast different levels of attributes, allowing for a decent amount of replayability, and with the challenge presented in the speed and difficulty levels, you may end up playing this classic game for quite a while. This is one of those games that challenge a player to play more than it does entertain, so if you're up to it F-ZERO should deliver.



Captain Falcon
Captain Falcon, owner of the Blue Falcon, hails from Port Town and is the main character in F-ZERO. Falcon's age is unknown, though his F-ZERO piloting abilities and bounty hunter background make him quite the character.




Dr. Stewart
Straight out of Mute City, Dr. Robert Stewart makes his living piloting the Golden Fox. The medical doctor, surgeon and F-ZERO racer even competed in the F-Zero Grand Prix.




Samurai Goroh
The boss of the Red Canyon bandits, Samurai Goroh is one human pilot you don't want to mess with. Though the pink color of his Fire Stingray machine may lead one to believe otherwise.




Pico
The green machine F-ZERO racer and assassin of the Poripoto army, Pico is not of this world. Hailing from the far off reaches of Death Window, what Pico and his Wild Goose lack in acceleration is made up for with incredible turning and durability, not to mention the second fastest speed in the game.


Continue on for the #09 game on our 2006 Virtual Console countdown.