NintendoWhen you think of racing games and Nintendo, Mario Kart is surely the first thing that comes to mind, but once upon a time, Nintendo had its very own racing series — and it was incredible. 35 years ago, F-Zero basically created Podracing before that was even a thing, defining the very idea of the futuristic sci-fi racer, and revolutionizing the genre in the process. And even though F-Zero seems like a wisp of a memory to Nintendo these days, what’s amazing is how that original game is still one of the best-playing racing games you’ll ever find — it feels like it hasn’t aged a day. First released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990, F-Zero is a futuristic racing game set in the dystopian future of 2560 — where billionaires with too much money and time on their hands create a deadly Formula One-style league called F-Zero. Racers from around the galaxy come seeking glory, money, or simply the thrill of the race. Yeah, it feels a little more on the nose now than it did in 1990. F-Zero's visual style really pops off the screen, rich in neon colors. | NintendoThe aesthetic of F-Zero felt absolutely revolutionary at the time, as colorful hovercars raced across dazzling neon high rises and gravity-bending tracks. That alone gives the game a distinct personality, which perfectly meshes with the eclectic charm of its characters. F-Zero is exceptionally light on story, but gives just enough details on each character to get a feel for who they are — and smartly uses visual design to emphasize that even more. F-Zero employed a distinct, gritty, comicbook-esque style, a far cry from the polished aesthetic that Nintendo was typically known for at the time. Samurai Goroh looks like a villain you’d see from a ‘90s cyberpunk anime, like Ghost in the Shell, while Captain Falcon’s brilliant blue jumpsuit and blazing red helmet look like he was ripped right out of the golden age of comics. Captain Falcon, of course, has gone on to become an absolutely iconic Nintendo character and a tremendous fan favorite in Super Smash Bros.While the visual style made fantastic use of bright colors to make the whole thing feel very sci-fi, that’s not the only reason F-Zero looks so visually astounding. It was one of the first games to use a revolutionary graphics mode called “Mode 7.” In layman's terms, this style allows the background layer to be rotated and scaled to create a kind of depth effect. It’s the same thing used in the world maps of games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6, and why those worlds feel like they’re actually moving as you travel around. Captain Falcon and his iconic Blue Falcon hovercar are instantly recognizable. | NintendoIn F-Zero, this provides both visual flair and mechanically adds to the actual game feel, giving you a visceral sense of speed as you turn corners and the world itself shifts. Of course, that’s then supported by extremely tight racing controls that let you effortlessly move your machine around the screen. A big part of what makes F-Zero so compelling is just how simple it is — your goal is to simply reach the finish line as fast as possible, while avoiding traps, obstacles, and the other racers. An energy gauge essentially shows the durability of your machine, and if it reaches zero, you crash and burn. It’s easy to learn F-Zero, as you can get a feel for the game within minutes of playing a race — but it inexorably draws you in, constantly giving that feeling of “just one more race.”F-Zero is one of those few games that feels truly timeless. If you didn’t know better and you played it for the first time today, you could easily think it was some kind of retro throwback racer — it simply feels that good. And that’s something the series continuously builds on with every entry, even right up to the Nintendo GameCube entry, F-Zero GX, which was led by Yakuza franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi. F-Zero 99 is picture proof of how well F-Zero can still work — and how much we need a new one. | NintendoBut it’s truly remarkable that even after the advancements of later games, the first holds up so well. You can even see that in the 2023 release of F-Zero 99, which uses the framework of the original F-Zero for a 99-player battle royale experience. Beyond that, there’s an entire swathe of games that might not exist without F-Zero, from the Wipeout franchise to Star Wars Episode I: Racer. It’s a game that quite literally set the standard for sci-fi racers in nearly every way. The only shame now is that it’s been two decades without a brand new F-Zero — and that’s one of Nintendo’s sole mistakes in the Switch era.