THERE hasn’t been an F-Zero game in almost 20 years, but fans of the Nintendo franchise have been wanting for a new game in the series the whole time.
Nintendo has kept quiet on the future of the series, but many are holding out hope that a new game is on the way.
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F-Zero is a fast-paced futuristic racing game that first debuted on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990.
The series subsequently got new entries on the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameCube, as well as two spin-offs on Game Boy Advance.
One of the key designers on the game, Takaya Imamura, left Nintendo in 2021, and has since moved into writing and illustrating manga.
Imamura worked at Nintendo under Shigeru Miyamoto – the creator of Super Mario – for over 30 years, and holds Miyamoto in very high regard.
In an interview with VGC, Imamura said that Miyamoto was quite strict to those who worked on his teams, but that he thought about games more deeply than any other person at the company.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like any more F-Zero games are coming anytime soon, with Imamura saying that the cost made it unfeasible, and that Nintendo already had a popular racing game on the Nintendo Switch.
Imamura said: “I think it’s because Mario Kart is Nintendo’s most popular racing game, and a new F-Zero would cost a fortune.”
He also said that reviving old franchises is easy, but that it’s important to create something that satisfies customers, like recent games in the Metroid franchise.
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Imamura did, however, suggest that another developer could take on development of a new game, much like external developer MercurySteam worked on Metroid Dread.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the interview was that Imamura professed a love for Heinz beans, after his many trips to the UK during his time at Nintendo visiting Donkey Kong developer Rare.
Imamura said: “I stayed at a hotel and quickly became a massive fan of British beans and bacon!
“I fell in love with Heinz beans. I love the UK, I visited France recently but I prefer London.”
Imamura didn’t say whether or not he planned to return to the UK anytime soon, but given how full of beans he is for the country’s iconic foods, it’s probably only a matter of time.
Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.
