F-Zero is a series of futuristic racing games originally created by Nintendo EAD and has been continually produced by Nintendo, although the company has let outside development houses work on some installments.[1] The video game franchise has led to an anime series and a variety of merchandise.
The series casually centers around the F-Zero racer Captain Falcon and his talented racing and bounty hunting abilities as well as his encounters with the other F-Zero characters, ranging from superheroes and supervillains to cyborgs, mutants and aliens. Numerous characters were introduced in each completed installment of the franchises' video games with many of them appearing in multiple titles. The games are either set in the 22nd century or at a later time period, with each game revolving around the high-speed F-Zero Grand Prix races. Each character has their own unique vehicle and reason for entering the F-Zero Grand Prix. The winner of the Grand Prix receives prestige as well as a large sum of prize money.[2]
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Takaya Imamura was in charge of the character designs for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System games F-Zero and Star Fox.[3] During the development of the F-Zero game, Imamura was surprised at the level of freedom he was given to design the characters and courses since this was his first game.[4] The game's producer, Shigeru Miyamoto, called the F-Zero characters "seven heads tall" in comparison to the characters for Super Mario Kart, who are "three heads tall in order to suit the design of the karts".[5] IGN claimed Captain Falcon "was thrust into the limelight" in F-Zero since he was the "star character".[6] An eight-page comic was included in the manual of the original game that carried the reader through one of Captain Falcon's bounty missions.[7]
The character Mr. EAD bears a few character attributes from the Mario series. "EAD" is also the same abbreviation used by Nintendo for their internal development group who are responsible for producing the Mario games. The F-Zero character James McCloud bears a resemblance to the Star Fox character Fox McCloud. According to Nintendo Power, "It's just one of the fun things the developers decided to put into F-Zero GX." Although James is also the name of Fox McCloud's father in the Star Fox series, they also stated "As similar in looks as they are, Fox and James McCloud don't have any connection."[8] Toshihiro Nagoshi, one of F-Zero GX's co-producers, was fond of the characters and found a way to draw out their personalities during the games' development.[9] The co-producer mentioned Amusement Vision was given relative freedom in designing the characters.[10] With the introduction of a story mode in F-Zero GX, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that the characters Imamura created are finally "coming to life and taking on some personality". Nagoshi stated that its story mode was included because the development team felt that the F-Zero universe was unique and they wanted to explain some of the characters' motivations and flesh out the game world.[9]
In F-Zero, one of four playable vehicles can be chosen to compete against generic vehicles of different colors as well as the other playable vehicles through each track in its Grand Prix mode. The Nintendo 64 (N64) sequel, F-Zero X, has twenty-seven new characters composed of all the opponents. In the Game Boy Advance title F-Zero: GP Legend, the majority of the characters originally appeared in the N64 game. During GP Legend's story scenes, the characters incorporate a Japanese animation style for their character designs as they appear in the cartoon show.[11]
| Original names: | Vehicle: | Initial descriptions: |
|---|---|---|
| Originated from F-Zero | ||
| Captain Falcon | Blue Falcon | An accomplished F-Zero pilot and renowned bounty hunter.[7] |
| Dr. Stewart | Golden Fox | Respected M.D. who participated in the races after the death of his father.[7] |
| Pico | Wild Goose | Rumored to be a notorious contract killer who aggressively drives around the circuits.[7] |
| Samurai Goroh | Fire Stingray | Boss of a group of bandits who reside in Red Canyon.[7] |
| Originated from F-Zero X A total of twenty-seven characters debuted in F-Zero X, with two of them sharing the same vehicle. |
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| Antonio Guster | Green Panther | Former partner and friend of Samurai Goroh, that was later betrayed and abandoned by him. As a result, Guster now seeks revenge on Goroh.[12] He is also the younger brother of Lisa Brilliant, Goroh's wife. |
| Mrs. Arrow / Mrs. Monique L’Amoreaux Arrow[13][cn 1] | Queen Meteor | Always enthusiastically enjoyed F-Zero and pursued a career in racing at the age of 14 where she eventually befriended and married Super Arrow.[13] |
| Baba / Baba Orninion[15][cn 1] | Iron Tiger | A rookie pilot who greatly desired to be an F-Zero racer and now seeks to win the entire Grand Prix.[15] In GP Legend, he is a henchmen for Zoda. |
| Beastman | Hyper Speeder | Beastman participates in the races to relieve himself of the mental torment he suffered after being mauled by an alligator at age 7.[16] |
| Billy | Mad Wolf | A primate who wants to prove that monkeys are superior to humans.[17] |
| Bio Rex | Big Fang | A genetically-engineered mixture of man and dinosaur who races to prove bioengineered species are superior to all other natural species.[18] |
| Black Shadow | Black Bull | The "King of Evil" who wants revenge on Captain Falcon for arresting a witch doctor who is said to have given Shadow his abilities.[19] |
| Blood Falcon | Blood Hawk / Hell Hawk (JP)[20][cn 1] | A nearly identical clone of Captain Falcon who was created by Black Shadow in order to ruin the Captain's reputation.[19] |
| Dr. Clash | Crazy Bear | Scientist who created numerous F-Zero vehicles then decided to enter himself for the fame.[21] |
| Draq | Mighty Typhoon | An alien who had deep aspirations of entering the Grand Prix which became a reality after stealing a couple of vehicles with Roger Buster from a delivery service the two work together in.[22] |
| Mr. EAD | Great Star | Created by the organization "EAD, this cyborg participates in the F-Zero races to test his IQ and intellect.[23] |
| Gomar & Shioh | Twin Noritta | The two aliens were originally prevented from entering due to the fact only one racer per vehicle is allowed. However, these aliens who come from a species who live in pairs and act as one were eventually allowed to participate.[24] |
| Jack Levin | Astro Robin | The F-Zero committee was looking for someone who could attend to the new, younger demographic. Levin was selected and now sends back money to his poor family gained from his popularity.[25] |
| James McCloud | Little Wyvern | Participates in the F-Zero races to win enough funds in order to keep the organization he is part of afloat.[26] |
| Jody Summer | White Cat | Summer dedicated her F-Zero career to her father, who died.[27] |
| John Tanaka | Wonder Wasp | Vows to protect Jody Summer in the F-Zero tournaments after the death of a professor who was very influential in Tanaka's life and who was also Jody's father.[28] |
| Kate Alen | Super Piranha | A singer and dancer who decided to fulfill her desire to take part in the F-Zero racing.[29] |
| Leon | Space Angler | Introduced to F-Zero racing after impressing the Arrows on his home planet.[30] |
| Michael Chain | Wild Boar | An orphan who was accepted by a gang then later took part in the F-Zero tournaments due to his addictive hobby to racing.[31] |
| Mighty Gazelle / MM Gazelle (JP)[32][cn 1] | Red Gazelle | Talented racer who wiped out his vehicle, ended up hospitalized and then was later revived as a cyborg after pushing his vehicle too hard in the races.[33] |
| Octoman / Octman (JP)[34][cn 1] | Deep Claw | An alien from a world that are required to watch his races.[35] |
| Roger Buster | Mighty Hurricane | Had aspirations of entering the Grand Prix which became a reality after being convinced by Draq to steal a couple of vehicles with an unknown recipient and no return address from a delivery service the two work together in.[22][36] |
| Silver Neelsen | Night Thunder | Holds the record for most F-Zero races entered, but has yet to win a Grand Prix.[37] |
| The Skull / Arbin Gordon (JP)[38][cn 1] | Sonic Phantom | Former pilot of the old days of F-Zero who was resurrected from the dead by science and black magic to race again.[39] |
| Super Arrow | King Meteor | Helped lift the ban of the F-Zero tournaments which was the result of a crash that had killed fourteen racers[40] In F-Zero GP Legend, he is a wannabe hero who tries to do good. |
| Zoda | Death Anchor | Seeks revenge on the Arrows and Captain Falcon after 26 of his men were turned in.[41] In GP Legend he used to be human until Black Shadow revived him and turned him to what he appears now. |
| Originated from F-Zero: Maximum Velocity | ||
| Alexander O'Neil | The Stingray | Former football player |
| Blitz Wagner | Silver Thunder | His vehicle was designed by Dr. Stewart |
| Jane B. Christie | J. B. Crystal | Is probably lying about her age. She takes an interest in 20th century vehicles which her vehicle's design is based on. |
| Kent Akechi | Falcon MK-II | Claims to be the son of Captain Falcon |
| Kumiko | Fighting Comet | Her vehicle is one of the fastest around |
| Lord Cyber | Sly Joker[cn 1] / Dirty Joker (JP) | A wealthy baron whose source of income is unknown |
| Megan | Hot Violet | Rumored to be a Karate expert |
| Mickey Marcus | Fireball | Fan-favorite of the F-Zero circuit |
| Nichi | Wind Walker[cn 1] / Crazy Horse (JP) | Nicknamed "The Sweep Man" |
| Yazoo Jr. | Jet Vermilion | The son of racing machine designer Professor Yazoo. His vehicle is the only one to break the 600 km/h barrier. |
| Originated from F-Zero AX | ||
| Dai Goroh | Silver Rat | The only son of Samurai Goroh. As an F-Zero pilot, he seems to show more aptitude and potential than his father. |
| Dai San Gen | Pink Spider | Similar to Gomar & Shioh, these three aliens share a telepathic link. |
| Don Genie | Fat Shark | Famous mogul head of the universal traders. Has been arrested numerous times for shady dealings and is a suspected conspirator with Black Shadow. |
| Lily Flyer | Bunny Flash | A young soldier in the Galactic Federation reserves. |
| Phoenix | Rainbow Phoenix | Time-traveling detective. |
| PJ | Groovy Taxi | Suspended taxi driver who modified his cab into an F-Zero machine. |
| Princia Ramode | Spark Moon | Energetic princess of the desert kingdom of Magica. Was determined to race in the Grand Prix after witnessing a race on Earth. |
| QQQ | Rolling Turtle | Phoenix's robot partner. |
| Spade | Magic Seagull | A magician trying to raise money for his circus. |
| Terry "Digi-Boy" Getter | Cosmic Dolphin | A boy genius. |
| Originated from F-Zero GX | ||
| Deathborn | Dark Schneider | A human who has died three times, only to resurrect himself by replacing his damaged organs with mechanical ones on each occasion, making him essentially immortal. Seeks to harness the combined forces of light and dark to conquer the universe. |
| Originated from F-Zero: GP Legend | ||
| Rick Wheeler / Ryu Suzaku[42][cn 1] | Dragon Bird | A champion racer and a detective, Rick was seriously injured after chasing down a criminal. He was revived 150 years later and joined the Galaxy Mobile Platoon. Rick now competes in F-Zero races, but vows to bring the one who nearly killed him to justice. |
| Lucy Liberty | Elegance Liberty | Lucy's a newcomer to the Galaxy Mobile Platoon. She works very close with Dr. Clash to learn the mechanics of F-Zero and occasionally take part in races. |
| Misaki Haruka / Miss Killer (JP)[42]
Misaki Haruka / Luna Ryder[cn 1] |
Moon Shadow | Miss Killer was originally Misaki Haruka, Ryu Suzaku's girlfriend. She was deepfreezed and woke up 150 years later. Brainwashed, she joined Black Shadow.[42] |
| Lisa Brilliant | Panzer Emerald | She is the wife of Samurai Goroh and a member of his group of intergalactic thieves. Also she is the older sister of Antonio Guster. |
| Originated from F-Zero Climax[43] | ||
| Berserker | Red Bull | Bart Lemming, having faked his death in the accident with Blood Falcon, disguises himself as Berserker to infiltrate Dark Million. |
| Clank Hughes | Dragon Bird EX | Clank "inherits" Ryu Suzaku's Dragon Bird (and modifies it) after Ryu becomes Captain Falcon. Being too young, Clank uses the android Tech as his aide. |
| Dark Soldier | Soldier Anchor | One of many robotic, low-ranking foot soldiers working for the Dark Million Organization. |
| Hyper Zoda | Hyper Death Anchor | Zoda's new form, due to his empowerment by one of the Reactor Mights. |
| Young Captain Falcon | Blue Falcon | Ryu Suzaku as the new Captain Falcon. |
Some characters of the F-Zero series have had various toys modeled after the likeness of their vehicles. In December 2003, a series of toys based on the vehicles in F-Zero GP Legend were distributed in Japan by Bandai.[44]
Captain Falcon is one of Nintendo's most popular characters in the Super Smash Bros. series, but he rarely has a starring role in games he appears in.[45] Reception to the character has been mixed. Andy Eddy described Captain Falcon as a character with no real strengths.[46] Nonetheless, Gamespot's Jeff Gerstmann called him the "poster boy" of the F-Zero franchise.[47] GamePro claims that Captain Falcon demonstrates "clear superiority" over other F-Zero characters.[48] Toshihiro Nagoshi stated this character "has a very strong image, and represents a dominant visual aspect for the series". He claimed this is the type of character Sega does not have in their racing games like Daytona or Sega Rally that the player can "identify with behind the wheel".[10]
GameDaily named Captain Falcon as the 25th top Nintendo character of all time.[49] Jared Thomas referred to Captain Falcon as "the only known last legitimate use of the word 'extreme'".[50] UGO remarked that Captain Falcon is "cool" for his speed, but came off as annoying when shouting out the names of his attacks.[51] Video game journalist Chris Kohler claimed he greatly enjoyed playing with Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[52] IGN has called Captain Falcon an experienced fighter, and "one of the most important and recognizable characters" from the F-Zero franchise who appears always ready to give an "ass-kicking to anyone that comes his way."[53]
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