List of F-Zero characters

"Zoda" redirects here. For the video game, see Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II.
F-Zero X, which has the most characters to debut in a single F-Zero game, brought twenty-seven new characters into the franchise.

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 on 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]

Development

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]

Characters

The original F-Zero game introduced the first set of F-Zero racers: Captain Falcon, Dr. Stewart, Pico, and Samurai Goroh.[11] One of their 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. F-Zero X introduces 26 vehicles, and brings back the four from the original game.[12] 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 artstyle for their designs as they appear in the cartoon show.[13]

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.
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.[14] He is also the younger brother of Lisa Brilliant, Goroh's wife.
Mrs. Arrow / Mrs. Monique L’Amoreaux Arrow[15][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.[15]
Baba / Baba Orninion[17][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.[17] 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.[18]
Billy Mad Wolf A primate who wants to prove that monkeys are superior to humans.[19]
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.[20]
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.[21]
Blood Falcon Blood Hawk / Hell Hawk (JP)[22][cn 1] A nearly identical clone of Captain Falcon who was created by Black Shadow in order to ruin the Captain's reputation.[21]
Dr. Clash Crazy Bear Scientist who created numerous F-Zero vehicles then decided to enter himself for the fame.[23]
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.[24]
Mr. EAD Great Star Created by the organization "EAD, this cyborg participates in the F-Zero races to test his IQ and intellect.[25]
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.[26]
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.[27]
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.[28]
Jody Summer White Cat Summer dedicated her F-Zero career to her father, who died.[29]
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.[30]
Kate Alen Super Piranha A singer and dancer who decided to fulfill her desire to take part in the F-Zero racing.[31]
Leon Space Angler Introduced to F-Zero racing after impressing the Arrows on his home planet.[32]
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.[33]
Mighty Gazelle / MM Gazelle (JP)[34][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.[35]
Octoman / Octman (JP)[36][cn 1] Deep Claw An alien from a world that are required to watch his races.[37]
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.[24][38]
Silver Neelsen Night Thunder Holds the record for most F-Zero races entered, but has yet to win a Grand Prix.[39]
The Skull / Arbin Gordon (JP)[40][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.[41]
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[42] 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.[43] 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[44][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.
Haruka Misaki / Miss Killer (JP)[44]

Haruka Misaki / Luna Ryder[cn 1]

 Moon Shadow Miss Killer (Luna Ryder in the dub) was originally Haruka Misaki, Rick Wheeler's girlfriend. She was deepfreezed and woke up roughly 145 years later. Brainwashed, she joined Black Shadow.[44]
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[45]
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" Rick Wheeler's Dragon Bird (and modifies it) after Rick 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.
New Captain Falcon Blue Falcon Rick Wheeler as the new Captain Falcon.

Merchandise

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.[46]

Reception

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.[47] Andy Eddy described Captain Falcon as a character with no real strengths.[48] Nonetheless, Gamespot's Jeff Gerstmann called him the "poster boy" of the F-Zero franchise.[49] GamePro claims that Captain Falcon demonstrates "clear superiority" over other F-Zero characters.[50] 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] Erick Wong from The Orange County Register was highly critical of the characters in F-Zero GX‍ '​s story mode, stating "the goofy, spandex-clad characters feel seriously out of place".[51]

GameDaily named Captain Falcon as the 25th top Nintendo character of all time.[52] Jared Thomas referred to Captain Falcon as "the only known last legitimate use of the word 'extreme'".[53] UGO remarked that Captain Falcon is "cool" for his speed, but came off as annoying when shouting out the name of his slow "Falcon Punch" attack.[54] Chris Kohler of Wired magazine claimed he greatly enjoyed playing with Captain Falcon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[55] 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."[56]

Content notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Different or more elaborate names given in comparison to the original Japanese primary source due to internationalization and localization. In comparison between the original Japanese and the English versions of some F-Zero video games, some characters were given different or more elaborate names and a few vehicles also had their names altered. For example, on the now defunct official English website for F-Zero X, a few of the characters had different names compared to the official Japanese website.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Keighley, Geoff (2007-05-04). "The Man Who Made Mario Super". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  2. ↑ Amusement Vision, ed. (2003-08-25). F-Zero GX instruction manual. Nintendo. pp. 6, 32, 41.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Tingle (DS)". Nintendo of Europe. 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  4. ↑ "Interview: F-Zero AC/GC". IGN. 2002-03-28. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  5. ↑ Miyamoto, Shigeru (2008-04-03). Iwata Asks: Mario Kart Wii (TRANSCRIPT). Interview with Satoru Iwata. Wii.com. Japan. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  6. ↑ Fran and Peer; Craig. "Smash Profile: Captain Falcon". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Nintendo EAD, ed. (1991-08-13). F-Zero instruction manual. Nintendo. pp. 14–17, 21–28.
  8. ↑ "Player's Pulse". Nintendo Power 175 (Redmond, WA: Nintendo of America). January 2004. pp. 11–12.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "F-Zero Press Conference". IGN. 2003-07-08. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Interview: Sega talk F-Zero". Arcadia magazine. N-Europe. 2002-05-17. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Lucas (2007-01-26). "F-Zero (SNES) review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  12. ↑ "F-Zero X". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  13. ↑ Buel, Doug (2004-11-05). "Video Games - F-Zero : GP Legend". The Tampa Tribune. p. 41. These characters are mostly the same ones that were invented for the Nintendo 64 version of " F-Zero " with some new faces, and during the game's story scenes they're drawn the way they appear in the new cartoon show.
  14. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Antonio Guster's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sackenheim, Shawn. "Mrs. Arrow's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  16. ↑ "The Pilots & Machines (F-Zero X)" (in Japanese). Nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sackenheim, Shawn. "Baba Orninion's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  18. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Beastman's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  19. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Billy's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  20. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Bio Rex's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Sackenheim, Shawn. "Black Shadow's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  22. ↑ "The Pilots & Machine 6" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  23. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Dr. Clash's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Sackenheim, Shawn. "Draq's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  25. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Mr. EAD's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  26. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Gomar and Shioh's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  27. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Jack Levin's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  28. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "James McCloud's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  29. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Jody Summer's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  30. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "John Tanaka's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  31. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Kate Alen's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  32. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Leon's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  33. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Michael Chain's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  34. ↑ "The Pilots & Machine 2" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  35. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Mighty Gazelle's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  36. ↑ "The Pilots & Machine 3" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  37. ↑ allgame ((( Octoman > Overview )))
  38. ↑ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Roger Buster 's F-Zero X biography". f-zerox.com. Allgame. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  39. ↑ allgame ((( Silver Neelsen > Overview )))
  40. ↑ "The Pilots & Machine 10" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  41. ↑ allgame ((( The Skull > Overview )))
  42. ↑ allgame ((( Super Arrow > Overview )))
  43. ↑ allgame ((( Zoda > Overview )))
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 DeWoody, Lucas (2005-01-05). "The Legendary Race - The History of F-Zero". Advanced Media Network. Kombo. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  45. ↑ F-Zero: Climax Cheats
  46. ↑ "Search Results". Bandai. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  47. ↑ IGN Staff (31 July 2001). "Smash Profile: Captain Falcon". IGN (News Corporation). Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  48. ↑ Eddy, Andy (1992). Super NES Games Secrets: For the Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1. Prima Games. p. 40. ISBN 1-55958-155-7.
  49. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (25 August 2003). "F-Zero GX Review". GameSpot (CBS Interactive). Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  50. ↑ Fennec Fox (24 February 2003). "Just A Smidge More F-Zero GC Screens". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  51. ↑ Wong, Erick; Degen, Matt (2003-09-05). "Fun is in devilishly good details of 'F-Zero'". The Orange County Register. p. 5.
  52. ↑ Workman, Robert (22 August 2008). "Now You're Playing With Power: Top 25 Nintendo Characters of All Time". GameDaily. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  53. ↑ Thomas, Jared (23 March 2005). "SSB Tournament Match #4: Samus vs. Captain Falcon". N-Philes. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  54. ↑ "Captain Falcon - Smash Bros. Characters". UGO Networks (Hearst Corporation). 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  55. ↑ Kohler, Chris (5 February 2008). "The Smash Bros. Whine And Cheese Party". Wired. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  56. ↑ "Super Smash Bros. Brawl Characters". IGN (News Corporation). 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.

References