I’m back, baby! Sorry I had to take a leave of absence last week for finals, but I’m back and ready to write!
Alright, so I’ve heard a particular cry ever since the Captain Falcon mini-game seen above was announced. “We need a new F-Zero!” “I want another F-Zero!” “F-Zero will save the Wii U!” Well I’m here to tell you what I think. Spoiler alert: you might not like what I have to say. Please note that this will be written pretty much strictly thinking of sales and Wii U game diversity, as opposed to how fun or good the game would be.
On the subject of racing
With Mario Kart 8 releasing in just over a week, I thought this would be as good a time as any to talk about Nintendo’s other great racing franchise. Do not get me wrong. I like the F-Zero series, I really do. But this is not the time — and quite possibly not the console — for a game starring the good captain.
Let’s just take a look at how many racing games are already out for the Wii U. We have Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed, Need for Speed Most Wanted, F1 Race Stars, Project CARS is coming out this year, and there are a few other indies who haven’t gotten release dates yet.
According to Wikipedia, there are a whopping fifteen racing games either announced or out for the Wii U at the moment. The console simply does not need another racing game at the moment. Especially not one made by Nintendo, the company that’s already releasing a huge racing title.
Captain who?
Another problem with a new F-Zero game is that not too many people know about the franchise. A few may know Captain Falcon from his escapades in brawl, but other than that, he’s a pretty niche character. If people see trailers for a new racing game, I highly doubt they’ll associate the two, and might pay it much less mind. Don’t believe me about the captain helping sales? Ask people who write children’s cereal commercials if having a relatable character helps sell a product.
But let’s say a new trailer does come out, and it looks amazing. It’d still only really be the racing fans who buy into it. Fans of other genres would feel rather left out. Even some racing fans who like more realism or more cartoonish racing won’t really be satisfied here, as F-Zero is at an awkward middle. It fits its own genre as “futuristic” racing, but not too many people are keen on that really specific genre.
Not to mention there’s still no confirmation of Captain Falcon in Smash 4.
Let’s play pretend
Alright, so let’s assume Nintendo is dead set on an F-Zero game. No way around it, no excuses, no ifs, ands, or buts, F-Zero is coming to the Wii U. I at least have a few suggestions that I think would make it appeal to a bigger audience, as well as myself.
First, get everyone out of the cars. Have any of you played F-Zero 64? (Or whatever it was called.) They had like, 30 or so characters. That roster puts the Mario Kart one to shame. (Do we really need more babies or all of the koopalings?) Each one of those characters had some pretty cool designs, but you never really got to see them.
I say that the game should be more open world, and allow players to explore awesome space age cities. Almost like a futuristic GTA, if you will. There’d still be races and whatnot, but they’d work into this overworld that you can go out and explore.
And combat! For the love of God, combat! Captain Falcon is most known for his falcon punch, yet I’m fairly sure it’s never been used in an F-Zero game. This series has potential to be an amazing open world racing brawler. Combine the old Spiderman games with classic F-Zero gameplay and that’s basically the idea floating around in my head (No web-slinging, though).
I don’t know. It sounds cool to me, at least. What do you guys think? Let me know below!
Miiverse and Zorpix
I haven’t been terribly active on Miiverse recently due to finals, but I’ll still dig up some old posts for you!
Post text: “Roommate: Why do all your custom characters look like strippers?”
Game: Lego City: Undercover
Apparently, using the term “Strippers” is enough to get your post deleted on Miiverse. Oh well, at least they kept the picture for me! But yeah, I wasn’t trying to make them all look like strippers, it just kinda happened! Even the lizard ended up with a sexy shirt and whatnot… Oh gosh… I am so sorry, Miiverse. Sorry you had to see that…
Post Text: So much green!
Game: New Super Luigi U
I just really liked how much green was on the screen at the time. Especially in crystal clear HD, it all just flowed together so nicely. The bright greens in the foreground, the lighter ones in front, the green ring, everything just fit together. Say what you will about the game being a rehash of New Super Mario Bros Wii, it is absolutely gorgeous. This game was always fun to look at, and even more fun to 100%. Sure took a while though!
Wrapping up
If you do happen to have any suggestions for next week’s topic, any questions about the content I wrote, or just wanna say hey, feel free to sound off below! If you really feel inclined, you can mosey on over to my Twitter, Facebook, or Miiverse account.
I’ll now be accepting friend requests on Wii U! I’m gonna need people to play Mario Kart with, so go ahead and add me! Let’s get this party started! Vroom Vroom!
Thanks for reading, and good luck on your finals!
