An Important Game for Its Director
Nintendo Switch has been a platform for many game franchises, including the lesser-known ones such as Metroid, Pikimin, and Advance Wars. However, one franchise that hasn’t seen much action on the Switch is F-Zero, the futuristic racing game series from Nintendo. It has been 20 years since the release of F-Zero Climax on the Game Boy Advance in 2004, and there are no signs of a new release in sight. Although some sources claim that the franchise is not abandoned, it remains uncertain if it will ever make a comeback. Despite this, some Japanese creators continue to talk about the franchise, keeping the hope alive among the fans.
Recently, Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon saga and former SEGA developer, established his own company, Nagoshi Studio, with the support of NetEase Games. In a recent interview with Video Game Chronicle, Nagoshi was asked about his previous work on F-Zero GX, which he directed for the Gamecube in 2003. Nagoshi fondly recalled the period with a certain emotion, reflecting on his past work with the franchise. Despite the lack of recent developments, the fans of the F-Zero franchise can take solace in the fact that its creators still have it in their hearts and minds.
Later in the interview, when the journalist asks him if his new role as the founder of his own studio would make a collaboration with Nintendo for a new F-Zero more or less likely, he remains realistic and responds with a laugh: “That’s more of a question for Nintendo!”
F-Zero GX producer Toshihiro Nagoshi says he’s open to working on the series again. “This is a very nostalgic game title for me.” pic.twitter.com/rw6DEaeDpO
Slim Hopes for a Comeback…
F-Zero, a popular racing game series, has not received a new title in almost 20 years. Takaya Imamura, a Nintendo veteran who designed the characters and vehicles of F-Zero, recently revealed that the series is not dead but reviving it would be a challenging task. Imamura believes that it would be ideal for the company to outsource the development of a new installment to a third-party developer. This statement from Imamura has given fans of the series a glimmer of hope that a new F-Zero game may be in the works. However, it remains to be seen if the next Nintendo console will welcome an unprecedented entry in the series. Nonetheless, the possibility of a new F-Zero game has left fans excited and eagerly anticipating any news regarding its development.