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Is Nintendo's futuristic racing series dead? 

I don't know about you, but I love the F-Zero franchise. I've played most of the games, and really, each game is excellent in its own way. The original F-Zero on SNES basically invented a new genre: the super fast futuristic racer. Series like Extreme G and Wipeout would make their marks in this genre, and these games are all really fun. There's nothing like moving at blazing speed in really stylish vehicles! In my opinion, no futuristic racer could compete with the F-Zero games. F-Zero X (1998) brought the series into 3D; F-Zero GX (2003) gave the series new life with incredible visuals and a sense of speed not fully realized before. There were three F-Zero games for the Game Boy Advance, although the last one was only released in Japan. 

And that's it. We haven't seen an F-Zero game since 2004! Oh sure, Captain Falcon has remained in the Super Smash Bros. games, and F-Zero has appeared in games like Nintendo Land and Mario Kart 8, but Nintendo has failed to give us a proper F-Zero game. The big question is, WHY? 

In 2013, Shigeru Miyamoto was asked if a new F-Zero game would be made in the near future. His response left fans disappointed. He stated, "I certainly understand that people want a new F-Zero game. I think where I struggle is that I don't really have a good idea for what's new that we could bring to F-Zero that would really turn it into a great game again. Certainly I can see how people looking at Mario Kart 8 could see, through the anti-gravity, a connection to F-Zero. But I don't know, at this point, what direction we could go in with a new F-Zero."

This kind of philosophy is Miyamoto's greatest strength AND greatest weakness. The man has an incredibly innovative mind. At the same time, it was this kind of thinking that led Miyamoto to implement two different viewing modes (via the Wii U gamepad) for Star Fox Zero, and this devisive control scheme ruined the game for many players. The truth is, racing games often don't need much to be changed. Fans are usually happy with new courses, new vehicles, and perhaps new characters. F-Zero doesn't need a shake-up. 

The closest thing we've gotten to F-Zero in recent years was Fast Racing Neo (2015) for the Wii U, which was then ported to Switch as Fast RMX (2017). Developed by Shin'en, the game looked and played just like an F-Zero game except that it added one new mechanic: the ability to change colors in order to boost your vehicle. While the game was tough, it was excellent, and felt like an off-brand F-Zero game. The truth is, Nintendo shouldn't even worry about making another F-Zero game; instead they should let another developer do it, and Shin'en would be a perfect choice. That's what they did with F-Zero GX (it was developed by Amusement Vision, the same team that made Super Monkey Ball, and they did a stellar job). 

But if Nintendo really wants to add new things to the F-Zero franchise, there are two things that they could do: (1) A track editor. It's true that F-Zero X had a track editor, but it was only for the 64 DD in Japan, so the rest of us missed out. How awesome would it be to make your own courses using different terrain, boosts, ramps, tunnels, and other stuff? (2) Online play. This has never been done before in an F-Zero game, and I think it would be awesome to race other players. There could be a ranking board and maybe even incentives to play online. With the addition of these two things, an F-Zero game on Switch would feel different from the rest of the series. 

What do you think? I want to hear your opinions! Do you think that F-Zero is a dead franchise, or do you think that we will eventually get another game? What new additions should be added to the series, if any? Comment below!