F-Zero 99

Play it on: Switch
Current goal: See what all the hubbub is about

When Nintendo announced the surprise drop of a new F-Zero game during its latest Direct, I noticed a mixed reaction from fans who’ve long been hoping for something new out of the franchise. While yes, as an online multiplayer battle royale, F-Zero 99 probably isn’t what that one fan who bought roughly $40,000 of Nintendo stock for the opportunity to beg Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa for a new entry in the sci-fi racing series had in mind, at least it’s something, right?

I’ve never played an F-Zero game in my life but I have put countless hours into Tetris 99, a game conceptually similar to F-Zero 99. In fact, as of writing this, I’ve logged over 90 hours into Tetris 99, which is more time than I put into Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Playing it is a bit of a ritual for me, something I do either to warm up my mind before playing other games or to cool myself down after something intense like XC3. Seeing as how F-Zero 99 appears to offer a hovercar-shaped alternative to that tradition—coupled with the fact that I keep hearing how great the series is—I figure it’s about time I see what the hubbub is all about myself by taking the game for a test drive. — Isaiah Colbert