When counting unlockable characters, Captain Falcon is among just 12 characters that have had a “perfect attendance” in the Super Smash Bros. franchise Plenty of Captain Falcon fans might even go so far as to say that Captain Falcon is more of a mascot in the Super Smash Bros. series rather than a representative of the F-Zero series at this point. This is due to the fact that F-Zero hasn’t had a new game since 2004 (F-Zero Climax), and that was a Japanese exclusive for the Game Boy Advance.
Needless to say, fans can only hold on to hope that there will someday be another entry in the F-Zero franchise. However, one fan recently decided to take matters into his own hands for the purpose of determining F-Zero’s future. To do this, he first needed to buy about ¥5.6 million (about $43,212) in Nintendo stock.
According to Nintendo Wire, momiji spent over $40,000 in Nintendo stock so that he could attend the 82nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Nintendo Co., Ltd. All this was done just for the chance to potentially ask a question of Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa regarding the F-Zero (among others) series’ future. Indeed, there wasn’t even a guarantee that he’d be permitted the ability to ask the question, but the risk was made nonetheless.
I am the one who asked this question! I delivered your enthusiasm directly to Nintendo management! https://t.co/PUEA46I8Zk
— もみじ(Momiji) (@momiji_manjyuu) June 29, 2022
I spent $43,212 to make this statement!😢💸💸💸
— もみじ(Momiji) (@momiji_manjyuu) June 29, 2022
It seems that Momiji was successful in his quest as questions were permitted as a sort of “bonus” at the very end. Unfortunately, it seems that Momiji’s enthusiasm was n’t enough to warrant a new F-Zero title announcement, right then and there.
“It is realistically difficult to develop new titles and remakes, including sequels, for every Nintendo game that people request, but we are very grateful and appreciate the expectations our fans have for our games,” Furukawa responded.
Hypothetically speaking, even if a new entry in the F-Zero franchise were in development right now, it’s unlikely that it would be revealed during a shareholders meeting like this one. With that said, if Furukawa’s answer is to be taken at face value then it doesn’t exactly bode well for F-Zero, at least in the near future.
However, it’s certainly worth mentioning that racing games like F-Zero could be something that Nintendo chooses to pursue more readily sometime in the future. The current highest-selling game on the Nintendo Switch is actually a port of Mario Kart 8, a game that first appeared on the Nintendo Wii U.
At this time, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold 45.33 million units worldwide. Comparably, the second, third and fourth best-selling titles for the Nintendo Switch — Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild respectively — have sold 38.64 million, 28.17 million and 26.55 million units respectively.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s success has apparently caused Nintendo to release DLC tracks for the racing game even though it’s been years since it first released. It really does feel like now is a good time for Nintendo to announce another Nintendo exclusive racing game.
As mentioned before, Captain Falcon of F-Zero has had an integral role in the Super Smash Bros. series to the point where some fans even refer to him as being the mascot of the series. Since F-Zero is just a racing game, Masahiro Sakurai had to take some interesting liberties when originally designing Captain Falcon’s move set in Super Smash Bros. 64.
Of course, Sakurai’s portrayal of Captain Falcon has since had a major impact on the character in his own series. Though the iconic “Falcon Punch” was originally conceived for Super Smash Bros. 64, there was a major, memorable moment that happened during the F-Zero anime, F-Zero: GP Legend, that featured Captain Falcon delivering this famous technique into the face of a certain villain.
While Captain Falcon will always be a welcomed addition in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, it really would be nice to see a return to the F-Zero series someday. We’ll just have to see if this fan’s bold strategy someday pays off for F-Zero fans everywhere.
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