F-ZERO (universe)

The F-ZERO universe refers to the  series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from Nintendo's F-ZERO series of futuristic racing games. The universe's primary representative is the playable character Captain Falcon, and has been on his own in this form since the franchise's debut in the original . Its series symbol is the front view of a falcon which can be seen in the golden crest Captain Falcon bares on his helmet.

Franchise description
The original  was released on Super Famicom in 1991 in Japan (and later on the SNES for North America in 1991 and for Europe in 1992), it was a revolutionary title for its time because it was the first to employ an original graphical technique of the system called Mode-7 Scrolling, which was combined with scaling and positioning effects to simulate to a limited degree three-dimensional environments. In a time when most console games were restricted to static and flat backgrounds and 2-dimensional sprite objects, this was a breakthrough in presentation. It was the world's fastest and smoothest-running 3D-racing game at the time. The next game released internationally, , was released on N64 in 1998 and was critically lauded by critics and fans of the original alike for delivering a fast and furious racing experience that ran at 60 frames per second, thereby pushing the console to its maximum.

The next F-ZERO released internationally was 2001's ' for Game Boy Advance, returning to its Mode-7 roots, and then 2003 saw the release of ' for Nintendo GameCube, both receiving generally high marks as well, and the latter being the first game to feature a story mode. In addition, in 1999 F-ZERO series "main" racer, Captain Falcon, was featured in  as a playable character. He also appeared in  along with many other properties from the first two F-ZERO installments. The GameCube game had an arcade "counterpart" in F-ZERO AX also released in 2003, F-ZERO: GP Legend, based on an anime series of the same name, was released for Game Boy Advance in 2003 and a direct sequel, titled , was released a year later in 2004 (exclusively in Japan), featuring a course editor as well, where tracks could be traded with other copies of the game over Game Link Cable. After this, the series would become dormant, with no major F-ZERO game getting released on either Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (save for re-releases on Virtual Console). During this time, though, Captain Falcon would reprise his usual playable role in the Super Smash Bros. series starting with ', then and finally '; additionally, F-ZERO content would be integrated into the eighth installment of the ' series, ', in the form of paid DLC and as part of the base game for that game's enhanced port, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In 2023, after 19 years of hiatus, a new installment in the form of a racing, multiplayer, battle royale game, titled , was released for Nintendo Switch as a free downloadable game through the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription service. It is based on the original 1990 game, and its gameplay is adjusted into a battle royale format by allowing the player to compete with up to 98 other online player.

In between all these international releases were many similar F-ZERO projects released in Japan only. In 1996 and 1997 there were released installments 1 and 2 of a BS F-ZERO Grand Prix subseries, and a spin-off titled Zero Racers was in development for Nintendo's Virtual Boy but was canceled before its would-be release date in 1996. After the Japanese release of F-ZERO X, an expansion of the game for Nintendo 64DD aptly titled F-ZERO X Expansion Kit was released in 2000, adding additional game content as well as a critically praised course editor feature. In addition, a 51-episode anime series based on and named after F-ZERO GP Legend fully aired in Japan between 2003 and 2004 as a separate continuity from the main games; it was localized to the US but ran only fifteen episodes before its cancellation statewide.

Each game in the F-ZERO series is essentially a futuristic racing game where giant multi-mile-long highways built above the cities and landscapes of various planets are the sites of the ultimate competitive sport of the future: The F-ZERO Grand Prix. The racing machines of the many racers are anti-gravity craft that hover inches above the ground with the help of the G-Diffuser system, and at race time these machines zoom and warp across the tracks at mind-blowing speeds of up to a thousand miles per hour. Unlike games in the Mario Kart series which emphasize collecting and using power-ups to hinder opponents while supporting oneself, in F-ZERO games the emphasis is on speed, cornering, and physically ramming other opponent's racing machines to lower their health meters. Machines are graded and proportionally balanced by their specifications of Body, Weight, Boost and Grip. In the fictional F-ZERO galaxy, the F-ZERO championship is the highest claim to fame.

The F-ZERO series does not appear to have a clearly defined or consistent chronology developed between all of its games, and as such may have depicted at least two separate timelines, not including the anime series. While the specifics of the full series chronology are complex and heavily debated, the general timeline states that in the 24th century, the premier racing event was called F-Max, and two centuries later in 2560, it became an especially high-speed and brutal competition called F-ZERO. A colossal accident called the "Horrific Grand Finale" burnt over a dozen pilots to death and prompted the discontinuation of the race by the Federation. Some time later, however, it was revived as the F-ZERO X championship with revised rules and regulations, and it has remained the galaxy's ultimate competitive sport since. The racing cast of the series currently numbers over forty, and each each has a unique backstory and motive for entering the F-Zero Grand Prix. Many of these characters are a diverse and eye-catching assortment of aliens, spandex-clad superheroes, supervillains, cyborgs, mutants, and the like, and their character designs are inspired by the artwork style of American comic books.

In Super Smash Flash
Much like in the original Super Smash Bros., F-ZERO is one of the "bonus franchises" in the original Super Smash Flash, for it contributes one character and absolutely nothing else―no stages and no items based on F-ZERO repose in the game.

Character

 * : The most effective "mascot" racer of the series, Captain Douglas Jay Falcon is a mysterious individual who is known as a renowned bounty hunter that is himself hunted as bounty. He has crossed paths with many rival bounty hunters like Samurai Goroh and supervillain enemies like Black Shadow in many a dark corner of the galaxy while traveling in his interstellar spacecraft, the Falcon Flyer. He races for fame and money in his well-balanced racing machine, the Blue Falcon, and when not racing or bounty hunting he resides in a secluded island chain off the coast of the city of Port Town, where his enemies cannot get to him.

In Super Smash Flash 2
F-ZERO ' s franchise, at the moment, has not shown many features, excluding Captain Falcon's confirmation as a playable character and a stage.

Character

 * : Captain Falcon is still the only playable F-ZERO character in the game. His sprites are custom made and based on his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with the addition of his scarf from F-ZERO GP Legend. His moveset is directly taken from Brawl. His Final Smash is still the Blue Falcon, acting the same way as in Brawl. He was added in demo 0.8a as an unlockable character.

Stage

 * Sand Ocean: The stage itself consists of Captain Falcon's "Falcon Flyer" on which characters may fight on. However, if one were to stand on the "moving" racetrack underneath the ship, They will be "swept" back by the track and it will result in an automatic KO. Other than that, the background also consists of a desert in a night sky and a seemingly long tunnel near the desert.

Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Flash series
The following list consists of media from the F-ZERO universe that appears in Super Smash Flash and Super Smash Flash 2.


 * Captain Falcon, who debuts in this game as a playable racer, appears as a starter character in both SSF and SSF2.
 * The Blue Falcon, Captain Falcon's signature vehicle in this game, appears in SSF2 for his on-screen appearance and his Final Smash, Blue Falcon.
 * Captain Falcon's seventh costume in SSF2 is based on his appearance in this game. His Blue Falcon is also colored after its appearance in this game.
 * Captain Falcon's eleventh costume in SSF2 is based on Samurai Goroh, who first appeared in this game. His Blue Falcon is also colored after his vehicle, the Fire Stingray.
 * Captain Falcon's fourth and sixth costumes in SSF2 color the Blue Falcon after the vehicles of Pico and Dr. Stewart, the Wild Goose and Golden Fox, respectively.
 * Sand Ocean, which debuts in this game as a track in the Knight Cup, appears as a stage in SSF2.
 * The Falcon Flyer, which is first mentioned in this game's manual, appears as a stage element on Sand Ocean in SSF2.
 * Captain Falcon's character-specific Break the Targets stage in SSF2 is based on the track layout of Mute City 1 from this game.
 * Big Blue, a techno remix of the theme that plays on the Big Blue course in this game, plays as Sand Ocean's main music track in SSF2.
 * Mute City, a rock remix of the theme that plays on the Mute City course in this game, plays as Sand Ocean's alternate music track in SSF2.
 * The series symbol for F-ZERO in SSF2 originates as the golden crest on Captain Falcon's helmet in artwork for this game.


 * Captain Falcon's design in SSF is largely inspired by his appearance in this game.
 * Captain Falcon's second costume in SSF2 is based on his appearance in the Japanese commercial for this game.
 * Captain Falcon's third and tenth costumes in SSF2 are based on Blood Falcon and Black Shadow, respectively, who first appeared in this game. His Blue Falcon is also colored after their vehicles, the Blood Hawk and Black Bull, respectively.
 * Captain Falcon's seventh costume in SSF2 resembles Jody Summers, who also first appeared in this game, with the Blue Falcon being colored after her vehicle, the White Cat.
 * The victory theme of Captain Falcon in SSF2 is remix of the theme that plays whenever a character finishes a race in this game.


 * Captain Falcon's design in SSF2 is largely inspired by his appearance in this game.
 * Captain Falcon's ninth and twelfth costumes in SSF2 are based on Phoenix and Baba, respectively, who first appeared in this game. His Blue Falcon is also colored after their vehicles, the Rainbow Phoenix and Iron Tiger, respectively.
 * Sand Ocean's design in SSF2 is largely inspired by the track's appearance in this game.