F-Zero is a futuristic fast-paced racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in Japan on November 21, 1990 and later in North America on August 13, 1991 and in Europe on June 4, 1992. Its success led to a series of games for multiple Nintendo consoles, handhelds, and arcade. This game has been confirmed to be downloadable for the Virtual Console service for Wii.[1] Like all Virtual Console games, Nintendo has confirmed that F-Zero will be faithfully reproduced in its original form.[2]

F-Zero was the first SNES title to pervasively use a special hardware feature of the SNES called Mode 7 that allowed different kinds of scaling and rotation effects, which F-Zero used to simulate 3D environments. Such techniques in games were considered to be revolutionary in a time when most games were restricted to static/flat backgrounds and 2 dimensional (2D) objects. A direct sequel for the SNES was cancelled due to the impending release of the Nintendo 64. The unfinished game was instead released for the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom in Japan under the name BS F-Zero Grand Prix.[3]