Trivia / F-Zero 99

• B-Team Sequel: This game was developed by Nintendo Software Technology, whereas the previous 99 games were developed by Arika.
• Content Leak: The game's existence was hinted at on social media a few days prior to its announcement in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct via a reputable leaker on Twitter/X.
• Dummied Out:
  • One of the unused tracks in the game's files is a version of Mute City I that uses full 3D graphics rather than the Mode 7 recreation that the final game uses, implying that at one point the game was intended to have 3D graphics.
  • Inside the game's files exists data for an updated version of Forest from the Japan-only Mission-Pack Sequel games BS F-Zero Grand Prix and BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 for the Satellaview. The final game would ultimately stick to the SNES original for its tracks.
  • There are some internal leftovers from Bowser's Fury, the last game developed by Nintendo Software Technology, in part due to 99 being produced using the same engine.
• God Never Said That: More than a few people have assumed 99 won't live for much longer than a year or two, citing the removal of Super Mario Bros. 35 in March of 2021 and Pac-Man 99 shutting down in October of 2023. However, not only has the game not been advertised as a limited-time release like the former, but the latter game was published by Bandai Namco and not Nintendo, and thus, it was their decision to shut the game down and not Nintendo's. F-Zero 99, being a first-party release developed by a Nintendo-owned studio, is thus highly unlikely to shut down unless the playerbase absolutely craters, especially seeing as Nintendo has essentially never shut down an individual game's online functionality prior to doing so for an entire system, with the exception of the previously mentioned Super Mario Bros. 35, which was time-limited because Nintendo wanted to make it even more special by limiting its lifecycle to the anniversary period.
• Newbie Boom: The release of 99, coming almost 19 years after the previous F-Zero game, has helped endear a new wave of players to the franchise that many have only known about via its representation in Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart.
• Prop Recycling: Most of the artwork in the menus is lifted directly from the comic found in the SNES manual.
• Sequel Gap: F-Zero 99 is the first new F-Zero game since the release of Climax for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2004, marking a return from a nearly 19 year hiatus.
• Surprise Release: The game was announced and released on the same day, September 14, 2023.

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