- This may be partially true; Silence, at least, is a different planet (It's stated in GP Legend that Silence has no inhabitants, hence the name) Phantom Road is likely some random area in space, Outer Space probably is too. The other areas are all on the same planet, most likely. Unless you seriously believe GP Legend and think that Mute City covers the entire old earth like the map screen in Story Mode suggests.
- The GP Legend games and anime take place in a separate continuity from the main games. I mentioned F-Zero GX, which is a main game. I don't believe that Mute City could cover the entire planet. However, we never have received any indications against Earth being the location of multiple racecourses.
- Except that it's All There in the Manual that this isn't true. It's all on different planets.
- They share a technology known as the "G-Diffuser" system. In F-Zero, it's used to keep the race crafts off the ground (If only just); in Star Fox, it's used to keep flight craft aloft.
- One character from each series is named "James McCloud." He suffers a Death by Origin Story in Star Fox, but he's still there in F-Zero. Maybe the two are related?
Andross may have thought that turning him into a full-fledged human would be A Fate Worse Than Death. Sending him off to Earth, an unfamiliar place, would have been the icing on the cake. James also had his memory erased, and he only remembers his name. The squadron "Galaxy Dog" was just a cover story, implanted in his mind just to give him a reason to own the ship he was given. However, knowledge of the G-Diffuser technology has awakened some old memories, and James is now thinking to what his life was in Lylat. He will eventually uncover the truth...
- Thoroughly debunked by the creators themselves long ago, who admitted there is no connection, it's an in-joke based on the fact that Star Fox and F-Zero both had their characters designed by Takaya Imamura.
Now, this is just conjecture on my part, but if Mute City is indeed The Big Apple, then my guess is that Red Canyon is the Grand Canyon and Port Town is somewhere on the West Coast, presumably in California. Think about it. NYC is indeed a very important trade center for America, in the same way that Mute City is the center of trade and commerce in the galaxy. I'll let you do the math with the Grand Canyon. (Or, you can scroll up to the top of the page and read the first WMG in this section. Either will suffice.)
As for Port Town being on the other side of the U.S., the F-Zero machines (as of GX) cruise around at a default average of 1000km/h. That's pretty darn fast. If Falcon left Port Town in the morning at those kinds of speeds, he probably could make it to the West Coast by sunset. And yes, that is factoring in the short "race" he had with Goroh.
However, I have no clue where this would place Lightning and Aeropolis (the former being a short distance outside of Mute City according to Story Mode; the latter is presumably also on Earth).
- Expanding upon that, Port Town could be Long Beach, CA. It's a port town IRL (now handling both water and space travel in the game), and it hosts longest-running street race in the US.
- Both have a James McCloud, but one is a human and the other is an anthro fox. Two of the prominent racers in F-Zero drive machines called Golden Fox and Blue Falcon; The Hero and The Lancer of Star Fox are a golden fox and a blue falcon. Also, one of the endings of Star Fox Command has said hero and lancer quit their mercenary work and go to race in the Lylat GP... also known as the G-Zero GP. The similarities are staggering.
- Not to mention that both series power crafts using the "G-Diffuser" propulsion system. And both take place in a universe where fantastic technology, interstellar society, and hidden magic forces all exist simultaneously. Also, Captain Falcon has an evil twin/rival, much like a certain furry pilot. And both series have their share of mercs, bounty hunters, and space bandits. And hey, while we're at it, Great Fox, Falcon Flyer? If it's not an alternate universe, then it's either one of the biggest collections of inter-series references Nintendo's ever amassed, or a hell of a coincidence. On the other hand, maybe Nintendo just really likes using this stuff.
- Additionally, Black Shadow's Master Class video in GX (more or less a blooper reel, complete with Deathborn apologizing to an injured Black Shadow after throwing him into the camera) would suggest that the characters are Animated Actors.
- And Zoda blatantly admits to cheating, and Blood Falcon casually talks about either killing or murdering certain people, and talks about avoiding his arrest.
- That would also explain why Blood has a different voice from Falcon despite allegedly being his exact genetic duplicate. For all we know, the backstories and rivalries are just fabrications to make the characters interesting (for example, the Arrows could be a Kayfabe couple instead of real life spouses); the Truce Zone seen in Chapter 3 of GX's Story Mode (where everyone is seen drinking and chatting at the Bet Race diner) perhaps verifies this.
- Or maybe this is a silly sci-fi racing game made by a team of highly imaginative Japanese people and set in a futuristic world where strangeness is the norm and the main villain is shown quite clearly to be a very real threat to everyone.
- Hm... You may be onto something with your fun spoiling, my friend.
- Or maybe this is a silly sci-fi racing game made by a team of highly imaginative Japanese people and set in a futuristic world where strangeness is the norm and the main villain is shown quite clearly to be a very real threat to everyone.
- Also, F-Zero GX could be seen as a Tough Act to Follow: Because it's the most successful game in the series by far, Nintendo could be worried that if they make a new F-Zero game, it'll inevitably be compared to GX and be treated as kusoge at best. After all, look at what happened with F-Zero GP Legend. (To be fair, its property as a tie-in to the anime of the same name might've been the main reason it tanked instead.)
Just look at FAST Racing NEO: it's F-Zero (with a little bit of WipEout) plus Ikaruga and it looks amazing. F-Zero fans were ridiculously hyped for it when shown at E3 2015.
We're talking about the one Nintendo franchise that doesn't need to be inventive with its gameplay ideas, but let's dip our toes in the water anyway. Beyond the expected new racers/vehicles and courses as well as HD visuals, Nintendo could do any or all of the following:
- get Shin'en to help develop (Nintendo apparently didn't like Sega's contributions to GX, strangely enough, and Shin'en, which has a longstanding working relationship with the company and is one of Nintendo's "partner developers" for the Switch, clearly knows their way around a racer)
- have
12-man30-man races in online multiplayer (with and without bots) that still runs at 60fps - implement a gameplay feature or two from another racing series that could mesh well with the "futuristic formula racing" premise (ex. drafting/slipstreaming from Mario Kart DS and Ridge Racer, with NASCAR-style tandem drafting available in co-op races; exaggerated drifting/powersliding mechanics as seen in Daytona USA, Ridge Racer, and the modern OutRun titles; turbo boosts awarded by/while drifting similar to Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing and its sequels, Ridge Racer; etc.)
- introduce "off-road" segments for the courses, perhaps secret routes/shortcuts at that, which take you down onto the surfaces of the various planets themselves; alternatively, some of the tracks are designed only in this fashion, giving them a rally racing feel
- incorporate car and level editors a la the X Expansion Kit and GX (the Wii U's GamePad would've actually been perfect for this, which makes Miyamoto's comments about needing a controller with unique functionality to "justify" a new game all the more perplexing, but I digress)
- expand on the Story Mode from GX—which includes (further) fleshing out the entirety of the cast—and finally show Falcon doing his bounty hunting work, presumably in a series of Hot Pursuit-style missions; there could be an open world element with the racers traveling between destinations
- bring back Death Race from X, possibly rehauled as Burnout/Project Gotham Racing/Split/Second (2010)-esque full contact stunt races
- borrow Bomb Chasers (which would double as a nod to Chapter 6 of GX's Story Mode) and Chicken from Konami Krazy Racers to use as extra Battle Modes
That took roughly ten minutes to devise, whereas Nintendo has been sitting on F-Zero for a decade. Is it innovative? No, not really. But at this point, what is? And better yet, does the sheer speed demon that is F-Zero really need a whole lot of tweaking when it's the equivalent of 500+cc by default?
- Also Fox McCloud could put in an appearance, leading to in-game jokes regarding this game's James McCloud.
- Why stop at racers? Ninty could add remakes of Mario Kart courses as unlockables or DLC, much like MK64 Rainbow Road in X.