F-Zero was rereleased for the Virtual Console service on various Nintendo platforms and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017.

The game takes place in the year 2560, where multi-billionaires with lethargic lifestyles created a new form of entertainment based on Formula One races called "F-Zero".

This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero.

For each lap completed, the player is rewarded with an approximate four-second speed boost called the "Super Jet" and a number of points determined by place.

[4] F-Zero has a total of fifteen tracks divided into three leagues ordered by increasing difficulty: Knight, Queen, and King.

[6] The multiple courses of Death Wind, Port Town, and Red Canyon have a pathway that is not accessible unless the player is on another iteration of those tracks, which then in turn closes the path previously available.

Unlike most F-Zero games, there are three iterations of Mute City that show it in either a day, evening, or night setting with slightly different configurations.

[citation needed] F-Zero is set in the year 2560, when humanity's multiple encounters with alien life forms had resulted in the expansion of Earth's social framework.

[9] In North America, Super Mario World shipped with the console, and other initial games included F-Zero, Pilotwings, SimCity, and Gradius III.

[18] Mode 7 is a form of texture mapping available on the SNES which allows a raster graphical plane to be rotated and scaled freely, simulating the appearance of 3D environments[1] without processing any polygons.

[21] 1UP.com's Jeremy Parish stated that F-Zero and Pilotwings "existed almost entirely for the sake of showing [the system's pseudo-3D capabilities] off" as they outclassed the competition.

[50] This graphics-rendering technique was an innovative technological achievement at the time that made racing games more realistic, the first of which was F-Zero.

"[1] 1UP.com editor Ravi Hiranand agreed, arguing F-Zero's combination of fast-paced racing and free-range of motion were superior compared to that of previous home console games.

"[52] Matt Taylor of The Virginian-Pilot commented that the game is more about "reflexes than realism", and it lacked the ability to save progress between races.

[further explanation needed][20] In GameSpot's retrospective review by Greg Kasavin, he praised F-Zero's controls, longevity and track design.

[36][38][53] IGN's Lucas Thomas criticized the lack of a substantial plot and mentioned F-Zero "doesn't have the same impact these days" suggesting "the sequels on GBA very much pick up where this title left off".

[19] Amusement Vision collaborated with Nintendo to develop F-Zero GX and AX, with Nagoshi serving as one of the co-producers for these games.

"[64] Nintendo initially developed the sequel of the first F-Zero game for the SNES, although it was broadcast in several versions on the St.GIGA subscription service for the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom instead.

[52][72] F-Zero Climax features expanded backgrounds, improved track detail, and a more distinguishable separation between the course and ground below.