Since the game was officially released after Nintendo’s September 2023 Direct, F-Zero 99 has been receiving updates with additional content and various bug fixes. Updates have been slow and incremental, but thanks to all the post-launch support, the game now has a lot of content that it didn’t have when it originally launched.
Well, Nintendo decided to release another update for the game tonight. With this update, F-Zero 99 is now at version 1.5.0. As for what the update does, according to the patch notes, there’s quite a bit. New tracks have been added, as well as Grand Prix Ace League. You can see the full patch notes below.
New additions
- We’ve added five tracks (MUTE CITY IV, SAND CYCLONE I, BIG BLUE II, SAND CYCLONE II, SILENCE II) from the Ace League game BS F-ZERO GRAND PRIX, which was distributed exclusively on the Super Famicom satellite broadcast adapter known as Satellaview. The Grand Prix Ace League has also been added.
- New tracks are adapted for F-ZERO 99.
- The practice mode has been expanded so that you can practice by unlocking Ace League tracks.
- The Grand Prix Ace League card has been added to the scoreboard.
- Ace League track information has been added to TRACKS and PRIX under Records in the Workshop.
- If you complete the Grand Prix Ace League, you will receive a BS F-ZERO GRAND PRIX machine themed sticker.
- An event will be held on the occasion of one anniversary. A total of 12 anniversary badges, backgrounds, borders and emotions have been prepared. During the event, if you match at least one Lucky Rank (updated daily), you can get one of the one-year anniversary rewards. Collecting all 12 of them will unlock a bonus sticker for each machine.
- The one-year anniversary event will be held for a limited time only. During the event, Ace League tracks will appear more frequently. You can press the L key on the main menu to check the status of the year’s rewards and how much time is left for the event.
- One-year anniversary rewards that could not be obtained during the event period can be obtained from regular Lucky Ranks after the event ends. Bonus sticker unlock requirements will also remain in effect.
- If you get all the One Year Anniversary items during the event period, you will revert to regular Lucky Rank rewards.
- Any Bounty Chips from Lucky Ranks you earned prior to the event will be retained, and by switching back to regular Lucky Ranks you can pick up where you left off.
- As part of the first anniversary celebration, players will receive four new remotes as a gift when launching the game.
- Added the ability for players to set which emotes they want to enable and added a function where they will automatically show at certain times.
- You can set which emotes you want to display by going to the Workshops menu and selecting EMOTES.
- You can now also set emotes to automatically display when you knock out another pilot, crash, or finish a race.
- In addition to the one-year anniversary rewards, new color boosts and Spin effects have been added to customize your machine. Also added new backgrounds, badges and borders to customize the Pilot card. All of these can be unlocked when certain conditions are met.
- One default sticker, four backgrounds and four borders will be added upon completion of F-ZERO 25 training. These will automatically be added for players who have already completed F-ZERO 25 training.
- The new enhanced colors and Spin effects can only be obtained through limited challenges. Press the L button on the main menu for the Featured Challenges screen where you can check the timed challenges.
- You can check the purchase conditions and equip new items by selecting MACHINES or PILOT CARDS from the Workshop menu.
Other adjustments and changes
- The training flow has been revised so that Practice and Workshop are unlocked sequentially while the game content of F-ZERO 99 is explained to beginners. Also, it is now possible to restart training at any time by selecting Replay Training from the options.
- You can now choose team colors from Team Battle in the private lobby.
- A new bar has been added to the top of the main menu that shows your skill rating and how far you are from the next level.
- Added a screen to the workshop that displays a list of machines and pilot cards.
- Move the cursor over the MACHINES or the PILOT CARD under the Workshop and press the Y button to display the screen.
- Boost Boost and Spin Effects can now be viewed by selecting Machines from the Workshop menu.
- Adjusted machine balance
| Machine | Adjustments |
|---|---|
| WILD GOOSE | Increased maximum boost speed |
| FIRE RYE | Increased maximum speed Boost Increased maximum speed when driving on the instrument panel Reduced the amount of power required to Boost Reduced the amount of damage taken and the amount of bounce when colliding with other machines. |
- Adjustments were made to WILD GOOSE because while it was good in races with more participants, it struggled in races with fewer participants.
- Adjustments have been made to the FIRE STINGRAY as it tends to lose power easily in situations where the machines are packed together, and due to the high cost of Boost and low recovery in the pit area, it tends to underperform other machines in crowded races.
- To reduce situations where you are rear-ended by a bumper after the bumper has crossed the dash, we have reduced the speed of the bumper coming off the dash.
- The number of wins displayed above other players’ machines is now hidden in the lobby screen for players who have never won a race.
- The EXP and tickets awarded for Lucky Rank matches have been adjusted to give more EXP and tickets.
- The bonus ticket obtained with one daily registration has been eliminated. In conjunction with this change, the daily bonus for completing F-ZERO 99, Pro Tracks, Classic, and Team Battle has been revised from 250 points to 500 points.
- In the Pilot Card customization, certain badges that reflect how many times an action such as a Boost or Spin has been achieved can now be placed on the Pilot Card to display all the badges you’ve earned.
Other questions
- Fixed an issue where timed challenges were not updating.
- Other minor issues have been fixed to provide a more enjoyable gaming experience.
