F-Zero 99 brings the SNES classic into a modern gameplay loop as part of the Nintendo online abonnement. Focusing on mass multiplayer the game is not the successor a lot of players long for but still an enjoyable racing game.

F Zero 99 uses the style of music, controls and graphics but transfers it into a battle royal like multiplayer mode. 99 players compete in races of 4 laps for the victory on various tracks with different t layouts and design. Before each race while the lobby is filling with enough players one of 4 different vehicles can be selected offering a different trade-off between acceleration and top speed. The 99 players start on a bi starting area all next to each other which funnels into the actual racetrack on the first meters. As in the original a power meter shows the remaining energy of the vehicle, and the race is over if the power meter is zero and your vehicle explodes. Contact with the track borders and other enemies cause damage and reduce the power meter. Using a boost also consumes power making the usage a strategic element to play with. At the end of each lap a loading strip similar as a pit lane can be used to recharge the power. Same as in the original arriving at the power strip with almost zero energy after passing multiple opponents with a boost is extremely rewarding. However, since with 98 opponents on track contact cannot always be avoided and some races can be full of carnage as most of your energy in the first lap will be gone due to the sheer number of collisions. During the race golden pearls can be collected filling a boost meter. A full boost meter allows to active a super boost which will make your vehicle jump to a kind of fast lane above the actual circuit thus overtaking enemies.

Besides the F-Zero 99 mode there are special modes that change depending on the weekly program. For some of those events tickets must be spent which are gained in the standard F-Zero 99 mode beforehand. There is a team mode in which the team scoring most points in the race wins. Points are scored by pushing enemies or using the spin of the vehicle to hit them. Bonus-Points are scored for eliminating other players completely thus brining their power to zero. The idea of a team mode sounds interesting, but it is not more than a nice bonus mode. Since the races are often quite chaotic driving clear maneuvers against opponents is quite impossible making it hard to judge what is the own contribution of the team’s overall performance.