Another year and another E3 with no mention of a new F-Zero game. This saddens me, because I love F-Zero and all it stands for: the pure speed, the insane universe where a reanimated skeleton can race against a hyper-intelligent monkey, and most of all the music. The soundtrack to the original F-Zero is one of my very favourites that the SNES has to offer, which is high praise indeed consider it has competition from things like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and Zombies ate my Neighbours. The N64 sequel F-Zero X kept the level of musical excellence high with probably the console's best soundtrack, and although F-Zero GX may have been a slight let-down in the audio stakes, F-Zero remains one of the very best series for hard-rockin', full-on musical madness. Still, there's always room for improvement, right?
nijeil - Fire Field
First up, nijeil's remix of the theme from F-Zero's final track takes everything F-Zero's music is known for and ramps it up to its logical conclusion: roaring guitars, searing synth lines and a real feeling of urgency. This is what should be playing during every single motorsport event. It could even make Formula One interesting! Okay, maybe not.
S.S.H. - Big Blue
"Saitama's Ultimate Weapon" tends to give me what I want from videogame remixes; loud, fast metal versions of classic videogame tunes. What baffles me is how "Big Blue" manages to simultaneously be more energetic than a puppy with lasers for blood and so damn relaxing.
Peewee, Michiko Hill - Big Blue
From the official F-Zero Arrange Album, this track is the complete opposite of the S.S.H. version. It's got saxophones! And piano! Yes, it's the jazz version... and it's brilliant. I can still (just about) remember finding an MP3 of this in the very earliest days of my internet-going youth and it opening my eyes (ears?) to the world of videogame music remixes. So I thank you, F-Zero Arrange Album: without you I may have a lot more hard-drive space but a lot fewer happy musical memories.
Nintendo - The Long Distance of Murder Guitar Arrange
"What's that? You want me to re-do the already-incredible F-Zero X soundtrack with real instruments and guitar shredding and all kinds of wonderful, wonderful things that'll make people wish they were piloting a super-sonic jet racer through the very heart of the fucking sun itself!? Yeah sure, I can do that."
Bluetrancefer - Port Town (Metroid Remix)
A fantastic melding of two Nintendo franchises as Bluetrancefer takes the Port Town theme and re-imagines it as part of the soundtrack to a lost Metroid Prime game. Ambient, chilled and spot on in its evocation of both F-Zero and Metroid.
JigginJonT - Silent Progression (Silence)
It's not all wailing guitars in F-Zero land, you know - here's a beautiful piece of improvised solo piano work from OCRemixer JigginJonT. You might think piano solos are not compatible with F-Zero's music, but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. That's right, I'm threatening you.
SonicTheJackrabbit - Mute City (Sega Genesis Cover)
It's F-Zero! For the Megadrive! It's great, and because it's in a Megadrive style it automatically sounds like a theme from a side-scrolling shooter, like all fast-paced Megadrive music does.
Magical Trick Society - White Land
More of an electro feel from this one, although there are still guitars in evidence, and the whole thing pumps along as mightily as any good F-Zero remix should.
Entertainment System - Mute City, Big Blue, Port Town
VGM covers band Entertainment System put some straight-up rocking into this medley of delights, guaranteed to get your head banging. I mean, unless you're a cold-hearted gargoyle or something.
Nintendo - Rainbow Road
And to finish, not a remix of an F-Zero track but an F-Zero X remix of another Nintendo track. You see, the lucky owners of the 64DD could get an expansion pack for F-Zero X that included, amongst other things, this remix of Mario Kart 64's "Rainbow Road" music. A nice crossover between the Big N's two racing franchises, and its triumphant yet somehow melancholic sounds seem like a fitting way to end this list of remixes. The final word? Oi, Nintendo! F-Zero: WiiU. Make it happen, people.
