Until the realization dawns that the initial segment of “Enlarged/BS F-Zero Deluxe” actually denotes “broadcast satellite,” the title may appear lighthearted. Power Panda, Great Guy, and Porthor
The Satellaview by Nintendo, a Japan-exclusive satellite accessory for the Super Famicom, holds significance as a repository of some of the most ephemeral games ever produced, making it a prime focus for preservationists.
Among the plethora of F-Zero-related content for Nintendo’s iconic racing game, a series of eight weekly broadcasts were beamed to Japanese households in 1996 and 1997, featuring live “Soundlink” CD-quality music and voiceovers. Despite the technicality that the memory cartridges utilized to store game data were not truly empty, they could erroneously indicate emptiness once the live broadcasts concluded. Due to the risk of data overwriting, there were no rebroadcasts, as retaining the same 1MB storage cartridge during a new broadcast would lead to data loss.
Several F-Zero Soundlink broadcasts were captured through recordings on the Super Famicom’s Satellaview add-on.
Matthew Green of Press the Buttons, in collaboration with an educational video from Did You Know Gaming, unearthed data from untouched memory cartridges to reconstruct some of the content. Despite extensive efforts and a $5,000 reward offer, certain programs featured in the multi-week “Grand Prix 2” series remain elusive. Nonetheless, the meticulous reverse-engineering of the 10 courses from those initial broadcasts, achieved through VHS recordings, machine learning algorithms, and pixel-by-pixel recreation, has resulted in a version with accuracy exceeding “north of 99.9%,” available for patching onto an F-Zero ROM.
A modified version of the F-Zero ROM now contains the “Bush I” content from the lost Satellaview channels.
The patched F-Zero version introduces four additional racing tracks to the original four, all encompassed within two new “BS-X” Leagues. Furthermore, players can engage with “ghost data,” enabling them to compete against their previous runs on a course—a feature pioneered by F-Zero games and later adopted by other racing titles. The package includes field art and a manual, marking a significant milestone in preservation efforts. While concerns persist regarding potential scrutiny from Nintendo and its legal team, there remains a glimmer of hope.
In a related development, architect FlibidyDibiby played a pivotal role in the launch of BS F-Zero Deluxe by conceptualizing a crucial tool. His vision entailed showcasing every Super Mario Bros. speedrun simultaneously, aiming to construct a dynamic “living leaderboard.” This ambitious endeavor necessitated the creation of a side-by-side speedrun apparatus capable of analyzing game footage, displaying precise input commands per frame, and generating a frame-perfect emulation. While a GitLab version still exists, the tool known as Graphite has vanished from both the author’s website and GitHub. Efforts to reach out to FlibidyDibiby for insights are ongoing, with updates to follow once new information surfaces.
Inspired by Graphite and armed with data from the original Grand Prix broadcast as a reference point, a devoted F-Zero enthusiast known as Great Guy engineered a tool to replicate controller inputs from a rare VHS copy of the elusive second Grand Prix event. Through meticulous reverse-engineering, Great Guy successfully recreated most of the courses, refining them with manual frame-by-frame adjustments. The intricate background designs for the courses were meticulously crafted by pixel artist Power Panda, with additional contributions from Porthor, completing the trio.
Their collective efforts have resurrected a gaming moment nearly lost to the annals of time and corporate evolution, bringing it as close to its original form as humanly (and technologically) feasible, a quarter of a century later. The enduring legacy of these fan-driven, non-commercial endeavors is a testament to their dedication and creativity, hopefully enduring for years to come.
