the layer on a scanline-by-scanline basis it could simulate 3D environments. Such techniques in games were considered to be revolutionary in a time when most console games were restricted to static/flat backgrounds and 2-dimensional (2D) objects. The result was developer Nintendo EAD creating a game that IGN reviewer Craig Harris called the fastest and smoothest pseudo-3D console racer of its time.F-Zero was one of the launch titles for the SNES that Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development had approximately fifteen months to develop completely. In Japan, only it and Super Mario World were initially available for launch. In North America and Europe, Super Mario World shipped with the console, and other initial titles included F-Zero, Pilotwings (which also demonstrated the console's "Mode 7" pseudo-3D rendering capability), SimCity, and Gradius III. F-Zero later had a sequel for the SNES that was canceled, but was released unfinished through the Satellaview peripheral under the name "BS F-Zero Grand Prix". Takaya Imamura, who worked directly on F-Zero throughout its different incarnations, said in 2003 "hav[ing] worked on the F-Zero series, and seeing the results of the collaboration with Sega, I found myself at something of a loss as to how we can take the franchise further past F-Zero GX and AX". Years later, BS F-Zero Grand Prix was released for the Super Famicom's satellite-based expansion, Satellaview. It was released in separate parts, and featured an update of the first game. It was followed up by BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2, an expansion which featured brand new courses. Zero Racers (G-Zero) was a canceled game for the Virtual Boy. The game was previewed by Nintendo Power. Gameplay differs in one important point from its predecessor and all F-Zero games released afterwards. In Zero Racers, unlike other F-Zero games, the vehicles race in all three spatial dimensions in tunnels. After a seven-year hiatus outside Japan, the series made the transition to 3D with the third installment, F-Zero X on the Nintendo 64. The game introduces twenty-six new vehicles, while also including the four from the original F-Zero game. In addition to a Grand Prix mode, the game introduces a "death race" mode and a random track generator called the "X Cup". In the death race, the player's objective is to annihilate the twenty-nine other racers as speedily as possible, while the X Cup generates a different set of tracks each time played. The hardware limitations of the