This was the game that sold a lot of Super Nintendo systems, mine included.

I remember reading previews of it in places like C&VG and Mean Machines and still having a hard time understanding how it worked. Racing games until that point simply drew a road ahead of the player and made it curve left and right a bit, but F-Zero did things differently. The track was a real thing that you learned and studied and whizzed your way around at any angle you like and WOW LOOK AT THAT SUCKER MOVE, JUST LOOK AT IT:

We spent weeks on this game, and the time trial mode was the source of serious, bitter rivalries that to this day have caused real wounds between otherwise good friends.