Considering the odds of a new F-Zero game are virtually zero, I wouldn't say Smash kept it out of the grave.Smash is responsible for keeping Fire Emblem, F-Zero, and to a certain extent, Metroid off life support or out of the grave completely.
Also helps that Intelligent Systems actually cares about their series. :-(If it weren't for Samurai and crew this series would have probably gotten the same anniversary treatment that Metroid got