The Wonder Years 9.20.07: Week 22 - Stunt Race FX
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 09.20.2007
The finest hour of SUPER FX!
Welcome to the column where all gamers of a certain age come to wallow in 16-bit nostalgia. I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield, and I'll be discussing some of the hidden gems and instant classics of gaming's golden era. Some of these games may crop up on the Wii's Virtual Console at some point, some may be consigned to the annals of history. Either way, they're worth tracking down if you missed them first time round, or replaying if you were lucky enough to catch them. Let's take a trip to:
STUNT RACE FX
(Nintendo, Super NES, 1994)
It seems that today, the humble cartridge format is a thing of the past for video gaming. Hampered by major size constraints, everyone's favorite gray blocks have been shunted aside in favor of CD-ROMs and, nowadays, DVDs. It's no surprise, really. The thing is, cartridges really did have a good thing going - no loading times, immensely durable, onboard battery backup, and last but very obviously not least, the capability to be enhanced by new engineering. Such was the birth of the Super FX chip, a graphic accelerator that could be embedded into Super NES game cartridges to provide an immense improvement in visual firepower. Developed by Argonaut, the chip was first used in now-franchised space shooter Starfox (or ‘Starwing' if you want to appease the ever-so-delicate European trademarks commission) and proved to be a polygonal revolution for the console. 3D gaming had become a very real possibility.
Although the Super FX chip went by the wayside due to development problems and the huge cost to the consumer, it gave us another classic before it died, namely the very game whose screenshots you can see adorning this page. Stunt Race FX (originally known as FX Trax) was the first traditional console racer to feature gradiated tracks and true 3D visuals - which, admittedly, have not dated well, but for the time were truly impressive. No longer would gamers have to sit through the flat Mode 7-based tracks that populated other 16-bit racing games. It's hard to stress how much of an impact this development had on the potential of the Super NES as a console - shamefully, a lot of this potential was wasted thanks to under-use of the Super FX chip, although the technology did later allow games like Doom to be ported to the console.
It wasn't just visual advancements that the game provided though, with numerous facets of the gameplay having not been seen before in console racers - an in-depth handling system comprising three degrees of cornering, the ability to carry over unused time to the next race in a championship (handy for those tracks with widely spaced checkpoints), a damage system which would see your car destroyed as a result of reckless driving, anthropomorphic cars... Come to think of it, I don't think I have seen the latter in a game since, let alone before 1994, unless you count the cancelled N64 title Buggie Boogie, a game with an equally horrific name.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the game is much more heavily weighted towards the single player. Although the Speed Trax mode, which comprises the bulk of the game, features only twelve tracks over three difficulty settings, the game is challenging enough to keep the last few locked away from the average gamer for quite some time - heck, it was years before I saw past Big Ravine. Add in a couple of unlockable vehicles and the obligatory time trial mode (or ‘Free Trax') and you're set for a decent, if not very long-lived, gaming experience. One mode that doesn't add much of value, though, is Stunt Trax, which considering it seems to have given the game its name is rather disappointing. Consisting of four arenas, the object is to collect a number of stars (kudos to Nintendo for their originality there) and make it across the finish line before time runs out. Unfortunately, poor collision detection means that this mode - which come to think of it is rather misleadingly named - suffers somewhat. Sadly, the multiplayer aspect too is an enormous let down - none of the main game's tracks can be raced, with a paltry four specially designed tracks included instead. The real problem, though, is that the game's HUD and instrument panels rather dwarf the viewing area, and while this isn't much of a hindrance to the solo gamer, it renders the two player rather obsolete unless you own a humungo-TV.
Sadly, the game seems to have been something of a flash in the pan, critically acclaimed but soon forgotten by the gaming public, and overshadowed by the technology behind it. In all honesty though, there are some lovely gaming moments to be had in Stunt Race FX - the Aqua Tunnel track, in particular, is memorable, and the thrill of racing up and down inclines for the first time on the console is something that can never be replicated. And although I seem to have railed against the two player mode, it was still a fair bit of a fun when you got down to it. Whether the game will see the light of day again is debatable, although I wouldn't put money on it myself - you'll be left to track it down elsewhere, and I can't recall ever having seen a boxed original copy anywhere. What price a current generation update though? The Wii could certainly do the off-kilter game a few favors. Really though, Stunt Race FX was a true product of its time, and is perhaps best suited to keeping its place in the history books as the first racer of its kind - and a damned enjoyable one at that.
Stunt Race FX trivia
For the record, the other games to feature the Super FX chip were (in chronological order) Starfox, Vortex and Dirt Trax FX.
The Arwings from Argonaut's own Starfox make a brief appearance, providing power ups on a several of the tracks.
The game was known as Wild Trax in Japan, which goes to show that a crappy name will translate badly in any language.
Stunt Race FX is an honorable mention in my official all-time Top 100 games.
Splendid visitation possibilities
The place to come for random retro gaming tidbits, links and videos, and general amusing games-related stuff collated from the interweb.
Testing out the old YouTube embedding for the first time, with a gaming tribute to Colin McRae who sadly passed away recently. If it's any consolation, his upcoming game DiRT looks like an absolute cracker.
Incidentally, if anyone feels like making a small donation to the Wonder Years running fund, this is probably the most desirable thing on the entire planet - a full retro Star Wars arcade machine, a snip at only $3500!
For those who never had the chance to experience this true arcade classic, take a look at the following gameplay video, which showcases a game incredibly advanced considering it's over twenty years old.
General indulgences
Every week in this section I'll endeavour to provide you, the faithful readers, with a fascinating insight into the various forms of entertainment currently dominating my spare time.
This week, I have been mostly enjoying:
Fracas 2.0, an excellent Windows-based freeware strategy game that plays like a stripped down version of the classic board game Risk. But with high scores and a map editor!
Peep Show, the best sitcom you've never heard of, which does wonders both in terms of innovating the genre of televisual comedy and in promoting the comedic talents of David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
Scrubs, which in a fantastic stroke of scheduling is being rerun on about five different UK cable channels. Although for some reason they censor out all the rude words that the nasty Americans say, like ‘ass' and ‘bitch'. Thankfully, your faithful columnist goes all out to avoid the censor's knife.
and Panic by Jeff Abbott, which although being a pretty rubbish book is also tautly paced and has a decent attempt at characterization, and would make a great TV series.
And finally…
As always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome, I respond to everything so just drop me a line. Next week in "The Wonder Years" - the dawning of an age-old franchise. Until then - keep it real, keep it retro.
