 Snnnnnnnnnnn😎 That's drunk A few weeks ago, someone dug into the Nintendo Switch's NES app to find a group of file names or, more specifically, a group of Super Nintendo game titles That many are assuming will eventually be added to the Nintendo Switch's online service There's a lot of obvious games there, like Super Mario Kart, Link to the Past and Yoshi's Island but there's some oddities in there, too Like Pop n' Twin B, Breath of Fire 2 and, namely, Stunt Race FX Now, I talked about this game a bit in a video from a couple years ago titled which games featuring the Super FX chip are worth playing today, but if this game is eventually going to be made widely available then it's probably time to give it its own video. So right away you take one glance at Stunt Race FX and it's clear that this is unlike any other Super Nintendo game that's come before or since. What's especially interesting about this one from a technical standpoint is that unlike Star Fox where just the ship's enemies and certain objects are rendered, here the entire track has to be rendered in addition to the vehicles and random other stuff. As impressive as that is unfortunately it leads to two major drawbacks. One is the restricted viewing area, especially when you play this game against a second player. I mean geez do I need to attach an oversized Game Boy magnifier to my TV screen? The other drawback is the limited frame rate so there's not much of a sense of speed here. But I don't think either of those flaws make this game a stay-away and I still think it has some redeeming qualities that hold up well today. Yes it's true if you're looking for a quote-unquote true racing game you're better off with something like Top Gear or F-Zero. Stunt Race FX isn't going to compare to those two but that's because it's kind of in a category all on its own. To start with you have several game modes. There's Speed Tracks which is a combat race where you deal damage across 12 different courses against a computer opponent. Free Tracks is the same 12 courses just in a time trial mode. Stunt Tracks is four completely separate stunt courses plus one bonus event where you're bouncing around collecting stars and Battle Tracks is the two-player mode which can also be played single player against the computer if you'd rather use this tiny viewing area when you don't have to. Kind of weird. There's three different cars to start with. The big four-wheel drive truck is slower and can take a lot of damage. The F-Type has the highest top speed but wrecks easily and the Coupe is the more balanced of the three. Once you successfully complete the Speed Tracks mode you'll unlock a motorbike and eventually a big semi truck. The controls are pretty straightforward. I mean it is a racing game after all but it should be pointed out that the select button can switch between three different perspectives and that can really make a difference in your experience depending on which vehicle you choose. You can also hit the X button to extend your wheels skyward to avoid obstacles and you hold the Y button down for a turbo boost and you use the L and R buttons to help drift and manage corners and that's important because one key to progressing through this game is managing the damage meter. You take damage in this game from slamming into the wall, slamming into other racers or getting slammed into a wall by another racer. That is a killer but it's also really satisfying to do to somebody else. The controls do take some getting used to but they work just fine. I recommend starting with the Coupe and remember to rely on the L and R buttons for sharp corners. Now some people are gonna frown on how this game looks and yeah the framerate is a major bummer but like Star Fox, Stunt Race FX has a very distinct look and feel to it that's unlike any other game. The developers at Nintendo EAD and Argonaut Software really did a fine job packing this game with a ton of personality to the point that each vehicle is outfitted with a pair of eyes giving this almost like a Pee Wee's Playhouse kind of a vibe. Also the tracks themselves are really cool. There's 12 race tracks total and four stunt courses and each one has at least one moment where you stop and say wow like when you go underwater in the aqua tunnel or when you watch the sun burn off the fog in the King's Forest the guys from Star Fox even stop by to say hi. I should also mention that halfway through each circuit is a bonus mode where you drive the semi through gates and to be honest it's kind of lame. It just kind of gets in the way but whatever. What steals the show here though is the stunt mode. You pretty much just have to complete the courses collecting as many stars as you can as you drag your vehicle to the finish line usually with barely enough left on your damage meter to survive. These are actually a lot of fun especially the bonus course which changes to a top-down perspective and has you destroy three other cars. The up and down course is also fun especially when you're playing as the four wheel drive truck. You got to love that sound design. Speaking of sound design the music throughout the entire game is fantastic and goes a long way toward adding that extra bit of personality. It's one of those sound tracks that not only fits the game perfectly but when you hear just one second of one song you know immediately it's from this game. Oh and just to point this out I know some of these games can end up being misrepresented when footage is recorded from an emulator or from a flash cartridge or whatever so just so you know here's footage of the game from the original hardware and here's footage of the game from SNES9X. Of course video compression from both my video editing software and from YouTube are going to compromise what you're actually seeing here but still I thought I'd at least call attention to that factor. So yeah Stunt Race FX is one of those games you take one glance at and say nah this is super outdated but I have to admit I'm surprised to say if that's your attitude you are missing out. Sure as a pure racing game despite the obvious technical achievements present here it's not very good because it doesn't have that same sense of speed that other racing games do. My response to that is don't go into this one expecting a typical racing game because that's not really what Stunt Race FX is. It's something else entirely. It's a weird goofy but enjoyable combat racer featuring vehicles with eyes with each course almost being like a little world unto itself. If I had to put my finger on it I think the big thing this game got right is the physics engine. There's something playful and toy-like about how the cars bounce around and slam into each other. It's really well done. So yeah despite its obvious limitations Stunt Race FX is still a fun time today and I want to thank you for watching and I hope you have a great rest of your day.