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    Stunt Race FX

    Anyone else love this game?

    Picked up a PAL copy a while ago and started playing it proper the other night. I already have a US copy but its a pain in the arse to set up, what with typing in action replay codes etc. Anyway, sorted now.

    Wiped all the saved data before I started and now I have it all to do again, fantastic. I had forgotten how much fun this game is and how much character it has. From the wonderfully designed courses to the eyes on the cars. The way the cars explode and reform in real time and of course, the jump action. lol.

    The graphics, initially, feel really dated. The low resolution, small screen size (even for a PAL SNES game), draw distance and frame rate all seem terrible compared to todays super smooth offerings. But, persevere and the game play starts to shine through.

    I can remember spending hours and hours trying to beat records for the various tracks. And the time spent learning the next car after completing all the races with the previous one. Never really got to grips with the F1 car as the bike was unlocked and offered more speed and easier control. My ultimate racing experience back in the day was Aqua Tunnel, in car view, with the bike. To complete the race without falling into the water or clipping (or indeed exploding on impact with) the tunnel wall would require awesome levels of 'in the zone'. Not sure if I am excited or craping myself at the prospect of trying that again

    Two player was, tbh, always ****. The poor 'Super FX Accelerator 2' chip just couldn't cope with that many polys. But like many racers, multiplayer was still available via 'beating your mates time' mode. Last but not least is stunt mode. It was always second to the actual racing but it was also quite good fun. Some of the stunt courses were quite tricky and it certainly made a nice change of pace from the racing.

    Some of the best moments from playing it originally would have to include the first time you see the Arwings doing a flyby and when you realise that some courses have Mario, Fox and Kirby billboards I don't recall if this game was a large (commercial) success or not, but I would love to see a sequel. So long as Ninty kept the eyes on the cars.

    Anyone else enjoy this game?

    -weresheep

    #2
    I thought it was absolute bag of sh*t to be honest, I took it back and bought Unirally instead.

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      #3
      I really enjoyed it at the time but must admit have no urge to play it again now. Brings back happy memories though.

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        #4
        Originally posted by djjimbob
        I thought it was absolute bag of sh*t to be honest, I took it back and bought Unirally instead.
        Fair enough. I never really got into Unirally, it was quite fun and everything but it wasn't a driving game and I preferred my little 3D cars

        -weresheep

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          #5
          the borders were horrendous!

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            #6
            I liked its quirkyness and at the time a SuperFx game was something to get excited about. The game was quite enjoyable for a few days but it lacked the Nintendo magic gameplay that keeps you coming back for more.

            Overall I reckon the technology wasn`t up to the job and the game suffered. The graphics were just too simple and slow and it really caused the game to grate. Its easy to see why the game flopped, it didn`t come near Starfox quality wise.

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              #7
              The game itself could do with a Gamecube update, although I could see the Gameplay could have been really good the speed of the game (a wheezy arthritic snail pulling a Super Famicom along would move faster) and a tiny tiny screen kills the game a lot, when you compare it to say Virtua Racing on the Megadrive you wonder why it's sooo slow.

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                #8
                I really enjoyed it at the time but after putting it on a few months ago my illusions were shattered...

                That's they prob with old polygonal games... they can age very quickly.

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                  #9
                  weresheep - I agree with you completely.

                  The game was fantastic and easily one of the Super Nintendo's finest.

                  It had so much charm, so many layers of gameplay, so many different playing modes, and it was totally unique. Racing through Aqua Tunnel in car-view was an experience to behold, the game will always have a special place in my heart.

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                    #10
                    Yeah, I was disappointed after giving it another go after all these years, but I remembered how much I enjoyed it at the time and so kept playing. After a while I just started enjoying it just like I had back in the day and forgot about all the graphics problems.

                    I agree that it was probably too much for the SNES SFX2 combo in the same way Perfect Dark was a touch too much for the N64. But I still find it to be a good racer.

                    I haven't see Virtua Racing on the MD recently so I can't make any comparisons, but it was full screen wasn't it? I wonder if the texture mapping in SRFX was what tipped the balance performance wise. Funny though, cos DOOM of the SNES runs at an all right pace and I would have thought it was a more graphics heavy game.

                    -weresheep

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Valken
                      That's they prob with old polygonal games... they can age very quickly.
                      Whilst they do age quite rapidly, I personally love the old poly games. Its almost as if its a style that some developers chose to use, like Cel Shading. I loved that style, even if it was due to hardware limitations. I reckon that it should make a come back

                      Pikman:
                      Yeah! Someone else loves this game

                      -weresheep

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                        #12
                        Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to cock my nose at older polygonal games but I just felt that Stunt Race FX in particular shows it's age.

                        I still love lower poly titles like Virtua Fighter, F-Zero and in fact almost all of the 1st gen N64 titles despite them showing their age.

                        Something like StarFox doesn't show it quite as badly because the setting seems to suit the low poly graphics etc.

                        Having said that Stunt Race FX had an awful lot of charm at the time... you mentioned the way the cars blew apart and reformed when they crashed... I loved that too. It had some great music too, the little jingle that played as the race started.

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                          #13
                          Yeah, I suppose thats fair enough, SRFX doesn't age well (graphically). Been playing it more this afternoon and sometimes the draw distance is so bad its drawing the corner as your driving round it

                          I think Starwing was a more polished product and as you said perhaps suited the low poly, flat shading model more that SRFX, but I do enjoy taking one of those lil' guys for a spin

                          Just thinking, any other games out there where the vehicles have eyes?

                          -weresheep

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                            #14
                            Man i love Stunt Race FX - not the nasty pal version tho !

                            Time challenge was huge amongst me and 2 mates and was a game played a hell of alot when it came out.

                            Actually played it a few months back, after u get over the gfx the game still plays fantastically - cant get anywhere near any of my old times !!!

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                              #15
                              There were a couple of games that copied the Stunt FX 'cars with eyes' asthetic. I vaguely remember a (Namco?) arcade game that felt rather like it. I only ever saw it yeeears ago in a Swiss arcade. It might have been around 1995/1996. There was also a early PS racer like Micromachines that did the whole cars as characters thing.

                              Stunt Racer FX looked like a dog even back when it came out. It was the gameplay that kept you coming back. I rented it several times and some other guy was renting it regularly too. I had a fantastic time shaving miliseconds off my times. There was alot of depth to the handling and the levels were really well designed.

                              As a few people have said already in this thread the technology wasn't up to the job but the gameplay was way ahead of its time.

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