Stunt Race FX

"A good racer, one of the first 3D racers for a home console."

This was Nintendo's second full 3D game for the SNES (First was Star Fox) and I believe it was also the first 3D racer for a home console, so this game was pretty ground-breaking for its time.

Graphics: They look alot like the graphics in Star Fox, the cars are 3D and have more polygons that the Arwings in Star Fox, but are still very simplistic. There are very few textures in the game, so everything is just different colored polygons. The graphics were pretty impressive for their time. Don't expect to be blown away, just remember that this is one of the first 3D games ever for a home console so its pretty simple. The frame rate drops alot and it can hamper gameplay sometimes, but thats to be expected since this game uses the SNES which was built with 2D graphics in mind.

Sound: Not terrible, its on a cart so don't expect a whole lot. Standard engine sounds and effects. The music is alright as well, but you don't really hear it when you're playing.

Gameplay: Good is the word I would use to describe it. You use the D-pad for standard steering and the shoulder buttons for sharp turns, its actually a pretty good system once you get the hang of it. Each car handles differently. The F1 style care is very fast but doesn't handle as well as the others, the coupe has average speed and handling making the most balanced of the three standard cars and the Truck handles very well but is slow. There is a Motorcycle that you unlock in the game and it handles very well and is fast. In the standard races you have to reach checkpoints in each race to continue, if you don't make a checkpoint in time then you have to start the race over. In the stunt mode, you collect stars and also race against the clock. The checkpoint system can be very challenging, but it works.

Overall: One of the first 3D racers on a home console. Many people go back to this game and hate it because of the simplistic 3D graphics, not remembering that this game came before all of the great racers we have now. It has good control, and is fairly challenging. I'd say buy it if you can find it. Just remember that this game has very simplistic 3D graphics. It was a truly impressive game when it first came out and is my favorite racer on the SNES.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/01, Updated 09/25/01