Stunt Race FX put polygons on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Nintendo developed it with Argonaut Software and published it for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second game to use the 3D-centric Super FX powered GSU-1, the same chip that ran under Star Fox.
That pedigree is the whole pitch. It is also the whole problem.
F-Type, Coupe, 4WD and the Rest
The roster is five vehicles: F-Type, built like a Formula One car; Coupe, a coupé; 4WD, a monster truck; 2WD, a fourth unlockable; and Trailer, a semi-trailer truck available only in bonus games. Each has its own capabilities of speed, body and acceleration. The vehicles are anthropomorphic, with eyes serving as headlights — a detail added late in development.
Here is how they stack up against each other:
| Vehicle | Type | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| F-Type | Formula One-style racer | Default |
| Coupe | Coupé | Default |
| 4WD | Monster truck | Default |
| 2WD | Fourth vehicle | Unlockable |
| Trailer | Semi-trailer truck | Bonus games only |
The English instruction booklets call every vehicle male. The Japanese instruction manual and the Japanese television commercial make the Coupe female and every other vehicle male. That is a small thing.
Obstacle Courses, Test-Driving and Time-Attacking
Stunt Race FX features five modes: three racing levels, obstacle courses, test-driving, time-attacking, and multiplayer racing.
In play, you boost speed, use L and R buttons for sharper turns, and take damage from collisions. Courses are built from 3D polygons, with road bumps, overhead passes and billboard advertisements filling the scenery. The Super FX chip gets a real workout here.
The cars are heavier and clumsier than in conventional racing games, and the game incorporates that lack of speed into how it plays rather than hiding it. That is the most interesting thing Stunt Race FX does.
It is also where the game asks the most of a player. Heavy and clumsy reads as character for a short while.
Wild Trax and the Nintendo Classics Return
In Japan the game is called Wild Trax (ワイルドトラックス, Wairudo Torakkusu). Nintendo added it to the Nintendo Classics service on September 5, 2019, its first re-release in more than two decades. Here is the timeline that matters:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Stunt Race FX released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| September 5, 2019 | Added to Nintendo Classics, its first re-release in more than two decades |
A gap of more than twenty years between the original cartridge and a legal way to play it again is not a marketing story.
The Super FX Chip in the Scenery
The polygon courses, the road bumps, the overhead passes and the billboard advertisements all run on the Super FX chip. You can see the effort in every frame. The eyes-as-headlights touch is charming, and the vehicle variety is genuine.
Multiplayer and Split Screen
The game supports single player and multiplayer, including split screen. That gives it a second life with another person in the room.
But the game’s constraint is not a feature. The result is a racer that is more interesting to look at than to drive.
It is a curiosity worth an afternoon, not a game worth the wait it took to come back.
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