zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Stunt Race FX Version 1 Author Contact: commander_pikachu at hotmail dot com ~~~~~~~~~~|1. Introduction|~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------- Greetings and welcome to Cranberry's Stunt Race FX guide. Stunt Race FX was released on the Super NES. It is the second game to utilize the Super FX chip. While Star Fox provided a space shooting experience with intense combat against enemy forces, Stunt Race FX is a more down-to-earth experience where you race your vehicle through a variety of tracks in varied settings and environments, perform tricky stunts on course, or even demolish other vehicles from a radio control tower. For intense high-speed racing action, Stunt Race FX is the place to be! This guide will help you better understand the vehicles you will be driving, introduce you to the courses you'll travel, and provide you valuable tips that will help make you a winner. So sit back and relax, grab your controller, and prepare for one of the most enjoyable racing experiences the Super NES has to offer. This guide is based on an official Super NES cartridge version of the game. Because of the Super FX chip features of this game, it usually does not run properly on emulation. The vehicles move much more quickly on emulation than they are supposed to, but the timer runs at the normal speed. Because of this, unlike a Super NES official cartridge, the timer is virtually a non-issue on most emulators and as such this game is much, much easier on an emulator, virtually to the point of not being a challenge at all. This game will seem much easier than it actually is if you play on an emulator instead of a real Super NES. If you truly want to experience all this game has to offer, stop pirating ROMs and get the actual cartridge. ~~~~~~~~~~|2. Table of Contents|~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------------- 1. Introduction 2. Table of Contents 3. Copyright & Disclaimer Notice 4. Driver's Ed 5. The Vehicles 6. Test Run 7. Speed Trax 8. Stunt Trax 9. Battle Trax 10. Free Trax 11. FAQ 12. Conclusion 13. Credits ~~~~~~~~~~|3. Copyright & Disclaimer Notice|~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------------------------- This FAQ and all contents within are the property of me, Cranberry, December 2009. It is permitted to be hosted at GameFAQ. No part of this guide may be hosted or reproduced in whole or in part on any other site without the express written consent of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. ~~~~~~~~~~|4. Driver's Ed|~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- While every vehicle handles differently, the basic controls are the same for everything. There are also several on screen gauges and counters that you should be aware of. Before you jump into the driver's seat, take a moment to read these instructions and make sure you understand the basics. It's time to learn the rules of the road. + Control Pad: The cross shaped control pad has a few functions in this game; most of them very intuitive. You use the control pad to move the cursor on in-game menus. Once in your vehicle, the control pad controls your steering. Left steers left and right steers right. A less obvious function of the control pad is that it also affects the tilt of your vehicle while in the air. Press up to angle your vehicle downwards, and press down to angle your vehicle upwards. A button: The A button is both your brake and your reverse function. Press and hold the A button to apply the brake. Once your vehicle has stopped, continuing to hold the A button will cause it to move in reverse. B button: The B button is your gas pedal. Press and hold the B button to apply gas. Your vehicle will accelerate until it reaches its top speed. Release the button and your vehicle goes into neutral and will coast until you apply the gas again or hit the brake. In menus, this button confirms a selection. Y button: The Y button activates a special boost function on your vehicle. Using the boost function increases the speed of your vehicle for as long as the boost is activated. This button also cancels selections in menus. X button: The X button serves two functions. Tapping the X button causes your vehicle to raise its body up off its wheels into the air for a short time. This sounds your vehicles horn as well. This is effectively a small jump, and from here on out it will be referred to as a jump. L button: The L button turns your wheels more sharply to the left. Use this button for sharp left turns. R button: The R button turns your wheels more sharply to the right. Us this button for sharp right turns. Start button: The Start button can be used while driving to pause the game, which gives you the option of retiring or giving up from the race. Select button: The select button allows you to change the view setting for your vehicle while you race. There are 3 views in most modes, two views that show your vehicle on the screen, and a view from within the vehicle looking through the windshield. Stunt Trax mode has some exceptions to the view settings. See the Stunt Trax section of this guide for more details. In some modes, if you hold the L and R buttons while pressing Select, you can get even more view options. Now that we've covered the controls, let's check the displays on the screen and the items that appear on the track. Boost Meter: The blue meter is your boost meter. When the boost function is activated, this meter will begin to deplete. The rate of depletion varies from vehicle to vehicle. Once the gauge is empty, the boost function can not be used. Exceptions to the rule are on the Bonus Trax and the Radio Control Tower stages where there is unlimited use of the boost function. Damage Meter: Damage accumulates when your vehicle collides with things or lands roughly from a jump. The amount of damage your vehicle has sustained is shown as a red gauge. If the gauge fills completely, your vehicle will crash. When the gauge is dangerously high, your vehicle will begin to smoke if you aren't in cockpit mode. Exceptions to the rule are in the Bonus Trax and the Radio Control Tower stages where your vehicle cannot be damaged. Timer: In some modes, a timer begins counting down. If the timer reaches 0 before you complete the race, you will be disqualified from the race. The timer can be extended by completing in-game tasks. The exact rules regarding the timer depend on the mode being played. See the section of this guide for the mode you are playing for exact timer rules. Overall Timer: Don't confuse this with the normal timer. This appears in Stunt Trax and Free Trax modes. This timer counts up rather than down and shows your overall time for a race. This timer has no affect on the race itself. Rest: This appears only in Free Trax mode. This counter shows the number of vehicles you have in reserve. Star Counter: This counter appears only in Stunt Trax mode. It shows the number of starts you have collected. Star Timer Bonus: This appears only in Stunt Trax mode. It shows how much of a time bonus you will gain at the next checkpoint. Red Gem: This is one object on the road you actually want to hit. Collide with a red gem to repair your vehicle by half the maximum value of its damage gauge. This item will re-spawn every lap in the same location on the track. Blue Gem: This is another object you want to run into. Colliding with it will refill your boost gauge by half its maximum value. This item will re-spawn every lap in the same location on the track. Soft Reset Command: If you press L, R, Start, and Select at the same time, you'll do a soft reset and return the game to the title screen. This is a handy command to have as none of the game modes have a "return to title" option. This saves you a trip to the reset button on the console. ~~~~~~~~~~|5. The Vehicles|~~~~~~~~~~ --------------- The single most important decision you make in this game occurs before you even set foot on the track. That is the decision of which vehicle to drive. There are a total of 5 playable vehicles in this game, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Here's a quick overview of the stats: Acceleration is how quickly a vehicle reaches its top speed. Body is how resistant the vehicle is to damage. Top Speed is the vehicle's top speed on a flat surface. Steering is how quickly the wheels turn. Tire grip is how well the tires grip the ground. Let's meet our vehicles. 4WD: Acceleration - Fast Body - Strong Top Speed - 100 MPH Steering - Heavy Tire Grip - High This powerful vehicle is a mini monster truck! It has great acceleration and a super strong body. It also has fantastic traction with large tires that really grip the road. Because of its durability, this is a fantastic vehicle for rookies that are just learning how to race. It is also a fantastic choice for the rigors of Stunt Trax driving. It also controls quite well at the steering wheel and is unlikely to spin out and go out of control. The vehicle's one weakness is its low top speed. At only 100 MPH, it is the slowest of the main vehicles. Coupe: Acceleration - Medium Body - Medium Top Speed - 120 MPH Steering - Medium Tire Grip - Low The coupe is your jack-of-all-trades vehicle. It ranks 2nd best in all categories except tire grip, making it a vehicle with no strengths, but no weaknesses either. Well its one weakness might be that it doesn't grip the road so well. Still, this vehicle is a good choice for intermediate drivers that want a good balance between speed and durability. This car is a reasonable choice for all modes of the game. This vehicle also consumes the boost meter at a lesser rate than the other vehicles. F-Type: Acceleration - Slow Body - Weak Top Speed - 140 MPH Steering - Light Tire Grip - Medium As you can see from the stats, this formula 1 racer specializes in one thing, top speed. While its acceleration is slow and it's weak body is easy to damage, once it accelerates it runs very fast. The steering is light on this vehicle so one must use caution to avoid losing control at high speeds. This racer is a great choice for advanced players looking for great speed. This racer also happens to be my personal favorite in this game. 2WD: Acceleration - Medium Body - Medium Top Speed - 140 MPH Steering - N/A Tire Grip - High Although at first glance it looks like a motorcycle, it's actually a two- wheeled car. This vehicle is available for Free Trax mode. As you can see from the stat sheet, it's quite a powerful machine. It ties the F-Type in top speed, and matches the Coupe in acceleration and body. At first glance it looks to be the undisputed champion of vehicles, but this vehicles impressive power comes at a price. Of all vehicles, this one is the most difficult to control. When using the L and R buttons to turn, it steers by shifting its weight. It is very easy to spin out and go flying off the track driving this vehicle because you lost balance. If controlled well however, it will win many races. If you are able to clear the Speed Trax - Master Class, this vehicle will no longer be limited to just Free Trax. Master controlling this and it will be the best vehicle in the game. Trailer: Stats unavailable This big rig is driven only during the bonus stage during Speed Trax mode. This vehicle is quite slow and difficult to steer. It never races against other vehicles; instead you will use it to knock down flags and complete laps within a time limit. ~~~~~~~~~~|6. Test Run|~~~~~~~~~~ ----------- Test Run is a temporary option that appears as a training mode. You drive the 4WD vehicle here on a special track that you won't find anywhere else. There's really not much to say about this mode. If you're a 1st time player, you can use it to practice the games controls. Once you finish the race or crash, you'll return to the main menu. Once you finish a Speed Trax circuit, this mode will permanently be replaced with Free Trax. This is merely a sample track to practice on until you unlock Free Trax. ~~~~~~~~~~|7. Speed Trax|~~~~~~~~~~ ------------- Welcome to Speed Trax, the main racing mode of Stunt Race FX. Here you will race against both the clock and against 3 computer opponents. Before you hope into the driver's seat and take off, let's go over the rules for this mode: In order to successfully complete a race, you must reach the finish line and place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Finishing in 4th place is a considered a Rank Out. You will be disqualified if one of the following happens: -The time limit expires. -Your vehicle crashes from too much damage. -Your vehicle falls off the course and into the sea. -You retire from the race through the pause menu. If you are disqualified or Rank Out, one of your remaining cars, shown by the rest count, will be depleted and you'll attempt the race again. If your rest count is 0, you'll receive a Game Over. The timer has some specific rules in this mode. As soon as the race begins, the timer will begin counting down. As you race around the track, you'll encounter a checkpoint. You'll receive extra time when you pass both the checkpoint and the point where the race began. If you successfully complete a race, any time remaining on the timer (up to 99 seconds maximum) will be saved and added to the timer for the next race, except of course for the final race in the circuit. Thus the more time you have remaining when you finish a race, the more time you will have available on the next. Once you complete Novice or Expert class, Test Run mode will permanently be replaced with Free Trax mode. Now that we have the rules covered, let's get ready to race. Select Speed Trax from the main menu and you'll be taken to the car selection screen. Choose the car you want, and you'll advance to the name input screen. Here you can enter your initials; this will be displayed with any records you set that are saved to the game packs battery. Tip: At any time during the car selection or name input screen you can press the select button to access a screen where you can choose the 3 rival cars that you'll be racing against. By default, you'll race against a 4WD, Coupe, and F- Type. You can change the 3 rivals to any vehicle you like except 2WD and Big Rig. You can set all 3 vehicles to the same model if you wish. Once you've registered your name, you'll be taken to the class selection screen. There is a Novice Class and an Expert Class. There is also a Master Class as well, but you must clear Expert Class to unlock it. If you've done this, highlight Expert Class and press up on the control pad to select Master Class. Let's begin with Novice Class. -------------- |Novice Class| -------------- Welcome to the Stunt Race FX Novice Class. This class is the perfect place to get a feel for the various vehicles and race along courses that are fun to drive but not brutally difficult to finish. Have fun and remember to buckle your seat belt! Track 1 - Easy Ride: Here is a nice easy track with no real dangers to speak of. The only things that can damage you are slamming to walls or taking the dip under the bridge a little too fast. Even so, unless you are driving extremely recklessly and/or have no clue what you're doing; the red gem should be more than enough to keep your vehicle in good shape. Practice using your boost function and remember to use the L and R buttons to for sharper turns and you should have no trouble beating the generous time limit. When you start the 2nd lap, a large semi truck will suddenly dart across the road in front of you. How such a large truck goes from a dead stop to crossing the road at such a high speed, only to immediately stop again on the other side is a mystery that will never be solved, but you need not worry about slamming into it. You couldn't if you tried. According to Nintendo Power magazine, this truck is carrying the latest shipment of Stunt Race FX game packs. Track 2 - Aqua Tunnel The 2nd track in the Novice Class is a bit more difficult than the first, but only for 1 reason - the half-pipe shortly past the starting line. While going off the road usually results in just lost time and damage, doing so in the half pipe will result in your vehicle falling off the track and landing in the sea below, resulting in a SPLASH status, and instantly disqualifying you from the race. To make matters worse, the track is rounded in the half-pipe. Though the 4WD handles this rounded track well, the other cars are much less stable on such terrain and can easily lose control and go flying off the edge. When crossing the half-pipe, stay as close to the center as possible. The track is lower there and your vehicle is more stable. The higher up the side you go, the harder it is to maintain control. Of all the half-pipes in the game, this one is the straightest and easies to navigate, but don't get too overconfident on it. The other major feature of this track is what gives this track its name; the underwater tunnel that makes up 2/3rds of this course. The sound affect in the tunnel is pretty cool and it's quite visually impressive as you race through it. The strange looking objects you see in the water outside the track are sunken ships. Though they might serve as a visual distraction, they are no threat to you. There's a sharp curve just past the check point so check your speed and let up on the gas a tad if you can't take the turn at full speed. On your way out of the tunnel, use the Boost feature to help maintain your speed up the hill to the goal. Bonus Track 1 Welcome to the half-way point of the race circuit! If you wish, you may skip this bonus track and move onto Sunset Valley. If you opt to play the bonus, your racer will drive into the back of a trailer and you'll take control of the big rig hauling it! Unlike other courses, you can't "lose" on this track. There are no rival cars present here either; you simply run as many laps as you can until time runs out. There are two routes you can take; a long route and a short route. Scattered all over the road are flags. Drive between these flags to knock them down. For every flag you knock down, two seconds will be added to your timer for the next race, Sunset Valley. For every lap you complete, an extra car will be added to your reserve stock. If you take the long route, you'll encounter a lot of flags and will have a lot of opportunity to add extra time to our timer. But you'll probably only be able to complete one lap. If you take the short route, you won't encounter nearly as many flags, but it's possible to complete two laps. The choice of which route to take is in your hands. If you opt to skip the bonus track entirely, you'll receive no rewards of any kind and start Sunset Valley with the same time and cars remaining that you had at the end of the Aqua Tunnel. Please note that if you are playing on an emulator, it may be possible to complete more laps due to cars usually moving much faster than normal on emulation. On a real cartridge, two laps are the most you'll be able to do. Track 3 - Sunset Valley Here we have a race through a winding mountain road. There are some tricky turns on this course and you may need to ease up on the gas a tad to avoid slamming into some walls. Don't forget to use the L and R buttons to help make sharper turns. Just past the starting line, you'll see a sign warning of animal crossings. There's nothing here yet but it gives you a good idea of what to expect soon. After the first turn, use the Boost feature to help keep your speed up as you race up the hill to the first tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, you'll pass a sign warning of falling rocks. Again there's nothing here yet, but it's another warning of what's to come. As you round the final turn and head toward the finish, stay on the left side of the road. There's a giant boulder sitting in on the right side of the track that you don't want to slam into! When you reach the 3rd and final lap, the sun will begin to set and you'll see this tracks defining characteristic. You'll also start to encounter its dangers. A herd of elk will dash across the road as you approach. Although you should never do this in real life, here, pay no attention to them. Chances are you'll simply drive right through them. At worst, you'll take very light damage. The hit detection seems to be faulty here, making these guys no threat to you at all. Just make sure you NEVER attempt something like that in real life should you ever be driving and a herd of elk happen to dash in front of you! The second danger is a lot more real. This time rocks will fall from the cliffs above just past that sign warning of it. The boulders will fall into the left part of the track so stay to the right to avoid them. If you slam into them at full speed, it'll probably break your vehicle apart. Track 4 - Night Owl The final track of the Novice class is a cruise through a track in a city. The background music is pretty cool here isn't it? This track doesn't have any fancy hazards like boulders or half-pipes, but the road is rather narrow with many tricky turns. There are also a lot of signs showing Mario, Fox McCloud, and Kirby posted around the track; a nice tribute to other famous Nintendo icons. Drive cautiously around the turns or you may find your car exploding because of too much damage! During a straightaway on one of the elevated portions of the track, you'll see a low-flying plane cross the track in front of you. Don't worry about it, it's little more than a visual distraction. Even on the final lap when it flies straight toward you, you can't hit it. Even if you jump, you won't hit it. The rival cars are more aggressive on this course than they were before, especially the rival F-Type if you're racing against one. As long as you don't get too crazy and slam into too many ways, you should be able to beat the timer and finish the race. It's okay if you don't beat all the rival cars, just as long as you're not in last place when the race is over. Once you cross the finish line, you'll clear the class! The game will show your times for the previous 3 courses (excluding the bonus track) before moving onto the results for Night Owl. Then you'll move onto the final summarization of the circuit and you'll see the top 3 times recorded on your game pack, with your new time added if it happens to be in the top 3. You'll then be returned to the menu select screen. You'll also unlock all of the Novice Class tracks in Free Trax mode as well. -------------- |Expert Class| -------------- Welcome to the Stunt Race FX Expert Class. This is the class for the more advanced drivers. You'll face more rigorous courses and stiffer competition from your rivals. Are you ready to step it up a notch? If so, you've come to the right place. Track 1 - King's Forest The Expert Class begins with a foggy cruise through the King's Forest. Thick fog covers this course and your visibility will be impaired. Aside from this impaired visibility, there are no major obstacles to worry about. Make good use of your boost to keep your speed up during straight-aways and up hills. The log bridge is a great time to use the boost function. On the 3rd lap, the sun will come out and burn away the fog, greatly enhancing your visibility. One of the biggest time killers on this course is to go off the pavement and into the grass. Your vehicle isn't nearly as fast in the grass as it is on the pavement, so control your turns and avoid veering off the track. If you'd like to be treated to one of the most spectacular jumps in the game, turn around at the starting line and run the course backwards. You'll launch over a hill in what is arguably the game's coolest jump. Obviously you don't want to do this during Speed Trax, but you should definitely give it a try in Free Trax mode. Credit to Nintendo Power magazine for this discovery. Track 2 - Sea Breeze Next up is a track built over the sea. This track features two half-pipe sections, and just as in the Aqua Tunnel course, you'll be disqualified if you fall into the sea. There are no special obstacles or climate changes to avoid on this track - your soul concern are the half-pipes. If you're driving the 4WD, this course is a breeze and you'll clear it easily. If you're driving anything else, use extreme caution. These half pipes have some turns in them, and if you over-steer you're likely to end up in the drink. This is a course that can either be really easy, or frustratingly difficult, it all depends on how well you handle the half-pipes. Remember to stay as low in them as possible. Don't worry about the dolphin that occasionally leaps over the track; there's no danger of hitting it. Bonus Track 2 With Sea Breeze behind us, you're probably looking forward to a much less stressful race. The Bonus Track could not have come at a better time! The track is a bit more complicated than before, but the same rules apply. Take the long route if you want to build up a lot of extra time, and take the short route if you want to try for two laps. As before, you'll drive the trailer for the bonus until time runs out. If you fell off the track in Sea Breeze, it may be best to go for the extra laps to regain some of your lost cars. If you wish, you may skip the bonus and advance straight to White Land. Track 3 - White Land The game just wouldn't be complete without a snow and ice track now would it? White Land is this track and, as you might expect, the track is covered in ice and snow is piled up along the sides. It's a lot easier to spin out on this track than it is others. Of all the vehicles the 4WD is the most stable here. The great traction of its tires as well as its strong body really helps out here. Along the side of the track a bunch of snow men have been built. Perhaps some children were playing in the snow before the race began? In any case, crashing into these show man won't do much harm to your car, but it will slow you down a lot. In fact, the snow in general will slow you down if you get into it, so try to stay out of it as much as possible. The most dangerous part of this track is the series of small humps that you'll pass over. If you're going any significant speed, you're likely to catch some air as you go over them. It's extremely easy to veer off the track and land in the snow, greatly reducing your speed. Additionally, going over the jumps is hard on your vehicle and you must use care to align your wheels with the track as best you can. This part of the track is especially punishing to the F-Type and you can expect to take a fair amount of damage going over these jumps. Be especially sure to grab the damage gem on the final stretch if you're an F-Type driver. On the final lap, as you approach the hill leading to the humps, two giant snowballs will roll towards you. There's room for your vehicle between them, so aim for the center to avoid a damaging collision. Be careful with your boost on this track, if you overuse it you're likely to crash into walls or spin out. It's best used on long straight-aways or to help get up hills. Track 4 - Night Cruise The Expert Class finishes up with a cruise through the city. The Super NES Star Fox is quite popular here and you'll see signs for the game all over the track. This track features a lot of 90 degree turns as well as some cones, boxes, and barriers placed on the track. Hitting these objects can result in minor damage to your vehicle, but they aren't very dangerous and it's not worth going to great lengths to avoid them. After the first few corners, you'll find two medians in the center of the track just past the corner. The left path has a damage recovery gem, and the right side has a boost recovery gem. It's possible but extremely difficult to grab the damage gem and then swoop between the medians into the right lane to grab the boost gem. This is extremely dangerous and likely to cost you more then you'd gain, especially when you consider that there is a better alternative! Normally you should avoid striking the wall, but if during the race you happen to strike one of the Star Fox signs set up on the walls, the sign will fall and when you reach the medians, an Arwing will swoop down and drop a boost gem on the left side of the median. Now you'll be able to collect both a red and blue gem without risking a dangerous collision into the medians! You don't have to slam into a sign head on to trigger this, side-swiping them works too. The track doesn't change on any of the laps so there are no surprises to keep an eye out for. Make good use of your boost up hills and straight-aways to help make sure you beat the timer. Finishing this race will clear the Expert Class. Your races will be summarized and you'll get to see the top three times saved to your game pack. If this is your first time finishing the Expert Class, though the game gives no visual indication of this, you'll also unlock the Master Class. All of the tracks in the Expert Class will also become playable in Free Trax mode. -------------- |Master Class| -------------- Only those who prove their worth in the Expert Class are eligible to compete in the highly competitive Master Class. Here you will face the most difficult courses the game has to offer, as well as the fiercest competition from the rival cars. The timer is also much more difficult to beat in the Master Class. With its low top speed, 4WD racers are in for an extreme challenge here. Once you've cleared Expert Class, you can select Master Class by moving the cursor up past Expert Class to scroll the screen and reveal the Master Class. Are you ready to face the best of the best? Track 1 - Lake Side The Master Class begins with a challenging race around a lake course. This course has two noteworthy features, a draw bridge and a dinosaur around the final stretch. According to Nintendo Power magazine, this dinosaur is a Polygonasaurus and is a vegetarian. The trickiest parts of this course are the twisting turns through a relatively narrow road and the draw bridge. The draw bridge rapidly rises and falls, and though you'll never have to stop and wait for a ship to pass, you could easily catch some air as you race over it, especially on the 3rd lap. Make sure you take the bridge straight on or else you may fall off it and SPLASH into the lake below. The timer is pretty tight here, especially if you're driving a slower vehicle such as the 4WD. You're likely to be on the brink of disqualification as you approach the checkpoint and the goal. Use the boost constantly, especially over hills to finish in time. The more time you have remaining when you finish the race, the better. Polygonasaurus will roar as you pass her, but she won't attack your vehicle or interfere with the race in any way. Track 2 - Big Ravine The Master Class continues the fine Stunt Race FX tradition of making the second track of a circuit a very difficult one - arguably the hardest in the class. This course is the longest track in the game. Although there are several environmental hazards on this track, the timer is far and away the biggest threat. This is the final Master Class course for many 4WD racers. With its low top speed and the short amount of time available for the race, it is extremely difficult to beat the timer (For those playing on an official cartridge at least. As mentioned before, you'll have no trouble beating it on an emulator). Use the boost almost non-stop and avoid getting slowed down for any reason with the 4WD. it's your only hope. The other vehicles won't be quite as pressed for time. You'll experience a variety of weather conditions during the race, everything from a thundering rain storm to clear sunny skies. Just past the starting line, you'll race over some mud with four large boulders sitting near the sides. If you stay in the middle of the track you can pass them, but keep an eye out for the rival cars! They don't seem to be slowed down by this mud like you are and are likely to pass you. Worse yet, they aren't above ramming you as they pass and sending you into the boulders. If you're especially unlucky, you might get pinned behind the boulder and have to hit reverse to get away. This isn't good for any vehicle, but it's downright fatal if it happens to the 4WD as it virtually ensures you'll run out of time! To help avoid this, use the X button to jump a few times as you cross the mud. That way if a vehicle attempts to ram you, it'll instead pass harmlessly under you instead of knocking you into a boulder. Once you pass the mud, you'll enter a tunnel. There's nothing abnormal in the tunnel and it's a good place to use your boost. Carefully navigate the tight hair-pin turns on this course, if you take them too fast or at a bad angle you'll slam into the wall or even worse, spin out and lose more time. You'll eventually spot a sign warning you of falling rocks, just like the one you saw in Sunset Valley. You won't face any falling boulders on lap 1, but you will on both lap 2 and lap 3. The boulders will fall on the left side of the track during lap 2 and will fall on the right side of the track on lap 3. Make sure you are on the other side of the track when they fall! You'll pass the checkpoint just before a long log bridge. When you reach the bridge, hit your boost for all you've got. Don't let the rival cars get too far ahead of you. If they pull too far ahead, it's almost impossible to catch up. Nothing is worse than narrowly beating the timer, only to have to repeat the race anyways because you were out of rank. The weather conditions will change each lap. On the first lap it's an intense rain storm. On the second lap, the rain will stop and it'll be cloudy and overcast. And on the final lap, the skies will clear and the sun will come out. This is a make it or break it track for the Master Class. Make it to the finish line, and you'll have cleared a major hurdle on your way to finishing the Master Class. Bonus Track 3 This bonus track is a welcome sight after such a difficult race as Big Ravine. This bonus track is the most complicated of the three, but the same rules apply. You drive the trailer and you can take the long route to aim for a lot of time or you can go for the short route and try to complete two laps. Even with the short route, it's rather difficult to complete two laps - certainly possible but it requires very skillful driving of the trailer to do so. F-Type racers may wish to go for the extra cars as their high top-speed helps them beat the timer and their weak body makes them more prone to crashes. 4WD racers might want to consider the long route. With its great handling and strong body faces a far greater threat from the timer than it does road-side hazards. The extra time you get on the long route will likely be a greater asset then getting a few bonus cars but still having a low timer. Plus, if you're skilled, you can take the long route, knock down a bunch of flags, and still complete 1 lap for a bonus car! Coupe drivers could go either way. As always, you can skip the bonus stage if you wish. However, I highly recommend against skipping it, unless you're a very advanced player (or simply playing on an emulator and thus nullifying the timer concerns), especially if you're racing the 4WD. Track 3 - Sky Ramp Here we have a track that is a marvel of engineering. A race track built high up in the sky! You'll literally be racing through the clouds on this track! As Nintendo Power magazine mentions, the sight of a blimp floating BELOW you gives you a good indication of just how high up you are. Despite the dizzying heights and what looks to be a rather low and inadequate barrier on the sides of the track, it does the job and your vehicle can't fall off the side of the track. That's a very good thing because with all the twists and turns on this track, you're likely to slam into a few walls. Keep an eye on your damage meter and you race. Your race has caught the attention of the Star Fox team and they'll make a few passes overhead as you cruise the course. It's an impressive sight and pretty cool to see the ships overhead. The Arwings are pretty harmless, but it is actually possible to slam into one of them on one of their passes. This collision is actually much more dangerous to the Arwing then it is to you. The struck Arwing will smoke and spin out off the screen, while your vehicle has little more than a scratch. Even if you're driving an F-Type, you'll take only a sliver of damage, if any at all, should you happen to strike an Arwing. The Arwings appear on the long ramps that dip under the clouds for a brief moment. If you played the bonus stage, chances are that you have a nice couching of time to help you finish the race. Because of this, you'll probably find this course easier than Big Ravine was. Not that this course doesn't have its challenges, but the extra time from the bonus stage really helps a lot. Even so, don't dawdle as you race. You want to conserve as much time as possible for the next course, especially 4WD racers. The long ramps where the Arwings pass over is a great place to use your boost function. They are long straight stretches of road devoid of any real obstacles. Ease up on the boost when you reach the twisting narrow track leading to the goal. If you go too fast, you're likely to slam into the walls and there's a good chance your vehicle will break apart if you hit the wall at full force. You'll lose a lot of time waiting for your car to pull itself back together again if this happens. The turns around the checkpoint are rather sharp, use the L and R buttons for extra turning ability. Make sure to grab the damage gem each lap, with how easy it is to smash into walls here the damage can really begin to add up. Track 4 - Harbor City The final course of the Master Class is another very difficult one. It features the most dangerous half-pipe sections in the game as well as being a long course that will make the timer a serious threat as well. You've come a long ways to make it here, and this track will be a fine finally for what may become your championship run! Are you ready to put all of your skills to the test? Fun fact: There is a small city near Los Angeles called Harbor City. I'm not sure if that city is intended to be the location of this track or if the name is just a coincidence, but either way it's a neat reference. This is a long track, and the timer is pretty tight. If you're racing the 4WD, you hopefully still have some extra time left from the bonus stage. It's quite difficult to beat the timer without it. There's little room for mistakes, so be extra careful with the wheel. The first half-pipe isn't too difficult. It is a straight pipe leading down to a pool of water and while it's possible to drive off it and fall into the sea, you almost have to go out of your way too. The pool of water at the dip in the road will slow you down. You can improve your time a little if you jump just before you hit the water. The slight bit of air time will delay your entry into the water by a split second, helping you keep your speed up for a moment longer. Use your boost function to help you quickly get out of the water and up the steep hill at a reasonable speed. You can jump again at the edge of the pool to get yourself out of the water a tad faster. Continue boosting up the hill to maintain your speed. Next up is the 2nd half pipe. This is arguably the most dangerous half-pipe in the game! The pipe itself has some turns you need to navigate. It's extremely easy to go flying off the track and into the water below. After coming so far, you don't want to be disqualified now, so use extreme caution in this pipe! Let up on the gas if you have to. As you race along the pipe, you face another danger. A chunk of the pipe is missing on the left-hand side! Stay to the right or else you'll fall through and plunge into sea below! After this dangerous half-pipe, you'll race along a short stretch until you reach a 3rd half-pipe. This one you have to enter as you're making a sharp turn. Although it has no pieces cut out of it, it's very easy to go flying off it just after you enter due to the sharp turn you enter from. Personally, I find this pipe to be even harder than the one with a piece missing out of it. Once you clear this half-pipe, you're just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the goal. This course won't present any additional hazards on the 2nd or 3rd laps, but when you reach lap 3 the sun will rise and the night-time sky will change to dawn. It's a pretty cool affect, and helps give you the confidence to finish this final lap and complete the Master Class! Successfully finish and you're race results will be summarized. You'll see the top three overall times for the Master Class, and then instead of returning to the menu screen, you'll be treated to the games ending sequence and credits. Sit back and relax as you enjoy the ending scene. Congratulations on clearing the Master Class! If this is your first time completing it, you'll not only unlock all of the Master Class tracks in Free Trax mode, you'll also unlock the 2WD vehicle for use in all modes! No longer will it be limited to Free Trax! ~~~~~~~~~~|8. Stunt Trax|~~~~~~~~~~ ------------- Welcome to Stunt Trax! Here, you'll compete on obstacle courses to collect stars scattered across the course and reach the goal before time expires. There are no rival cars on the course with you, you run by yourself in this mode. Additionally, the view from within the driver's seat is not available in this mode. Before we get started, let's go over the rules. -Each course consists of 4 areas. There is a check-point at the end of the first three areas, and a goal at the end of the 4th -Each area consists of 10 stars, making there a grand total of 40 stars -Collecting stars adds extra time to the timer. Red stars are worth 2 seconds each while gold stars are worth 5 seconds each -Time from the stars is only added when crossing a check point or the goal -Once a check point is crossed, you cannot return through it to reach the previous area -If the timer reaches 0, the player is disqualified -There are no gems on the track, but Boost and Damage will be fully restored after each checkpoint -Rankings are based on the total number of stars collected. The player with the most stars is ranked highest. In the event of a tie, the player with the most time remaining is ranked highest -The top 3 overall times are saved. A Data Box also saves the top 3 times for each model of car -The race ends if the player retires -The view setting from inside the vehicle is not available in Stunt Trax It should be noted that the 4WD vehicle is a fantastic vehicle to use for this mode. It's great tire grip, strong body, and great suspension system make it a natural here. ----------- |Rock Hill| ----------- Of all the Stunt Trax courses, this one is the least complex. All of the stars are arranged in a relatively straight line and the obstacles aren't too intense. The most difficult part of this course is the whoop-de-whoops in section 3. If you veer off course along them, it's difficult to straighten yourself out again. Keep your wheels parallel to the ground when landing to minimize the damage to your vehicle. If you land bad it may cause you problems. ----------- |Up N' Down| ----------- This course is a lot of fun! As the name suggest, you'll be making a lot of jumps off of ramps on this track. Be vigilant with aligning your wheels if you're using the Coupe or F-Type. Their suspension systems aren't as durable as the other vehicles. During this track, you'll encounter some bowl-like ramps. These are a lot trickier than they look. Approach them head on and directly toward the star in the center. If you're even slightly off, you can easily miss the star and get tossed in a different direction than you intended. When you approach stars just after a panel with the word "jump", do as it says and jump with the X button just before you launch off the edge to help get extra distance. Some vehicles may not make the jump without the extra boost. ----------- |Ice Dance| ----------- As the name suggests, this track is a slippery stunt course. Snow and ice will leave you slipping and sliding around the track as you hunt down stars. Keep a firm grip on your wheel and control your speed around turns. Let up on the gas if you begin to lose control of your car. ----------- |Blue Lake| ----------- This course is sitting right in the middle of a lake! But it's not a very deep one. There's no deep water that will submerge your car and thus no risk of receiving SPLASH status, but the water will impede your momentum and make it a challenge to keep your speed up. There are some difficult ramps on this track and you will have to drive along to collect the starts. The 4th section of this track is especially brutal - a series of critical jumps with very little room to build up speed. Lay hard into your boost function and use the X button to help make the jumps. Try not to fall off the colored bridge on the way, the rounded blocks that make up the bridge are difficult to keep control on. --------------------- |Radio Control Tower| --------------------- This is a special course that you can access if you can score a perfect 40 stars on the four normal Stunt Trax courses. Once you've met this requirement, you can press up to scroll the screen and reveal the Radio Tower course. Although only one is displayed, this is actually four courses in one. On the confirmation screen, press left or right to toggle between the four courses and choose the one you wish to play. The rules are quite different in the Radio Control Tower from the rest of Stunt Trax. For starters, instead of the normal views, you have two overhead views to choose from. Instead of collecting stars, this is a demolition derby! The rules are as follows: -Destroy all 3 rival cars by colliding with them -The player's vehicle cannot be damaged -There are no gems on the track -There is unlimited use of the boost function -Fastest time is saved to memory -Overhead views are used instead of the normal views Pretty simple rules! Simply hunt down the 3 other cars and slam into them to break them into pieces! You need not worry about protecting your own hide; your opponents cannot harm you. All they can do is flee as you hunt them down. All 4 of the radio control tower stages share the same rules and a similar track. The differences between them are the colors of the track and the objects sitting on the track. Your 3 rivals start in close proximity to you, and will take off as soon as the course starts. If you're quick you can probably smash at least one of them before they have a chance to escape. The cars do not necessarily keep moving as they attempt to evade you. Instead they frequently head to a corner and sit there to hide from you, only moving again as you get close. If you're driving all over the place and can't find your rival, try cruising around the perimeter of the track to find their hiding spot. Be ready to give chase because they'll bolt as soon as you find them. Fun Fact: As a little girl I once rented this game. On one of the Radio Control courses, a total fluke happened that just happened to work for my favor. As soon as the race started, I slammed into one vehicle almost immediately. The momentum knocked me away and right into the 2nd vehicle. This impact knocked me back, sending me straight into the 3rd vehicle. The course finished with an incredible time of approximately 3 seconds. This appears to be a World Record for Stunt Race FX! Unfortunately, that game pack has long since had to be returned to the video store. Though I now own my own copy of the game, I've never been able to repeat that fluke and get such an impressive time. It is regrettably, a non-provable record. The video store has not only long since stopped renting Super NES games, but has also gone out of business as well. The fate of the Game Pack holding that legendary time on it now a lost treasure that literally could be anywhere in the world. It's a shame such an incredible feat was obtained on a rental game instead of my own copy. |Battle Trax| ------------- Welcome to Battle Trax. Despite the name of this mode, this isn't an actual battle. Instead it's a match race between two vehicles on special courses on a split screen. This is also the games only 2-player mode. And, in fact, it requires 2 controllers to play. Even so, this mode can also be played as a 1- player mode as well. Let's go over the rules for Battle Trax: -Two cars will race -There are no gems on the track -The boost meter will gradually replenish itself automatically -The car in 2nd place will recover its boost more quickly than the car in 1st place -The computer will take control of cars not issued any commands within a few seconds -The winner is the 1st car to finish the race -If one cars status becomes CRASH or SPLASH, the other car automatically wins -If one player retires, no winner is declared and the menu appears The computer controlled car rule is what makes this mode also playable by 1- player. If no one is controlling one of the cars, the computer will take control of it and begin racing a few seconds after the race starts. This only happens if no commands are issued to the car at all. Revving the engine even once before the starting signal will prevent this from happening. If neither car is issued any commands, the computer will take control of both and race itself. Once the computer takes control of a vehicle, it can't be returned to human control until the next race. You'll need two controllers for this mode, even if you're playing against the computer. Whichever player loses gets to choose the post-race options of try again, change car, or change course, and you'll need to use the matching controller to make the selections. You must be extra careful in terms of damage on these courses. There is no way to repair damage done to your vehicle! You must make your damage gauge last the entire race! Also, there is no time limit to beat in this mode. If you have a second player with you, each player will control a car and race against one another. There are 4 courses to choose from in this mode. ------------- |Cotton Farm| ------------- This track is a pleasant drive around a cotton farm. There are no fancy obstacles or tricks to this course. It's just pure racing. There is a rather sharp hairpin turn on this course. You'll want to use the L button to help make this sharp turn and it's a good idea to let up on the gas a bit too. Make good use of the boost function coming out of the curves to get your speed up. ------------- |Marine Pipe| ------------- As you can probably guess from the name of the track, this course features some half-pipes. And of course, they are suspended over the sea. Fall out of the half pipe and it's an instant loss. This track is very simple in design: two half-pipe sections of track connected by two small stretches of pavement. One dastardly tactic you can try is to ram your opponent in the half-pipe and attempt to knock them over the edge. Of all the two-player tracks, this one is the most dangerous! -------------- |Toxic Desert| -------------- Despite the name of this course, there's nothing toxic on the track to worry about. The main features of this track are some large boulders sitting on the course, and a series of whoop-de-whoop jumps. Stick to the center of the track to avoid the boulders, as they are set up on both the left and right sides. One sneaky tactic you can attempt is to ram your opponent and try to send them into the boulders. You'll gain quite an advantage if they get caught up behind one. Make sure to keep your wheels parallel to the ground as you go over the whoop-de-whoops. You don't want to hit the ground too hard and break apart. ------------ |Port Arena| ------------ This course is a nighttime city race. The track has some sharp turns and some strategically placed medians designed to cause you trouble. The medians are positioned just around corners, making you unable to see them until they are right in front of you. Slamming into one at full speed can be disastrous! To avoid them, stay to the left or right side of the track. You'll quickly learn where they are and know which turns to prepare for them on. ~~~~~~~~~~|9. Free Trax|~~~~~~~~~~ ------------ Free Trax mode is essentially the time trial mode of Stunt Race FX. You can race on any track on any class that you've completed in Free Trax mode, including the bonus tracks. This is the place to go if you want to practice on a track, or shoot for the best time. If you haven't cleared any Speed Trax classes yet, you won't be able to access Free Trax and instead you'll have Test Run to practice with. Once you unlock Fee Trax, it permanently replaces Test Run mode. Don't worry though, Free Trax is vastly superior to Test Run, and if for some bizarre reason you desperately want Test Run back, you can input a special code on the title screen to clear the memory and delete all the saved data. In addition to being able to drive the 3 standard vehicles, there is also a 4th special vehicle you can use here. The 2WD is available in this mode! Despite common misconception, this isn't a motorcycle but rather a two wheeled car. Free Trax mode is the only place you can use this vehicle until you clear the Master Class in Speed Trax. Let's take a quick look at the rules for Free Trax mode: -One vehicle will race by itself -Each race is 3 laps except for bonus tracks, which are an unlimited number of laps -Damage and Boost gems are in the same locations as in Speed Trax -The top 3 overall times as well as the best lap time will be saved. A data box will also record the top 3 times for each model of car, except on bonus tracks -Only the top lap time is saved on bonus tracks -If the timer reaches 10 minutes, the race will end -The race ends if the player retires As you can see, this mode is not truly without a time limit. If the timer hits 10 minutes, a TIME OVER message appears on screen and the selection menu appears. Unlike Speed Trax, you can race a course as many times as you wish. There are no reserve cars to worry about, and you don't have the countdown timer from Speed Trax. This is the perfect place to practice your driving, aim for a record time, or simply have some fun on the tracks and get away with things you couldn't in Speed Trax mode. Want to see how fast you can wreck your car? Go for it! Feel like racing a course backwards? Give it a shot! You can do whatever your little heart desires! So by all means, have some fun here and see what kind of tricks you can pull off! Don't limit yourself to just time trials. As you can see in the rules, bonus tracks are different from the others. There's no set number of laps you must complete to finish a bonus track. Instead, the idea is to finish as many laps as quickly as you can in 10 minutes. You can stop sooner by retiring if you wish. The fastest lap time is saved to memory. Unlike Speed Trax, you race your car here instead of the trailer. There are no gems on bonus tracks, but you don't need any either. Your car can't take any damage and you have unlimited use of your boost function. So either aim for the best lap time, or just go nuts and have fun messing around. These tracks are the one place you can truly drive like a maniac without destroying your vehicle. So go ahead, enjoy your 10 minutes of uncontrollable chaos! After 10 minutes, you'll get the usual TIME OVER message. Of course, you can always choose "Try Again" on the menu to continue your chaos for another 10 minutes! ~~~~~~~~~~|10. FAQ|~~~~~~~~~~ ------- Q: What system is this game for? A: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System Q: What is the Super FX chip? A: The short answer is it's a special chip that allows Super NES games to generate polygons and textures it normally could not handle. This chip allowed the Super NES to deliver true 3D games, a feat that had not been done on console gaming at the time. Q: Why are the graphics in this game so terrible? A: It's not that they are terrible, but that you have to be fair in what you are comparing them too. At the time, 3D graphics were unheard of on console games. By today's standards, this is a blocky mess. But at the time, they were revolutionary and spectacular. The real problem is that these graphics have not aged well like the sprite-based graphics have of other games on the console. Older gamers appreciate the Super FX chip games a lot more than younger ones. Q: Is the 2WD a motorcycle? A: No, it's actually a 2-wheeled car. Notice that it has a windshield and no pedals. Q: How do I use the 2WD outside of Free Trax mode? A: Clear the Master Class on Speed Trax. This will unlock it on all the other modes, including Speed Trax. Q: How do I play Test Run again? A: Once Free Trax replaces Test Run, you can't play Test Run again unless you delete all save data from your game. Free Trax is vastly superior to Test Run so it's best to just forget about Test Run, but if for some reason you insist on getting it back, use the code to delete the data from your game. Q: Why does the F-Type never get any faster than 135 MPH? Its top speed is supposed to be 140 MPH! A: To answer this, we first need to remember that this game was made and first released in Japan. In Japan, they use the metric system, the measuring system used almost everywhere in the world except the United States. The speed of the F-Type on the Japanese and European versions of the game is 220 KMH. For the US version of the game, the speeds were converted to MPH. Here is the conversion formula: 1 KMH is approximately equal to .621371192 MPH. If we take 220 and multiply it by our conversion number, we get approximately 136.7 MPH. Depending on how the developers rounded the numbers, this could get a bit lower. Thus as you can see, by conversion the F-Type's speed is actually slower than 140 MPH. If it was indeed 140 MPH, that would make the US F-Type faster than it's Asian and European counterparts, thus giving US players an unfair advantage over the other versions. More than likely, the 140 stat is stated because it's a much easier number to work with than 136. The 135 you see in-game is probably a result of rounding. The other cars were converted as well, but their conversions are a lot closer than the F-Type's are. The Coupe converts to approximately 118 MPH and the 4WD converts to approximately 99 MPH. These are very close to their proper top speeds in MPH, and in-game rounding helps to make them what they are supposed to be. So despite the 140 MPH declaration, after conversion and in-game rounding, 135 seems to be a more accurate top speed for the F-Type. As for the 2WD, in theory it shares the same top speed as the F-Type, but its speedometer tends to be able to reach higher speeds than the F-Type. This could be due to in-game rounding, or perhaps the 2WD has a slightly higher top speed than the F-Type. Please note that I do not have access to the actual game code, so while I can't verify the exact formulas used to determine speeds used by the developers, using mathematics and the assumption that rounding was used by the developers, I came up with this very reasonable explanation. Q: Can I race as the Trailer? A: Only in the Speed Trax bonus stage. He's not available anywhere else, not even in Free Trax. Q: Why didn't all of my extra time carry over to the next track? A: 99 seconds is the maximum amount of time you can carry over. Any time over 99 will be lost. Q: Which car is the best? A: Once you learn to control it, the 2WD. You could argue that the 4WD is best for Stunt Trax though. Q: There's no option to go back to the menu! How do I get out of Stunt Tranx, Free Trax, or and Battle Trax mode? A: You can press Start, Select, L, and R at the same time to do a soft reset back to the title screen. You can also hit the Reset switch on your Super NES. The lack of a "Main Menu" option in the various game modes is probably an oversight on the part of the developers. Q: Is there a sequel to this game? A: Regrettably, no. It's strangely appropriate that the final sequence of the ending scene upon finishing the Master Class in Speed Trax shows the 4WD cruising the Sunset Valley course, for after this game the cars truly did drive off into the sunset, never to star in a racing game again. However, Nintendo has not completely forgotten about this game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl one of the trophies is of the F-Type, granting this game a nice acknowledgement from Nintendo as being a part of their history. Although not accessible in- game, it's been discovered that contained within the game code of Super Smash Bros Brawl is a remixed version of the Stunt Race FX title screen music. It is just one of several music unused music scores contained within the game disk data. Although not a sequel to this game, Dirt Track FX is a motorcycle racing game made for the Super NES that also used the Super FX chip. Q: The reviews for this game are rather positive. Why did it sell so poorly? A: The likely answer is Super Mario Kart. Stunt Race FX is a fantastic racing game, but so is Super Mario Kart. Super Mario Kart was a smash hit, and quickly became the racing king of the Super NES. With its recognizable characters, revolutionary item system, and the fact that it was released well before Stunt Race FX hit the stores, there was simply no competing with such a smash hit. Whenever players wanted a racing game for the Super NES, their first instinct is to reach for Super Mario Kart. Even those that did pick up Stunt Race FX likely already owned Super Mario Kart. Stunt Race FX's shortcomings are not that it is a bad game - far from it. Its biggest failure is that it wasn't Super Mario Kart. If it had been released before Super Mario Kart hit store shelves, odds are it would have been much more successful. Q: How do I delete my save data? A: On the title screen input the following button sequence: Up, Left, Down, Right, X, Y, B, A Then follow the on screen prompts to clear all data. Once cleared it cannot be recovered. ~~~~~~~~~~|11. Conclusion|~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- Thanks for reading this guide. I hope that you have found it useful and perhaps entertaining. Even in the age of new and more powerful games, we shouldn't forget the classics that helped us get to where we are today. Though not as graphically impressive, the games of yesteryear can be just as fun and entertaining as today's new releases; sometimes even more so! Discover why the classics became the classics that they are. Best wishes for your Super FX chip powered races! ~Cranberry ~~~~~~~~~~|12. Credits|~~~~~~~~~~ ----------- Credit to the following sources for providing information and insight about the game. -Stunt Race FX instruction manual -Nintendo Power Magazine Issue #63