08/21/2019

The Super FX Chip: Oh So 90s & Oh So Sexy (From The Attract Mode Archive: #083)

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

The following post originally appeared on attractmo.de, on November 4, 2013.
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So after posting that hour plus long video on Russian bootleg Genesis games a few weeks back, I got into a conversation with my pal Slonie (who some might recall as being the guy behind the Tumblr that’s all about mini maps). One that centered on a favorite subject of mine, an obsession almost: special graphics co-processing chips from the 16-bit era.

The Super NES had the Super FX, which everyone knows, and the Genesis had the Sega Virtua Processor, which was only used for Virtua Racing. And the above is the title most synonymous with Nintendo’s chip, running on Sega’s console, sans any special hardware. It’s not the full game, just a proof of concept, yet it’s still mighty impressive.

In response, I was presented with the following, of another Super FX title recreated entirely in software. But this time it’s Stunt Race FX on the OG Game Boy. Again, it’s mostly just a tech demo, one that doesn’t seem all that impressive at first. But once that crane shot kicks in at the 1:44 mark, you might go ”Whoa!!!” like I did…

Back to Star Fox, it’s easily the most recognized Super FX game (you also have Yoshi’s Island, which hardly anyone knew was utilizing the chip). But what about Winter Gold? It’s by far the most obscure title. Unfortunately the game itself is kinda rubbish, but check out the oh so super banging, ultra 90’s MTV-esque intro…

Seriously, do you recall any pre-PlayStation era game to feature a sexy dancing lady? It also reminds me of that first gen snowboarding game for the PS2 that featured graphics that looked like colored pencil drawings but which never came out (and at this point, I think I just dreamt the whole thing up).

And finally, for those of you who enjoyed those clips featuring glitched up Saturn graphicsfrom a whole ago, here’s over eight minutes of Star Fox corrupted…

[The original video has been removed from Youtube.]

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