I've always been one to revisit classic games via emulation across various devices, but I found myself particularly drawn to playing Super Mario Kart and F-Zero on my Switch after the SNES app launched. Both games famously used the SNES' Mode 7 graphics mode to simulate the feeling of racing in a 3D space, which was some real next-level stuff for a 16-bit console at the time. I love both series (bring back F-Zero, Nintendo!), but I haven't played the originals in quite a while before returning to them in this form.
And I have to say, for me F-Zero does Mode 7 racing way better than SMK.
You're going to fast. You're going to fast; you're gonna crash.
It's crazy how well F-Zero holds up with regard to this unique, faux-3D style of 16-bit racing. The sense of speed is still outstanding, and considering that this was a launch game for the SNES it's even more impressive that they were able to achieve these results right out of the gate with new tech. You have to understand, seeing this in 1991 blew minds.
Now, of course, Super Mario Kart is no slouch. It birthed a genre that it continues to dominate to this day, and in a skilled player's hands the actual racing can look very fast, fluid, and impressive for its age. It's just that, upon revisiting both games, I find F-Zero's controls and general feel to be far more intuitive and satisfying at their core. Maybe it's my modern Mario Kart muscle memory getting in the way of things, but I just can't get the hang of powersliding in the original SMK anymore. The Mode 7 presentation in SMK never quite looks right as I'm coming up on a turn, and I have the hardest time judging distances whereas I have no problem with this in F-Zero.
SMK pushed the envelope technically and creatively in 1992.
I'm also giving F-Zero the nod since SMK is pulling the same Mode 7 tricks but while only rendering the action to half of the screen, even in singleplayer. When playing by yourself, the bottom half of the screen is taken up by the map. I understand why this was done, but it just doesn't measure up to the fullscreen majesty that is F-Zero for me.
And I have to say, for me F-Zero does Mode 7 racing way better than SMK.
You're going to fast. You're going to fast; you're gonna crash.
It's crazy how well F-Zero holds up with regard to this unique, faux-3D style of 16-bit racing. The sense of speed is still outstanding, and considering that this was a launch game for the SNES it's even more impressive that they were able to achieve these results right out of the gate with new tech. You have to understand, seeing this in 1991 blew minds.
Now, of course, Super Mario Kart is no slouch. It birthed a genre that it continues to dominate to this day, and in a skilled player's hands the actual racing can look very fast, fluid, and impressive for its age. It's just that, upon revisiting both games, I find F-Zero's controls and general feel to be far more intuitive and satisfying at their core. Maybe it's my modern Mario Kart muscle memory getting in the way of things, but I just can't get the hang of powersliding in the original SMK anymore. The Mode 7 presentation in SMK never quite looks right as I'm coming up on a turn, and I have the hardest time judging distances whereas I have no problem with this in F-Zero.
SMK pushed the envelope technically and creatively in 1992.
I'm also giving F-Zero the nod since SMK is pulling the same Mode 7 tricks but while only rendering the action to half of the screen, even in singleplayer. When playing by yourself, the bottom half of the screen is taken up by the map. I understand why this was done, but it just doesn't measure up to the fullscreen majesty that is F-Zero for me.
