Konichi wa everyone! This month’s special is the super chip. Both Nintendo’s Super FX chip and Seta’s SDSP chip make their appearance and showcase some significant increases both in speed and capability. F1 Exhaust Heat II (EHII) from Seta utilizes a new SDSP (Super Digital Signal Processor) chip that allows the Super Famicom/NES to increase its processing speed from 3.58 Mhz to an incredible 21 Mhz! Now we’re talking speed! The game is Formula 1 racing with 3 different levels of play and battery backup to save the data for up to 3 different players. The game play and perspective is VERY similar to F-Zero but the new chip makes everything MUCH faster!! You start in Group C racing (which uses ProAm style racing cars). After capturing 1st place in each of 8 different tracks you then move up to the next level with 8 more tracks and F3000 cars. Completing that you move to the highest level of play where race with the Formula 1 style cars over 16 different Gran Prix courses.
The game allows you to modify your car with the prize money you accumulate from the races. You can purchase a better engine (to increase your speed as well as your power curve) ,or put money into your front and rear spoilers and tires (to increase your handling).
The first course on the Group C circuit is free, but the top prize is only $10,000. The harder tracks cost up to $9,300 to race in, but you can win over $40,000 for 1st place. In racing, you select the number of laps you wish to race in for both the qualifying heat and the actual race. A course map is displayed on the screen while you race, showing the layout of the track. Where F-Zero showed you the track and your position but not those of the other cars, EHII shows you both your car and the others, plus more. Those cars that are in front of you (position wise) are shown in green so you know which cars you still have to pass to claim 1st place and where they are in relation to your car. The handling takes a little getting used to and the sprites seem to shake a little but nothing beats the feeling of flying down the track at speeds in excess of 340 Km/h.
Finally, here’s the low-down on imported games. The Super Famicom games are compatible with the Super NES if you use a converter or cut the two tabs inside the cartridge slot located towards the rear of the machine (if you are looking down into the slot with the front of the machine facing you). The MegaDrive games will fit in a Sega Genesis if you use an adapter or cut away a portion of the cartridge slot on both sides and finally, the PC Engine games require an adapter due to a different pin-out configuration but the CD-ROM titles work just fine in either the Turbo Grafx or Turbo Duo machines (although the system 3 Hu card is required for the Super CD titles).
These games and others can be purchased through the following mail-order houses or others: (The following is a list of the companies that I have dealt with personally and have found reputable.)
Die Hard Gamers Club, 18612 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356 (818) 774-2000
The largest importer and most reputable of the mail-order houses, Die Hard caters to the gaming enthusiast. They sometimes receive the titles up to a week before the actual release date in Japan, but those titles go for a premium. They also stock many gaming accessories and gaming related paraphernalia.
Gametronix, 2709 Chimney Rock, Houston, TX 77056 (713) 965-0234
Although they haven’t been advertising in the gaming magazines since Christmas, they are still in business. They are now specializing in Japanese animated films and model kits as well as the Japanese video games.
Game Shock, 91-10 63rd Drive, Rego Park, NY 11374 (718) 997-8891
Under new ownership now, Game Shock offers competitive prices and carries a huge selection of the older titles used for all systems, both domestic and Japanese.
