<s>
The	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
is	O
a	O
coprocessor	B-General_Concept
on	O
the	O
Graphics	O
Support	O
Unit	O
(	O
GSU	O
)	O
added	O
to	O
select	O
Super	B-Application
Nintendo	I-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
SNES	B-Application
)	O
video	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
,	O
primarily	O
to	O
facilitate	O
advanced	O
2D	O
and	O
3D	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
was	O
designed	O
by	O
Argonaut	O
Games	O
,	O
who	O
also	O
co-developed	O
the	O
3D	O
space	O
rail	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
Star	B-Application
Fox	I-Application
with	O
Nintendo	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
the	O
additional	O
polygon	B-General_Concept
rendering	O
capabilities	O
that	O
the	O
chip	O
had	O
introduced	O
to	O
the	O
SNES	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
design	O
team	O
included	O
engineers	O
Ben	O
Cheese	O
,	O
Rob	O
Macaulay	O
,	O
and	O
James	O
Hakewill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
in	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
was	O
codenamed	O
"	O
Super	B-Device
Mario	I-Device
FX	I-Device
"	O
and	O
"	O
MARIO	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
MARIO	B-Application
"	O
,	O
a	O
backronym	O
for	O
"	O
Mathematical	O
,	O
Argonaut	O
,	O
Rotation	O
,	O
&	O
Input/Output	O
"	O
,	O
is	O
printed	O
on	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
the	O
final	O
production	O
chip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
high	O
manufacturing	O
costs	O
and	O
increased	O
development	O
time	O
,	O
few	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
based	O
games	O
were	O
made	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
SNES	B-Application
library	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
these	O
increased	O
costs	O
,	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
games	O
often	O
retailed	O
at	O
a	O
higher	O
MSRP	O
compared	O
to	O
other	O
SNES	B-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Argonaut	O
Games	O
founder	O
Jez	O
San	O
,	O
Argonaut	O
had	O
initially	O
intended	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
programmed	O
an	O
NES	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
first-person	O
combat	O
flight	O
simulator	O
Starglider	B-Application
,	O
which	O
Argonaut	O
had	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
other	O
home	O
computers	O
a	O
few	O
years	O
earlier	O
,	O
and	O
showed	O
it	O
to	O
Nintendo	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
prototype	O
impressed	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
suggested	O
that	O
they	O
develop	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
then-unreleased	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
due	O
to	O
the	O
NES	O
's	O
hardware	O
becoming	O
outdated	O
in	O
light	O
of	O
newer	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis/Mega	I-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
TurboGrafx-16/PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
the	O
1990	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
held	O
in	O
Chicago	O
,	O
Illinois	O
,	O
Argonaut	O
ported	O
the	O
NES	O
version	O
of	O
Starglider	B-Application
to	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
,	O
a	O
process	O
which	O
took	O
roughly	O
one	O
week	O
according	O
to	O
San	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
is	O
used	O
to	O
render	O
3D	O
polygons	B-General_Concept
and	O
to	O
assist	O
the	O
SNES	B-Application
in	O
rendering	O
advanced	O
2D	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
custom-made	O
RISC	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
is	O
typically	O
programmed	O
to	O
act	O
like	O
a	O
graphics	B-Architecture
accelerator	I-Architecture
chip	I-Architecture
that	O
draws	O
polygons	B-General_Concept
to	O
a	O
frame	B-Algorithm
buffer	I-Algorithm
in	O
the	O
RAM	B-Architecture
that	O
sits	O
adjacent	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
in	O
this	O
frame	B-Algorithm
buffer	I-Algorithm
is	O
periodically	O
transferred	O
to	O
the	O
main	O
video	O
memory	O
inside	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
using	O
DMA	B-General_Concept
in	O
order	O
to	O
show	O
up	O
on	O
the	O
television	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
chip	O
,	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
simply	O
"	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
"	O
,	O
is	O
clocked	O
with	O
a	O
21.4	O
MHz	O
signal	O
,	O
but	O
an	O
internal	O
clock	O
speed	O
divider	O
halves	O
it	O
to	O
10.7	O
MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
on	O
,	O
the	O
design	O
was	O
revised	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
GSU	O
(	O
Graphics	O
Support	O
Unit	O
)	O
;	O
this	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
first	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
revision	O
,	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
reach	O
21	O
MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
are	O
functionally	O
compatible	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
their	O
instruction	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
a	O
larger	O
amount	O
of	O
external	O
ROM	O
or	O
RAM	B-Architecture
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UsageStar	O
Fox	O
uses	O
the	O
chip	O
for	O
the	O
rendering	O
of	O
hundreds	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
3D	O
polygons	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
scaled	O
2D	O
bitmaps	O
for	O
lasers	O
,	O
asteroids	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
obstacles	O
,	O
but	O
other	O
objects	O
such	O
as	O
ships	O
are	O
rendered	O
with	O
3D	O
polygons	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Super	B-Device
Mario	I-Device
World	I-Device
2	I-Device
:	I-Device
Yoshi	I-Device
's	I-Device
Island	I-Device
uses	O
the	O
chip	O
for	O
2D	O
graphics	O
effects	O
like	O
sprite	O
scaling	O
and	O
stretching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
that	O
contain	O
a	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
chip	I-Device
have	O
additional	O
contacts	O
at	O
the	O
bottom	O
of	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
that	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
extra	O
slots	O
in	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
port	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
otherwise	O
typically	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
games	O
cannot	O
be	O
plugged	O
into	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
adapters	O
which	O
predate	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Super	B-Device
FX	I-Device
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
cheat	O
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Genie	I-Device
.	O
</s>
