Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Characters
Agathe Thies
Episode I: Racer received generally positive reviews from critics. Several major media outlets listed it as one of the top Star Wars video games. As of 2011[update], the game holds the Guinness record as the best-selling sci-fi racing game, with worldwide sales of 3.12 million units, followed by series like Wipeout and F-Zero.[6] Two podracing games were released later. Star Wars: Racer Arcade, an arcade game featuring many similar tracks and characters, was released in 2000. A sequel, Star Wars Racer Revenge was released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer features a variety of tracks spanning several different planets. It includes all of the racers in the film, plus exclusive competitors. The player character's podracer is equipped with an afterburner that the player can engage for a boost of speed. Whilst engaged, the engine's temperature will rise and if pushed for too long, shall suffer an engine-fire and explode, destroying the podracer and costing the player several seconds to respawn and continue racing. The podracer will also be destroyed if one or both engines sustain severe damage from colliding into too many walls or obstacles, requiring the player to steer carefully to avoid falling behind. The player can also actively repair the podracer while competing, but doing so slows the podracer until repairs are either complete or stopped.[7]
Three single player game modes are available. In Tournament mode, the player character competes in a championship. Completing races awards money, with higher ranked finishes resulting in higher payouts. This can be used to buy parts or repair droids, unlock new tracks, and unlock new racers. Free Race mode allows the player to practice any previously unlocked courses using any unlocked racer. The player character cannot earn money or unlock tracks and racers, but can set the difficulty of the opponents. Time Attack pits the player character against the clock, racing along to try to achieve the fastest time on the given course. This mode is absent from the PC version. Instead the Free Play mode allows the player to set the number of computer opponents to 0.[7]
Multiplayer mode differs between the PC and console versions. The Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast versions feature a two player splitscreen mode, and the Windows and Macintosh versions allow play over a local area network (LAN). This Windows version uses the deprecated IPX protocol to accomplish this,[8] and the Macintosh version uses TCP/IP. The multiplayer mode can support up to eight players.[9]
Star Wars Episode I: Racer was developed and published by LucasArts for Windows in May 1999.[10] Development took approximately two years. Upon completing Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, two of its project leads began initial development. Tools included 3D Studio Max, Alias Wavefront, and Autodesk Softimage. Multiple graphical application programming interfaces (APIs) were tested, including 3dfx Glide, OpenGL, and Direct3D. Ultimately the game shipped with only Direct3D support because according to project lead Brett Tosti, when testing Glide and OpenGL the developers "didn't see any performance increases so didn't add support".[11] The team had to develop a physics simulation from only a few short film clips given to them. According to Tosti, their approximations ended up very close to the film: "We really didn't get to see how good our estimates were until the very end."[11] Project lead John Knoles emphasized that the team's goal was for a strong sense of speed. He stated they wanted to make it "feel like an eyeball-peeling racing game, where you're going so fast, you're just nervous".[12]
Episode I: Racer was later ported and released for several other platforms: Nintendo 64[16] Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color. The announced PlayStation version of the game was never released.[17] The Nintendo 64 version received a special edition Star Wars Episode I: Racer hardware bundle, including the standard gray and black console and a copy of the game. Though the Nintendo 64 cartridge can optionally take advantage of Nintendo's Expansion Pak memory unit to display additional textures, the limited capacity of the cartridge resulted in the removal of all pre-rendered cutscenes of the Windows and Macintosh versions. It is the first LucasArts game to be released on the Dreamcast.[18] The Game Boy Color release features entirely different game play from its console and PC counterparts. The Game Boy Color hardware is technically incapable of rendering the 3D graphics used in the other versions, so the game instead features one-on-one racing duels on abbreviated, linear tracks using an overhead 2D view. The Game Boy Color version of the game has an additional "rumble" feature.
The game was re-released online via the DRM-free GOG.com store in May 2018.[19] On October 18, 2019, the Nintendo 64 version was officially re-released in both a standard and Collector's Edition set with approval by Disney and Lucasfilm in limited quantities by Limited Run Games. On March 26, 2020, the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 versions were announced for May 12, 2020.[20] The PlayStation 4 version was delayed by two weeks, with a new release date of May 26, 2020.[21] On May 11, 2020, exactly one day before the Switch version's release, both the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch versions were eventually rescheduled for June 23, 2020 release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23] The Switch version supports motion controls, allowing players to use them to operate the individual throttles of the podracer's twin engines.[24]
The game was met with positive to average reception. GameRankings gave it a score of 75.78% for the Nintendo 64 version;[25] 75.42% for the Dreamcast version;[26] 73.79% for the PC version;[27] and 69.44% for the Game Boy Color version.[28] It has been featured on several lists of the best Star Wars video games. In March 2004, GMR rated Episode I: Racer the fifth-best Star Wars game of all time.[48] In 2015, PC Gamer listed it 3rd in their list of top Star Wars games.[49] That same year, it placed 10th in Rock Paper Shotgun's top Star Wars games list.[50] In Game Informer's 2016 list of the 30 best Star Wars video games, Racer ranked 11th.[51] As of 2011[update], the game holds the Guinness world record for the best-selling sci-fi racing game, with worldwide sales of 3.12 million units, followed by other series like Wipeout and F-Zero.[6]
Next Generation reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Yes, it's fast, it's largely customizable, features a lot of options, and it's fun, but it's tough to shake the feeling that if it weren't for the Star Wars license, it wouldn't otherwise stand out."[45]
During the AIAS' 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Star Wars Episode I: Racer won in the category for "Console Racing Game of the Year".[53] Star Wars Episode I: Racer also nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the "Favorite Nintendo 64 Game" category, although it lost to Donkey Kong 64.[54]
Star Wars Episode I: Racer originally released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64. The game's simple to understand but difficult to master controls has caused a dedicated speed-running community to arise around the game. This community, combined with those who simply have fond memories of driving fast while listening to Star Wars music, provided enough interest to justify a PC remaster, which recently launched on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Racer fits well into the F-Zero-inspired futuristic category of racing games that let players experience incredible speeds through a wide variety of characters and machines. All of Racer's characters function similarly to one another, but they possess key differences that fit certain playstyles and courses. Since you unlock characters as you play (and some of the best characters in the game require unlocking) it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each and use them as an ever-growing toolkit to progress through the different stages. For example, while Mars Guo and Boles Roor have decent speed, they are the very large racers and it makes it difficult for him to fit through narrow entrances. Smaller pods are often preferable, but there are exceptions to the rule based on different factors such as handling, top speed and durability.
Since these racers function differently from one another, it'll be helpful to take a look at the best ones. Keep in mind that there are upgrades available, such as custom parts and droids, and these are not being taken into account here. With that said, here are the five podracers that work best overall.
Wan Sandage is a valuable pick for certain courses because he has great handling and high acceleration. He can quickly get himself up to a decent speed and use his boost to overtake other podracers. When it's time to turn, Wan corners with ease, allowing him to easily stay consistent on winding roads with few straightaways. Unfortunately, Wan is a large podracer and has a low top speed and slower cooling than other racers, meaning he cannot rely on his boost to stay ahead.
Ody Mandrell can do most things fairly well. He has a decent cooldown rate on his boost and he turns rather easily. On top of that, he has high acceleration, and he's an average size podracer that can take a few hits before breaking. He is a lot like Wan, but a little smaller and can use the boost option more frequently. This is a great racer to to take on courses that have an even amount of turns and straightaways.
Unfortunately, Ody has slightly less responsive turning. When you do turn, it works well and you can make decently sharp corners. However, there is a small but noticeable delay between when a player takes action and when that action takes effect, which is a hindrance. On top of that, he doesn't have a particularly high top speed, meaning you'll have to rely on boosting to stay ahead. Still, he's a rewarding character to play and trades off well with most characters in certain situations.
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