In this video, we're taking a look back at Star Wars Episode 1 Racer. Released for the Nintendo 64, PC, Mac, Game Boy Color, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch
I always played the guy Neva Kee or whatever, so every time I started a race I would hear, 'The current record holder for this track is, Nevaaa Keeee". Permanently fused in my brain till this day.
Watto singing the Cantina song is one of those things that I haven't heard in 20 years and yet it has played in my head at least once a week for my entire life
I remember playing the arcade version and as a kid it was literally the coolest thing I'd ever seen! I got the n64 version for myself and it has a special place in my heart. One of the best tie in games in history
In my memories of the PC version, for the last levels, you had to really know the tracks perfectly and it almost felt like the only way to succeed was to be "in the zone", completely immersed in the game with dry eyes. Good memories!
One level in particular, which had an upper and lower track, was damn best impossible on harder difficulties. Had to be real good to stay on the top track - could never keep up on the bottom.
I had fond memories of this game. The most funny was that despite having all this kind of different racing arenas, my friends on choose the Tatooine one because "that's the one from the movie!"
My favorite thing to do was to shop for parts and then watch the droids fix up the podracer in the 3D viewer. I was so immersed as a kid, I thought i had to give the droids actual time in between races to fix it up 😂
As a kid, I only knew about Star Wars Racer for N64. A lot of hours where spent on that game, even when the PS3 was released. Fond memories of weekends at my friends place playing all sorts of games, some stand out more than other. And Star Wars Racer was a favourite of ours, alongside Super Mario World, Golden Eye 007, Perfect Dark, Super Smash Bros and loads more.
This and Rogue Squadron were two of my favorite N64 games. My brother got this for his birthday and I played it to death. A couple of my friends also got it and I remember talking about it at school all the time. I replayed it on Switch earlier this year and it was so much fun.
I grew up on the N64 version. As I said in a previous video, I made it my mission to unlock Sebulba. Didn't like the character himself but his podracer was bar none my favorite. Second favorite, being Mars Guo. Speaking of which: It's been said that Jake Lloyd played this game when he was young and his favorite racer was also Mars. It also helps that he actually played the role of Anakin in this game as well RRTANGENTABACUS is what unlocks everything in both the N64 and HD versions.. While it does offer that unique twin controller option, it also unlocked two additional racers you can't otherwise get normally: Cy Yunga and Jinn Reeso. Originally, these two had their own dedicated codes to unlock, but they would replace Navior and Toy Dampner respectively when inputted. The unlock everything code I think was released some time after Episode 1's popularity died down.
@@kasuraga That was the other reason I wanted his podracer, even though it's technically cheating. It's actually mentioned in the instruction manual as well how to use it
I got the PC version of Star Wars Episode I Racer while on vacation in Denmark (I was 9, I think). I was so addicted to that game. The game always felt like a mix of a rollercoaster ride and a flight simulator (the theme park variant). Unfortunately, years later the CD was too scratched and I couldn't play it anymore. I was heartbroken. Nowadays I own the Steam version though, so it's all good.
I remember Sebulba having a secret flamethrower weapon that the AI never seemed to be able to use, but was also utterly pointless for the player except in multiplayer because AI engines never overheated or took damage.
Man I love these Star Wars game videos so much...thank you for making them. You unlocked a hidden memory with the photo of those arcade pod racer seats...brought back the thrill I experienced as a kid climbing into one of those at the mall.
I have great memories of the game, I was too young to play (or not be stuck in 12th place) so I watched my dad play constantly. we even 'played' LAN with one of my nephews. same thing with the arcade, every year we went to the same place on holiday and went to the arcade where we played the arcade star wars racer. I got to sit on my dad's lap in the pod and press the boost button. this game gave me some of my favorite childhood memories.
The level Abyss in this game is almost broken, so hard to beat. I got a first place finish a few years ago in the stage, and it was my greatest video gaming moment!
Episode 1 Racer is literally my favorite racing game. Nothing has topped it for me. I loved it as a kid and I loved it when I played the releases as an adult. The devs went way above and beyond for a movie tie in racing game.
I remember my parents shopping at JC Penney at the local mall and they had a N64 with this game there. The entire time they shopped I'd play it, then go home and play it some more. One of my first games that I just could not put down.
Bullseye Navior is the best racer in the game in my opinion. He must be able to see for miles with those eyes, even through the dense N64 distance fog lol. Seriously though, his pod just controls the best.
@@katoutsugi1633 I mained Ody Mandrell for most of the game. Not the fastest, but I found I could control his pod better and in a lot of cases was able to make up for the lack of speed with tighter turns.
The rerelease for ps4 was the best $20 I’ve ever spent! Not only was it great to play on my own, my friends and I have gotten together for a few old school racing parties, as adults. Just such a great game overall!
Yeah, it added a sense of urgency to the race. That music kicked in and you knew it was coming down to the wire, like how in Mario Kart we get the last lap tune.
Nope. Arcade version's got different tracks altogether. Only the Bounta Eve Classic is fairly similar across both versions since they're referencing the movie, plus the arcade version's shorter, I think.
Got it on PC as one of the few non-N64 games I had in the 90s. Later played the N64 port and recall having a hard time controlling the pods in that version. The Dreamcast version is really beautiful and has great controls.
Racer Revenge was pretty good too and still own it with my Battlefront 1 and 2 in mint! I traded a lot of PS1 and PS2 games back in the day. It came crazier. GameStop and I regret selling some of them like Mafia…
One thing you didn't mention is the way the payout system and part system works. You can choose whose gets money in the race payout such as more money for the 2nd 3rd and 4th or switch it to be all on 1st place if you're feeling more risky. Definitely a cool risk vs. reward system, even if you don't really ever have a reason to not put it all on First place. The part system was also very innovative for the time as they're not just straight upgrades but actually have health. The more you get damaged in the race the health for parts will go down or break and you'll lose the benefits. You can buy either more expensive parts at the shop but they have full health, or get greatly discounted parts at the junkyard but they break more easily. Definitely a cool idea, but something I think would work better for more or a roguelike racing game.
Racer was my true introduction to star wars. I think my friend bought it over, or i borrowed it or something. I just remember spending hours playing it. I think i might still have my copy somewhere
My favorite game of all time. I'm 25 years old, I think in every year, I pick it up, and start to play with it, then complete it in 2-3 hours. Nostalgia is so real in this game
I had this bundled with my N64 when I was 5. One of the few N64 games I owned as a kid prior to Wii Virtual Console, alongside both Zelda games and F-1 World Grand Prix. Teemto Pagalies had my favorite-looking pod-racer in the game, and I even had the micro machine.
I only recently played this for the first time and i was so incredibly impressed. The sense of speed is unmatched. It was exhilarating. Definitely one of my all time favourite racers, up there with burnout and motorstorm.
Got such nostalgia for this. I remember playing it in my school's computer lab after doing typing class. Yes, I'm old enough to have done typing classes
I was neither a big Star Wars fan nor much of a race game guy… although I loved the original F-Zero… because of the legendary soundtrack… but I *LOVED* this game! My mate and I would play, him being the “mechanic” me being the racer. He’d upgrade the pod and I’d race it. We of course switched roles for fairness’s sake but we had a blast playing it that way. I honestly don’t think we ever actually raced each other. This game takes me back to the end of my childhood at the end of the blessed 90’s and early 2000’s.
Pax South 2019 had an episode 1 pod racer challenge. You had to clear the time trial with the fastest time with Anakin's pod racer. My time was sub 9 minutes. That was actually the first time I played the game too! Fun medal challenge for sure. 🎉
I only had the GBC version and boy do I remember that sound design. Annoying as heck, but also incredibly distinctive. It DID have a truly metal version of Duel of the Fates play over the menus that I don't think gets enough love.
Still such a good game all these years later. The addition of boosting really adds a tactical element to it without the addition of more "fantastic" elements like power-ups or boost pads. I'm literally working on the script for a challenge run I did recently to see if I could beat the game without buying upgrades which gave me a whole new appreciation for all the nuances of boosting.
What about Star Wars Racer Revenge, was this a sequel or it's own seperate game? I never had a Playstation so I only learned about this game a few years ago.
i played this game for hours as a kid, they did a good job to be honest, different planets with specific themes, unique drivers and vehicles... some tracks were really hard, specially i remember if you did it bad even half a lap, the rest of the racers went away making it impossible to gain positions back.
The Dreamcast version also supports the VGA adapter, so if you had access to a monitor at the time (even if your PC wasn't quite up to the task of running the PC version) it looks absolutely stunning. Thanks for posting!
The Game Boy version was headed up by Isshin Shimizu, the original designer of F-Zero on SNES. I love Shimizu's F-Zero games on SNES and GBA, so I always wanted to enjoy it more than I really do. Never played that one on real hardware though. It did have one of those rare GBC rumble carts, like Pokémon Pinball, maybe that made all the difference. The N64 version is the one I actually grew up with. I loved it at the time and replayed (again on N64) recently. It's still very fun but also has some massive difficulty spikes which are frustrating. The modern port is probably much more responsive and playable simply due to the improved framerate.
@@Eichro it was one of the Malastare ones, I think. Pretty sure it was on the last page in the tournament mode. But whomever designed those must have been a racing fan because I think one of the o5er layouts for that map resembled a British track (Oulton Park, iirc).
Had the N64 version of Racer back in the day. Was one of my first Star Wars games, along with Rogue Squadron. Racer was like a much deadlier version of Mario Kart for me, heh.
The N64 version was also one of the pack-in game options for a time, and had a special themed box for N64. Never will forget seeing a pallet of N64s at Best Buy ready for purchase!
Its simple to upgrade in tournament. Buy pit droids early, only play winner takes all and restart if youre not going to get first place. Only buy parts in the junkyard, only severely damaged, only to replace a mostly repaired part. You can manipulate more money by taking this to extreme, but theres no need. Maintain parts condition by mostly only upgrading acceleration, cooling and top speed early in, getting an early lead, being extra careful on the curves and gapping on the straights, this way you can avoid extra damage to get the most credit on exchanges.
I've been playing quite a lot to the GBC version and then the Dreamcast version. I remember the intro movie on GBC, which as only 3 seconds long, not full screen and in black and white, but it still was quite impressive for the device. I expected the Dreamcast version to have better graphics and draw distance than the N64 version, but I must admit I had a lot of fun playing it.
I kind of like the music only starting on the final lap, that feels intentional. The first few laps feel more immersive and focused on the sounds of the engines, environments, etc and then the final lap increases the tension and intensity with music
The PC version can be played online with up to 12 players! There's a discord server with the mod. We ran this a lot during lockdown and it was great fun when we were all learning the game together.
Man, I spent so many hours on this game as a kid. I still go back and replay this game often... until Abyss becomes unavoidable. Probably the only blight on an otherwise incredible racing experience.
I remember going to an Episode 1 event prior to the film’s release and they had the opportunity to try out Race in a room full of multiple N64s. It was great to try out and have fun with it. I didn’t play it again until 20 years later when my wife found a CD rom at a thrift store and I got it to work. It was a fun little nostalgia trip.
This game was unplayable on modern OS before the re-release released few years ago. I did try to play the PC version of the 90s on W10 and was not possible, only with virtual machine. My first version was the N64.
For most of my childhood, I had gotten the game from my brother in law... I NEVER KNEW YOU COULD BOOST THE PODS! I DIDN'T LEARN THAT TILL I WAS LIKE 11!
I remember being at Costco, and there was a demo N64 with Racer on it. Just two aisles over was Phantom Menace playing on all the big screen TVs. I played Racer before I saw Ep. I
so I actually played through pod racer a few months back while my friend and I did the NC500, air BnB in the middle of no where, we brought the xbox and a TV for the entire first night we blasted techno and 100% the game 🤣 funnily enough I got my first flat not long after then spent the first week together getting the platinum trophie for pod racer revenge, have to do a pod racer revenge video now flandrew
Fun fact: The framerate of the game affects the traction of the pods. I have a short about it, but suffice to say a programming oversight inexorably links the two and results in stiffer traction at higher framerates
I remember the taunts. I forget how you do them though. All the alien characters said the same stock phrases while Anakin I guess said the Basic translations of those phrases. Also, did you know that the design of the pod racers was inspired by ye old chariots? The two big engines up front are the "horses" and the control pod is the chariot itself. Since George Lucas always wanted to have a racing scene in one of his Star Wars movies inspired by race scenes like the one in Ben Hur it makes sense the vehicles used in that race would be chariot-like.
i had the N64 version. i mained with Anakin for a while until i got curious and tried other characters. after which, i stuck with Sebulba just because he's legitimately programmed with a cheating function. aside from repairing your vehicle, you can just double tap that same button to do a taunt. Sebulba was programmed to also shoot off a flamethrower from one of his pods when you do this, allowing you to damage one of the other racers and give yourself an edge
I love this game, I never forget that I got the Star Wars Racer cartridge for the N64 for my birthday, one of the fastest racing games, at the time I found this speed impressive running on the N64!
This game introduced me to the N64 and became a big part of my childhood. The Expansion Pak increased the resolution of the game, but also lowered its framerate to a point it was nauseating. The aliasing was also worse. Twelve year old me was disappointed because I used up my birthday-gift-in-advanced card for the Pak.😅
