Racing games come in all shapes and sizes and everyone has their favorite that they continue to play even decades after its original release. For me, one of those racing games is Star Wars Episode 1 Racer! Originally released back in May of 1999 to coincide with the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, Episode 1 Racer brought one of the movie's best scenes home in video game form. Initially released for Nintendo 64 and PC, a port to Mac OS followed in December and a Dreamcast release in April 2000. An interesting take of the game even arrived on Game Boy Color!
It was during Christmas of 1999 that I received my N64 copy of the game and I have been hooked ever since; even 21 years on from its original release I am still playing it regularly. It has even become one of my main games for N64 and Dreamcast controller testing! I am just so used to how it feels across both systems that if it is even the slightest bit off I can tell.
While the game is long past its heyday, the last couple of years have brought renewed interest into the franchise. First was the Good Old Games digital re-release of the PC version in 2018. Then in 2019, Limited Run Games began taking pre-orders on a licensed reprint of the N64 version in both standard and collector's edition packaging. Of course, I had to jump on that sucker and I absolutely love how it turned out! Finally, earlier this year it was revealed that the game would be getting an all-new port to modern platforms.
I was initially extremely excited about this announcement but that quickly turned to dread as the initial screenshots showing the game off looked absolutely horrible. Seriously, it looked like a poorly emulated mess with incorrect texture filtering and the complete removal of distance fog, which I feel is just part of the game's atmosphere. I also couldn’t, and still can’t, fathom the release skipping Xbox One. Originally set to release on May 12, the game ended up being delayed due to complications in finishing the port until June 23. I was so put off by the initial reveal that I had every intention to skip this release entirely.
It wasn’t until I saw a few tweets from Aspyr a couple of days before launch showing off the game again that I decided I was curious enough to check it out. These new images showed off proper textures and the HUD no longer looked stretched. They also featured new high fidelity text and it just looked nice for a port of an old N64/PC game. When release day finally came I bought the game on Switch and dove in. After quickly 100 percenting it, I have never been so happy to eat my words from my initial preview coverage!
Gameplay
For anyone who wasn’t around 21 years ago to play one of the game’s initial releases, Episode 1 Racer is a high-speed racing game along the veins of Wipeout and F-Zero. Development began in 1997 after the PC release of Shadows of the Empire and used specifications, concept art and set photos from the unreleased Phantom Menace to design levels, characters, and craft.
What will always be crazy to me is that the entire feel of the game was made based on a few short scenes from the movie. The dev team didn’t even get access to the full podracing scene until after the game had shipped! For a kid in the 90’s who went from watching the movie to playing the game, the translation was unreal.
To me, it looked and felt exactly like it did in the movies, even on the N64 with its performance hits while using Hi-Res mode. Though to be fair, back in those days we didn’t care as much about that and actually just enjoyed playing the games. Yeah I said it; modern gamers are too whiny over any slight hitch. Don’t worry, I have been guilty of that too as you can see from the beginning of this very review.
Getting back on track-- ha, track, like racing! Ok, I’ll stop now I promise. Anyways, the defining thing for Episode 1 Racer to me at the time was its insane sense of speed. From the first moments of loading up Tatooine in Tournament mode and blasting off across the sand you felt like your face was going to melt! There was a good balance though, as despite the breakneck speeds of 600+ MPH, you never felt out of control. Well, there are a few levels where the quick turns can throw you for a loop if you are barely playing it for the first time!
The way that pods handle and the different techniques available to players to learn and master also contribute to the overall feel of the game. There are powerslides to help you get around sharp turns, rotating your pod left or right to let you more easily fit through narrow gaps, brakes to let you quickly stop, and finally boosts that give you an increased speed for a limited time at the cost of overheating your engine. If you let them overheat they will catch fire and eventually explode unless you repair them. Even after 21 years I still stink at using each to their full potential but they are very fun!
Engine damage is a very key aspect to the game and constant deaths will make it harder for you to win races. Each hit against a wall or engine fire will cause damage to one of three areas on each engine. After enough damage is sustained the engine will blow, costing you precious seconds as you wait to respawn. On top of this, hitting any wall hard enough can result in an instant death which makes the sharper turns all the more deadly. Given the age of the game, there are a number of random spots that will just instantly kill you for seemingly no reason. Though this was more a problem on the N64 version than any of the other versions and not something I encountered in the Switch version.
Upgrading your pod between races was one of my favorite aspects of the game. You got to go into Watto’s shop and see a variety of parts that could increase various aspects of your pod like speed, acceleration, and turning. There were also the iconic Pit Droids to purchase which would keep your new upgrades repaired. This game was deep enough that having damaged parts would result in sub-par performance! If you really want a deal, random items will appear in the junkyard offering top tier performance for a lower cost.
In total, the game features 23 playable characters featured in The Phantom Menace and 2 bonus characters designed exclusively for the game. These 2 bonus characters can only be accessed by using cheat codes and replacing 2 of the game's other racers. While you start with a selection of characters to play with from the get go, the majority of the playable roster is unlocked by coming in first on the game's 25 tracks.
I have always loved how the tracks in Episode 1 Racer were done. There are 3 different circuits with 7 tracks to master, spanning 8 different planets. As you complete them, 4 far more challenging tracks unlock for you to take on. Many of the planets featured were built specifically for the game and have since been used in other Star Wars material, including Ando Prime making an appearance in Attack of the Clones!
With there being only 8 worlds, many of the tracks happen in the same place. These aren’t the same tracks though. Many will open up different routes previously blocked off or undergo radical redesigns or environmental anomalies. There are segments that are usually featured every time to tie each track together and it's this common thread that I absolutely love. The rotating door and gravity well on Oovo IV, or the shutters on Ord Ibanna are a good example of this. Despite these common threads, each track is unique and I can’t think of any that I have ever found lacking in any regard.
With that overview of the game out of the way, let’s talk about the Switch version specifically! The version of Episode 1 Racer Aspyr has released is an interesting one. On the surface it appears to be a port of the PC version, but incorporates the menu from the N64 release. It also adds back in the cheat system that was missing from the Dreamcast and PC versions. Splitscreen Multiplayer functionality is also restored as it was on consoles. Aspyr never responded to my questions about which version of the game this port is based on, but I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter.
What we have on Switch, and I guess PS4, is the new definitive way to experience the game on console. Performance is rock solid and feels great to play with a variety of new control options available, including motion controls for anyone wanting to try them out. I am a sucker for the classic controls personally, so I found the modern racing set up a little unintuitive. But hey, that’s what options are there for! Rumble, which has always been a big part of the game's immersion to me, has also been tweaked to use the Switch’s HD rumble feature. While it isn’t the best implementation of HD rumble it does feel more defined than typical force feedback during boosts. For an added boost to authenticity, if you happen to own the Retro-Bit USB Tribute 64, you can play the game in a near-identical way to the original and it’s awesome!
Graphics
Anyone going into this release thinking it is something other than what it is, a port of an old N64 game, is going to be very disappointed by the visuals on display in Episode 1 Racer on Switch. The game has low polygon counts and limited textures and that is exactly how it was back in 1999 on N64 and PC. The game does run at 1080P while docked and at 720P in handheld mode, with good performance in both modes as far as my eyes could tell, which is a considerable upgrade to the overall look of the game compared to N64. I also can’t reiterate enough how happy I am that Aspyr brought back proper texture filtering to let the game's original presentation shine in all of its glory! That even includes proper distance fog as it has appeared in every port to date. The touched-up menus and HUD also help smooth out the game's original presentation and I am happy we finally have a proper widescreen version of it with no stretching!
Audio
The original audio from the PC and Dreamcast release is also present, which means that each lap of each course features music from The Phantom Menace. Voice work from Jake Lloyd, Andrew Secombe, Lewis MacLeod, Greg Proops, and Scott Capurro is also retained for the characters of Anakin, Sebulba, Watto, and the 2 headed podracing announcer. The iconic boost sound of the podracer blends well with the combination of music, taunts, and environmental ambiance to give each track its own feel and immersion. Again, this is all audio work from a 1999 game, and while it pales in comparison to today's games, it is an accurate representation of what we had back then, on a modern platform.
What It Could Have Done Better
While launch day for Episode 1 Racer wasn’t the smoothest (light sources were missing in every track and trophies were broken over on PS4), I am glad that Aspyr worked quickly to resolve the obvious issues. The only thing I can personally notice now that isn’t the same from older releases is the crowd noise present on Mon Gaza courses. Hardly a game breaker but it will be noticeable to long time players. The lack of online multiplayer and an Xbox One version are also a missed opportunity in my mind.
I also wish that the game could have been updated to have more difficulty. When you have solid performance and good controls, this game is an easy one and doesn’t get very challenging until the final 6 tracks. By using the debug menu you can tweak things manually to make the game harder but this is a pretty involved process that has to be repeated for every single track and it sucks. Additional difficulties would allow players new and old alike more ways to experience the game in more meaningful ways!
The biggest issue I think many will have with the game though comes down to price. At $14.99 this is a relatively expensive port for a 21 year old game. Knock that down to $9.99 and I think more people would be open to double, triple, or quadruple dipping on the game!
Verdict
Episode 1 Racer on Switch is a trip down memory lane to 1999 and I am glad that more people than ever can experience it. What I thought was going to be an awful port has instead become the definitive way to experience the game on home consoles. Performance is solid and controls precise. Outdated graphics and sound might be an issue to some who expected this to be a full remaster rather than a port, but that is a problem with expectations in my mind. If you know what you are getting into, there is still a lot of fun to be had from Episode 1 Racer and that is what matters most: fun. Honestly, any version is fun, but this is the convenient one.
