Star Wars Episode I: Racer Reviews
Star Wars Episode I: Racer is one of the best Star Wars games and comes back to us with a remastering that, although it does not bring great news, implements enough best techniques to enjoy the experience in our time. Both fans of Star Wars games and fans of futuristic racing games will find here what they are looking for.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Star Wars Episode I: Racer may not be the prettiest game when you’re static, but you’ll be moving too fast to even notice! Presented as a hybrid of the original PC version but with the N64 local multiplayer and a boost in clarity with the HUD, this is the definitive way to play the 1999 classic racing game right now. Although not a very difficult game, you’ll easily sink around six to eight hours into the game as you tackle the four tournaments and strive to collect all of the additional racers by coming first in every race. If you’ve not played this game before, you’re in for a treat; if you have played it, time to get out those nostalgia goggles and take your Pod Racer for a spin!
Quotation forthcoming.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
This is a very straightforward port of a game from 1999. Motion controls are its most substantial update and they ultimately fail to impress. That being said, even the most bare bones port leaves us with an amazing racing game with gameplay that has excellently stood the test of time.
This might be one of the least impressive visual remasters I have ever seen, but considering how well Star Wars Episode I: Racer‘s gameplay has aged over the decades, I still have to recommend the Switch version of this game to racing fans and Star Wars fans alike.
Ultimately, we get a classic game with a prettier look for some simple racing – and that’s exactly what this needed to be. Star Wars fans should be perfectly content with adding this to their library.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer is a product of its time. Although its gameplay remains fast and fun even when compared to more current titles, its content and graphic presentation denounce that this is a game of the last century, and the remastering does little to mitigate that fact. How much it will matter, honestly, is a personal matter for each player.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A much-improved frame rate and an HD sheen give Star Wars Episode I: Racer a new lease of life. This thoughtful update ensures the game is much more than a trip down memory lane. Despite its age, it remains one of the best sci-fi racers you can play on Nintendo Switch or PS4.
Despite its occasional quirks and missed opportunities, Racer delivers on a consistent, mostly-bug-free performance that made me pine for both LucasArts’ heyday, and the golden age of high-speed futuristic racers, which have all but disappeared as a sub-genre.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer offers an improved take on the Nintendo 64 classic that still feels fun to play now, even if it is a little flawed in places. The exciting track design and frantic nature of the pod racing itself makes for some really hectic and enjoyable showdowns, whilst the improved frame rate ensures the game feels super smooth to play. Of course, it isn’t perfect and some sketchy textures, inconsistent (and often too easy) difficulty, and distorted audio problems do hinder the experience a fair bit. They’re not problematic enough to make Star Wars Episode I: Racer feel like a bad game, but they’re still obvious issues that can be hard to ignore in places. Still, it’s clear that Star Wars Episode I: Racer has managed to stand the test of time and it’s easy to recommend this remastered release for both returning gamers and those who never got the chance to race in one of the iconic pod racers back in 1999.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer takes the classic Nintendo 64 game and brings it to modern platforms with some nice improvements.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer is a nice funracer with simple and intuitive controls. The soundtrack is great and the motion controls with joy-cons work surprisingly good. Despite having Tournaments, a real campaign and more graphical changes would help the game a lot but 60fps Split-Screen and Online-Multiplayer are enough to keep fans of the original and newcomers entertained for the low starting price of 14,99$
Review in German | Read full review
More than anything, this game being both 20 years old and incredibly fun is a clear sign that a modern Podracing title should absolutely be a thing.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer is still a very exciting game, but the remaster is quite lazy. If you are ready to put up with the outdated visuals, then the race can give you a few hours of fun. Especially if you like Star Wars.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Ultimately, your preexisting feelings toward Star Wars Episode I: Racer will determine your experience with it.
This port is certainly nothing to write home about, but the core game is a classic, priced at just $14.99. Nostalgia, and the ability to play in handheld mode, are enough to recommend STAR WARS Episode I Racer on the Nintendo Switch eShop to fans.
In an alternate universe somewhere we'd be lamenting why the studio didn't make a Pod Racing game instead.
A competent port of a Nintendo 64 classic, Star Wars Episode I: Racer looks great with the added spit-shine, controls tightly, and performs excellently, with no slowdown in frame-rate. Loading screens have also been removed entirely, which was not really an issue in the original versions, but it is something that should be commended here. At a budget price, many will be pleased that this will help them re-live a piece of nostalgia, and for those on the fence, do not hesitate as this is a great quality port in both docked and handheld modes, yet it will leave others wondering what Aspyr could have done by adding in an online multiplayer and improved AI.
If real-life hadn’t got in the way, I could have quite easily completed the single player ‘campaign’ of Star Wars Episode 1 Racer in a few sittings. Harkening back to the good ol’ days of the N64 (among other consoles), this re-release of a 20+ year old racing game has the potential to transport a player back to a simpler time: a time when 2-player local coop and late nights gathered around a TV were commonplace. The fact that I would have finished it in such a short space of time is indicative of how well it has recaptured that magic, but it is also representative of how easy it is.
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer brings back a simplistic nostalgic racing game that captures the joys of podracing.