A NEW LAP-RECORD!!

Does not work on my windows 10 machine... it just stay in loading screen forever.

I remember playing the N64 version of this game a lot when I was young, so it was a no-brainer to buy this and see if the game still holds up to this day, and I wasn't disappointed.


Star Wars Episode 1: Racer's identity is pretty much all built on the first movie in the prequel trilogy. Meaning a lot of voice clips and even music made its way into the game, making sure it really maintains that feel throughout the game.
However, this doesn't mean it's some sort of proper movie tie-in game. All it really takes is the music, voice clips and some of the places from the movie and adds them to the game, the most obvious aspect probably being the Podracing itself. Most of the 8 worlds you'll drive on are made up, but they do have some very minor lore during each race opening sequence, ensuring that they don't feel fully out of place. I mean, it's neat, though I do wish there were more tracks based on the prominent planets from Star Wars.


As previously mentioned, there are 8 worlds; each world has various tracks, with the total number being 21 courses. All these worlds basically are themes like snow, grass or desert; they do tend to blend in a bit, but I can't really blame them since there are only so many assets you can cram into a game from 1999.
The tracks themselves are fine; they do have a good few paths to take, each with their own risk. Some of these courses are huge, while others are much narrower, making sure you bump into other racers. The only real issue, aside from them only being fine, is that some of these races can take up to 5 minutes. I get not having a ton of themes or courses, but where I draw the line is when they take way too long to the point that the later cups feel repetitive.

What really doesn't help the game, besides tracks overstaying their welcome, is how easy the AI is. Most of the time you'll leave a race with a good 10-second lead, even on the hardest tracks, which I just found weird. I'm used to getting my ass handed to me in some of the older racing games, especially due to rubber banding, but here? It's almost like the AI plays fair—maybe a bit too fair if you ask me, like you genuinely don't see them after the first lap.

Despite all the flak, it's still pretty fun.
Early 3D racers tend to have controls that don't feel amazing; sometimes it's the handling, other times it's the jank.
In Episode 1 Racer's case, the podracing feels extremely tight and responsive. You're blasting through these tracks at such a breakneck speed, and at no point do I feel like I'm losing control. The high speed isn't just a sensation; it really is part of the gameplay, perfectly capturing what Podracing looked like in the movie, and I can only commend the devs for the accuracy.
Sometimes there are even moments where you can make the engine work overtime and get even faster at the cost of the podracer handling like a brick; it's a very solid system that rewards you for knowing your limits and when to speed up. Of course, since it can get a bit bumpy, there are moments where you need to repair one of the engines or just straight up die and respawn. This isn't super in-depth, but it complements the sport.


Also, there's a good amount of customization. You have a shop where you can buy some upgrades to influence the stats of the pod. Not only that, you can unlock a decent amount of characters each with their own unique stats and podracers, such as the GOAT Ben Quadinaros.


Star Wars Episode 1 Racer aged surprisingly well. It does have some rather hard to ignore issues; however, this is one of these games where the simple act of driving very, very fast is too fun to pass up on. 7/10.