Star Wars Episode I: Racer on the Game Boy Color is a fairly straight forward, no frills racer. The top-down view gives the game a very retro feeling, and even invokes the tradition of having to memorize courses in hopes of winning. To wit, you will be crashing and losing quite a bit on later courses! The developers did include handy directional arrows for upcoming turns or hazards, but this helps only so much, and foreknowledge becomes vital. Thankfully, the courses are not long at all, and repeating one a few times to get it right is not a tedious process.
The graphics here are sharp and colorful, and each planet has a distinct look. There are a number of racers to choose from, including Anakin Skywalker, Sebulba and a bunch of nobodies. Each pod is equipped with a boost function once it hits a top speed, but there are no weapons or powerups here. Just simple, one-on-one races.
Racer also includes a two player Link Cable mode, as well as a bad ass MIDI rendition of Duel of the Fates, but little else. The package is light, but it’s a fun, well made game, and given it’ll only set you back about $5 on eBay, I think I can still safely recommend this to anyone looking for a retro-styled handheld racer.
Star Wars Episode I: Racer was reviewed using the Game Boy Color version.
