The Art and Collectibles of Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer

Ahhh now here’s a favorite I’ve been wantingto cover for ages.This is Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer, developedand published by LucasArts in May of 1999for Windows PCs, alongside the Nintendo 64release,which is probably the more well-known versionof the game.It also got released for the Macintosh andthe Sega Dreamcast the following year, alongwith a highly simplified Game Boy Color version, and even a beefycoin-op arcade machine with proper podracing controls.But for this video I’m going to be stickingto this PC version since it’s the one Iowned and played back then, and I just likeit.Although I vividly remember the first timeI saw the game at all, which was at the localBest Buy store where they had an N64 demounithooked up to a massive 3x3 display of somekind hanging from the ceiling.I was instantly enamored with the game andthe moment we upgraded our PC to be able toplay 3D accelerated games, this Windows versionwith its gorgeous gatefold box was on my shortlist of most-wanted titles.Although I don’t recall if this limitededition box is the one we got back then ornot, but hey, it's the one I have now so let’stake a look.Turns out there were two covers released,one with Anakin’s podracer and one withSebulba, with the latter being much more uncommonbut neither are particularly cheap boxes thesedays.Contained within is a colorful smorgasbordof late-90s PC game inserts, including thelimited edition goodies like this aesthetically-appealingpodracer schematic and theless-than-appealing young Anakin Skywalkerposter.Eh, could’ve been worse.You also get this wonderful Spring ‘99 LucasArtsproduct catalog,and man I love looking through these.This was quite a busy time for the company,with prequel trilogy hype reaching a feverpitch and new games coming out seemingly everyother month.And of course you get the game on a singlecompact disc in a jewel case, as well as thefull-color owner’s manual, with 37 pagesof full-color manual that is yours to own.And even for 1999 this is a fantastic littlebooklet, filled with great concept art, usefulillustrations, and copious well-written tidbitsdetailing each facet of gameplay.I just love a good bathroom break booklet.

The Game Experience

Starting up the game provides you with anassortment of animated LucasArts artistryin the form of logos and introductory cutscenes,with the main one showing a loose recreationof Episode 1’s famous podracing scene.You’re then presented with the main menuscreen, John Williams’s classic Duel ofthe Fates playing on an endless loop.At this point you can choose to play multiplayer,a single race, or the tournament mode.We’ll just be looking at tournament modein this video because single race simply allowsaccess to stuff unlocked in tournament mode,and multiplayer requires a direct connectionto other PCs through a local area network.Sadly you do not get split-screen multiplayergoodness in this version like you did on theconsoles, and that always kind of bummed me out.What you do get is the ability to create aprofile for yourself and then watch a shortin-game cutscene, where you wander into thiscantina, shoo away whatever randomly-chosendroid or creature happens to be standing inyour way, and then selecting a podracer.Each of them have seven performance statisticsinherent to their vehicle, as well as an 8thstatistic that’s a little more vague andthat is the size and shape of the podracer itself.The driver really is of no consequence,but you get to choose from everyone shownin Episode 1’s podracing scene and plenty more,with over 20 drivers unlockableby the end of the game.Finally you can select from and compete inone of three tournaments with up to sevenraces each, with the goal being to place fourthor better on each track to reach the finalcompetition, the Boonta Eve Classic from themovie.After this you’re presented with a managementscreen, allowing you to begin the selectedrace, inspect your podracer for no reasonother than to admire the polygons and GRAFIX,and perform a number of podracer upgradesand tweaks.We’ll be back to this in a moment, but fornow let’s drop right into the podracingitself,

The Podracing Experience

Beginning with another cutscene introducingyou to the upcoming planet. The cutscenes are quite animated and add to the excitement of the game, setting you up for what's to come. You're then presented with a main menu screen where you can choose to play multiplayer, single race, or the tournament mode.

For this video we’ll be focusing on the tournament mode as it’s the most comprehensive and allows access to all unlocked content in single player mode.

In the tournament mode, you compete against other drivers across multiple tracks. The goal is to place fourth or better in each track to reach the final competition. You can select from three tournaments with up to seven races each. During each race, you'll need to navigate through obstacles and avoid crashing into other cars.

You have a limited amount of fuel and must manage it carefully to maintain your position on the track.

The game also features an AI that adapts to your driving skills, making it increasingly challenging as you progress through the tournament.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enAhh now here’s a favorite I’ve been wantingto cover for ages.This is Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer, developedand published by LucasArts in May of 1999for Windows PCs, alongside the Nintendo 64release,which is probably the more well-known versionof the game.It also got released for the Macintosh andthe Sega Dreamcast the following year, alongwith a highly simplified Game Boy Color version, and even a beefycoin-op arcade machine with proper podracing controls.But for this video I’m going to be stickingto this PC version since it’s the one Iowned and played back then, and I just likeit.Although I vividly remember the first timeI saw the game at all, which was at the localBest Buy store where they had an N64 demounithooked up to a massive 3x3 display of somekind hanging from the ceiling.I was instantly enamored with the game andthe moment we upgraded our PC to be able toplay 3D accelerated games, this Windows versionwith its gorgeous gatefold box was on my shortlist of most-wanted titles.Although I don’t recall if this limitededition box is the one we got back then ornot, but hey, it's the one I have now so let’stake a look.Turns out there were two covers released,one with Anakin’s podracer and one withSebulba, with the latter being much more uncommonbut neither are particularly cheap boxes thesedays.Contained within is a colorful smorgasbordof late-90s PC game inserts, including thelimited edition goodies like this aesthetically-appealingpodracer schematic and theless-than-appealing young Anakin Skywalkerposter.Eh, could’ve been worse.You also get this wonderful Spring ‘99 LucasArtsproduct catalog,and man I love looking through these.This was quite a busy time for the company,with prequel trilogy hype reaching a feverpitch and new games coming out seemingly everyother month.And of course you get the game on a singlecompact disc in a jewel case, as well as thefull-color owner’s manual, with 37 pagesof full-color manual that is yours to own.And even for 1999 this is a fantastic littlebooklet, filled with great concept art, usefulillustrations, and copious well-written tidbitsdetailing each facet of gameplay.I just love a good bathroom break booklet.Starting up the game provides you with anassortment of animated LucasArts artistryin the form of logos and introductory cutscenes,with the main one showing a loose recreationof Episode 1’s famous podracing scene.You’re then presented with the main menuscreen, John Williams’s classic Duel ofthe Fates playing on an endless loop.At this point you can choose to play multiplayer,a single race, or the tournament mode.We’ll just be looking at tournament modein this video because single race simply allowsaccess to stuff unlocked in tournament mode,and multiplayer requires a direct connectionto other PCs through a local area network.Sadly you do not get split-screen multiplayergoodness in this version like you did on theconsoles, and that always kind of bummed me out.What you do get is the ability to create aprofile for yourself and then watch a shortin-game cutscene, where you wander into thiscantina, shoo away whatever randomly-chosendroid or creature happens to be standing inyour way, and then selecting a podracer.Each of them have seven performance statisticsinherent to their vehicle, as well as an 8thstatistic that’s a little more vague andthat is the size and shape of the podracer itself.The driver really is of no consequence,but you get to choose from everyone shownin Episode 1’s podracing scene and plenty more,with over 20 drivers unlockableby the end of the game.Finally you can select from and compete inone of three tournaments with up to sevenraces each, with the goal being to place fourthor better on each track to reach the finalcompetition, the Boonta Eve Classic from themovie.After this you’re presented with a managementscreen, allowing you to begin the selectedrace, inspect your podracer for no reasonother than to admire the polygons and GRAFIX,and perform a number of podracer upgradesand tweaks.We’ll be back to this in a moment, but fornow let’s drop right into the podracingitself, beginning with another cutscene introducingyou to the upcoming planet.\"Welcome podracing fans to Ando Prime!\"\"Home of the benevolent Andobi Bendu monks.\"\"Your host, the wisest of the wise...\"\"Ten-Abu Doba!\"Now this is podracing!Or, this is \"Episode 1 - Racer,\" to be moreprecise.Did anyone actually call it by its propermarketed title back then?I know my friends and I always just calledit \"Star Wars Pod Racer,\" but anyway.The gameplay is precisely what you’d expectfor an experience based on the nearly 20-minutescene from Episode 1: absurdly fast racingthrough sci-fi environments with excellentsound design, interrupted by the occasionalpiece of grating dialogue.And man, this is still a lot of fun.One of the most important things for a racinggame to get right is a sense of speed, andEpisode 1 Racer is one that absolutely nailsthat.If the speed of the simulation was too slow,it risks breaking the suspension of disbeliefknowing that these podracers are moving atvelocities exceeding 600 miles an hour.But if the simulation were to move too fast,or even moved at a speed that was accurateto what it would be in reality, then the game wouldsimply be unplayable.“You must have jedi reflexes if you racepods” may be true, but expecting everygamer to possess those would not be very enjoyable.Thankfully, the combination of the environments,sound effects, graphical effects, and controlscheme make approaching 1000 miles an hourhere not only feasible, but desirable.The controls in particular are something tobe commended here, because it gives you justenough options to be able to fully controlyour podwithout ever feeling like the room for errordisappears.And seeing as they made this work as wellas it does even on a keyboard, that’s impressive.Now you might want an analogue controlmethod of some kind, whether it be a joystick,a gamepad, a steering wheel, or even the mouse.But personally, I’ve always played thisversion of the game with the keyboard because,well, I just got used to it back in the day.But also because I find the precise digitalcontrols spread across the keyboard to bea good match for this kind of twitchy racing.And the manner in which LucasArts split upthe required inputs by default cleverly avoidsthe problem of ghosting when you’re pressing multiplekeys simultaneously on a keyboard without NKRO.On the right hand side of the keyboard youuse the arrow keys to turn left and rightas well as pitch up and down, and on the lefthand you have the WASD keys for controllingthrust, brakes, and the somewhat superfluousrolling left and right.There are also keys on the left side for performingrepairs, changing cameras, taunting,as well as the all-important slide key.When this is held down, your podracer goesfrom rapidly strafing left and right to havinga more nuanced and fine-tuned control schemethat’s better-suited for navigating sharpcorners and narrow passageways.And finally, there’s the boost mode, enabledby pressing a combination of inputs.Whenever you’ve maxed out on speed and thisindicator turns from green to yellow, youcan pitch down and press Shift to enable theboost, which will take you well beyond yournormal thrust speed at the expense of handlingand heat generation.And that’s where this indicator on the bottom-leftof the screen comes into play, showing yourengine status alongside an audio cue lettingyou know you’re about to overheat.If you push too far then an engine will catchfire and will need repairing on the fly, andif you keep pushing you’ll explode, so balancingthrust with boost is key.Before long though, this becomes second natureand you don’t even need to look at any ofthe indicators at all, relying completelyon the audio cues and timingto make sure you’re going as fast as possiblein your current podracer without combusting.Of course, if you do explode then you’requickly reset with fresh engines, but obviouslythat’s not ideal since you lose valuabletime.And parts do wear out the more you screw upas well, so you will alsohave to perform repairs once you completethe race.This is not something that you do manually,it just gets fixed up over time by your pit droids,so buying up as many of those as you can,as quickly as you can, is very much advised.And since it takes time to fix a podracer,at this point you justswitch to another one and keep playing.Because the way things work in tournamentmode is that you play more of a manager forevery podracer, rather than a single racerthemselves.Once you’ve chosen a racer, you can theninvest your credits into improving their podracerthrough parts upgrades, with everyone sharingthe same pool of credits, or you can swapbetween them at will depending on your repairneeds.You also have the options to simply switchout any damaged parts for others that arein better shape or have different stats altogether.Entering Watto’s shop or junkyard will providedozens of parts options covering all of theperformance categories of your podracer,and this certainly isn’t the most streamlinedprocess.There’s a lot of menu interface weirdnessthat makes it feel clunky with a mouse, andI wish there was more of an overview of allthe available parts at once instead of havingto navigate through each one individually to see whatit does.And I also wish Watto would just shut up already.\"I am-a betting heavily on Sebulba!He always wins, ehhehehehaah!\"Seriously he never stops, it’s just an endlessloopof the same annoying sound bites over and over...\"Have-a you seen-a my chance cube-a?\"\"Have-a you seen-a my chance cube-a?\"\"HAVE-A YOU SEEN-A MYCHANCE CUUUUUUUUUBEEEEEEE-AAAAA?!?!?!?!\"OKAY, how about those visuals though?Mm, 1999.I kinda miss this era in PC game graphics.Although admittedly this particular footagedoesn’t look great anymore since I’m runningit at 640x480, which is the resolution I playedit on back when it was new.And the HUD elements look distractingly blurry,a problem that unfortunately exists no matterwhat resolution you choose, but oh well it gets the job done.Heh, anyone else always see this \"3\" as theMonster Energy logo?Well now I'm just getting distracted, anyway.What I’m trying to say here is that, whiletechnically it’s not amazing anymore,in terms of aesthetics for a decades-oldgame I still think it looks great all things considered.Star Wars design language and color palettesmeshperfectly with late-90s graphical capability,I feel.The 3D models are just polygonal enough tobe believable and the textures are just detailedenough to look good at high speeds.I also like how most of the alternate routesand shortcuts are clearly laid out on theminimap, and man there are a bunch of them.Finding and mastering the shortest and mostnavigable bits of track is key to a firstplace finish and a NEW LAP RECORD.And then there are environmental effects likesnow, dust, water, lens flares, and all sortsof objects breaking apart on collision thatlooked positively fantastic back then andremain enjoyably charming now.I especially love the design of the tracksthat take place on worlds filled with neonand rusty metal everywhere, and the miningstations with zero-gravity sections whereyou’re flying past floating rocks and electricalhazards.Tracks like these make your choice in podracerquite significant, since a larger but fasterpod might be too difficult to navigate comparedto a slower but smaller one.In fact, the hazards are the other main pillarof the gameplay here, with each track andpermutation of said track containing its ownunique props, pitfalls, and perilous problemsto plow through or pilot past.Though I always found it odd that podracersslip and slide while going over icy surfaces,since, well, they’re not actually touchingthe ground right?The game itself says you’re hovering fourfeet off the ground in these things,so why is ice slippery?Oh well, it’s one more tricky thing to navigateand I dig it nonetheless.Once you finish that you’re crowned theking of pods or something and the credits roll,and all that remains are the additional challengetracks.I actually enjoy most of them, but... wrregnughthis one in particular, Abyss?It is by far the worst in the game.Visually I like it but it is poorly and unfairlydesigned.It’s the only track in the game that harshlypunishes youfor not taking the exact correct route.So unless you take this top portion of thetrack every lap, you have zero chance of winningdue to it forcing you down a long, out ofthe way loop of track that puts you way behind.And due to the nature of this top portionof track, it’s incrediblyeasy to fall off either side.Not only that but it is oddly buggy, withyour pod just blowing upon certain sections of each turn.Quite simply, I hate this track and everythingabout it and after about 40 minutes of tryingto attain a podium finish I said screw it andgave up.I ain’t got nothing to prove, this trackcan suck it.And lastly there are the perks of this particularversion running on Windows.If you’re used to the much more limitedN64 version, it’s awesome to see that it's capable ofrunning up to 60fps on PC, even on period-correcthardware like this Pentium III-based systemwith a 16MB Voodoo3 graphics card that I’m using here.There are definitely some tracks that playsmoother than others,but overall it’s a wonderful experience on PC.I mean, if you can get it working.I’ve experienced an array of bugs, graphicalglitches, sound system problems, and compatibilityissues over the years, and that’s just onWindows 98.On a modern system, it can be a true testof patience to get working 100%.Thankfully, GOG.com has recently rereleasedthe game on PC and it works fantasticallyright out of the gate, at least in my experienceso far.Not only that but you can crank the resolutionup as high as your display provides.So yeah, you want this in 1440p or 4K or whatever? Go for it!It'll still be 4:3 aspect ratio but it looksawesome.So if you want to revisit the game on a newerPC I’d highly recommend this version justfor ease of use, and if you’d like to support this channelat the same time feel free to check out myaffiliate link to GOG below this video.Either way though, I was happy to find thatStar WarsEpisode I - Racer holds up incredibly well.Even after having not played it for at least10 years.I’m sure some of that has to do with myown memories of the game from when it wasnew and just playing it a crapload and beating it.But I also truly think that it standsout even today as one of the more satisfyingand speedy sci-fi racers of the late 1990s.Hehe, well that was fun to make.And I hope this video was fun to watch.Either way though, as always I thank you verymuch for watching!\n"