[00:00]
Welcome to the Cartridge Archive, the show dedicated to chronicling the complete Nintendo 64
library, one cartridge at a time. I’m Adam. And I’m Jamie. Each episode we pull another game off the
shelf and explore its impact on Nintendo 64 history.
[00:30]
From beloved classics and hidden gems to forgotten curiosities and infamous disasters, no cartridge
is left behind. Along the way, we’ll examine each game’s story, development, legacy, collector
value, and the impact it left on the Nintendo 64 library as a whole. Then we will put it through the
rigorous and totally patented 64-point inspection to determine whether it has what it takes to
become certified 64. So, yes.
[01:00]
Alright, so, Star Wars Episode I Racer. This is one that is near and dear to me. This is a game that
I enjoyed so, so much in my younger days and remember just having the time of my life with this
thing. What memories do you have of it? Yeah, as a big Star Wars nerd growing up, I was anticipating
Episode I every day, reading every news snippet article I could.
[01:30]
And obviously, I’ve been following this game and I was very eager to jump in and play it. So, this
one was a game that I was anticipating for multiple fandoms for me were overlapping here. And
obviously, we’ve got now, with the release of Star Wars Galactic Racer coming out this week, which
is October in 2026. For those of you who are not listening to this one live, it’s a great
opportunity for us to go back and look at the game that started it all when it came to the video
game side of Pog Racing. This is one I remember, too, because it came out so close to the movie.
[02:00]
It came out the same week, actually. I remember growing up in Central Florida, going to the Sand
Lake Seven Cinemas, which is no longer there, near the Florida Mall in Orlando. I was in high
school. I went with my friend Juan, who I now need to send in this episode so he can hear me talk
about him. But I remember going and seeing this movie, and I don’t remember how soon after I got the
game, but I just remember spending so much time with this game. So, yeah, let’s get into that
history lesson.
[02:30]
By 1999, LucasArts had already learned a number of important lessons about making Nintendo 64 Star
Wars games. 1996’s Shadows of the Empire had been ambitious. But members of those teams came away
feeling that they had tried to fit too many mechanics into a single game. So, for their next
project, they wanted to focus on doing one thing exceptionally well. In late 1997, members of the
team were invited to Skywalker Ranch and shown early images from George Lucas’ upcoming Star Wars
prequel film.
[03:00]
Among these were conceptual drawings by Lucasfilm’s art director, Doug Chang, featuring a new type
of vehicle called a podracer. The film sequence for these vehicles was described to the developers
essentially as Ben-Hur’s famous chariot race scene at 900 miles per hour. For a team already
experimenting with high-speed, low-altitude gameplay, it was the perfect source of inspiration.
Early prototypes were little more than basic shapes moving across terrain without a speed limit.
Programmer Eric Johnston later summarized the product’s primary objective is simply go fast.
[03:30]
Go really, really fast. Figuring out how a podracer should move and control presented an enormous
challenge. With the podracer’s sequence making up around 15 minutes of the film’s roughly 2-hour and
16-minute run time, and with the theatrical release still over a year away, there wasn’t a
definitive answer for how two massive jet engines pulling a small cockpit should behave. But
Johnston found inspiration in an unlikely place.
[04:00]
His two Labrador Retrievers. He had an idea to sit on a skateboard, use a climbing rope to harness
himself to the two dogs, and take to the streets near his home in California. He used this
experience to learn how the cockpit and engines might react to one another, ultimately using his
findings within the game. Due to the timing of the two projects, LucasArts was actively working on
the game while Industrial Light and Magic was still creating the movie, sometimes sharing ideas in
surprising ways. The development team showed its work to the film’s visual effects supervisor, John
Knoll,
[04:30]
and some of the game’s ideas for how the vehicles would operate, including moving control surfaces
on Anakin Skywalker’s engines, influenced what appeared in the movie. This unusual style of
collaboration meant that LucasArts was frequently reviewing concept art, photographs of props,
miniature sets, and storyboards, rather than finished movie scenes. However, this also gave them the
freedom to expand the film’s single race sequence into an entire pod racing league. In addition to
including 25 unique characters, Episode 1 Racer also featured 25 tracks,
[05:00]
spread across 8 planets, with many of them created by LucasArts specifically for the game. LucasArts
chose to resist simply filling the courses with familiar arcade racer power-ups like turbo boosts
and projectile weapons, instead relying on mechanics pulled directly from the film. Players could
install upgraded parts between races, boost their speed at the risk of engines overheating, and
sacrifice speed to make repairs during a race.
[05:30]
Interestingly, even the single course inspired by the movie needed substantial changes to work
inside the game. Using the film’s reference material, LucasArts designer John Knowles initially
recreated the Boon to Eve classic horse at its original size, but found that even at pod racing
speeds, a single lap took 10 to 15 minutes, so he shrank it down. The overall course was scaled down
dramatically, while individual obstacles were widened to give players room to react at extreme
speeds. Playtesters pushed the tracks even further to their limits,
[06:00]
eventually requesting larger gaps to jump and more obstacles to dodge as the rest of the racetracks
were created. Another technical challenge was making the game work on the Nintendo 64’s hardware,
where maintaining that sensation of speed was a constant technical challenge. The Nintendo 64
version also had to make compromises to fit on a cartridge, losing elements such as the pre-rendered
cinematics that were found in the PC release, in order to include the full selection of characters
and courses. But there was one detail LucasArts absolutely could not afford to miss.
[06:30]
Timing. Star Wars Episode I Racer arrived in North America on May 18th, 1999, just one day before
The Phantom Menace opened in theaters. This meant millions of moviegoers could go see Podracing on
the silver screen and try it for themselves at home almost immediately. After release, the reviews
were mostly positive. Critics notably praised the game’s sense of speed, innovative track design,
and its presentation, though some were less impressed by its difficulty curve, multiplayer, and
overall depth,
[07:00]
saying that players would likely be less forgiving if it weren’t for the Star Wars name.
Commercially, however, the results were a little more clear. The game was a hit. Across its various
releases, Star Wars Episode I Racer would go on to sell more than 3 million copies worldwide,
earning a Guinness World Record for the best-selling science fiction racing game. It also won
Console Racing Game of the Year at the third annual Interactive Achievement Awards. For a game built
from concept art for an unfinished movie,
[07:30]
Star Wars Episode I Racer achieved massive success by concentrating on one simple idea, go really,
really fast. Now this is Podracing. And this is the 64-point inspection. Today, on the Cartridge
Archive, Star Wars Episode I Racer. Okay, Star Wars Episode I Racer. Back-of-the-box quote time.
Let’s take a look at this. Feel the Force. 600 miles per hour.
[08:00]
Four feet off the ground. Join Jedi-to-be Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars race of your life.
Relive the thrill and excitement of the Podracer sequence from Star Wars Episode I. Hang on tight.
With afterburners on, Podracers max out at a simulated 600 miles per hour. Race in furious
competition against 21-plus opponents. Take on over 21 tracks on eight unique worlds. Avoid hazards
such as methane lakes, meteor showers, and Tusken Raiders.
[08:30]
Spectacular 3D environment. It’s kind of weird that all of them have like full sentences, like
relive this, hang on tight. And they’re like, 3D. Okay, I guess. Someone was like, make sure you got
that on the end of there. And someone was like, oh shit, quick, add that on before the boss comes
by. It ends like so abruptly. They were like, yeah, the boss comes by and he’s like, I was told
there would be six bullet points. Why are there only five? And someone’s like, spectacular 3D
environments.
[09:00]
That’s it. Ship it. We got to get this thing out. Print it. I like that meteor showers are equally
threatening as Tusken Raiders as well. That lets you know how badass those guys are that they made
that list. Yeah, it’s a hazard you can avoid, apparently. Speaking of navigating hazards on the
course, let’s see how this game holds up to our 64-point inspection. Adam, can you take us away?
Sounds good. But it is time for the 64-point inspection. This is a carefully crafted evaluation
designed to judge every Nintendo 64 game through a series
[09:30]
of 10 tests. For each test, we’ll present the evidence, make our case, and put it to a vote. If the
game passes the test, it earns 10 points. If it fails, it earns none. And if opinions are split, the
points will be divided evenly. Any game that earns 64 or more points passes the inspection and
receives our coveted certified 64 seal of approval. And with that said, let’s begin the inspection.
Test number one, the memory pack test. I’m sure there was something.
[10:00]
Ah, yeah, now I remember. Is this game still remembered today, or has it faded into obscurity? Would
the average gamer recognize it in modern day? I think, as far as I can tell, this game is pretty
well remembered, and it is largely in a positive light. Star Wars, as a whole, is still very much an
active IP, very much a property that has a lot of things still coming out. So this is likely looked
upon pretty fondly of people of a certain age.
[10:30]
It’s been remastered. And of course, now Star Wars Galactic Racer is releasing in 2026. So I don’t
think it’s hard to see how this game’s legacy probably made that possible. So I’d say this is a
pass. Yeah, I mean, Star Wars, like you said, is a very active franchise. There are highs and lows
to it at the moment. And honestly, as a long-term Star Wars fan, it is hard to try and be
enthusiastic about all the Star Wars product that gets put out. But this game in particular, I
think, captured a highlight for a lot of people. And it just made a game out of an experience or a
scene in the movie that, let’s be honest,
[11:00]
the movie is flawed. But the prequel era in general is definitely getting a lot more love now than
it did ever before it was kind of dumped on a little bit, especially by the old school original
trilogy Star Wars fans. So the pod racing scene is, well, always was recognized as one of the
stronger highlights of episode one, even by the naysayers at the time. And being that this game is
entirely centered around that, I think that this is a pass as
[11:30]
far as nostalgia from a video game perspective, but also as a Star Wars fan as well. Sure. Yeah.
Test number two, the Rumble Pack test. This is the Rumble Pack. The coolest cinematic gaming
experience there is. Does this game really take advantage of what made the Nintendo 64 unique? Four-
player multiplayer, analog controls, accessories, and other signature N64 features. So this game
does use the expansion pack and the Rumble Pack.
[12:00]
And while it only has two-player support, it does have a secret feature that does use all four
controller ports, and it leans into the analog control really heavily. So what I mean by that is
there’s actually a secret feature where you could put in a special username in the tournament mode,
and it would unlock this secondary secret control scheme that lets you use two additional Nintendo
64 controllers plugged into the three and four spot that allows you to use the two controllers as
two different throttles and control your
[12:30]
pod racer with two control sticks, which is pretty damn cool. Oh, yeah. That’s badass. It’s really
cool. It’s very conceptualized, though. So it’s not necessarily something they could put in as the
main game, but it’s definitely something that people sought out and unlocked, which is pretty cool.
So yeah, if you were playing player one, you would use slot one and slot three, and that’s how you
would play it. And if you were playing two-player with it, you just use slot two and slot four and
plug in those controllers, and that’s how you would actually set it up so you could use both sticks
[13:00]
for each of your engines. So that’s awesome. I think that’s super cool. So while not advertised as
being a four-player game, it does use four controllers, and it definitely utilizes the weirdness
that was the Nintendo 64. So for me, I’m going to have to say that this is a pass. Absolutely. Yeah,
the expansion pack for higher resolutions, and you can tell, I mean, like you look at it side-by-
side, it makes a noticeable difference in how great this game looks. And the rumble pack obviously
helps with immersion, as it does with so many games. 3D visuals really seem to help with the scope
and depth of the tracks, and there was even
[13:30]
a view where you could see your characters and vehicles in 3D, like in the garage, which was kind of
cool, really taking advantage of that true 3D that we really saw pushed so much on the N64. So all
really cool features. It’s hard not to say pass for this one. All right. Love it. Test number three,
the expansion pack test. That is one powerful piece of machinery. Does this game deserve an
expansion, sequel, remake, or modern successor?
[14:00]
Was there enough here to justify a future beyond the original cartridge? So yeah, we already talked
about this. It’s got a sequel coming out now, but there was an attempt to port the Nintendo 64
version of the game to the PlayStation, but there were too many limitations due to the different
hardware, and that just didn’t happen. There was a Dreamcast version, though, and the Dreamcast was
able to pull off everything the N64 was, because it’s obviously a much more powerful piece of
machinery. But it also got the full motion videos that were planned for the Nintendo 64 version that
[14:30]
weren’t able to be put in there that were in the PC version. So as far as a console release, the
Dreamcast one is the superior version as far as features and quality. But of course, that came out
after the fact. And there was a PlayStation 2 era sequel called Racer Revenge that I do remember
enjoying. I did have it. I can’t tell you too much about it, but I definitely had it. I think I
still do. So yeah, this game has had sequels. It’s had ports.
[15:00]
It’s all over the place. And it was actually recently or semi-recently released on a limited run
colored cartridge, original N64 hardware, which I think is pretty cool, alongside HD re-releases
that came out on eShops as well. So this is the most pass that I think I could possibly give a game,
because every category, it’s got some level of port or sequel. So pass for me. Yeah, and actually
beyond that, I want to say it was like 2000, a couple years later,
[15:30]
it also got an arcade port that allowed you to drive with two separate handles for the engines, kind
of like what that two-controller mode was doing. So two engines and a turbo button. It was a little
scaled down. Obviously, with arcades, you’re not going to sit there and play for hours and hours. So
it had four tracks and four characters. But you probably wouldn’t find the average person paying 50
bucks to run through 25 tracks when they could just go buy the N64 version for 50 bucks. So it
didn’t really have quite the same scale of what was going on.
[16:00]
But it was, again, another evolution of this game. Super quick aside here, I occasionally get to
participate in some paid playtesting. I can’t say a lot about this because I was under NDA. And also
this podcast, I think now qualifies me as a journalist. So I’m probably not going to be invited as
often as I was. But there was actually a full modernized remake of this game about a year ago that
was under a code name. And the test actually got canceled.
[16:30]
But I got to play with the game for several weeks when it first came out. And it was like full, from
the ground up, remastered, like total remake in 4K. And it was beautiful. And it worked so, so, so
well. And it was amazing, just an evolution of this. I think it might have been shelved or delayed
in favor of the new game that is now coming out this week. But I mean, just the fact that they even
had that in mind and were that far along in the development process is just a testament to how well
remembered this game is and just
[17:00]
that people still love it. So it’s a pass. That’s awesome. Yeah, cool. All right, moving on then.
Don’t sue me, by the way, if anyone hears this. Yeah, I know. He just broke all of the NDAs. Test
number four. The Barrel Roll Test. Do a barrel roll. Impressive, Star Fox. How impressive was this
game for its time? Did it push boundaries of technology, gameplay, graphics, scale, or innovation? I
think on this one, the sense of speed was amazing.
[17:30]
Being able to go. And it keeps saying 600 miles an hour. I swear you could go faster than that with
the turbo and stuff. I don’t know. Maybe I’m misremembering. But it also had 25 characters and 25
tracks, which is huge. Like in that era, seems almost unheard of to have that amount of variety. The
fact that it came out the same week as the movie is kind of incredible. Kind of the history lesson
kind of got into a little bit of that. There’s not a lot of examples where you can take one of the
most interesting and exciting scenes from a movie and then grab the game literally on the way home
to go play it is
[18:00]
awesome. And that it delivered so well on that promise. I remember, you know, so many times as a
kid, I’m going to go play this Batman game. It’s nothing like being Batman. That took decades for
them to get to that point. This thing killed it. Yeah. Movie tie-ins, movie tie-in games. There was
a, there was a dark spot on the history of movie tie-in games. Yeah. It was a really, really awful
era of that. To be this impressive, to basically take a 16 minute scene from a movie and turn it
[18:30]
into a game that you can spend probably six or seven, maybe even nine or 10 hours in single player
and then hop on multiplayer. Huge. This isn’t just no questions. This is a pass. Absolutely.
Graphically and gameplay wise, this game was impressive for the time and the HD re-releases really
highlight that now. This game was and still is top notch. So I agree with you completely. One thing
that I found particularly impressive about this was that with the graphics, they
[19:00]
did a duplication technique to create the reflections in like water and ice surfaces. So what they’d
actually do is they cut openings in the geometry and then place inverted copies of the scenery
beneath the surface. So it creates the illusion of a reflection rather than having the system having
to calculate true reflections. And that way they’re able to keep the frame rate up so they can make
it feel like you’re moving faster without that slowdown or chuntering, which I think is really
smart. So yeah, color me impressed on this one across the board.
[19:30]
That’s a pass. Test number five. The joystick gymnastics test. Yeah. How well does this game play
today? Are the controls and cameras still enjoyable? Or are they working against the player? So as I
mentioned, you can do that dual control, which is pretty damn cool. Originally, the game was
actually going to use the analog stick to do the acceleration and then steering also on the same
stick.
[20:00]
But after they tried buttons during playtesting, they just decided that that was the better way of
handling and everybody kind of just agreed and they moved on. Though I do like the idea that they
were trying to really lean into that lever-based thing, which worked clearly for the arcade, as you
mentioned, just to make it more playable and more fun for a console use. So it makes more sense to
go with a more traditional control scheme, I think. But yeah, in general, for a high-speed racer,
and the Nintendo 64 has quite a few of them, where you’ve got your F-Zeros and your Extreme Gs, the
controls did feel pretty good for
[20:30]
this game, in my opinion. And the drifting, that would have been pretty much impossible if you had
done a locked control that handled a control stick that handled your acceleration and your speed.
Just, it wouldn’t have been possible. So I’m glad they went with the method that they did. And I
think that it really is quite a standout as far as these speedy N64 racers. So it’s a pass for me.
Yeah, I totally agree. Getting that sensation of speed and still feeling like you’re mostly in
control, but it’s like reckless enough that it’s still really exciting.
[21:00]
Boosting right up to the edge of overheating, being able to repair on the fly is really cool. And
it’s sort of seamless, and it echoes exactly what you saw in the movie. It’s hard to find negative
things to say about this. This is an easy pass. Test number six, the bum to the bass test. How good
is this game’s audio? Does it have memorable music, iconic sound effects, or the kind of soundtrack
that sticks with you long after you’ve put the controller down?
[21:30]
I think the John Williams score, obviously, is going to be super hard to beat. One of the things
that sticks out so much about so many Star Wars games is that they’re able to get that music in
there, and the music is just so good. It’s iconic. There’s a lot of really awesome sounds from the
vehicles, too, that are basically straight out of the movie. Obviously, storage came at a premium on
a cartridge-based system. So including the score and the sound effects and voice lines for 25
characters and even a few quips from Watto and a couple of other characters around the kind of
peripheral is
[22:00]
huge. It’s a massive accomplishment that they were able to pull it off, and it all sounds pretty
good. So that’s a pass. Agree completely. Some of the Podracer sounds, particularly like Sobalba’s
engines, are iconic Star Wars sounds, and they nail them. They really feel really good. And
considering all of the limitations, they definitely did have to kind of double up on some audio
here. And it’s not that noticeable. It is when you’re playing as a character that speaks English.
[22:30]
So basically, Anakin Skywalker becomes even more annoying. He yells, it’s working! It’s working!
Like four or five times in every single race if you’re playing as him. So that’s annoying. But the
fact that it’s Jake Lloyd’s voice that’s actually in the game and there were additional lines that
they ended up having to cut that were actually using his voice while the movie’s being developed,
that’s pretty cool. So I almost give it a pass for him being annoying just simply because what they
were accomplishing under the hood was pretty impressive there. So one thing that is super weird, and
honestly, I did not notice it until replaying for this
[23:00]
review, but the music doesn’t get played until the final lap of the race. So it was awesome. You’ve
got John Williams’ score in your back pocket, and you’re not using it until lap three or whatever. I
think it’s three laps, right? Lap three of a race. You’d think that’s a stylistic choice, but
apparently it was more due to restrictions. So it’s kind of epic, actually, when it swells in with
that music on the final lap. It makes it feel like much more of a bigger deal and obviously more on
brand because it’s
[23:30]
Star Wars and it’s John Williams. So honestly, I think that’s more impressive use of hardware
resource than actual quality audio, but the impact of it and how it affects the gameplay from an
audio perspective is notable. And I think that’s pretty awesome as well. It’s another thing that I
would just put more in the previous category and say just how impressive the usage of what they had
is. Yeah, that’s awesome. So that said, the music and sound they do have is amazing. You’ve even got
the ever problematic Watto’s lines, like you mentioned, during the menus
[24:00]
and the shops, and they get a little old because of the repetition. But back in the day when we were
playing this game, Watto lines kind of became like standard vernacular. For me, my buddy Eric, who
will eventually appear on this podcast, we would say stuff like Chupatinago to each other. And then
all of a sudden, the other one would just be like Utmans and say it back to you. It just made no
sense. But it was just like common chit chat for us because we were playing this game so much and he
was repeating himself so much. So I just I think it’s cool.
[24:30]
The fact that it made it into that stage of our lives, it’s it hits a soft spot for me. Oh, and he
also does hum the cantina music, which is pretty amazing, especially if they were having to make
cuts on audio that they decided, nope, that stays in, you know, got to give him props for that
because that was obviously a premium. So and then the other comment I did want to add here in my
notes, apparently the the Huttese, which is the language of the Hutts, they were prevalent on
Tatooine.
[25:00]
And then obviously the main pod race was set on Tatooine. So the team, when they were making this
game, made Huttese insults for the characters to kind of say to each other. But obviously, it’s not
a real fleshed out language. So they had to kind of make stuff up on the on the fly, which I think
is pretty awesome. And as a Star Wars fan, it was probably really cool to kind of bring words into a
Star Wars canon by having them featured in this way. So I just think that’s awesome. So in that vein
and in their honor, I would say for this category, de pasa boná.
[25:30]
What a nerd. Guilty. No, you’re right, though. That is super cool. Test number seven, the Smash
invite test. Will this battler live up to expectations? Does this game have characters, worlds,
music or ideas worthy of a place in Super Smash Brothers? So, all right, cards on the table. I am
going to fail this one. I don’t genuinely think that Episode One Racer has contributed something
that belongs in Smash Brothers, but I didn’t want to make that decision without giving this roster
of
[26:00]
very eclectic characters a fair hearing. So Adam, I have prepared a short list here for you for some
potential candidates for Super Smash Brothers characters. Okay, I’m all ears. All right, so first
you have Ben Quadraneros. Ben Quadraneros is a cult hero. My Instagram feed is 90% Ben Quadraneros
memes at this point, I think. He’s got four engines to start the race and zero functioning engines
when it actually mattered. So his final smash could be, you know, he just explodes and four
different engines fly
[26:30]
across the screen, randomized maybe. I don’t know. It could be a strong candidate. Okay, yep. You
don’t sound convinced, but I’ll move on. Not so far. Rats Tyrell. Tiny blue man. His accelerator
jammed and he flew into a cave wall and it exploded while his family were watching. There’s actually
a deleted scene of him hugging his kids before the race and then afterwards them crying, which is
pretty brutal. I’m pretty sure that’s true. I’ve seen it in my mind’s eye. I don’t want to go online
and look it up, so I’m just going to say that it is true.
[27:00]
So there’s him. Rats Tyrell, maybe, maybe. In the age of AI, someone could make that scene if they
needed to sort of satisfy that memory. There you go. And then they would absolutely be in Smash
Brothers. All right. So Mars Guo. Guo. I spent most of my childhood believing that this guy was
blind. It turns out he isn’t. He’s just some weirdo with a visor that looks like a sock wrapped
around his head. In Star Wars lore and canon, it says that he survived Sebulba blowing up his
engine, which might write him off otherwise, but that means his durability is pretty high there.
[27:30]
So maybe, maybe. That makes him a little bit of a badass that he survived and also, once again,
proves that Sebulba’s not a great guy or whatever he is. He’s a, he’s a Doug actually, but you
already called me a nerd, so I’m not going to go down that avenue. Well, I mean, you know, and I
know that Watto’s a Toydarian, you know, like, I get it. I can’t, I’m not, you know, I’m not free
of, of my Star Wars calling you a nerd is not an unimpeachable thing.
[28:00]
I am also guilty. And then the last one I have here was Gascona. Gascona would be my childhood pick.
I love this guy’s design for whatever reason, even though he’s basically like a Q-tip with goggles
on it, but he does have four arms, which could be useful in a fighting game. Maybe he could do some
sort of E-Honda style thousand arm slap maneuver, you know, some, some pimp back smacks to take out
his enemy. Plus he’s got a bunch of pit droid slaves. So, you know, he could have some secondary
attack functionality in there maybe. Sure.
[28:30]
And, you know, four arms we’ve seen from Mortal Kombat, you know, characters like, like Goro that,
you know, in, in a fighting game like smash, sometimes four arms can be useful. So. All right. I got
a, I got an almost win at the end there, but I mean, let’s be honest. Like if we’re looking at a
game that also contains Anakin Skywalker and we’re overlooking one of the most recognizable
characters in cinema history or the precursor to, um, to nominate fucking yes, Gano, then I think
it’s probably evidence that racer itself doesn’t actually
[29:00]
have any smash worthy contributions. So at the end of this long winded charade, I am just going to
say that this is a fail. That’s fair. That’s fair. You know, and you know, beyond that, we mentioned
there’s 25 characters. So we got to talk about some of these guys, especially some of these names.
Uh, oh yes. Cy Younga and Jen Riso who are unlockable in 64 exclusive characters. Cy Younga sounds
like a nod to legendary baseball player. Cy Young. I feel like it’s, there’s almost no way you can
say it’s not. So there must’ve been some sort of baseball fan out there on the team.
[29:30]
Uh, toy dampner. It’s a pretty fun name. Bozzy Baranta. That’s a pretty good one. Uh, very quickly
on the topic of names, this is not related to smash brothers. One of the main designers at LucasArts
was a guy named John Knowles who spent 14 years at LucasArts and then 15 years at Xbox working on
mostly Forza games before being laid off in 2025. He and another guy named John Knowles. John
Knowles has been at Lucasfilm and ILM industrial light and magic since 1986 in a variety
[30:00]
of positions and has won a BAFTA and an Oscar. So this guy’s a big deal. This game and several other
Star Wars games were made in part by guys named John Knowles and John Knowles working together,
which is almost two Star Wars to be real, but it’s real. Oh man. So that’s kind of weird. So one’s
the pluralized version of the other. Yeah. They are spelled a little bit differently, but hearing
them out loud, John Knowles and John Knowles.
[30:30]
So that’s kind of crazy. However, I do have to say that Jar Jar Binks is not playable, but does
appear in the game and that is an automatic fail. All right. So the first negative points for Star
Wars Racer on the board now. Okay. All right. Well, let’s move forward on to test number eight, the
101% test. Oh, they are running up the score. Is this game worth fully completing? Are extra
challenges, collectibles and secrets worth the effort? Uh, so, uh, pod racers are unlocked as you
race, which is great.
[31:00]
You only start with, I want to say it’s six and it’s not until you beat the Boonta Eve classic,
which is the second time you race that race on Tatooine. That’s when you get Sebulba and Sebulba was
gated and he’s great because he’s got a flamethrower additional move on there. Um, that, so it makes
sense that he’s one of the, the later unlocks, to be honest with you, even though obviously he’s the
main antagonist during the, uh, the scene in the movie. Uh, you do get other characters like Ben
fucking Quadraneros, um, from the final Inferno
[31:30]
invitational race, which I think is hilarious that he’s one of the final, final guys that you
unlocked. Um, and there, there are two N64 exclusive racers that I don’t recall the reason why they
are hidden behind codes, but they are. And they actually just replace other racers in the roster. So
sorry, Mars Guo and Bullseye Navor, you’re out. And, uh, those guys are in, I can’t remember you,
you mentioned before, what were their names? Sai Uga Booga or something? Uh, Sai Younga and Jin
Riso. That’s what I meant. Yes.
[32:00]
So yeah, those guys actually take spots in the menu of other characters, which is interesting
because you cycle through them. It’s not like they’re actually taking like a spot on a Smash
Brothers roster. So an interesting choice that someone had to come out for those guys to get subbed
in, but you know, cool. Um, so, but you know, there, there are other rewards in there that are
sprinkled out and I, I think it’s, I think it’s pretty good that you get a mirror mode, uh, and you
can sink all the time you want into buying every single part to max out every single racer ever. Um,
I don’t think clearing out the store is necessarily part of a hundred percent completion,
[32:30]
but, um, you know, it could be, um, either way though, I remember sinking a lot of time into this
and I think there was enough of a reward for you doing it that the game encouraged it in a way that
I would say that this is a pass. Uh, yeah, with this, there’s a tons of characters to unlock a huge
number of courses we mentioned earlier is almost kind of very unheard of how big this number was
with 25, the ability to do upgrades, the mirror mode essentially doubles the number of tracks.
There’s a lot to do here though.
[33:00]
You don’t have to do every bit of it with every single racer you could, if you wanted to, and it has
multiplayer. And it’s also kind of cool that there are two characters that are exclusive to the N64
because this game did come out on PC at the same time and then later was ported to Dreamcast. And so
it is kind of cool that there is a little bit of exclusivity to the N64 version, uh, specifically.
So it’s, it’s a pass. There’s so much to do. It’s an easy pass.
[33:30]
Racking up the points. All right. Test number nine, Wario’s wallet. Yeah. Oh my God. Is this game
worth the price of admission today? If you’re spending modern collector money, are you getting your
money’s worth? So looking at the numbers here, price charting has the loose price for this guy at
$14.47 and complete in the box sits at $37.26. So for a clean eBay cart, you’re looking at about 10
to 12 bucks. There’s also a limited run carted re-release that I have that came out in 2019 that you
can
[34:00]
get on eBay for about 60 bucks, but I strongly recommend, uh, you get that for collector purposes
and do not open the package. And it’s kind of part of the fun of that one. Um, the game was released
in HD on modern consoles back in 2020, uh, and that launched at about 15 bucks and it’s about 10
bucks now on PC. So, um, you can get this game in many, many different ways, but for the original
price, um, and what you can get at the actual OG cartridge for, I think this would be a pass
[34:30]
for me. What do you think? Yeah. The price is basically the same on the original hardware or for an
updated version. And it’s a good game. The game is really enjoyable. It still plays well. It’s still
a lot of fun. It’s basically a no brainer, no matter what hardware you have or want. If you do
happen to have an N64 or you pick up an analog or mod retro, you know, reproduction console, those
work. It is pretty easy to find in that form. And if you don’t have that, you’ve got an Xbox, you’ve
got a PlayStation, you’ve got a PC,
[35:00]
there are ways to get it and they’re all right around the same price. It’s super economical and
it’s, and it’s a lot of fun. So that’s pretty easy to say. That’s a pass. Final round test. Number
10, the nostalgia goggles test. Does this game genuinely hold up today or is its reputation being
carried by nostalgia?
[35:30]
I think it definitely holds up to an extent. It’s not the best looking by today’s standards still
plays well, still brings back a lot of great memories for a lot of people who have played it on the
PC. side of things. There’s actually some fan projects and some patches to update the visuals and
the sound to modernize controller support. There’s some folks who even prefer the N64 sound. So
people have figured out how to patch in some of those sound effects in addition to
[36:00]
somehow that’s styled differently. When you like hit maximum speed, it’s a little different. And so
they’ve got it like running on modern hardware, all the bells and whistles, the like definitive
version of this game. People like this game, not just the memory of it. And so it’s not just
nostalgia. It’s it’s a lot of fun. So it’s a pass. Yeah, absolutely. This game passes the test
because it still accomplishes exactly what it was built to do. And while it shows its age, like you
said, nostalgia isn’t what isn’t the only thing carrying this along.
[36:30]
It may be the reason to get you to put it into the Nintendo 64, but that’s not the reason why you’re
going to keep playing it. This game is good and this game has been good. So this is a pass for me.
Nostalgia goggles can stay off, but the pod racing goggles should probably stay on for safety. But
yeah, pass. Oh, yeah. You’re moving that fast and you get something in your eyes. You’re done. Yeah,
you got to wear the goggles. 600 mile per hour love bug right through the brain. No good. Oh, dude,
that’s fatal. I mean, that’s so bad. All right. So I’m happy about this because the last two games
we’ve done have not scored particularly
[37:00]
well. But what’s the what’s the final count for Star Wars Episode One Racer here? I think this may
be our highest to date. This is a 90. Congratulations. Nice. And I think it’s pretty well deserved.
Nice. Yeah. And especially with people potentially coming to it now for the first time, having
played and jumped in on the new Galactic Racer game. Awesome. I’m just I’m really happy that this
game exists and continues to exist. And with all of the you mentioned them before, the the retro
cartridge hardware hardware that’s
[37:30]
coming out now, there’s never been a better time for people to jump in and play this game. And I’m
glad it’s going to continue to get the love that I do think it deserves. So well done. Episode One
Racer. You are officially certified 64. Yeah, I love this game so much when I was a kid and it’s
still good. So it’s really nice to see it score so well. All right. So to close out the episode,
let’s jump in on the Lobo learnings. In this segment, we take a look at today’s game through the
eyes of an indie developer. What lessons can be learned from it decades later and what ideas are
worth borrowing?
[38:00]
What mistakes should be avoided and what made this game work? And how might those same principles
apply to a modern day game being developed? So yeah, Lobo learnings is brought to you by Lobo
Destroyer, which is our own N64 inspired 3D adventure, which we are currently developing. If you’re
enjoying the show and like to follow along the development of that game, please jump in. We’d love
to have you. You can learn more about Lobo Destroyer in our Discord community and find links to all
of that in our show notes or in the socials, or you can visit us at lobodestroyo.com.
[38:30]
That’s L-O-B-O-D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-O dot com backslash hard to spell. And yeah, like I said, all of those
links are going to be in the show notes at the end of the episode. So feel free to jump in there. So
I’d actually lean more into my day job to answer this than my side gig as an indie developer for the
takeaway this time. And that’s really where it pertains to a team working on the game while the
source material was simultaneously still being cooked.
[39:00]
As we mentioned, The Phantom Menace, it was coming out the same day, or was it the day before this
game came out, before the movie did. So the team didn’t exactly have the ability to just sit down
and watch the movie like Rare did when they were making GoldenEye before making their adaptation for
the 64. They’re building playable versions of characters like Ben Quadraneros before audiences knew
that Ben Quadraneros was pretty much a joke character. Did LucasArts know that before making him one
of the final unlocks in the game? Did they see his concept art and think, that dude looks badass, he
must be the final boss?
[39:30]
Or was it ironic that they made him one of the last guys that you unlock? Scenarios like this,
either of those avenues is entirely possible. I’ve had the chance to work on some high-profile
projects while under NDA, and sometimes it comes along with incomplete assets or secret style guides
or stuff centered around things that are still themselves in production. And yeah, getting to see
secret cool stuff before everybody else does is pretty cool,
[40:00]
but it also means you’re sometimes being asked to make something or build creative decisions around
a moving target. And I think that’s where the correlation to game development comes into me. Making
design decisions and building pieces, not really knowing all the information as to how those pieces
are going to connect is something that I can relate to and respect. The incomplete information
doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t make confident decisions, but you need to know which decisions
you actually have enough information to make.
[40:30]
And I think that’s something that you can take to heart with the development of a game like Lobo, or
any game, really. So again, it’s just really props to the team for being able to do what they were
doing on such a high-profile IP. While it was, I mean, Star Wars Episode I, in and of itself, had a
very high bar to hit. And they were building the companion game for that resurrection of the
franchise. And yeah, I think they nailed it here. And I just think that’s, they need credit for
that.
[41:00]
And that’s something that I recognize as someone attempting to make games myself. I think that’s
pretty impressive. Yeah, especially reading about the development of this game. It was just
impressive time and time again to see, and a lot of that was in the history lesson. And some of the
stuff they were up against, just how do you come up with 25 tracks when in the movie there’s one?
How do you come up with 25 characters when you see a few, but you don’t see all of these guys in the
movie? And so that really is so impressive that they were able to do something that it probably
[41:30]
could have gone terrible having to take that many creative leaps. And they did a really, really
impressive job with it. So it’s hard not to be genuinely impressed by all of that. Yeah. And I like
bringing it back to this game as a part of a Nintendo 64 collection. I love that this is now what we
can consider certified 64. This is a game that we would wholeheartedly recommend having in your
collection as a Nintendo 64 gamer or collector.
[42:00]
I’m just, I’m happy for it. I think it deserves it. And I’m really glad to see that you agree and
that this stands the test of time as far as our little scorecards. So congratulations, episode one
racer. And yeah, I think that might be it for the end of this episode. What do you guys think? Are
we being too generous on this one or are we, are we right on the money or should we have gone as
negative as we did with a couple of our recent episodes? Let us know, but it’s not what you think.
Do you prefer it when these games score well, or do you like to hear them get kicked a little
[42:30]
bit or is it a kind of a middle ground there? Not that that would change what we score them, but I
would genuinely be interested to know what the general reception is to these episodes. Yeah. And
we’ve been largely in agreement on a lot of this stuff and I’m sure there will be episodes where we
do split a little more, but you know, sometimes a game is objectively good or bad, but if you agree
or disagree, definitely come hang out in the discord. We’ve got a thread for every single episode.
So even if it’s an old one, come revive the thread and chat with us and we’ll talk about it.
[43:00]
And we’d love to hear your thoughts. Yeah. And as always, thanks for listening. Adam, would you mind
hitting us with the, uh, the outro? You got it. The cartridge archive was created by Jamie guy and
is produced and hosted by Jamie guy and Adam Jones. Our music is by the mysterious break master
cylinder. Visit the cartridge archive.com for more information or join our discord. You can find the
links to both of those at tap to add.me slash TCA pod. That’s tap the number to add.me slash TCA
pod. You’ll find that and all our other links in the show notes.
[43:30]
More episodes of the cartridge archive are available wherever you get your podcasts. And as always,
thanks for listening.