Video Games

Retro Review: STAR WARS EPISODE I: RACER (Nintendo Switch)

Star Wars has a lot of controversial topics. But if there is one thing that people seem to agree upon, it’s that Star Wars Episode I: Racer is one of the best things that came out of the prequels.

I remember when I first got my hands on it. I was excited to race like Anakin Skywalker did in The Phantom Menace, which was my first experience with Star Wars. There was a time that I played this more than Mario Kart on Nintendo 64. Flash forward over 20 years later, and here we have a port on it for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Playing it on the Nintendo Switch made me feel like I was seven years old yet again. It runs smoothly docked and handheld. I never felt any form of input lag or graphic glitch. The control stick even reacts better here compared to the N64 version (which is the one I grew up with).

However, even with all that said, there is the stuff that could have improved the port for the better. It is a rather small nitpick, but it is a disappointment nonetheless.

It would have been a golden opportunity for the developer to include more multiplayer features. Both online play (cross-platform with PlayStation 4?) and wireless multiplayer. The Nintendo Switch is a console that people carry with them, be it on the train, bus, or to friends/family’s homes. Adding these aspects could have been a smart move to grab more attention than they have done now.

The lack of these multiplayer functions made me wonder what they could have done in giving this game an HD remake, instead of porting over this classic title. Star Wars is so much richer with potential than any other first/third-person shooter (looking at you Battlefront).

All in all, playing through the game was a blast from the past. While yours truly might not play it as much as I did before, I can see myself returning to it from time to time. The game is currently on Nintendo Switch.

Latest posts by Isak Wolff (see all)

Co-host of the Amateur Otaku Podcast. A writer of many things. Loves everything nerdy from anime/manga to comics and video games. Fire Emblem is the greatest of all time.