PixlBit

A delightful racing game that lacks polish and precision

This fun and wacky racing game was released in 2000 for the N64. It was developed by Rare, published by Nintendo, and distributed by Disney Interactive. I remember playing this one with friends shortly after its release, and we had a grand old time. Sadly, it doesn't quite hold the charm for me 13 years after the fact. It's still a fun game, but it lacks some things that are strong in other racing games.

There are only six playable characters when you start the game: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Pete. This means that races include only six participants instead of the standard eight. Four secret characters can be unlocked (Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Ludwig Von Drake); however, six remains to be the number of racers for racing, even after unlocking these characters.

               Nothing like getting a tan while driving through New Mexico!

I hate to poo poo on the party, but this game has problems. To start things off, the menu is confusing. The camera moves around a tower of toy blocks and bouncing letters near the bottom of the screen state the mode. It's obvious that this game was aimed at kids. The bouncing blocks will eventually get to you because it's disorienting after awhile. Instead of the Grand Prix cups being separated from everything else, they're thrown in with titles such as "Highway Phobia" and "Traffic Trouble." Other modes are Time Trial, Options, Practice, and Contest.

The premise for the game is neat. You race in different locations across the USA, including New York, Los Angelos, Alaska, and many others. The scenery is good for the most part, but the courses themselves are pretty bland. It's cool to drive through a casino in Los Vegas, and drive along the docks of Philadelphia, but the typical design of the race tracks takes some of the charm off of the masterpiece.

    The heat from my engine is enough to keep me warm in Alaska, thank you!

The voice acting is great. You can tell they got the pros to do that part. The characters will encourage themselves and even talk to each other. As Goofy, I shot and nailed Minnie. Minnie: "Goofy!" Goofy: "Sorry, Minnie!" Pete is the best. "You'll get yours, duck!" Sadly, this solid voice acting is probably the best part of the game. Have I mentioned the racing part yet?

Okay, so racing. The controls are fine in regards to being responsive. However, tight turns can be difficult because the sliding aspect is not done very well. Getting the starting boost is hard; the timing is not clear, and I never figured it out. If you happen to hit a wall and fall behind, it's almost impossible to catch up. The AI, argh! This game has some serious rubberband AI! They tend to zip past you without using any items.

                             Who put this giant arrow on the road?

When you choose the cup, you also get to choose the difficulty. Amateur is way too easy and Intermediate is pretty tough (don't even try Professional). The difficulty gap is too big. However, characters can really make a difference in this game. I did terrible with Goofy, but when I switched to Minnie (who had better acceleration), I was able to do just fine. The items are typical; there's nothing super-powerful like lightning or blue shells, just toy cars and planes that chase other racers. Even when in last place, you may get useless items such as coins. The items are truly random and have no bearing on your place in the race.

The music is fine, but not great; nothing stuck out to me as being a really awesome theme. I actually found the menu theme to be a little annoying. Rare developed this game, but apparently Dave Wise was doing something else because you can tell he didn't have a hand in this music.

             When not racing, Mickey and friends enjoy hitting the casinos

Contest mode is a battle in which everyone has three balloons (sound familiar?). Don't worry, this isn't a total rip-off: the ballons are shaped like Mickey's head. Other than that, it's Battle from Mario Kart 64. You zoom around the arena and shoot items at the other opponents to pop their balloons. The neat part is, you can play against three AI opponents if you don't have any friends around. If you do have friends, you can choose to race or do contest. The racing part has four racers, filling in that amount with AI opponents if necessary. Of course, racing and battling with friends is always tons of fun.

Final Verdict--3 Stars: It's Okay

Mickey's Speedway USA is a fun game, but it's really not that great. It lacks polish. It's the dirty old brown shoe in the closet of racing games; you can still wear it, it still works, but it's not the best (that analogy was strange, but it worked, right?). I'd recommend it except for the fact that there are several other solid racing games for the N64. Mario Kart 64 gave us precision controls and masterful courses; Diddy Kong Racing was innovative, offering a story and even bosses to race! Let's not forget the fast-paced action of F-Zero X and the solid racing of Beetle Adventure Racing. These are great racing games! So play them instead of this one. Unless you're a Mickey Mouse enthusiast, you'd be wise to just pass this one by. Still, we love you, Mickey!

                                         The N64 has some great racing games!

There will be no RGOTW next week due to Christmas, but I hope you'll join me in the new year for more retro games! Thanks for reading.