This game is kind of a nostalgic pick for me as long back as I can remember i have had my exact same copy for the Nintendo 64., and now that a physical release dropped for the switch I've decided to give it another go. While its just as fun and speedy as I remember I cant help but feel this game jumps from way to hard to way too easy and back between stages. In Star Wars Episode I Racer you play as any Podracer you've unlocked as you go on an intergalactic quest to beat everyone, everywhere.
Like F-Zero or Wipeout you can crash but the penalty isn't just straight up losing the game, rather, you get held back which can be just as frustrating as anything. It's just such that you have to memorize the track and play perfectly to get 1st place, there isn't that much wiggle room until you unlock the much faster racers. And sometimes these stages can have nearly impossible to avoid hazards.
Still the speed is presented so well, on both the n64 and updated Dreamcast graphics, and the game is still a blast to play regardless, there are several things that make doing a perfect run an exhilarating experience.
While due for some quality of life improvements and balancing, Star Wars Episode One: Racer is still a great time no matter what and I highly recommend it.

Episode 1 Racer is a game that my brother and I played a lot as kids, and I was really keen to revisit it as a break while playing Bloodborne. I was also interested to see how the game held up difficulty wise, and how my racing skills held up. Well, I'm going to put it down to half the Nintendo controller being nuts and half me being older and learned all the courses by muscle memory because I won first place in every race first time, apart from that one course that if you fall off the top track it makes you lose because the bottom track sends you on a super long way round (real ones know what I mean). The racing is pretty great though, the pods respond really well and feel fast and dangerous. The music samples of Episode 1 are also pretty stellar too. But it was still alot of fun blasting through courses as Anakin and actually paying attention to my parts this time rather than just winging it like I did back in the day. The racing is pretty intense and I did feel it was a testament to my skill that I won, as you basically can make 2-3 crashes a course at maximum without losing the prized first place. Definitely a game I'm glad to have replayed and now have all the courses unlocked for the next Boys Night (tm).

An exciting racing game that steeps you into one of my favorite Star Wars sequences - The base controls are incredibly tight and satisfying, but I feel the game is let down from true greatness by some very incredibly long tracks with questionable design, and opponent AI that either dominates or is dominated without much in-between.

I can't put my finger on it, but something about the sound design of the PC port seems worse than the N64 version that I grew up with.

Despite its highly disappointing shortcomings, Episode 1 Racer is my favorite of the Nintendo 64 Star Wars titles and a series of games I would love to see brought back with the attention and care it deserves.

I played quite a bit back in the day, and it was nice.

Playing it again, here are a few things I want to note:
1) Thrustmaster HOTAS 4 is configurable in this. Yes, it has (in a way) a HOTAS support. Now, there is no real practical use for this, since there is no analogue thrusters and steering is very, very casual. But it works. and at least on the easier circuits where it's viable, it feels great.

2) It is a great casual game, but it has some shortcomings in hard stages. For example, the zero-G circuts feel just terrible because steering in zero-G is basically 90% luck (unless I'm not getting something). There are also some weird hitbox issues where you hit invisible fences or bumps, and air control is also very confusing.

Overall, it's still fun as a casual playthrough, but it really needs a reboot.

After only dabbling in it as a kid on the N64, and letting it become a meme in the years since, I was surprised at how caught up in it I became after picking up the remaster. Running far more stably and at a higher frame rate really brings out good Racer can feel to play. It’s a lizard-brain experience to zip about at a breakneck pace made all the more exciting with John Williams’ iconic score blaring in the background. Further, it feels like the sense of place and scale for each track is emphasized in the remaster, making each track feel like a window into the world of underground racing in Star Wars. All wrapped up in a budget price and a tight five hour play through. Nothing should stop players form giving this rush a shot.

Probably one of my favorite games to this day. Really enjoyed the pod racing in Episode I and this game was more than little me could have ever asked for. The sense of speed is unmatched to this day for me. Although, when I was a kid this game was very difficult toward the end and I was never able to beat it.

I picked the up steam version recently and I am still impressed by everything. I was able to finish all of it this time and I really enjoyed the levels I was never able to unlock as well as the complexity of the boost and regen mechanics. It still holds up to what I remembered as a kid and that made me really happy.