Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing

Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing is a 2001 PlayStation2 kart racer released shortly after Star Wars: Starfighter. Using characters and locations from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the game challenges you to race up to eight CPU opponents or four of your friends, using weapons and gadgets to gain the upper hand. A secondary arena battle mode allowed pure combat between racers.

The game's trademark was the appearance of the characters: in similar style to Mario Kart for the Nintendo64, the characters all had oversized heads and piloted shrunken vehicles. The vehicles, however, all hovered, making Super Bombad Racing a unique skill to master in the handling department.

Developed by Lucas Learning and published by LucasArts, the game was mainly aimed at children thanks to the "cute" cartoon appearance of the characters and locations. Several of the characters have been toned down from their appearances in The Phantom Menace, and character taunts between racers are all kid-friendly. Each racer has a special, racer-exclusive weapon or ability. Musically, the game features recognizable themes from the John Williams film scores, but all have been reworked into childish, pop-type beats.

Racers

 * Darth Maul in Sith Infiltrator (special weapon: double-bladed lightsaber)
 * Jar Jar Binks in Gungan Bongo (special weapon: elasticated tongue)
 * Sebulba in Podracer (special weapon: homing junk toss)
 * Boss Nass in Gungan Manta-Ray (special weapon: blinding spit-spray)
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi in Radiant VII (special weapon: Force Levitate)
 * Yoda in Jedi Council Chair (special weapon: Force Invert)
 * Anakin Skywalker in Naboo N1 Starfighter (special weapon: energy coupler)
 * Queen Amidala in Naboo Royal Starship (special weapon: blinding light blast)
 * Count Dooku in Sith Bamer (special weapon: dark force)
 * Kit Fisto in Jedi Starfighter (special weapon: green Lightsaber)

Courses

 * Circuit One:
 * Naboo Swamp
 * Dune Sea
 * Theed City
 * Circuit Two:
 * Podrace
 * Otoh Gunga
 * Mos Espa:Unlock:Mace Windu
 * Circuit Three:
 * Coruscant
 * Power Station
 * Droid Control Ship
 * Death Star

Arenas

 * Naboo Battlefield
 * Jedi Temple
 * Great Pit of Carkoon:Unlock:Jango Fett & Death Star
 * Hoth Asteroid

Unlockable Content

 * Darth Vader in TIE Advanced x1 (special weapon: Death Star attack)
 * Space Freighter arena
 * R2-D2 & C-3PO in Ball Rocket (special weapon: R2-D2's mines)
 * Boba Fett in Jedi Boster (special weapon: blaster)
 * Death Star
 * Mace Windu in Jedi Seat (special weapon: Purpule LightSaber)
 * Jango Fett in Gungan Rocket (special weapon: guns)

Reception
"Our goal was to make a game that a kid could pick up and just play, enjoying the spirit and the art style."

- Project Leader Michael McCormick



Super Bombad Racing received mixed responses when released in 2001. Some praised the game, calling it an accomplished kart racer and a welcome addition to the then-short list of PlayStation2 titles. Others, however, felt that while the game was mechanically sound, the Star Wars setting and appearance felt "tacked on" and therefore a dirty ploy to make money for LucasArts. Others roundly criticized the game, both for turning Star Wars into a childish kart racer and for simply making a bad game. GameSpot.com gave Super Bombad Racing a score of 6.2 out of 10, saying it "...introduces a few clever concepts, but its length and the gameplay flaws significantly limit the game."

Trivia

 * A planned PC version of the game was cancelled due to poor sales of the PlayStation2 version.
 * Boba Fett and an AAT are hidden cheat characters, and as such have no specific special weapons or attributes.
 * Several cheats are available that turn all the text on the menu screens into distinctive Jawa phrases or the Battle Droid's "Roger roger!" callsign.
 * Yet another cheat can turn all the racers, no matter which character you've chosen, into kaadu on treadmills.
 * Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best reprise their roles as Anakin Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks respectively.
 * There are several variations on the box art: some show Darth Maul and Yoda alone, some include Jar Jar Binks, and some replace Jar Jar Binks with Sebulba.