Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing is a 2001 PlayStation 2 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 Nintendo 64, 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 Star Wars: Episode I 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.
Gameplay
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RacersEdit
- Darth Maul in Sith Infiltrator (special weapon: double-bladed lightsaber)
- Jar Jar Binks in tribubble 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 N-1 starfighter (special weapon: energy coupler)
- Queen Amidala in Naboo Royal Starship (special weapon: blinding light blast)
CoursesEdit
- Circuit One:
- Naboo Swamp
- Dune Sea
- Theed City
- Circuit Two:
- Podrace
- Otoh Gunga
- Mos Espa
- Circuit Three:
- Coruscant
- Power Station
- Droid Control Ship
ArenasEdit
- Naboo Battlefield
- Jedi Temple
- Great Pit of Carkoon
- Hoth Asteroid
Unlockable ContentEdit
- Darth Vader in TIE Advanced x1 (special weapon: Death Star attack)
- Space Freighter arena
- Boba Fett in Slave 1
- AAT
ReceptionEdit
- "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
Promotional cover art
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 PlayStation 2 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."
CreditsEdit
| Cast | Crew |
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Crew
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TriviaEdit
- A planned PC version of the game was canceled due to poor sales of the PlayStation 2 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.
- There are several variations on the box art: Darth Maul alone, Darth Maul with Yoda, Darth Maul with Yoda and Jar Jar Binks, and Darth Maul with Yoda and Sebulba.
BibliographyEdit
- A Whole Fleet of New Games on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Super Bombad Racing at the Metreon on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
External linksEdit
- Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing on Wikipedia
- Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing at the Internet Movie Database
