Speed Racer

by Playstation

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002STT2
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,705 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

It's a harsh truth of the industry right now that, despite their popularity, there are more bad racing games than good ones. Unfortunately, Tomy's Speed Racer, a title that was released two years ago in Japan, joins the multitudes of lackluster racers that find their way onto store shelves.

No matter what time zone you're in, Speed Racer, based on the 60s cartoon series by the same name, features a star driver who mans a gimmick-laden race car called the Mach 5. All the signature Speed Racer characteristics are present and accounted for, letting fans of the show momentarily assemble a weak grin or muster a nod to the familiarity. But since nostalgia alone can't spell success, let's cut to the chase. Most of Speed's trick moves have a special function in the game - the autojack allows you to jump over obstacles to access a hidden path, the rotary saws (large circular blades that stick out from in front of the car) mow down any trees in the way, and so on. Unfortunately, since it's quite difficult to execute these tricks (imagine scrolling back and forth through a handful of options while paying attention to the road), they come off as something thrown in at the last minute and act as only a mild diversion instead of a very cool feature.

And with those few tricks being, essentially, the backbone of the game, it appears that instead of fleshing it out to its full potential, the developers took this moderately cool premise and dropped it into a preestablished mold found in half a dozen driving games. In fact, Speed Racer is probably best described as a poor man's Ridge Racer, albeit one with a few trademarked gizmos thrown into the mix to attempt to break up the monotony. It's a pretty standard racer that tries its darnedest to be everything that the rather old RR is and fails horribly. Even with the extra tricks that the Mach 5 car is composed of (grip tires, saw blades, night vision, and a super jump for example), there's no denying they are poorly implemented and fail to make the title entertaining or challenging for that matter.

Speed Racer's age shows in that it's missing nearly every cool feature added to driving games over the last two years, such as a large number of tracks (it has three, if you count alternate paths diverging off one main course), multiple cars (there are three other unlockable racers, including Racer X), varying weather conditions, neGcon support, and just about anything else you can think of. In short, it's incredibly dated, and unless you're overcome by the desire to drive through the rib cage of a dinosaur skeleton, you could pick just about any other racer off the shelf and have more fun. --Joe Fielder
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

The cult cartoon hit SPEED RACER makes its way to the PlayStation. Now you can get behind the wheel of three different variations of the Mach 5, each one equipped with several gadgets that are unique to the car like grip tires, rotary saws, a periscope, a deflector, and auto jacks. All of the gadgets have a specific purpose: the rotary saws are used to cut down any trees that get in the way; by activating the auto jacks, the Mach 5 can jump over obstacles to discover shortcuts. Discovering the shortcuts is the key to getting the fastest times on all three tracks and mastering the Normal and Endurance modes. If you play the game well enough, you will be able to unlock new vehicles, including Racer X. Get behind the wheel and go, SPEED RACER, go!

3 versions of the Mach 5 plus hidden ones, 3 different tracks, variety of weapons and moves, based on the original cartoon, realistic car physics.

Release Region: United States
Release Date: March 26, 1998

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kitschy & fun to look at, but a letdown with gameplay., December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Speed Racer (Video Game)

This game is probably only for diehard fans of the 60s Japanese cartoon, which I am not one of. The gameplay is not nearly as fun as it had the potential to be (of course, I am spoiled by being a fan of serious racing games like Gran Turismo), but there are some redeeming qualities. The colors and styles are nice and representative of the original cartoon series, which makes the game fun to look at, and the replay option is much more interesting than the racing itself. Perhaps the best thing about the game is the intro, which is an exact reproduction of the beginning of the old TV show (I laughed out loud when I saw it). I can't help but think that the campy 60s cartoon Speed Racer could have produced a much better game. Especially with the possibility of different plotlines or the use of James Bond-ish gadgets, but there are no storylines and the gadgets are boring. Ultimately, Speed Racer should be for fans of the TV show only, and the only thing keeping me from getting rid of it is it's campy novelty value.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This Game [is Bad]!!, April 11, 2003

By 

"jem-aja" (Kingston, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Speed Racer (Video Game)

This game [is bad]big time. The worst part is that I paid [$$$] for it. I am a BIG fan of the cartoon series Speed Racer. This game was a BIG let down. I was so upset over how [bad] it is. Don't waste your time or your money on this piece of [...]. Don't play it even if it is for free. It is that bad.