| LEGO → Video Games → Racers |
| LEGO Racers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Item №: |
5719 |
| LEGO Theme: | |
| Developer(s): |
Climax Group |
| Publisher(s): | |
| Date Released: |
December 29, 2000 |
| Genre: |
Racing |
| Mode(s): |
Single Player, Multiplayer (2 players) |
| Rating: |
E/3+ |
| Platforms: |
Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation |
5719 LEGO Racers is a LEGO racing video game developed by Climax Group and published by LEGO Media, released for Game Boy Color in 2000. As a handheld version of LEGO Racers, it is greatly simplified from the Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation versions and contains some very significant differences.
Gameplay[]
Being a racing game, the gameplay is centered around racing. The player can race against computer-controlled (AI) opponents or against another person. There are three types of races: Circuit Race, Single Race, and Versus Race (i.e. multiplayer).
There are seven circuits, and each has a hosting champion. There are total of 19 tracks, 9 of which are mirror tracks (inverted left-to-right or right-to-left). Each circuit consists of three race tracks. The tracks from circuits 4 and 5 and 6 are mirrored. Rocket Racer's circuit (7) has only one track and is not mirrored. The tracks are based on different lines of LEGO themes released at the time.
Build[]
In the Build mode, the player can create their driver, license, and car. The driver is built by choosing a hat/hair, head, body, and legs from available parts, or selecting the option to randomly mix parts. On the license, the player fills in the driver's name. When building the car, the player can select three LEGO bricks forming the front, middle, and rear of the car, change the wheels, and change the color.
Circuit Race[]
In the Circuit Race mode, the player races four AI opponents on one of seven circuits. Each circuit consists of three three-lap races on different tracks (with the exception of circuit 7, which contains only one track). Depending on how the player places in each race, they get a certain number of points: 30 points for 1st place, 20 points for 2nd, 10 points for 3rd, 5 points for 4th, and 1 point for 5th. The points from each track are tallied to determine the winner of the circuit.
Single Race[]
In the Single Race mode, the player races against AI opponents around a single track. The player can only race on tracks that have been unlocked in Circuit Race.
Versus Race[]
In the Versus Race mode, two players race against one another around a single track. The players can only race on tracks that have been unlocked in Circuit Race.
Power Up bricks[]
Each track has a number of power ups in the form of bricks placed on it. There are four different colors of bricks. Three of them (red, green, and blue) allow the player to activate their respective power-up whilst the fourth one (white) increases the power of the power up. The following table displays the properties of each brick, and the affect white brick has on it:
| Color | Type | Basic Power Up | 1 Power plus Brick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Projectile | Cannonball | Guided Rocket |
| Blue | Shield | Slow shield | Fast shield |
| Green | Turbo | Turbo Boost | Extra Turbo Boost |
Race tracks[]
In the game, there are seven circuits. Placing first, second, or third on a circuit unlocks the next circuit and continues the game. There are three circuits in each one.
Circuit 1[]
Champion: Captain Redbeard (Pirates)
Circuit 2[]
Champion: King Kahuka (Islanders)
Circuit 3[]
Champion: Basil the Bat Lord (Fright Knights)
Circuit 4[]
Note: Circuits four through six contain mirrored versions of the courses in circuits one through three.
Champion: Johnny Thunder (Adventurers)
Circuit 5[]
Champion: Baron von Barron (Adventurers)
Circuit 6[]
Champion: Gypsy Moth (Insectoids)
Circuit 7[]
Champion: Rocket Racer
Racers[]
Unlike the PC and console versions, Scooter is the only default racer. Winning a circuit only advances the player to the next circuit without unlocking any car sets or minifigure pieces. Instead, any available minifigure parts are available by default, albeit from a much smaller selection than the PC/N64/PS1 version. Curiously, some parts from Ann Droid, Gail Storm, and Sam Sinister are among the available pieces despite these characters not appearing in circuit races in this version.
The champions of the game's seven circuits were some of the most popular LEGO minifigures of the time, with other notable characters acting as CPU racers in each circuit. The exception is the final boss of the game, Rocket Racer, who never officially appeared in a physical set until Minifigures Series 18 in 2018 and Stuntz in 2021.
| Character | Theme | Role | Circuit Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achu | Jungle | CPU racer | Circuits 3 and 4 |
| Alpha Dragonis | UFO | CPU racer | Circuits 5 and 6 |
| Baron von Baron | Desert | Hosting champion | Circuit 5 |
| Basil the Batlord | Fright Knights | Hosting champion | Circuit 3 |
| Captain Redbeard | Pirates | Hosting champion | Circuit 1 |
| Commander Cold | Ice Planet 2002 | CPU racer | Circuit 4 |
| Cpt Blackjack | Pirates | CPU racer | Circuits 4 and 5 |
| Cpt Broadside | Imperial Guards | CPU racer | Circuit 6 |
| Gypsy Moth | Insectoids | Hosting champion | Circuit 6 |
| Islander | Islanders | CPU racer | Circuit 3 |
| Johnny Thunder | Adventurers | Hosting champion | Circuit 4 |
| King Kahuka | Islanders | Hosting champion | Circuit 2 |
| Nova Hunter | Exploriens | CPU racer | Circuit 2 |
| Pharaoh's Mummy | Desert | CPU racer | Circuits 1 and 2 |
| Rob-N-Hood | Dark Forest | CPU racer | Circuits 2 and 3 |
| Rocket Racer | Racers | Hosting champion | Circuit 7 |
| Royal King | Royal Knights | CPU racer | Circuit 1 |
| Scooter | N/A | Default racer | N/A |
| The Admiral | Imperial Armada | CPU racer | Circuit 1 |
| The Black Knight | Black Knights | CPU racer | Circuit 6 |
| Willa the Witch | Fright Knights | CPU racer | Circuit 5 |
Console Differences[]
Aside from graphics and audio, the gameplay of this version is greatly simplified compared to the other platforms.
Car building is greatly simplified because of the Game Boy Color's technical limitations. Players can choose the number of tires and the color of the car but can only put three bricks on their car.
On the main menu of the PC/N64/PS1 version, each racetrack is represented by one of its CPU racers. This is not the case in the Game Boy Color version, which does not feature any characters in the sprite artwork for each racetrack.
Each circuit only consists of three tracks, compared to four tracks in other versions. Ice Planet Pathway and Magma Moon Marathon appear in Circuits 3 and 6, while Adventure Temple Trail and Knightmare-Athon are entirely absent. Like in other versions, Circuit 7 consists only of a single track called Rocket Racer Run; however, in the Game Boy Color version, Rocket Racer Run appears to be the UFO-themed track Alien Rally Asteroid, which is otherwise absent from Circuit Race.
Each race only has four opponent racers, reduced from five in the other versions, with the exception of Circuit 7 which only has Rocket Racer and no other CPUs. While the hosting champions are consistent with other versions, many of the other CPU racers appear in completely different circuits; for example, Rob-N-Hood appears in Circuits 2 and 3 instead of Circuits 1 and 4. Sam Sinister, Gail Storm, and Ann Droid do not appear as CPU racers.
Time Race is absent from this version. Therefore, Veronica Voltage does not appear in any capacity.
Notes[]
- This is the only version of LEGO Racers that is not developed by High Voltage Software.
