Rocket Racer is a recurring character in the LEGO Racers series of video games. His first physical appearance was in Minifigures Series 18, as the Race Car Guy.
Background
LEGO Racers
Rocket Racer is faced in the 7th and final circuit in LEGO Racers, on the track Rocket Racer Run. After the player bests him, he happily congratulates them and presents them with his car set to use and build custom cars with.
Rocket Racers
Rocket Racer appeared in the queue line video for Rocket Racers, with a few brief speaking roles, and drove a version of Brad Speedo's car recolored to resemble his original car from LEGO Racers. However, he did not appear in the game itself.
LEGO Racers 2
In LEGO Racers 2, Rocket Racer returns as the final boss, this time on the planet Xalax. Once beaten, he congratulates the player and awards them with the trophy for their new title as galactic racing champion, but tells them to look after it, saying he'll be back for it sooner or later.
LEGO Adventures! Magazine
LEGO Adventures! Magazine Issue 6 contains a comic based on the premise for LEGO Racers, where a bored Rocket Racer tells Veronica Voltage that he has beaten every good racer in LEGOLAND. To remedy this, Veronica uses her time machine to bring Basil the Batlord and Captain Redbeard from the past to race Rocket Racer. He beats them both and then challenges the reader to a race.
Likewise, the December 2001 issue has a comic based on LEGO Racers 2, especially the game's intro animation, where Rocket Racer goes from Sandy Bay to Xalax and participates in a race. Only the Russian version of this issue of the magazine has been scanned and uploaded online, but a rough English translation can be found here.
Drome Racers
Drome Racers features a character named Rocket, a retired racer who gives Max Axel (the player) tips, offers practice, and coordinates one-on-one challenges with other racers. While nothing in the game itself explicitly states this character is Rocket Racer, when asked if the characters were connected, the game's writer said:
This is a description taken from Ian Mayor. Please do not modify it. |
Yep. Very much a nod to the earlier character. The original Lego Racers was before my time at ATD, but everyone was keen to include him. |
In an early mockup of what character selection in the game may have looked like, Rocket is present, and an unused driver texture for him can be found in the game data. However, the game's writer had no recollection of plans to play as Rocket.[1] The artwork of Rocket in the character select mockup was never ultimately used elsewhere, but bears slightly more resemblance to the original design, with a wide smirk, while the in-game character model has a more neutral expression.
Minifigures
Rocket Racer made his first physical appearance as the Race Car Guy in Minifigures Series 18. Once again, his outfit has changed, though he still retains his logo, and his name is on his belt. This minifigure was further confirmed to be Rocket Racer when mentioned in an interview with Austin William Carlson, a graphics/minifigure artist at LEGO responsible for creating several revamps of classic characters:
This is a description taken from Austin William Carlson. Please do not modify it. |
Which is more fun for you Austin: creating new graphics or redesigning ‘classic’ ones and giving them a fresh look? Austin: It’s usually both for me, as long as they are original LEGO characters. There’s so many classic characters that I grew up with that I have been given a chance to give an updated look! Like Rocket Racer, Fright Knight, Johnny Thunder (he should have his original hat though), and some others I can’t currently talk about. I do love making original designs also, some of my current favorites are in the LEGO City Adventures TV show. |
Appearances
Video Game Appearances
Notes
- LEGO Stores gave out Rocket Racer stickers for a period of time.
- In LEGO Racers cutscenes, Rocket Racer's right arm is red and his left arm is blue. But in the player select, intro, tracks, main menu and when he gives you his car set, his right arm is blue and left arm is red.
- Early concept art and renders for LEGO Racers depict Rocket Racer with brown hair and a lighter colored outfit. This early design was also used for a large brick-built version of him and his car displayed at E3 1999.
Gallery of variants
In LEGO Racers | In LEGO Racers 2 | Race Car Guy |