Plenty of great Star Wars games have offered fans the opportunity to fulfill their fantasies from a galaxy far, far away, from clashing lightsaber blades and exchanging blaster fire to piloting the saga’s most iconic starships. But only 1999’s Star Wars Episode I: Racer invited them to hop into a podracer and experience the unique, pulse-pounding thrills of the underground sport introduced in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Over two decades after it nudged Nintendo 64 players to the edge of their seats, the game continues to rank among not only the best Star Wars titles of all time, but one of the interactive medium’s most beloved racing experiences. With Racer’s re-release edition hitting Xbox consoles, we thought it the perfect time to call out why, 20 years on, we