Retro Review: Mickey's Speedway USA

After Rareware created Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, I had thought that they would one day create another 3D racing game that would outdo it in just about every respect. When the company created a second racing game for the venerable 64-bit system, it ended up being inferior, but still quite fun. The game was called Mickey's Speedway USA, which was released as part of a short-lived deal by Rare to create games featuring classic Disney characters. In the game, Mickey and his friends (and one foe!) go on a racing adventure across the United States. How does it compare to Diddy Kong Racing, or Mario Kart 64, for that matter? The answer lies in the following review.

One day, Mickey finds a note from a trio of villainous weasels saying that they have abducted his dog Pluto and his diamond collar. With little time to lose, Mickey calls his friends, and they all meet at Professor Ludwig von Drake's lab. The professor agrees to help them in their quest to race across the country so that they may catch up to the weasels and rescue Pluto. The plot serves its purpose, but there is nothing really special about it. However, it is better than simply racing for the sake of it like in Mario Kart.

From the start, you can choose one of six characters, each with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. Mickey and Donald possess average statistics and may be good for novices to try out. Minnie and Daisy have good acceleration and handling, but low top speeds. Nevertheless, they are worth using for courses in which tighter turns are imperative. Goofy and Pete have high top speeds, but their handling leaves a lot to be desired, and thus, only experts should bother using them on harder courses. As you clear the courses, you can unlock other characters. Dewey and Louie have excellent handling and are the best characters to use in order to gain the elusive platinum trophies. Ludwig, however, possesses some rather atrocious handling and one should avoid using him on harder difficulties at all costs.

You can initially choose from three grand prix modes, each of which have four courses from different cities and states in the United States. Each one can also be completed in one of three difficulty levels. In Amateur, your kart will move quite slow, but the races are rather simple to win. In Intermediate, your vehicle's speed increases, as does the A.I. of your opponents. It gets even trickier in Professional, especially on the later levels. You can play on the first two difficulties to help you practice on the courses, as well as to unlock cheats and characters, but only by completing them on the Professional level will you be able to unlock more tracks and progress through the story (such as it is). Speaking of the story, there is a nice touch in that, prior to starting some courses, you get a postcard from the weasels that show them torturing (in a family friendly way, of course) poor Pluto in their current location.

The game play is best described as a mixture of features taken from Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing. It is more derivative from the former, however, particularly with the weapons that can be collected. The baseball is the equivalent of the Koopa shell, the paint is just like the banana peel, the shield is equal to the invincibility star, and so forth. You can also pick up tokens that gradually increase your speed, much like the bananas from Diddy Kong Racing, and sometimes, you can give yourself three free tokens at once. One would think that some more unique weapons would be available, but apparently Disney wanted this to be as much of a Mario Kart clone as possible.

As mentioned, each track will take you to a location in the United States, from Chicago to Colorado, from New York to New Mexico, and from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Unlike in Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing, these tracks do not feature too many surprises, but they make up for it by offering some truly difficult challenges. For example, the Colorado track has lots of places to drop off...even the computer-controlled characters often fall off. Do so, and you are set back a little and will have to catch up. This is where characters with superb handling are imperative, particularly if you wish to earn the gold or platinum trophies. The latter requires you to place first on all four courses in a circuit, though this becomes hard to do later in the game. However, it is also key to unlocking many of the game's secret characters and features.

While placing first is obviously the most important part of any race, you will also need to look for stolen car parts in each circuit. These parts are hidden well and are necessary to access the final circuit. This, too, is derivative of Diddy Kong Racing in that it is very similar to that game's quest to find the keys needed to unlock bonus games. As for other features, there is a battle mode that copies that of Mario Kart, right down to having three balloons that disappear when you are hit. The Practice mode is useless save for the ability to unlock a new track by running over chicken eggs (I kid you not), and the Time Trial mode has times that are very difficult to beat. None of these features are all that special, but they can still be fun nevertheless.

About the only innovation to be found at all is the amount of speech that can be heard throughout the races. As the characters strike each other, they apologize (they are mostly old friends, after all) or cheer as they leave their opponents in the dust. They also taunt each other as they pass by and react according to their current position. The voice acting here is more realistic than in either Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing, in which the speech during the races consisted mostly of cheers and groaning. It helps that it was performed by the actual Disney voice actors, including Jim Cummings, Russi Taylor, and the late Wayne Allwine. Some may be annoyed by the speech, but it stands out as one of the more unique features of the game.

The game may not be all that innovative and does not surpass Diddy Kong Racing despite coming out three years after that title. Even so, I find it rather enjoyable. The tracks are fast and furious, and can be quite fun in spite of the recycled features. The character strengths and weaknesses require you to use some strategy to find out which driver works best on various courses, though this aspect does not matter when you unlock the drivers with the best handling. For a game aimed at children, the difficulty can be rather unforgiving at times, particularly since you can only use three continues (though you can unlock a cheat that gives you unlimited continues). While the story can be beaten in only a few hours, the play time is extended by going back to get every last platinum trophy and secret. While not as strong of a game as Diddy Kong Racing, Mickey's Speedway USA is surprisingly good if you give it a chance.

In terms of graphics, the cities and states are recreated rather well in the typical Disney style. The characters look fairly well for one of their first 3D appearances, and there is little slowdown present. The music consists of the typical cartoon type tunes, and there are some nice, bouncy songs featured here. The voice work is quite good and faithful to the cartoons, even if the voices may end up grating on one's nerves after a while. Rare has a solid reputation for creating great visual and audio presentations, and this is no exception.

Mickey's Speedway USA is not very innovative, but it is still a solid racing game on account of its excellent tracks, great voice acting, tough challenges, and hours of entertainment. Of all the games that Rare created for the Nintendo 64, this seems to be the least known, as not many people know or talk about it anywhere near as much as such games as Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie, or Conker. Even so, it is worth picking up if you can find a copy. If you are looking for some great racing action starring the world famous mouse and his friends, look no further than Mickey's Speedway USA. It is an overlooked gem that is well worth your time.