Lego Racers 2 (Game Boy Advance) Walkthrough

Описание: Because, you know, the first handheld installment was just soooooo dang good that everyone was begging to try the next one.

Okay, for real, it's the GBA iteration of LR2! ...yay? This is a full play through of the game's single player story mode, which is basically shot-for-shot the same as the PC/PS2 version's storyline, right down to the exact same text boxes. Of course the tracks are all different given that this is a watered down handheld adaptation, but you probably already guessed that. This game also has a new set of powerups and new minigames as well.

And...that's about all there is to say from a general perspective. Is this game any good? Honestly...no. I think the only real positive I have to say about this game is that it's better than the GBC Lego Racers, but that's starting at rock bottom so there wasn't much direction to go except up from there. The game had potential to be decent, but it's wrecked by game mechanics that do not at all complement the track designs. It is way too easy to go crashing into walls, over or under steer, and the drifting system is one of the worst I've ever seen in a kart racer (yes, even worse than the console version of LR1!), where you just do a really quick skid that doesn't really take you in any definite direction. On top of that, this game also transplants the car upgrade system from the main versions, and it's not only just as broken here as it was in the original, it's even LESS refined; upgrading your engine makes it near impossible to avoid falling off the edge or hitting walls. This especially is true for going off jumps, where you will frequently be going so fast that you physically will have no way of avoiding going off the track. Getting a steering upgrade to compensate doesn't fix this either. And on top of that, the tracks are horribly designed, frequently not making it obvious where you're supposed to go, and they're very bland and uninspired. And, beyond that...why does this game even exist? Mario Kart: Super Circuit was announced pretty much around the exact same time the GBA was unveiled, did they really think they stood a chance against such a high profile kart racing name like that?

World-by-world comments

Sandy Bay: You go through the exact same first several races as you do in the original, and by golly are they a walk in the park. There is also a minigame in this world that...well, I won't spoil it. Just watch. It has to be seen to be believed.

Dino Island: A little more difficult, but not much. The minigame in this world (and the next) is garbage; trust me, if you think I'm playing bad, it is so much easier said than done to avoid things in this game, and there's no radar to tell you where the nearest egg is so it's a total guessing game. Either way, not much else to say.

Arctic: So. If you notice that the video suddenly gets way darker and easier to see halfway through this world...no, that's not your imagination. I didn't realize until I reached this world that I turned up the contrast on my capture card just a liiiiiiittle too high and thus the snow in this world was way too bright with none of the detail visible. My apologies about that. I wish I had began recording with it like that from the outset but what is done is done. Anyway, this world is alright, but has some extremely confusing track layouts.

Mars: Not a fun world. Way too many jumps and the lava is way too easy to fall into. In fact, this is probably the worst world in the game. Oh, and you don't even get to face Riegel in his giant mech. Ah well, I guess I can forgive that.
Oh, also fun fact: prior to recording this video, I had not played past the first few tracks in Mars. If you can believe this, I actually got so bored when first playing this that I just gave up, restarted, and began making the walkthrough from there. So, yeah, beginning about halfway through this world, this was done blind, and this recording was in fact my first time finishing this game. Imagine that.

Xalax: Bad track design at its peak. 90 degree turns everywhere, walls way too close to each other, and the fourth track of this world has to be seen to be believed, the utter pinnacle of bad design. It appears they tried to replicate the figure 8 course in the original, but they went about it by making one long road with a circle on each end, and it's extremely not obvious that you're supposed to enter those circles from one direction and exit from the other. Would it have killed them to split the track down the middle? That could have saved so much confusion. At the very least, Rocket Racer is much more of a climactic showdown in this game than he is in the original, though that has more to do with the spaghetti track you race him on than anything.

Hope you enjoy the walkthrough! I certainly hope more so than I did playing this game.