Disneyhas a rich history of movies and cartoons that translate well to video games, especially arcade racing games. Most of the Disney racing games throughout the years have been in the kart racer genre, but a few have tried to replicate the stories Disney fans love by mixing racing with adventure mechanics.
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Some of the racing games blend the Disney series’ together to create cross-over games while others have been dedicated to one film or series. We put our pedal to the metal as we take a look at some of the best Disney racing games released.
7Disney Speedstorm
If you have ever wondered what Kingdom Hearts would be like as a kart racer, then this is precisely what you would expect. Disney has pulled out of the pit stop at full speed to bring together many of its loved characters forDisney Speedstorm. From the loved classic such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, right through to newer characters such as Jack Sparrow and Stitch.
The free-to-play racer has many tracks based on famous Disney locales. You can speed around Andy’s room from Toy Story or skid through tight turns of the Great Wall of China as Mulan. Each racer character and track has been crafted with great attention to detail, and it’s hard not to feel a sense of childlike wonder as you boost your way through castles and jungles that will evoke many memories of your favourite Disney movies.
6Mickey’s Speedway USA
After releasing Diddy Kong Racing, Rare got back in the driver’s seat with Mickey’s Speedway USA on the N64. It features 20 tracks that are loosely based on real places in the USA. Prestigious racetracks, such as Indianapolis, are mixed in with famous locations like the Grand Canyon.
The gameplay is typical of kart racers of the time with power-ups causing mayhem and needing to beat the the Grand Prix tournaments to unlock extra characters and cheats. It’s also tough to finish: the game’s AI will fight for every position and you know you’ve been in a race following each victory.
5Mickey’s Racing Adventure
An often-forgotten Disney kart racer that appeared on the Game Boy Color and received great reviews at the time. It has a mixture of racing and adventure elements that blend to create a story mode where you race as several Disney characters. It’s an impressive achievement given the hardware limitations, and it’s hard not to be impressed.
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Mickey’s Racing Adventure has lots of tracks, characters and power-ups to use as well as a good challenge to max out the vehicle upgrades. It won’t take you long to finish the main game, but there are enough reasons to come back due to the fun gameplay and excellent graphics.
4Toy Story Racer
It might not go to infinity and beyond, butToy StoryRacer features an impressive 12 characters from the first movie that are unlocked one by one as you find the lost toy soldiers. There are a total of 200 soldiers to find by racing through the 18 tracks.
Toy Story Racer offers lots of replay value due to the number of game modes on offer, which includes 100 challenges to complete. The best part of the game is visiting all the great locations from the film including Sid’s house, Pizza Planet and of course, Andy’s room.
3Cars
Could there be a better match than Disney’s Cars and a racing game? Following the events of the film, Lightning McQueen and his fleet of speedy friends start a new adventure that sees them compete to win the Piston Cup. The Road Hazard gang has claimed victory, and it’s up to you to take back the town’s bragging rights.
The adventure takes place across a blend of traditional races, boss battles, and minigames spread across an open world. The racing mechanics are excellent, and it’s fun being able to drive around town as the super cool Lightning McQueen. It’s also wonderful hearing the voice acting of stars of the film, such as Owen Wilson and Michael Keaton.
2Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour
Similar to Disney’s Speedstorm, Magical Racing Tour takes place in a crossover world that features Disney characters from its films and cartoons. Most of the game is based on attractions from Disney parks around the world. You can take on Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion as well as many other favourite rides transformed into racetracks.
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One aspect that sets this apart from the other Disney racing games is the introduction of brand-new characters designed specifically for this game. It also has music that has been taken directly from the actual rides and unlockable tracks that are gained by finding the hidden coins on certain tracks.
1Cars 2
Unlike the first game in this series, Cars 2’s story is taken directly from the film as you once again take control of Lightning McQueen and his band of anthropomorphic vehicle friends. Just like in the movie, you complete your training as a spy by completing various challenges to gain a bronze, silver, or gold medal.
The gameplay in Cars 2 is centered around racing but has many adventure-style elements that make use of fun spy gadgets that are used to complete your missions. The weapons are devilishly fun and cause havoc in the excellent multiplayer mode.
