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Nicktoons Racing for Game Boy Advance
Nicktoons Racing for Game Boy Advance lets SpongeBob, Tommy Pickles, CatDog and other Nickelodeon characters race karts against one another. An unknown competitor has invited the group to compete for the Krusty Krab Big Bun Award. Across twelve tracks, you drive through settings associated with the cartoon series. Taking corners and avoiding opponents are only part of the job: items can change the running order along the way. You therefore watch both the track and the driver trying to pull alongside you.
In Cups, you compete against five computer-controlled drivers. A cup consists of four three-lap races, with points awarded for your finishing position. You must finish high enough to continue. Race for Fun lets you practise on unlocked tracks without completing an entire cup. Time Trial removes the opponents and lets you work towards a faster lap. The shoulder button makes you hop briefly and initiate a powerslide through a tight corner.
Unlocked cups, difficulty levels and Hall of Fame times are saved automatically on the cartridge. You can race alone or locally with two to four players in total. To play together, everyone needs their own Game Boy Advance, their own Nicktoons Racing cartridge and the necessary Game Link cables. Systems, additional games and cables are not included. Races use this local cable connection, not the internet.
Region and language
Our Game Boy Advance games are European editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
This copy of Nicktoons Racing is a North American release. The cartridge label carries an ESRB age rating. The game contains English text.
Manual
With Nicktoons Racing for Game Boy Advance, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Nicktoons Racing
Infogrames brought Nicktoons Racing to Game Boy Advance in 2002. Crawfish Interactive developed this handheld edition. The name had already been used for racing games on other devices, but the GBA cartridge received its own development. It brought characters from series including Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey Arnold! together on Nintendo’s portable console. The shared competition gave the developers a reason to place cartoon characters who normally inhabit separate worlds alongside one another on the same starting grid.
The mysterious driver’s invitation provides the simple story behind the cups. During races, the series’ personalities mainly emerge through the competitors and the tracks’ decoration. The rules follow the kart-racing genre: short laps, useful items and positions that can change right up to the finish. The three difficulty levels raise the requirements. Completing Easy unlocks Medium, followed by Hard; you must finish progressively higher to advance.
The portable design divides racing between cups, individual practice races and time trials. Automatically saved results let you return later to tackle another cup or improve a record. Through the Game Link connection, friends could connect their own systems, with each participant needing a copy of the game. Nicktoons Racing thus belongs to the early GBA kart racers that combined a recognisable collection of characters with short races and direct, cable-based play together.
Similar games for Game Boy Advance
Mario Kart: Super Circuit for Game Boy Advance likewise uses familiar characters, cups and items that can turn a race around. You drive with Mario and his friends across twenty new tracks and can unlock older Super Nintendo courses. Nicktoons Racing uses twelve cartoon circuits and the Nickelodeon cast. Both require you to prepare for a corner while allowing for attacks from other karts.
Konami Krazy Racers also brings characters from different series together in a kart race on Game Boy Advance. Goemon and Dracula take the places occupied here by SpongeBob and Tommy. You collect bells for useful items, while Nicktoons Racing dresses its races in Nickelodeon themes. The similarity lies in the combination of compact tracks, recognisable drivers and an item that can still make a difference just before the finish.
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity on Game Boy Advance also revolves around quick steering and learning a track, but uses futuristic vehicles rather than cartoon karts. Its narrow tracks, jumps and dangerous edges leave little room for steering errors. Nicktoons Racing adds offensive items and a collection of television characters. A good racing line helps in both games, but the reasons for losing time are distinctly different.
Stuntman on Game Boy Advance likewise asks you to brake, steer and turn at the right moment. You drive for a film director and must perform prescribed stunts rather than finish a cup race first. Nicktoons Racing lets opponents and items continually interfere with your route. In Stuntman, the challenge mainly comes from a fixed sequence of actions that you try to perform ever more accurately.
Super Mario Advance shares the colourful characters and quick reactions to a changing playfield on Game Boy Advance. There, you run and jump through Subcon, choose between four heroes and throw lifted items or enemies. Nicktoons Racing translates similarly quick decisions into a kart and an approaching corner. The platform levels require a safe route to the exit, while the races revolve around your finishing position.
