The Digimon crew have tackled many challenges. What else was left? Well, maybe jumping into miniature race cars, revving up the engines and taking off around pretzel-like tracks in pursuit of an elusive trophy?

That is precisely the adventure in store for the crew in Digimon Racing, a Game Boy Advance release by BanDai and Griptonite. The title combines solid graphical elements with a host of Digimon characters familiar to fans of the franchise. Agumon, Gabumon, Palmon, Patamon, Tentomon, Biyomon, Salamon, Gomamon or secret racers are there for your fast-track pleasure. Each of the racers are rated in three areas – speed, handling and acceleration.

There are several ways to compete in the single-player game: Cup Race, Quick Race or Time Trial. The multiplayer uses the GameLink and the game is also configured for wireless multiplayer.

You start out with a limited number of tracks available (four) but you can open up the 15 tracks that this game offers.

Once you have your track, and your racer, hit the done button and get ready to race. That chore is very easy to accomplish. The A button is to accelerate, use the d-pad to steer, and the left and right triggers allow you to jump and perform special functions during the race. Oh yeah, B will cause you to hard brake, if you look for that sort of thing.

Each course is laid out with twists, turns and power-ups. You race several laps and, obviously, the goal is to finish ahead of the others and advance your racer.

The game is played from the third-person perspective, slightly behind your racer. Affecting a three-dimensional look, the course does reveal itself at a fast pace, but you should have plenty of time to turn, and the tracks are wide enough to allow players to slide through the corners and accelerate down the straight-aways. The tracks also have invisible barriers, so you cannot stray too far off the course. And yes, there are wide expanses of grassy areas that slow you down and cause you to spin out.

Digimon Racing does not really offer anything that will stand out as a unique racing experience. But what this game does offer is delightful graphical elements, lush graphics and a simply racing challenge that will appeal to younger gamers, not necessarily veteran racers.
 

Gameplay: 7

Nothing too exceptional here. The game moves seamlessly through each race and there is a simple set of options available.

Graphics: 7.8

The animation is smooth and the game is very lush and cute.

Sound: 7.2

The musical score is solid and the racing sounds are kept to a minimum.

Difficulty: Easy

There are several difficulty settings to challenge racers, but this is a game best played by younger gamers. Older game players may find this racing title a little too simplistic.

Concept: 7.2

Nothing here steps away from the average GBA racing title other than putting it in the Digimon world.

Multiplayer: N/A

While the game uses the GameLink to hook systems together, and does have a wireless multiplayer option, other units were not available to test this at the time of the review.

Overall: 7.4

While not an innovative title, this game certainly has several things working for it. The Digimon racers are delightful and the whole atmosphere is upbeat, light-hearted and visually pleasing.