Summary
DisneySpeedstormis built around the fun idea of bringing together various popular Disney characters forMario Kart-esque crazy racing.The current roster is pretty impressive, with ten different Disney films referenced and several characters available from each. The range of options covers material from the original 1920’sMickey Mousecartoons toPirates of the Caribbean. They even included Figment, a character from the Disneyland Parks. The current lineup includes both male and female characters of varying shapes and sizes, species, national backgrounds, and personalities. But while the game has done a great job covering a lot of ground, there is still a lot more it could do.
There are still plenty of iconic Disney characters that have not yet made it into the game. For one thing,Speedstormhas surprisingly overlooked the fact that Disney has a pretty wide range of characters who are actually experienced with racing, or at least know a thing or two about fast vehicles. One would think that these would be ideal choicesfor a racing gamelikeSpeedstorm.
Judy Hopps was a bunny who ended up making history by being the first of her species to get into the police force, and what was the first thing she was put in charge of? Parking duty. Judy was no stranger to cars or high-speed chases. Even when handing out parking tickets, she was extremely efficient at both spotting and responding to traffic violations. While she is not normally one to drive recklessly, she would certainly have the skills needed to drive onSpeedstorm’sracetracks.
It’s not hard to imagine her police background being used for voice call-outs and taunts, probably in the form of accusing other racers of breaking traffic safety rules and taunting them about how they’re going to get tickets after the race ends.
Speedstormis already a car racing game based on Disney, so it would make sense to bring in one of theiroriginalrace cars. Now they could look at theCarsfilms, but there’s another option. Herbie was a sentient Volkswagen Beetle who starred in six films between 1968 and 2005, most of which centered around himparticipating in automobile racesand comically outwitting his rivals on the track.
The premise of a car without a driver would stand out from other racers but if theyreallywanted someone behind the wheel, there are a few options from the films. One possibility would be to digitally resurrect Dean Jones as Jim Douglas, Herbie’s driver in the original movie. If Disney wanted someone a bit more recognizable they could go with Lindsay Lohan’s Maggie Peyton, Herbie’s driver for the most recent filmHerbie: Fully Loaded. Either way, they’d be bringing in a very charismatic little car.
Racing was a big part of Pixar’sCars, which followed an up-and-coming champion whose career is unexpectedly derailed in a way that teaches him a few lessons in humility. One would think a literal race car like Lightning McQueenwould be an obvious choice for a Disney racing game.
Admittedly, it would stand out from the others since McQueen is his own driver, but there’s no real reason that dynamiccouldn’twork. They might have to adjust the customization options, but in terms of overall gameplay controlling McQueen wouldn’t be any different from having a human driver.
The sequel toWreck-It RalphintroducedSlaughter Race, an aggressive racing game centered around GTA-style vehicular carnage. At the center of it was Shank, a skilled driver who, despite technically being the antagonist, was actually a pretty level-headed and nice person when other racers weren’t around.
Unsurprisingly, she was a very skilled driver well-adapted to navigating a world full of explosions and intense car theft. She had enough of a reputation that her personal car was considered the ultimate prize in the game. If she can handle the aggressive environment ofSlaughter Racethere’s no reason she shouldn’t be able to handleSpeedstorm.
BeforeWreck-It Ralph, Disney made aforay into virtual worlds with theTronseries, which itself already had characters riding “light cycles” in rigorous competitions.Tron: Legacyintroduced Quorra, a computer program that was well-practiced in driving fast vehicles through dangerous virtual environments.
Her introductory scene has her rescuing protagonist Sam Flynn in a fancy monster truck. She’s certainly got the skills to handle herself on any ofSpeedstorm’s tracks and the aggressive personality to put up a strong challenge against other racers.
A decent amount ofWreck-It Ralph’s plot actually took place in a chaotic racing game that could probably make a decent map forSpeedstorm, but it also had a racer as one of its central characters.Vanellope quickly became a fan favorite. She was an aspiring driver who longed to participate in races despite being actively blocked from doing so by others in her game, allegedly because of her being a “glitch.” She did have some difficulty learning to drive at first, but once she got the hang of it she quickly proved to be ruthless on the track. She proved so good at it that she went on to become a big player in the far more aggressive Slaughter Race.
Vanellope’s history of actually being a racer would make her a logical choice forSpeedstorm. They could easily frame her presence as jumping to this one fromone of her other games,especially sinceSpeedstormis set up as happening in an arcade.
