Speed Racer: The Videogame (Wii)

Speed Racer: The Videogame
Also known as: Speed Racer (JP) Developer: Sidhe Interactive Publishers: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (US/EU/AU), Activision (JP) Platform: Wii Released in JP: July 10, 2008 Released in US: May 6, 2008 Released in EU: May 9, 2008 Released in AU: June 4, 2008 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused cinematics. This game has regional differences.

Speed Racer: The Videogame is a futuristic racing game and the first entry in the F-Zero series to be released without the approval of Captain Falcon.

Developer Text

Much of the game's configuration is laid out in commented plaintext .xml files in the game's main archive, wii_wiics.zip. For example, in resourcesets/common_menu_resources.xml, the following comment is found at the top of the file:

<!--
This file loads the initial menu resources needed for the loading screen
These are also needed later on for most menus, so altering this file will affect the main menu's also
-->

Some of the more interesting comments are found in resourcesets/game_common_resources.xml:

    <!-- Driver Ball -->
	<!-- Taken out since it's not needed any more
    <SRGbClumpFileResource>
      <name>driver_ball</name>
      <path>game/models/v99_Driverball/V99Gdbp.nif</path>
    </SRGbClumpFileResource> -->

    <!-- Junction barriers aren't in the build, so we don't need the texture
	<MabTextureResourceFile>
      <name>junction_arrows</name>
      <path>game/images/T99TCHV1.dds</path>
    </MabTextureResourceFile> -->

PlayStation 2 FMVs

To do: Can anybody decode these videos?

The JP release includes all of the FMVs from the (then-upcoming) enhanced PlayStation 2 version of the game on the disc, adding about 700 MB of unused files specific to that version. The Wii equivalents are all encoded in a higher bitrate than the PS2 versions. Notably, the PS2 game would feature an opening cinematic presenting the game's story as a sequel to the film. That video appears to be on the JP Wii disc as well, as both speedracer_trailer.bik and speedracer_trailer_ps2.bik, despite neither being used here.

Regional Differences

Time Trial Enhancements

The EU and JP versions of the game include additional features in the Time Trial mode which are not included in the US game. The current position is compared against the best lap time with both an indicator in the bottom left and a ghost racer. The US and EU versions only released three days apart, and based on the below section, the EU version is older than the US version if anything, so it's not clear why the US missed out on this feature. Notably, the PlayStation 2 port, which was released four months later (coinciding with the home video release of the film), is similarly affected: the US version still lacks this feature while the EU version once again includes it.

Unused/"Old" Textures

The EU version of the game, though released second, uses different textures which were left over in the US version as [texturename]_old.dds, indicating that the US/JP textures are the new ones. These textures can be found inside the main game archive, wii_wiics.zip, in the tracks directory.

US/JP	EU
t01ttrk1_colr.dds Textures for the first track, Thunderhead. The most notable change is the removal of the glowing pink lights along the edges of the track which were present in the old/EU textures. The next two textures are also for Thunderhead. The third is a glow map, not meant to be viewed directly and showing the pink glow has also been removed.
t01ttrk1_dec1.dds
t01ttrk1_glow.dds
t04ttrk1_tunn.dds A texture for track 4, Aurora. The US/JP version has been brightened significantly.
t99tads1.dds The next two are generic trackside billboard textures, not meant for any specific course. The color balance has shifted dramatically in some of these, with the US/JP versions appearing as if their blue channel has been zeroed, making them trend more toward yellow and red.
t99tads2.dds

(Source: Original TCRF research)