History VideoGame / LEGORacers

* DefeatMeansPlayable: In a sense. As stated in AndYourRewardIsClothes above, beating a racer in first place not only unlocks their car for the player's use, but also their minifigure parts for the Build mode, basically allowing you to play as them. This also applies to World Champion Rocket Racer and Time Trial host Veronica Voltage, though the latter works differently in that you have to beat all the time trial challenges to unlock her and her car.

* UnstableEquilibrium: If you get ahead of the pack. When you're in front, you get the first pick of all the powerups and upgrade bricks... but you're vulnerable to getting hit with red attacks, which make you drop your upgrade bricks (and knock you back). When you're behind, everyone else grabs all the good stuff first. But if you can get ''far enough'' ahead that the former isn't a threat, such as through a Turbo Start followed by an early Warp... GG.

* WackyRacing

* MissingSecret: The Knightmare-athon and Pirate Skull Pass shortcuts, both of which were DummiedOut.

* LevelInReverse: 3 of the tracks in the game are left-to-right mirrored versions of other tracks.

* ClassicCheatCode: The first game has a whole slew of cheat codes that are solely meant for messing around, such as turning all the power-ups to one type, having them always maxed out, making parts of the cars invisible (such as the wheels, chassis, or driver), and a fast-forward mode. They only work in Single Races and [[NoFairCheating are not activated if you play Time Trial or Circuit Mode]]. The second game also has a few, though not to the same degree as the first, as the only ones that exist are playing as Martians and a wide-angle view.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: In the first game, you get to use the entire CoolCar set of the newest champion, assuming that you achieve first place. Dropped in the second; beating champions means extra upgrades for your car.

* PurposefullyOverpowered: The game's design suggests at least some self-awareness of Warp's status as the best power-up, as [[spoiler: it's [[FinalBoss Rocket Racer's]] preferred powerup,]] and his track is set up to allow ''[[GameplayDerailment both of you]]'' to [[{{Whoring}} spam]] the ''heck'' out of it.

* HardModeFiller: In the first game, after beating Circuits 1 through 3, the player has to do it all over again in Circuits 4 through 7. The courses are mirrored and in reverse order, and the circuit bosses (Johnny Thunder, Baron von Barron, Gypsy Moth) are more challenging than their predecessors (Captain Redbeard, King Kahuka, Basil the Bat Lord), but otherwise it's just a slightly harder repeat of earlier levels padding out the game's length before the final Circuit 7.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: LevelUp the red brick in ''Racers'' to the fourth and you get to launch three devastating, high-speed, {{Roboteching}} missiles at once.

** ''Racers'' has a four-color brick system and implements a fifth color, white, to essentially LevelUp the effect of the other four colors.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Rocket Racers in LEGOLAND Windsor, which has many tracks that bear great resemblance to the first game, like Magma Moon Marathon. Then there was the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen planned-but-scrapped]] ''LEGO Racers: The Video Game''.

* WeaponOfChoice: In the first game, each boss racer favors a particular brick type. It's very noticeable in-game.

** Inverted in the first game, as AI racers won't take any of the shortcuts, even if the player already opened them up.

* DummiedOut:
** The Knightmare-Athon and Pirate Skull Pass short-cuts were removed completely, but hacks of the map data show there are still power-ups intact from where they used to be. Heck in the [=PS1=] version the unreachable red brick above the castle for the first Knightmare-Athon shortcut can actually be easily seen while racing due to the castle lacking towers on its roof. While on the PC and N64 the brick is hidden behind the tower so you have to drive out of your way and into the right spot in order to see the unreachable brick.
** Most players will know Veronica Voltage only as the ghost from the Race against the clock mode. However, a physical form of her car was programmed and can be implemented with a few modifications. Unlike most boss-racers, she does not have a special AI, and is programmed to behave in a way most similar to Governor Broadside or the Islander.

* DrivingGame: Of the KartRacer variety.

* DubNameChange: This happens in ''LEGO Racers'' due to the [[IHaveManyNames confusing naming issue]] of two Toys/LEGOAdventurers villains. In the American version, the boss of Circuit 5 is named Baron von Barron, and one of the racers in Circuits 3 and 6 is named Sam Sinister. In the European translation, the boss of Circuit 5 is named Mr. Hates, and the racer in Circuits 3 and 6 is named Slyboots.

** Or rather, [[Toys/LEGOCastle Basil the Batlord, Willa the Witch]], [[Toys/LEGOAdventurers Baron von Barron]]/[[DubNameChange Mr. Hates]], [[Toys/LEGOSpace Alpha Dragonis]], and [[Toys/LEGOAdventurers Sam Sinister]]/[[DubNameChange Slyboots]] in the first game. [[Toys/LEGOPirates Captain Redbeard and Governor Broadside]] also seem willing to put their differences behind them in Circuit 1.

** Two characters in the second game (Frankie Solido and Baron Rosso) aren't named in the game, as they only show up as racers and never in explore mode as someone you can talk to. The only way you'd be able to know is by hacking into the game files.

* PowerupLetdown: Yellow + one white in the first game is...arguably worse than yellow with no white. Yellow with no white lays down an oil slick that causes the player who comes in contact with it to spin out; it stays for a fairly long period of time, so if you're a little ahead, there's still a chance that a player could run into it. A yellow and a white throws a keg of dynamite behind you that creates explosions, sending the victim flying upwards and slowing them down. The problem is that it works more like a backwards projectile rather than a trap, meaning that if there's nobody immediately behind you, it's a complete waste. The 3 explosions are potentially more dangerous, but it's much harder to hit someone with.

** On the results screen and in his intro cutscene, [[Toys/LEGOCastle Basil the Bat Lord's]] name is written as "Basil the Batlord" (though, oddly enough, it is written "Bat Lord" on the main menu). Similarly, [[Toys/LEGOPirates Black Jack Hawkins]] has his name written as "Blackjack Hawkins". [[Toys/LEGOSpace Alpha Draconis]] has his name spelled "Alpha Dragonis".
** In ''LEGO Racers 2'', [[Toys/LEGOAdventurers Sam and Alexia Sinister's]] last name is spelled "Sanister". Surprisingly, [[Toys/LEGOLifeOnMars Riegel]] [[AvertedTrope averts]] this trope, despite usually falling victim to it.

* TheVonTropeFamily: Baron von Barron, [[DubNameChange at least in the American version of the first game]].

* SaveGameLimits: The N64 version required half a Memory Pak to store your data [[note]]The game requires a whopping ''62 pages'' to save your progress. A standard Nintendo brand Memory Pak only has 123 pages, so there's just barely not enough room to hold two save files as it leaves you with 61 left. Third party Paks can hold much more to remedy it, but that's still an insane amount. It is also worth stating a game taking a heavy amount of pages is nothing out of the ordinary if the saving is a tangential part of the experience and not the main data you care about (for example, ghost data in ''Mario Kart 64'' takes 121 pages), but it's not very excusable when it's mandatory and it has that high of a space requirement[[/note]]. Otherwise, it was literally impossible to save your game.

* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: Some circuit racers are just plain-out faster than you.]]

* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: Veronica Voltage is immune to track edge friction, letting her cut corners across dirt and sand where anyone else would be slowed if they tried.
** May or may not be a [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]], as [[GuideDangIt turbo powerups also let you ignore friction while they're active]], and if you watch carefully, this ''is'' what she's doing (at least sometimes). [[DoubleSubversion However, this doesn't change the fact that some circuit racers are just plain-out faster than you.]]

* RewardingVandalism: This tends to open shortcuts and some even have enough white and green bricks to upgrade to [[GameBreaker warp turbo boost]].

* SelfImposedChallenge: Over the years, players have come up with many ways to play the first game to spice up the challenge, some of which can be found on the Website/YouTube channel of [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDfChE4XN95shYayNx5Q-XQ Piotr Garschin Poland]]. These include [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSdkKshDcKc helping a specific NPC racer win the circuit]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfrnj-l4Vw winning a circuit with the fewest points possible]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPEo49WCvKQ winning a circuit without using power-ups]], and even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dElYL1O_ecU winning a circuit while driving backwards]].

** The Knightmare-Athon and Pirate Skull Pass short-cuts were removed completely, but hacks of the map data show there are still power-ups intact from where they used to be. Heck in the PS1 version the unreachable red brick above the castle for the first Knightmare-Athon shortcut can actually be easily seen while racing due to the castle lacking towers on its roof. While on the PC and N64 the brick is hidden behind the tower so you have to drive out of your way and into the right spot in order to see the unreachable brick.