Inspector Gadget Racing

Did You Know?

• Players can collect power-ups on courses, such as missiles or tar, to disrupt other racers.
• The game has multiplayer functionality using the Game Link Cable for Advance players each with a copy of the game.
• Players start with three available tracks and unlock additional ones as they win each in order.

Reception

When Inspector Gadget Racing first hit shelves, critics were divided. Several reviewers pointed to Mario Kart: Super Circuit as a superior racing game for the Game Boy Advance. Nintendo Official Magazine called the graphics "bold and colourful" but found the racing "pedestrian" due to poor collision detection. In later issues, they labeled it the worst kart racer on the Advance, describing it as "one of the slowest racers you'll ever play" and a "black sheep of the karting family." Kendy Ty of Joypad liked the cartoonish, colorful visuals but criticized the "very slow" pacing and "lack of sensation of speed," noting that the game had "too much inertia" and was "quite difficult to get to grips with." Karen Harris of Total Advance praised the "jaunty, imaginative tracks" for their color and variety, but found the difficulty "infuriating" and the game unoriginal. Oliver Lan of G-Force called it "completely uninspiring," saying the vehicles felt "slow and clunky" and the races were "devoid of excitement."

Retrospective opinions were equally mixed. Henry Gilbert of GamesRadar+ listed it as one of "the most forgettable kart racers ever released," lamenting that it "barely had enough memorable characters," featured "mundane driving," and did not even use its own theme song. Chris Scullion of Nintendo Life called it a "racing tie-in nobody asked for," arguing the show was a poorly suited license for a racing game. He criticized the "painfully slow" pacing and car handling, but admitted the game was "not actually the worst looking" and did feature "impressive enough tracks."