Disney Speedstorm - Racers tier list
It’s pretty much a fact that Disney boasts one of the widest rosters of characters and famous franchises, enjoyed by kids and adults alike. From Sleeping Beauty to Mulan and more, there are very few places and times that the Disney vault hasn’t touched upon. So it’s no surprise that they’re making their way to mobile again…although this time in a very different, high-octane way.
Disney Speedstorm is a kart racer that features characters from across the Disney world, split into four current (and growing) factions or teams of racers. These include: Beauty and the Beast, which features characters from the film; Hercules, Mulan, Mickey & Friends, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Book, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Walt Disney World, Lilo & Stitch, and Aladdin.
Yes, it’s quite a stacked roster, and while many (if not all) of these films are aimed towards a younger audience, we know that more than a few readers probably have a hard time letting go of their enjoyment of the Disney classics, modern and otherwise. So we’re expecting quite a large, more skill-oriented and older audience that will have all the same questions that players of other, more hardcore games may ask.
For example, what differences do the racers have between each other, and which are the best to use? Well, for differences, quite a lot actually, as it wouldn’t be a character-based roster if you didn’t have variables between them. So, in the spirit of our previous coverage of many other games, we’ve brought together a brief tier list ranking all the characters in Disney Speedstorm, from the beauties to the beasts and deciding just where they fall on a firm ranking.
Right out of the (Disney) vault
Racers have different stats, including Top Speed, Acceleration, Handling, Boost and Combat. However, for the sake of argument, we’re going to take into account their subjective performance and aggregate against where they’ve placed elsewhere. It’s also worth noting that many players who prefer to play competitively have reportedly pursued a playstyle wherein they eschew upgrades or pit members (which are selectable upgrades that boost performance), so there’s a lot of debate about whether or not character difference matters for more casual play.So, with our Disney Speedstorm tier list, you can get to grips with the huge variety of iconic characters taking to the racing circuit.
Without further ado, let’s get into it, starting with…
Original article by Iwan Morris. Updated by Mihail Katsoris.
1
S Tier
- Rinzler
- Zuse
- Hiro Hamada
- Quorra
- Supercharge Kristoff Racer
- Sam Flyn
- Elizabeth Swann
- Captain Hector Barbosa
- Supercharge Hans
- Will Turner
- Jack Skellington
- Buzz Lightyear
- Frozone
- Evil Queen Racer
- Rapunzel
- Mike Wazowski
- Davy Jones
- Jessie
- Aladdin
- Dr. Finkelstein
- Stitch
- Dash
- Genie
Characters in this tier are, obviously, top of the leaderboard when it comes to performance. Although stats make a huge difference, we’ve aggregated their placement against the general opinion and what we’ve seen from playing ourselves. Elizabeth Swann, for example, takes this spot for her consistent placement in the top tier; however, we have seen her drop in some estimations as more characters are added, with those like Buzz Lightyear shooting to the top consistently since his release.
2
A Tier
- Baymax
- Emperor Zurg
- Honey Lemon
- Racer Maui
- Jack Sparrow
- Steamboat Mickey
- Kristoff Racer
- Cruella de Vil Racer
- Kermit
- Mr. Incredible
- Ms. Incredible
- Sulley
- Maleficent
- Disgust
- Steamboat Pete
- Violet
- Sally
- Shang
- Celia Mae
- Gaston
- Lotso
- Lilo
- Randall
- Jumba
- Belle
It’s no surprise that Gaston places so consistently high. As the lyric goes, “No-one fights like Gaston”, and his skill, Trophy Hunting, essentially means he can use his special ability to knock out opponents consistently. And if you’ve got good aim, you won’t need to worry about how long it takes to refresh.
He also provides a pretty good example of what this tier is about. These characters possess exciting and varied skills and abilities that mark them out from the rest of the pack. However, for whatever reason, they still don’t rank highly in the reception of players. This could be simply because they don’t work out competitively, or that their abilities are done better by other characters in their faction.
3
B Tier
- Baloo
- Snow White
- Mickey Mouse
- The Beast
- Goofy
- Captain Gantu
- Ortensia
- Oswald
- Bo Peep
- Megara (Meg)
- Woody
- Forky
- Donald Duck
- Daisy Duck
- Angel
- Minnie Mouse
It’s ironic that Disney’s poster boy is in this tier; however, it suits the fact that Mickey is somewhat of a difficult starting character. Especially due to his low top speed, which means that he can end up lagging behind other racers. However, we still place him fairly high because - well - he’s Mickey Mouse, and because the fact you’ll probably end up playing through the single-player missions starring him and soon upgrading this racer means that you won’t have to cope with his lacklustre starting stats for too long.
However, Mickey does have one crippling weakness, which is the fact his special ability - Trailblazer - not only boosts you…but also all the other racers behind you! It’s quite charitable, but not exactly the best if you’re hoping to leave other racers in the dust.
4
C Tier
- Mulan
- Hades
- Hercules
- Ennui
- Mowgli
- Jasmin
- Jafar
Getting down to the C tier, we have racers that are simply lacking in most departments. As we stated at the start, it’s difficult to nail down truly bad characters in any racer, as your skill is a crucial part of the performance. However, some of these characters possess abilities or drawbacks that are simply too prominent to ignore.
Hercules, for example, suffers one decisive drawback in his character, which is that his special ability not only actively aids his opponents, like Mickey’s does, but also makes them invulnerable! The only saving grace here is, of course, that this only applies to racers who follow the trail left by his ability, which means those up ahead won’t benefit. But it is a significant drawback, regardless.
5
D Tier
- Figment
Fortunately for the characters relegated to the bottom of this Disney Speedstorm tier list, there are no truly bad characters, as any of them can be relatively decent under the right circumstances. However, these characters lack the potential and high performance that marks out those in the upper tiers. Don’t fret if your personal favourite is in this tier, as you can still play them with reasonable expectations to take home some victories. Just don’t expect to breeze your way to victory, and be ready to work for your wins. As of the first version of this list, there’s fortunately only one character who’s had a cold reception across the board.
If you don’t know who Figment is, we don’t blame you, as he’s quite a deep cut even for Disney superfans. He’s actually the mascot for the Epcot attraction in Walt Disney World. Certainly, he’s not as popular as the other characters on this list and has had quite a muted reaction both competitively and casually. And it’s no surprise given his poor stats are balanced out only by a somewhat useful special ability in Spark of Imagination that can obscure other racer’s vision, but requires you to be in close proximity to a large number of them to get maximum utility - and only a short speed boost to compensate for the poor placement you’d need to either intentionally or accidentally be in to use it.
6
Further information & Resources
As always, we have the fans over at the Disney Speedstorm wiki to thank for having the information on each individual racer’s abilities and stats readily accessible. Their list has been invaluable and provides an easy way to compare racers out of the game, as well as some info on the trivia and easter eggs you can find on the characters’ racing suits and elsewhere. Thanks in part to a surprisingly robust character roster and equally exciting scenery and references to popular Disney films, there’s also a vibrant and thriving fan community to engage with when it comes to Disney Speedstorm.
Since you've lasted this long, we also have a Defense Derby tier list, as you're an avid fan of cars, obviously.
