Mario Kart 64

"This is 10x better than Super Mario Kart and it always will be, end of story"

When Super Mario Kart first came out, I could not remember one person that did not have it for their beloved SNES. It was a great racing game anyone could ask for at that time, with its great Mode 7 graphics and chaotic gameplay. If you hooked up a four controller adapator to your SNES there was more chaos to be had as now you had a chance to play against three of your friends. Yes, SMK was a great game but now we have Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash, both of which equally kill SMK over and over again. People will say that SMK is still the best, but alas they are kidding themselves and its a shame. Oh well, they will learn in due time. Mario Kart 64 is a superbly addicting game, and it does have its fair share of minor flaws but the key word here is MINOR.

Story - Well...there really is no story, the Mushroom Kingdom people are all racing against each other for trophies, that is all. But when you have great gameplay such as this game has, story is a moot point for this type of game anyhow.

Gameplay - The highest-quality element of the game overall, period. You have eight racers to chose from: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Wario (the only new character in this game, he is the replacement for Koopa who was in SMK) Toad, and Bowser. The stages you can race on are: [Mushroom Cup] Luigi Raceway, Moo Moo Farm, Koopa Troopa Beach, Kalimari Desert [Flower Cup] Toad's Turnpike, Frappe Snowland, Choco Mountain, Mario Raceway [Star Cup] Wario Stadium, Sherbert Land, Royal Raceway, Bowser's Castle [Special Cup] D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, Yoshi Valley, Banshee Boardwalk, Rainbow Road (by the way, those of you who have played the first game will be pleased to know that Rainbow Road actually has edges this time) These courses are all playable from the start of the game, unlike SMK where you had to do some things to unlock Special Cup. There are also mirror courses, those are the regular courses basically turned around but you need to do something to unlock it. There are a very good number of items as well that you can use to pummel your opponents. I am too lazy to name them all and what they do so you will just have to play the game to figure all that out. Last but not least there are 3 racing classes to choose from, 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. I recommend always playing on 150cc as it is the most chaotic and the most challenging. The racing courses are much more open this time, as opposed to SMk where they were more closed up a little. So now you have a little more freedom to race around in, giving you more time to figure out what racer you are going to shoot that red shell at first and also the bigger environment lets you see what' coming around the corner a little faster now. This game goes all the way up to four players, and there are four battle stages to choose from: Big Donut, Block Fort, Double Deck, and Skyscraper. All of these stages will provide you and your friends enough battle-lovin fun for hours on end. And you don't just have to use the battle mode, you can also race against each other and the AI. There is also a time trial mode where you can find out for yourself just how fast you can be and as in SMK, the AI creates a ghost of your racer that you can race against. Unfortunately though, you can't hit the ghost with any weapons as there are no weapons in the time trial anyways.

Graphics - Of course a major improvement over the original. Some of the characters look a little too "sprite-y" when shown up close but it is really nothing to worry about. The lighting effects in this game are great. When you go into a dark tunnel, your racer gets a little darker, or when you pass a lava pit, your racer has a red tint to him/her. As for the backgrounds, most are kind of flat and don't show a whole lot of detail. But I highly doubt that when you are playing you will not care, I don't really it's just something to point out for this review.

Control - With a game like this, the control cannot be felt as if a crackhead programmed it (like Superman 64). The controls are very responsive and just downright flawless in every way.

Replayability - Well, this is where it gets a little iffy. If you are playing it mostly on the single player mode, for awhile it is entertaining but after unlocking everything its just the same old thing. This game is just better with three other people to be honest, but while the single player mode is not the best (it wasn't in SMK either) it definitely suffices for a good amount of time.

In conclusion, Super Mario Kart had its time. It's still a good game by all means, but Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash are much better games by a long shot. If you were to ask me what Mario Kart game to get, I would say both Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash. I cannot choose between the two as both are equally good. If you can find Super Mario Kart for a cheap price, then get it. You won't be losing out. But for now, concern yourself with this game and Double Dash.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/04