Mario Kart 64

"If you liked the original, you won't feel disappointed here"

Introduction

The main reason I even have this game is because my Sister got it with her Nintendo 64, which she got bored with after about two years and sold to me. I remember being wowed by the original Mario Kart, and enjoyed every opportunity to play it. I even once heard my Dad shouting and cursing in the study one day and walked in to find him playing this game - badly - against my Sister. It's that addictive.

Gameplay - 8/10

The good thing is, it's very addictive. You and up to three other players can play around a variety of different courses, trying to get as many points as you can. If you place 4th or above, you progress to the next course; if not, you replay the course. Unlike the SNES original, you can redo courses as many times as you like, rather than running out of lives.

Items are cool; you get all of the original ones, and a number of other cool ones - such as fake item boxes that you can leave as traps. It is also fun using them to mess up other players.

The gameplay can be very frenetic at first, as you try to get to grips with getting around the courses without doing pratfalls into the water or off a huge cliff, and there are lots of dangers to look out for; other vehicles trying to ram you, and huge jumps over empty space. The jumps are one of my favourite elements just because of opportunities to screw up other players' progress. On the Wario Stadium course, for example, a correctly placed banana skin can force players to redo a whole section again.

There are a few cool secrets to unlock, too - including a mode where all the tracks are mirrored, and you have to memorise their layout in mirror image, which can often be fun (even though the computer drivers are infuriatingly good at knowing which way to go).

One of the few bad things about Gameplay in the main game, however, is that often it seems that the computer players will often either do consistently bad or consistently good, with the same players usuall snagging the top four spots (which makes the competition for first place a bit dull).

The courses included are generally good. I'm particularly fond of the Yoshi Valley course, where you are given a choice of four routes, and you cannot even tell who is in first place. However, I was disappointed by one particular course.

I remember many years ago, attending a kids' playscheme (when I was 12 or 13) where they rented a SNES, and Mario Kart. I never even got close to the game, much to my disappointment, and I was always curious about the "Rainbow Ride" course - which I got a look at once, but I never saw anyone play it. It actually looked really cool, with the lack of barriers and massive challenge, but every time someone suggested playing it, some idiot would whinge: "Oh, don't play it. It's too hard!" As a result, I never got to see it, as no one made it that far on the normal mode. I was disappointed and always told myself that if I got a hold of the controller, I would play Rainbow Ride despite what anyone said.

When I first found this course was in this version, I got excited, only to find that it was nothing like as good. Aside from being a really long course, it doesn't have a lot to offer - especially with the inclusion of barriers, as well as a much wider track (meaning like only a really bad player could get thrown off by accident). The other nuisance about that course is that if you're actually good, it's plain boring because you'll play through the thing endlessly hurling green shells at the same two or three opponents (red shells are rendered practically useless as they fly straight into the walls).

It's just as well that there are 15 other decent courses to enjoy yourself with, but Rainbow Ride is something of an anticlimax.

There is also a battle mode, but much to my disappointment, I actually need two or more human players for this. Any game that includes elements that are unplayable, or barely playable, for loners like myself seems deeply flawed in my view. If you can get someone to play, it's fine, but my experience of this mode was playing the "Big Donut" course with my Sister for what seemed like about half a minute before she got bored and walked out. This is actually a shame because Battle Mode is quite enjoyable when you do get to play it properly.

Graphics - 9/10

Almost perfect. There are some parts where the graphics look weird and glitchy, but overall it's pretty good. There is a lot of attention to detail, such as the signs (which are reversed in the mirror mode) on certain courses, the big screen in Wario Stadium, which always seems to be focused on your player, and the appearance of Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64. Oh, and the neon signs in Rainbow Ride, which almost make up for how dull it is to play that course.

Sound - 7/10

The only real problem I have with the music is that a number of the songs are repeated more than once, but there are some great ones - like the cheerful Choco Mountain theme, and the spooky Banshee Boardwalk theme.

The character voices are generally good, even though Peach's "Peachy" shout gets on my nerves quite fast, as she says this EVERY time that she overtakes you (at first I thought she was saying: "Thank you". I hated Toad's voice at first, even though I loved knocking him off Banshee Boardwalk and doing his unearthly scream, but in retrospect, it's miles better than Toad's voice in the later games. Donkey Kong sounds plain weird, and Yoshi is reduced to squeaks - but on the whole, the sound is pretty good.

Replay Value - 8/10

It's a very addictive game, and you will want to play it again. I've found myself unable to drag myself away from the game at times.

Final Verdict

Buy this. This does live up to the enjoyment of the original Mario Kart, and you will want to play this over and over. If you have no one to play with like me, you'll have to miss out on the Battle mode, but with all the fun of the normal mode, you may forget about this fast.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/05