Super Mario Kart

"Quite possibly the most fun game of all time"

Super Mario Kart

Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Ingenuity: 10/10
Replay Value: 10/10

Super Mario Kart. Where to begin? For many, myself included, this game brings back many fond memories of sitting around playing for hours and hours. Reviewing this game is kind of like reviewing my childhood. It's pretty tough to do, but looking back on it, it was damn awesome. Super Mario Kart is probably a lot of the reason why I'm a gamer today. It got me hooked back then, and has kept me hooked ever since. As the name implies, SMK is a kart racer featuring characters from the Mario universe. Namely Super Mario World. This was the very first mascot kart racer to my knowledge, and one of the first kart racers to get the formula right. The flawless gameplay and sheer fun of the game spawned a million copycats and look-alikes. However, to this day, there is still only one kart series that truly owns the competition, and this is where it began.

The game has a simple premise. You take control of one of eight racers including Mario, Luigi, Bowser, DK Jr., Princess Toadstool, Toad, and Koopa Troopa through various race cups as you compete for the gold! There are four different cups to compete in, and three different levels of difficulty. The three initial cups are Mushroom, Flower, and Star, with the Special Cup getting unlocked after you complete those three. Each cup has a handful of tracks, which brings the total number to around twenty. Each track is really unique and awesomely designed. As mentioned previously, each track is based off of a level in Super Mario World. There are various versions of Bowser's Castle, Donut Planes, and even Ghosts Houses. Completely original levels were created for the game as well, like Vanilla Lake and the now infamous Rainbow Road. Every track has it's own little quirks and shortcuts to master. For example, in the first Ghost House, you can bypass about half the track if you have a certain item, and Rainbow Road has no guardrails, so you can fall off the edge and be picked up by Lakatoo. In addition to the crazy tracks, there are items in each level that can be used to your advantage. Your character obtains an item by running over a question mark block on the race track. It's random what item you get, but some of the items include a Mushroom (speed boost), Green Shell (can be fired at opponents), Red Shell (homes in on enemies), Starman (makes you invincible, and harms opponents when you run into them), and Lightning Bolt (shrinks every other racer on the track, making them slow and lets you run over them for a short period of time) among many, many others. Besides the regular racing mode, there are a couple other modes to play. In Time Trial, you race by yourself on a track that you select and try to get the fastest time on it. If you race the same track more than once in a row, your ghost from your last time will race against you! This is an awesome feature that really can help you improve. It'll give you competition against yourself, and will show you where you messed up when you last raced. Battle Mode is one of my personal favorite modes to be included in any game. In this mode, you and a friend each choose a driver, and battle it out on specially designed areas. There is no racing here. Instead, each player has three balloons attached to their kart. The object of the game is to pop your opponent's balloons before they pop yours. This might sound boring, but it's insanely fun with a friend. This is probably one of the coolest and most original modes to be included in any game, ever. I just wish Nintendo had included more battle arenas for it though. This brings me to my next point, the multiplayer. Super Mario Kart is by far one of the best (if not the best) multiplayer games on the Super Nintendo. I dare say it's one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time. You can race with a friend in the normal competition mode with six computer characters, race against them one on one in VS Mode, or take them on in Battle Mode. Playing all these modes with a friend for hours on end are some of the most fun I've ever had gaming. If you want something to do with a friend, just pop in Super Mario Kart, and you will be content for hours and hours. The competition is amazing, and it's just a blast. There are few games that can match the satisfaction of hearing your friend brag about taking the lead, then blasting them with a red shell a few seconds later.

The graphics are pretty damn good. Each character and track are very well crafted, and colorful. It really brings the world to life. For when it was made, these were (and still are) some of the best 2D graphics around. The detail put into every single course and track is just amazing. With 20 tracks in the game, no two look the same. My favorite part of the graphics is the small details put into every level. Whether it's the moles in the Donut Planes stages, or the fire in Bower's Castle, it truly does add to the experience. It's things like these that the developer didn't have to put in, but they go above and beyond what is required to make the game a masterpiece.

Music and sound are yet another place where Super Mario Kart really shines. The music in each level is so damn catchy you will find yourself humming it for months on end. I've been playing this game since it came out, and I have never tired of the opening music, the starting sounds, or any of the music in any levels. Despite most of the tracks being themed from Super Mario World, almost all of the music is completely original. Simply put, it kicks ass. You haven't experienced awesome gaming music until you've heard the tunes on Koopa Beach for the first time. The sound effects are incredible as well. The starting noises by Lakatoo, and the sounds of the engines revving up and slowing down are great. It makes you feel like you're really there, even after all these years.

If you still haven't played Super Mario Kart, you are really missing out. Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash are good, but they just can't compare to the bliss that is the original. The characters are awesome, the tracks are great, the music is amazing, and the graphics are splendid. What more could you possibly want from a game? Whether you want to have fun alone, or with friends, this game is for you. Unless you want to not have fun and be bored by your games, go get Super Mario Kart now. You won't regret it for an instant. Just beware that it will sap the hours out of your life until you have no free time left.

Final Score (Not an average): 100%

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/04