Super Mario Kart

"Gaming Classics Review #1"

This game... is brilliant. It took the characters of the Mario Bros. and put them in a new type of game the world had never seen before, the kart racer. But lets break this into categories, shall we?

Graphics 10/10
This games graphics are amazing, even to this day (June 15, 2005). The mode 7 scrolling is great, with everything showing up and scaling crisply. I'm fairly sure that theres never any pop-up ( you can see your bananas peels from all the way across the track in rainbow road for instance) although there is some lag when you're playing multiplayer grand prix mode (there may be some lag in single player as well, but I almost never play it by myself). All the characters and tracks look great.

Sound 10/10
The tunes sound like you'd expect them to, with the ghost house being eerie and the bowser levels being... sort of... stompy. You arent going to want to rush out and download all of the songs, but you'll never be frustrated because you hate a song and always have to hear it. The music is good but the sound effects are even better. The sounds are simple but completely effective the exact sound you'd expect and want to hear from each item.

Control 10/10
The controls will be as close to perfect as possible, unless your controller is a bit off. Completely simple layout (except for switching viewpoints in single player... X is too hard to reach while holding B) B is accelerate, A is choose/shoot item, X is choose viewpoint, and the shoulder buttons are jump/powerslide. Simple.

Story N/A
If you're expecting a sweeping storyline for a kart racer... no. This game has no story at all. It doesn't matter. Accept it.

Difficulty 10/10
I was tempted to give this a lower score because i can breeze through most of it, but then I realized thats probably because I've played it more than any normal human being should. I would still probably have a tough time on 150cc special cup using Bowser/DK. About any skill level can play this game, the 50cc matches are incredibly easy, and if you can wipe the floor with most 150cc matches then you can play as your worst character on special cup and still have a tough time.

Replayability 10/10
You'll want to school your friends over and over and over, whether it be in Grand Prix, Battle or Match Race mode (which I don't really like because Grand Prix is just better in every way). One word of advice though: when you get it, play it with a large assortment of friends. Me and my brother are so much better than any of my friends that its ridiculous, because they didn't play it much and we play it all the time. The battle mode is good for people who can't stand a chance against you in Grand Prix, however. The modes are as such: Grand Prix mode has you (and another player if you choose) race against all the other characters (theres 8) to try and get the most points. You only get points if you come in one of the first 4 positions, otherwise you lose a life. You can choose your difficulty level (50cc, 100cc, 150cc) and your cup (mushroom, flower, star, special). Battle mode: 2 players duke it out in one of four arenas ( I recommend arena 2). You have 3 ballons representing your life, when you get hit you lose a balloon. Lastly and my least favorite is Match Race: you and a friend go head to head without any computer players. the only perk I see to this is that you can choose which level to race on, not just the general cup. Also you can use the ghost item, but it doesn't help as much as it does in battle mode.

Gameplay 10/10
This game is one of my all time favorites, as you could probably tell. It's so addictive you will likely never get bored with it. It's definitely better than double dash, and probably better than mario kart 64, although i haven't played that in a loooong time. I've probably clocked up 400 hours or so since i got it, maybe even a lot more. All the items are great, and unlike in double dash where the items are weak, these ones will pack a punch. One well shot turtle shell or expertly placed banana peel can spell the difference between a win and a loss. Possibly the only fault with this game (besides some lag) is that it can't keep all of the items on the field, since it only has so much memory. This is only a real problem when you are trying to create a barricade of items, however.

Rent or Buy
Buy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/05