Mario Kart 64

"The racer that used to be God."

Mario Kart 64 was one of the greatest racers, let alone games, that I've ever played...a few years ago. In the N64 days, I practically played this and Goldeneye all day, especially with friends. Back then, I really didn't care about anything, in a game except gameplay. "If it was fun, it's awesome," was pretty much my philosophy. But now, I'm more picky on gameplay since I became more serious with games.

This game had that one element that I love, fun gameplay. I was never a big fan of racers, unless they were unrealistic. Like Cruis'n USA and Mario Kart. Shooting enemies with turtle shells never got old for me, it still doesn't to this day. When I saw Mario Kart 64 on the Virtual Console, I was filled with excitement and bought it immediately. I played for at least an hour straight, took a break, then played again. Visiting Bowser's Castle again after about 4-5 years was amazing.

Now, you are probaly asking yourself why am I saying all positive stuff about this game when I gave it the somewhat low score that I did. Well, after playing Mario Kart Wii, I just couldn't play this version anymore. I found the tracks incredibly boring and tedious. Before I played the new Mario Kart, I would've given this game a 9/10 or 10/10. You're probaly thinking "It's new, of course it's gonna be better." Well, a lot of gamers say sequels aren't usually better, they just have better graphics. The graphics part is true, but it also upgraded everything from the originals. Note: I haven't played Mario Kart DS or Mario Kart on the Gamecube. Only the SNES, N64, GBA, and Wii versions. Playing MK64 after playing the MKWii bored the hell out of me. I realized how long the tracks were and the only challenge was to get items and hit your opponent. You didn't have to have much skill, just luck. I found the whole game, except for a few tracks, tedious and boring.

Graphics-7/10

For an early N64 game, the graphics were pretty good. There were no framerate problems or slowdowns. All though I hate the Rainbow Road track in this, it looked really good with all the colors. Really trippy. The karts looked good as did the characters, especially when you were picking your person you wanted to play as. I'm mainly suprised how good the courses look. But they definitely aren't the best in the N64 library.

Sound-8/10

The music is very catchy and practically perfect for a game featuring Mario. Also, the music on each level is perfect for that level. It's kind of hard to explain. The reason why it's get an 8/10 is because of the simplicity of the music, they could've done better, but they do the job.

Gameplay-4/10

Now this is my major beef. The levels are tedious as hell. If you're way ahead of the A.I. controlled opponents, it's get's boring. You're just driving with no action. This would be fine if the levels were shorter, but I'm afraid they aren't. And in this version, you don't need skill at all. Well, you need some skill, you just don't have to be good to beat a veteran player. Which is where the items come in. I don't have a problem with the items at all, just all the karts are exactly the same so it's just a matter of luck on which items you get.

Multiplayer-6/10

Multiplayer is what shined in this game. This is bumped up to a 6 as opposed to a 4 because the difficulty is slightly harder, unless your friend(s) suck. It's the same gameplay, just more difficult, most of the time.

Control-8/10

The controls are fine, but since it's on the Wii, it should take advantage of the Wii-mote and the steering, if it's possible. I mean they should be able to add one little thing if they can transfer all of the older games to a whole different system. I really like how the drifting works in this.

Replayability-6/10

There are some tracks that aren't tedious. I especially like Bowsers Castle, plus a few others. But a lot of the tracks bore me, so I would just race the shorter tracks that don't take almost 1 and 1/2 minutes to complete one lap.

Final Rating-6/10

If you're reading this, you most likely have a Wii. In which there is no point in spending $10 on what used to be the god of racers. I would just dish out the $40 extra dollars to buy Mario Kart Wii. It actually takes more skill, there is more variety, and the most of the tracks aren't tedious.

Pros:

-It really revolutionized the Mario Kart series. I doubt there'd be anymore if this wasn't made, the SNES version would probaly be the only one.
-Good level and character design.
-It's still a classic, but if you have a Wii, don't bother.

Cons:

-Tedious and boring tracks.
-No variety, except items. All the karts are practically identical.
-To win a race relies on mainly luck and not a lot of skill.
-Mario Kart Wii is out, so there is no point in playing this if you have a Wii.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/08

Game Release: Mario Kart 64 (US, 01/29/07)