"Young strugglers racing the clock, ain’t no telling when it all can end"

I frequently ask myself what is so damn entertaining about Mario Kart, because I keep coming back and playing it even when I know the game really isn’t that great. Like I had some friends over earlier today, I’ve got the PS2 and GCN sitting around, the Dreamcast, and so on, more racing games that I care to count, and the game we broke out and played for an hour was Mario Kart 64. Somehow, this game combines the addictiveness of Goldeneye with the kid-friendliness of Barney, and despite the obvious faults, it’s marvelously entertaining.

There are no high-powered supercars in this game -- it is Nintendo after all. Instead you will be racing around tracks in little go karts, piloted by some of the heros and villains of the big N’s franchises past and present. This is the basic formula of a Mario spinoff, applied to games like Smash Brothers Melee, Mario Tennis and so on. There is a moderate degree of difference between the various drivers, but the wide variety in the characters in not fully exploited. Nevertheless, choosing your racer is a matter of some importance, and all eight characters -- Mario and Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Toad, Donkey Kong and Wario -- look really nice squatting atop their tiny vehicles.

Where the game really shines is in the variety of its courses. Some of these racetracks are in fact not so good for racing; many are too long and too tedious to provide really invigorating competition. But other tracks show a marvelous sense of cleverness and many opportunities for excitement. For instance, Koopa Troopa Beach, one of the more varied courses in the game, here we have a nice seaside location, an assortment of ramps, palm trees and crabs to avoid, and a tough-to-access shortcut for more advanced players. Other locations include a highway full of tractor-trailer traffic, mountainous twisting paths, a desert and an icy glacier. The royal castle from Mario 64 even makes an appearance.

Weapons are usually a major part of any kart racer, and Mario Kart is no exception. A varied arsenal of weapons and power-ups from the Mario series are present, and are acquired along the course by driving over item boxes. Bananas laid along the course will cause your enemies to slip, turtle shells can be fired ahead to send your opponents into a careening crash, and mushrooms will give you a nitro-powered burst of speed and acceleration. Other devices are present in the game for skilled players as well: power sliding, a key to good times in real racing, here is represented by a special action that can give your racer a free turbo boost through proper execution. Mastering techniques like this adds some depth to the single-player side of the game.

Beyond the actual racing, perhaps the best aspect of Mario Kart is the battle mode. Here, the façade of tedious circular racing is dispensed with, and we get down to the real fun: destroying your friends with weapons. There are four specially-designed arenas for this mode, and each player begins the battle with three lives, represented by balloons. Whereas running over a banana might cause you to slip and slide in the races, here it will cost you a balloon. It’s a simple death match, with the last one holding a balloon winning, but it’s still great fun. Party action was one of the N64’s big points, and Mario Kart is certainly a great addition to the console’s selection of fun four-player games.

The game is of course completely three-dimensional, and like Mario 64, it dispenses with precise detail to create a playful, cartoonish world. Trees are literally just big spheres on top of a stick; it’s that simple. At times, smaller details are used, for instance in the big, friendly character models. Generally, the graphics are as genial as they are colorful, but they’re also clever at times -- witness the big advertising billboards for LUIGI on the Mario Raceway course. Touches like this make the course realistic and entertaining despite the lack of detail.

As far as sound, the music is typically bland, although each course has its own song. The music has been well-chosen for each racetrack, and fits into the game nicely, but there are no especially memorable tunes. Only some amusing comments and sound effects spice it up. From the moment you fire up the game and hear Mario shouting Welcome to-a Mario Kart!, you’ll realize that sound effects certainly trump the music in this title; during the races, there are noises associated with each weapon and item, and you’ll also hear the screams and curses of other racers as they come upon the weapons you’ve fired or dropped. Characters all have their own unique sound clips which are pretty entertaining, at least the first time.

Nintendo has always used the Mario name to attract new people to gaming, and this is no exception. Those who would be intimidated by a more advance racing title, like an F-Zero game, will certainly find this more inviting, yet despite its simplicity Mario Kart 64 is a whole lot of fun, especially when you have assembled a group of people to play. Battle Mode will provide for hours of multiplayer fun and the single-player game provides a decent experience. No aspect of the game is especially outstanding, with a limited and similar cast, few really exciting or innovative courses, and average graphics and sound. But it’s just so much fun!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/03, Updated 06/23/03