Konami Krazy Racers

"Mario Kart with a twist of lime"

I started up this game knowing and expecting a Mario Kart clone and surprisingly I found all of that and more. It is an extremely fun and rich Kart game.

Graphics
Like Advance GT this game looks great, almost like it was in 3D, it runs at a solid 60 FPS and I have seen 5 karts on the road at the same time running smoothly. The colors are bright and the characters are detailed nicely. Also the tracks are well done.

Gameplay
Think Mario Kart, add some Krazy Konami Characters and push mode 7 to the max and you have Wai Wai Racers. You start off at a mock up computer desktop where you can choose from 6 options: Licence test, Race, Item Shop, Message Board, Exit and Save. In the race section you can choose from GP, Single Race, Battle, and 4 player Versus. You race the GP mode in three levels: Easy Medium and Hard, by winning the C licence GP you can then try for a B licence to move on to the next GP. The licence tests are little mini-games like doing a race in one minute or just winning against a hard opponent. Each GP have four Tracks giving the game 16 tracks plus 8 others for the battle modes. There is a ''Bomb tag'' mode and a ''Stop'' mode. Bomb tag is where one person has a bomb and has to tag another with it before it explodes. The STOP mode is where you race with 3 other opponents off a cliff and the one to stop closest to the end without falling is the winner. As you can see there are many modes in this game thus increasing the replay.
Also before I forget there are upgradeable weapons to slow your oppenents down, these are also like mario Karts with Rockets and Ice bombs etc.

Control
Really tight, where ever you want to go you can go with ease, the hop and shoot buttons are the L and R and work really nicely with the GBA. Better than SNES Mario Kart.

Sound
Good sound and music, the game has real voices in it and the title theme is really crisp and clear. I especially liked the Metal Gear and Castlevania levels themes mostly becasue I am a fan of both games. Good overall.

Replay
16 race tracks, 8 battle mode tracks, Upgradeable weapons, Characters like Ninja and Goemon plus some other extra hidden stuff That I wont disclose. Throw in 4 player madness (Everyone needs a gamecart) and you have a top notch Mario Kart suppliment.

Import? Yes and No, Menus are in Japanese plus you cant read the message board for clues on secrets. But if you can wait like me get it, otherwise wait till June 11.

Buy/Rent? Buy, it will last you and make sure your friends have a copy for some Battle!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/19/01, Updated 04/19/01