Konami Krazy Racers

"Better than Mario Kart Advance in some ways...."

Konami Krazy Racers, a Gameboy Advance launch game, is a chip off of the ol' Mario Kart block in every regard. Essentially, the idea of karting with weapons has never been fully cloned until now. Krazy Racers, while suffering many of the same shortfalls that Mario Kart Advance has, holds it's own both in speed and in graphics.

Graphics

Konami Krazy Racers utilizes the typical ''Mode 7'' scaling that the SNES Mario Kart pioneered. Essentially everything is 2D, but two different planes of motion simulate a 3D environment. The rotation and scaling in Krazy Racers isn't as refined as Mario Kart Advance, but it undoubtedly pushes much more colors and objects on the screen at any given time.

Probably the biggest advantage, graphically, Krazy Racers has is it's character models, which are fantastic.

Sound

Wai wai wai wai wai wai racing! Yes, its a completely vocalized theme at the beginning of the game. Unbelievably crisp, KR's sound is probably the highest quality of any Gameboy Advance game. The voices are great too, but may be a little annoying if you don't like japanese.

Gameplay

From your ''webpage'' (menu) you can select whether to participate in tournaments or license exams. The higher the license you get, the more tournaments you can participate in. You can select from a multitude of characters including Goemon, Gray Fox, and even the spaceship from Gradius. Basically imagine a mascot-based karting game like Mario Kart except with Konami characters.

The racing is smooth, and the weapons are arguably more balanced than Mario Kart's. You can ''power up'' your weapons by not using them, changing from a weak missile all the way to three homing missiles. Of course, there's a lot more weapons than missiles, but you get the idea.

Overall

A good diversion from Mario Kart. The level design is great, but the game is way too easy. Mario Kart can tear you to pieces on harder difficulties, but Krazy Racers is a piece of cake even on the hardest difficulty. Other than that, Krazy Racers is a quality game that most family members will want to play.

However, it should be noted that Krazy Racers doesn't have the longevity that Mario Kart has. KR can link up to two people, assuming they both have cartridges, but Mario Kart can link four people with only one cartridge. If multiplayer isn't a priority, though, the choice between Mario Kart and Krazy Racers really depends on what you enjoy most about karting games. If you like the breakneck, cutthroat action, Mario Kart provides that and much more. If you like graphics, sound, and an uncanny cast, Krazy Racers is right up your alley.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/15/03, Updated 04/15/03