Editorials > Mario Kart 64 Review

Mario Kart 64 Review by Troopa
3/28/2003

Graphics
The graphics are pretty good. The drivers are sprites which isn't a big deal but I like the polygon drivers from Diddy Kong Racing more. One cool thing about Mario Kart 64 is the walls are 3D now instead of flat like in the original Super Mario Kart, so that helps the game look much more realistic. The track "Toad's Turnpike" even has real cars driving with you, which is very cool indeed! All of the tracks look great and are detailed nicely.

My main complaint about the graphics is the lack of speed in the game. It doesn't feel like you're driving very fast in Mario Kart 64. The 'sense of speed' is slower than the original Super Mario Kart, and in racing games the sense of speed is important. It's not too slow (like ExciteBike64 - yuck) but it could be faster. It's almost as if the game designers didn't want you to go too fast that way you can admire the pretty tracks.

Sounds
All of the sounds you would expect are here and they're good. Engine sounds, firing of items, etc. are all done well. One new thing is driver voices, different situations in the game will have your character say something. For example, if Luigi is hit with a shell, he may yell out "Oww wowww oooow owww."

If you want to listen to some of these sounds, check out the Mario Kart 64 Sounds page.

Gameplay
The gameplay is very good, and what would you expect? It is Mario Kart after all!

8 drivers are here, just like the original Super Mario Kart, but we do have a new driver Wario who replaces Koopa Troopa. Mario Kart 64 has a total of 20 tracks, which is 4 less than Super Mario Kart. 16 racing tracks and 4 battle mode tracks. The game features the same modes as before; GP Race, Time Trial, Vs. (Match Race) and Battle Mode. GP Race still only supports 2-players, but you can play 4-player battle mode and match race which is a lot of fun.

Mario Kart 64 introduces the new Mini-Turbo system, which greatly increases the depth of the game, especially for Time Trial players. A potential problem is the balance of weapons. I think that the triple red shells and green shells are way too powerful. Even though all players can get and use them, it becomes more of an item match rather than racing. This may help beginners compete against experts, and some people may like "item racing" but I prefer the weapons from the original Super Mario Kart.

Some of the the tracks are too long, especially Rainbow Road. And the last "bad" thing about the game is the cheating computer. For average racers, you can knock them out with a shell, get way ahead of them, and suddenly they can go super-fast and catch up with you again. I suppose Nintendo made it this way to offer more of a "challenge" but I would rather them just be good drivers (like Wave Race 64) than to cheat and speed up like Superman. But once you are skilled in Mario Kart 64, you should have no problems staying ahead of the computer anyway.

Despite these problems, Mario Kart 64 is still a classic and one of the greatest kart games.

Conclusion
Mario Kart 64 is a great racing game and if you liked Super Mario Kart then you will probably like Mario Kart 64. Although I mentioned a few things, my main gripe about the game is the sense of speed is too slow compared to Super Mario Kart. I prefer the original Super Mario Kart if I'm playing alone or with another player, but if you have 3 or more players than Mario Kart 64 may be your game. Try them both!