Editorials > Super Mario Kart Review

Super Mario Kart Review by Troopa
3/28/2003

Graphics
Although Super Mario Kart was released early in the Super Nintendo years, it could still be considered to be one of the best looking games on the SNES system. The game has a good 'sense of speed' which is important in racing games. When your driver is going fast, you feel like you're moving fast. The action is never dull, sluggish or boring. All of the characters are bright and colorful. You can see that Toad is smaller than Bowser, and that Luigi is taller than Mario. The animation for the karts is fluid and smooth. The tracks also look outstanding, with obstacles such as green pipes, moles which will jump out and attach themselves to your kart and thus slowing you down, and more. Just like the drivers, the tracks are colorful and you can easily see where you're going.

Sound
The sound is also great in Super Mario Kart. Each track has its own music and there are also sounds for when you power-slide, throw an item, get hit with an item, engines, and everything else there should be a sound for! All of the sounds and music are done well and you won't be feeling the need to use the 'mute button' on your remote control.

Gameplay
The gameplay for Super Mario Kart couldn't be much better! The controls are wonderful, they're simple to pick up for beginners but just like other racing games, you can spend years playing and still improve on your track times. The weapons are well balanced and they're all pretty useful. For example, you could pick up a red shell and throw it at an opponent and if it hits them they spin out. However, your opponent could avoid it by placing a banana behind him and letting the red shell run into it instead! Different characters have different driving abilities which helps vary the game. Bowser is very fast in the top speed department but his acceleration is extremely slow, while Mario is well-rounded and has good abilities in all areas.

The game has four modes to play. GP mode is where 1 or 2 players can race against all of the drivers in the game on a certain course. Each course has 5 tracks and the object is to place in the top 3 so you can win either a Bronze, Silver, or Gold trophy. By winning the Gold you can also earn 5 new tracks. There are a total of 24 tracks, 20 for racing and 4 for battle mode.

The Match Race mode is where you and a friend can race against each other on any track of your choice. Time Trials is for one player only, and for many is the main part of Super Mario Kart. There are players around the world who compete in Time Trials and have been doing so for years. Time Trial mode makes this game have virtually unlimited replay value.

And finally there's Battle Mode, where you and a friend battle each other on 4 different battle tracks with different kinds of weapons that you pick up by driving over the item boxes on the ground. With all of these different modes, Super Mario Kart offers hours and hours of classic fun.

Conclusion
Super Mario Kart is a classic racing game and should be in every Super Nintendo game library. Even today it's still one of the most fun and well-tuned racing games there is. It's a favorite among SNES gamers and could likely be one of yours too. The only way this game could be "better" is if it had more tracks, but that can be said for almost every racing game and there are plenty of tracks here anyway.

This game can be found at video game stores or eBay for under $20 which is an awesome price for such a great game. If you like racing games, pick this one up. Even if you're not a fan of racing you may want to try it, perhaps it will change your mind!