Screenshots :.
Mario Kart 64
N64
Matt
30-03-2007
"Putt Putt..."
"Multiplayer's where it's at"
Of all my treasured gaming memories, one which always raises a smile is the hilarious recollection of watching my parents, each clutching a brightly coloured Nintendo 64 controller, ducking and dodging whilst piloting Luigi and Yoshi around one of the circuits on Mario Kart 64. In a way, it perfectly encapsulates what the game was all about; slightly quirky yet ridiculously addictive fun that appealed to everyone.
Critical eyes were always going to be sharply focused on MK64 when it was released in Japan in the latter part of 1996. The original Mario Kart game was one of the finest moments the SNES had to offer and was still held in extremely high regard, meaning that every inch of its predecessor would fall under the critical microscope and be harshly exposed if it was felt that it didn’t match up.
The game offered Grand Prix mode as its primary option, and much like the series original there were three engine capacities representing the difficulty levels, with 50cc being the easiest, 100cc being the middle and 150cc being the most tricky. Four cups were also offered, each consisting of four races which gave points based on finishing position.
Circuit design was, thankfully, as good as ever and in many ways the upgrade in hardware enabled Nintendo to create circuits with a lot more character and charm than the original game had been able to offer. Particular gems included Frappe Snowland, a winter raceway that saw the player having to dodge through snowmen, and Yoshi’s Circuit, which saw a number of pathways open to the racers and a giant rolling Yoshi egg that blocked access to a narrow bridge.
It’s a testament to the circuit design that even a goldfish-minded folk like myself can comfortably navigate my way around each without a hint of a problem, even if I hadn’t been playing the game for up to a year. There’s so much uniqueness in the way each course rolls around the surrounding scenery that each circuit will sit firmly at the forefront of your mind, and eventually progress around them will become a natural, instinctive pursuit.
Multiplayer fun was now extended to four if the player had the requisite number of controllers, offering the social player not only the chance to race a few chums in Grand Prix mode but also to fire a whole manner of different power-ups at them in Battle Mode across a selection of four arenas. It certainly proved a different experience to racing and proved an enjoyable break between epic Grand Prix races.
Despite this it was, of course, the racing that ended up providing the majority of the fun in the end. Opponents would doggedly stick to your tailpipe and use every manner of power-up available to hinder your progress. Okay, the opponents suffered from the classic rubber band syndrome which saw them always catch you up no matter how well you drove, but it kept things nice and tense right up until the finish.
Visually and sonically the game provided a familiar Mario experience, with the series’ move into the third dimension maintaining the same vivid, colourful mixture of scenery as the original. The racers themselves are pre-rendered rather than being proper 3D, but they still look solid and easily recognisable.
At the time of release, Mario Kart 64 wasn’t as roundly praised as its predecessor, which in all honesty was probably to be expected. Whereas the original had taken the waiting world by surprise with a low-key entrance, the inevitable sequel was much too hyped up to be allowed the same sort of anonymous bow.
Still, the passing of time has allowed us to put the game into slightly better perspective. With imaginative circuits and close, frantic racing action it was a fitting way to bring what was then still a young series into a more modern form. If you’d told anyone back in 1996 that the game would sit comfortably at the top table of Nintendo classics, you would probably have got some funny looks. Today, though, Mario Kart 64 sits happily with the finest, and it’s certainly a position it deserves.
Critical eyes were always going to be sharply focused on MK64 when it was released in Japan in the latter part of 1996. The original Mario Kart game was one of the finest moments the SNES had to offer and was still held in extremely high regard, meaning that every inch of its predecessor would fall under the critical microscope and be harshly exposed if it was felt that it didn’t match up.
The game offered Grand Prix mode as its primary option, and much like the series original there were three engine capacities representing the difficulty levels, with 50cc being the easiest, 100cc being the middle and 150cc being the most tricky. Four cups were also offered, each consisting of four races which gave points based on finishing position.
Circuit design was, thankfully, as good as ever and in many ways the upgrade in hardware enabled Nintendo to create circuits with a lot more character and charm than the original game had been able to offer. Particular gems included Frappe Snowland, a winter raceway that saw the player having to dodge through snowmen, and Yoshi’s Circuit, which saw a number of pathways open to the racers and a giant rolling Yoshi egg that blocked access to a narrow bridge.
It’s a testament to the circuit design that even a goldfish-minded folk like myself can comfortably navigate my way around each without a hint of a problem, even if I hadn’t been playing the game for up to a year. There’s so much uniqueness in the way each course rolls around the surrounding scenery that each circuit will sit firmly at the forefront of your mind, and eventually progress around them will become a natural, instinctive pursuit.
Multiplayer fun was now extended to four if the player had the requisite number of controllers, offering the social player not only the chance to race a few chums in Grand Prix mode but also to fire a whole manner of different power-ups at them in Battle Mode across a selection of four arenas. It certainly proved a different experience to racing and proved an enjoyable break between epic Grand Prix races.
Despite this it was, of course, the racing that ended up providing the majority of the fun in the end. Opponents would doggedly stick to your tailpipe and use every manner of power-up available to hinder your progress. Okay, the opponents suffered from the classic rubber band syndrome which saw them always catch you up no matter how well you drove, but it kept things nice and tense right up until the finish.
Visually and sonically the game provided a familiar Mario experience, with the series’ move into the third dimension maintaining the same vivid, colourful mixture of scenery as the original. The racers themselves are pre-rendered rather than being proper 3D, but they still look solid and easily recognisable.
At the time of release, Mario Kart 64 wasn’t as roundly praised as its predecessor, which in all honesty was probably to be expected. Whereas the original had taken the waiting world by surprise with a low-key entrance, the inevitable sequel was much too hyped up to be allowed the same sort of anonymous bow.
Still, the passing of time has allowed us to put the game into slightly better perspective. With imaginative circuits and close, frantic racing action it was a fitting way to bring what was then still a young series into a more modern form. If you’d told anyone back in 1996 that the game would sit comfortably at the top table of Nintendo classics, you would probably have got some funny looks. Today, though, Mario Kart 64 sits happily with the finest, and it’s certainly a position it deserves.
9/10
