Mario Kart 64
Nintendo 64
Nostalgia Factor:
I’ve always considered Mario Kart 64 to be the definitive Mario Kart game. I liked Super Mario Kart for the SNES, sure, but I never loved it. Over the years I’ve played other solid Mario Kart games, such as Double Dash and Mario Kart Wii, but none of them have ever been able to grab me the same way Mario Kart 64 did. Part of it might be a product of its time. I had some awesome four player gaming sessions with my brother and step brothers back in the 90s, and I will always cherish those fond memories. But a lot of it also is because it’s just a damn good game.
Would it still hold up over 20 years after its initial release? That’s what I’m here to find out!
Story:
No.
Gameplay:
Mario Kart 64 took everything the original Mario Kart was able to do and improve upon it tenfold. The biggest improvement for me is the way each race course is so much more dynamic than before. In the original Mario Kart you had flat courses with the occasional bridge to drive over or pit to avoid. In this game you’ve got ramps, hills, and bumps to drive over. You get launched into the sky. You go up and down steep slopes. Some of the courses have shortcuts you can take. I can’t rant and rave enough about how iconic some of these race courses are, and how they brought such awesome memories flooding back when I sat down to play this game. Seriously, they are SO well designed. Probably my favorite collection of race courses from any racing game, ever.
Rather than just driving over question mark boxes on the ground, you collect floating boxes on the course that reappear a few seconds after you collect them. This is a MUCH better system than in the original game. Gone is the ability to collect coins to improve the performance of your racer. Now you have to lean more on skill and learning how to drift to be able to keep a leg up on your opponents. This game carries over many of the same items you’d find in the original Mario Kart, but several new ones are added to the fray. You can get three shells at a time, which act as a shield/barrier that wipes out your opponents if they get too close to you. You’ve got a string of bananas you can drag behind your cart. A mushroom that you can use over and over again. And correct me if I’m wrong – this is the first Mario Kart game to feature the dreaded blue shell.
If you’re playing through this game in single player mode, you have the option to play at 50, 100, or 150 CC. Even after all these years I still don’t know what CC stands for, but I do know that 50 CC is the easiest level and 150 is the most difficult. What I did was play through each of the courses on 50 CC, making sure to win the gold trophy at the end of each collection of courses. When I’d clear them all, I’d move up to 100 CC. And then 150. Once I had cleared all the courses on the highest difficulty level, I considered the game “beat” and filed it away for the time being. I only have one controller and I don’t really have anyone else to play against in my life at the moment, so if and when I do pick this up again and play multiplayer with some people (maybe Channing when he is older?) I can come back and re-review this game. Because skipping over the multiplayer just doesn’t seem right and it feels like I’ve missed out on a big part of what makes this game special by only playing it in single player mode.
What I remember about multiplayer mode is that it’s freaking divine. You’ve got cooperative and competitive race mode. That’s fine. But what I always loved to play was the four player battle mode. It’s so hectic and so chaotic, and there is a surprising amount of strategy involved. I had such epic gaming sessions playing this back in the 90s. What I wouldn’t give to experience that with this game again!
Graphics:
This game still holds up surprisingly well. I know a lot of people like to dump on the Nintendo 64 and how many of its games don’t look too great by today’s standards, but I think this game looks wonderful. The racers themselves look terrific. The stages, as I said before, are extremely well-designed and just bursting with authentic Mario charm. I just absolutely freaking love how this game is set in the “universe” of Mario 64 and how you see some familiar locations (Peach’s Castle) and characters (those damn penguins) make token appearances. Call it fan service if you want, but this game brings the world of Mario to life in a way that is unmatched by almost every other Mario game out there.
Sound:
This game sounds AMAZING. It has some of the best music found in any Mario game, Kart or otherwise. Seriously, if that Luigi Raceway music doesn’t get you pumped up to play some Mario Kart, there is something wrong with you. The sound effects are fantastic. I love all the little noises the different racers make. I said in the graphics section that this game was just bursting with Mario charm, and its sound has a lot to do with that as well. Top notch stuff.
Overall:
This game is just as good as I had remembered. I was a little worried, because when I played and reviewed the original Mario Kart (see the link down below), I found that it wasn't quite as good as I had remembered. No such worries here. This was and is a fantastic game. Great theme, great graphics, great music, great sound effects, great controls, great item variety, great courses. Just really fun to play.
I do feel as if I missed out on a big chunk of what makes this game great by skipping over its multiplayer mode, but I am not going to hold that against the game with my final review score. I remember how fun multiplayer was as a kid, and someday when I have the means I plan to recreate those fun memories with my son and hopefully some friends.
So yeah. Mario Kart 64. It’s always been my favorite Mario Kart game, and nothing that happened when I played it in present day did anything to change my mind. It’s still great. It’s still my favorite Mario Kart game. I honestly don’t know if it can be topped.
Final Score:
A
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