Mario Kart 64 was a huge surprise for me. I always assumed that the original (which premiered on the SNES) was going to be a one off affair. Originally announced as Mario Kart R this was a launch window title for the Nintendo 64, and it went on to become one of the console’s best selling games. It’s easy to see why considering it featured all new tracks, amazing visuals, and of course four player mode. This game sort of popularized the idea of the ‘party game.’ What’s also a surprise is that I never owned it. Despite my hype I didn’t get the Nintendo 64 until later on, and by then there were so many other games I was interested in. I did however rent it once, and I loved it. Fast forward a few decades later. Does Mario Kart 64 hold up? Let’s take a look.
Mario Kart 64 takes what made the original so great (arcade racing with excellent course designs and over the top mechanics) and ups the ante. The game is no longer stuck with mode-7 graphics and the stages themselves are fully 3D. Characters are still rendered in sprites, but they’re digitized and are a vast improvement from the original title. What set this one apart from other racing games back then was it’s use of items. This wasn’t a pure racing game, no, instead you could collect items from boxes strewn about each course. What you got was randomized, but your current ranking does have a huge effect on it. The top three racers will only get things like shells, bananas, and so forth. Those toward the back are often rewarded with super stars and lightning bolts. I’ll cover the spread of items later on in this review.
As I mentioned the course design has seen a serious upgrade. Instead of being flat with the occasional ramp (like the last title) there are now hills and slopes. That’s not all though. The environmental hazards are much more varied than before. Choco Mountain features falling boulders, Moo Moo Farm has loose cows standing about, Frappe Snowland is populated with penguins that pace around, and more. The most impressive elements however are in Toad’s Turnpike which has moving traffic, and Kalimari Desert with it’s train that occasionally rolls through on the tracks. You’ve even got tricky shortcuts that require a fair amount of skill and experimentation to discover. There’s a ton of variety in the course design here, and to this day most kart racers have failed to match Mario Kart 64 in this regard.
As far as items go there have been a few improvements, some bad changes, and omissions I would consider puzzling to say the least. The red/green shells return but now sometimes come in sets of three at a time. Same goes for the banana peels. While the standard mushroom has been included you can now get a special gold one that allows you to boost repeatedly. Unfortunately the feather item from Super Mario Kart is nowhere to be found. This allowed you to jump in the previous game thus letting you dodge attacks or take shortcuts, and it’s sorely missed. The new items range from lackluster to terrible. The fake item box is good for an occasional laugh but is too functionally similar to the banana peel. Worse yet the new spikey blue shell debuted here which targets the first place racer every time. It’s unfair and annoying.
Aside from the presence of the blue shell my only real complaint about Mario Kart 64 is it’s character roster. Once again we have just eight characters. Nintendo has a huge catalogue of personalities in the Mario universe alone so this being so limited is really lame. Mario and Luigi serve as the basic all rounders (and are too similar), Peach and Yoshi have fast acceleration but slow top speed, Toad is fast but knocked around easily, and Donkey Kong/Bowser are slow to start but when they get going they burn rubber. Newcomer Wario replaces the koopa troopa from the last title, but he’s another heavy character and feels too similar to the other two. Nintendo easily could have added a few new faces to the roster and it was disappointing back then to see that they didn’t.
The number of game modes hasn’t seen any improvement, but Super Mario Kart was already pretty content heavy so this isn’t really a complaint. You can participate in a Grand Prix series of races across four different cups. Unfortunately this one is for just two players. I can see how four might make things too easy (especially when you’re trying to unlock the special cup) but the option still would have been nice. Aside from that you versus races where you compete in a typical race with up to three other human players on any of the stages. Time trial mode returns allowing a single player to compete against their best times (represented by a ghost racer). The real highlight however is in the battle mode. This is nothing new to the series, but Mario Kart 64 raised the bar significantly here.
Battle mode can now be played with up to four players, and believe you me when I say that this is absolutely game changing. The courses are set up as arenas, and instead of racing you duke it out using items. Each player starts with three balloons hovering above their chosen character. Each time they’re hit they lose one, and the last player with a balloon left is the winner. These arenas are entirely original and extremely well designed. Block Fort to this day, with it’s multiple tiers has yet to be matched in any kart racer. It’s fun, frantic, and a great time. One of the new features introduced here is the bomb character. The first two players that are transformed into bombs, and can ram into the living players to eliminate their balloons. It’s a very interesting way to keep the game fun for those who lose early.
Mario Kart 64 looked absolutely amazing when it was first released. The courses themselves and have a ton of detail for it’s time, and the framerate remains extremely steady. Of course that’s just if you’re playing solo; in multiplayer it chugs along but is still quite playable. Little touches like the train that runs through Kalimari Desert, the traffic in Toad’s Turnpike, and even the castle from Super Mario 64 in Royal Raceway are amazing. The characters are rendered in sprites which is kind of a bummer. I really like the fact that Nintendo used the design from Donkey Kong Country for DK here. The soundtrack doesn’t fare quite as well. I prefer that of the original because Nintendo took it in a more wacky direction, but it’s still pretty good. I also like the limited voice samples the game uses. This adds a lot of personality to the experience.
