There was a point in time when Mario was strictly relegated to platforming games. With the release of the SNES Nintendo began branching him out into numerous spin-offs transcending numerous other genres. The first of these, and by far the most influential was Super Mario Kart. Mascot racing titles were basically unheard of back then, and I must admit that the idea of Mario taking the wheel was a ridiculous idea at first. I rented it upon release, and was astounded at how much Nintendo tied everything together. I must not have been alone considering this was one of the highest selling games of the generation. Super Mario Kart also went on to inspire a sea of copycats and cemented mascot based racing games as its own separate genre. The original release is still amazing, and it remains the standard to which all others are compared.
Nintendo didn’t bother with a story or scenario here, and it’s probably for the best. This is an arcade style racing game wherein you play as one of eight Nintendo themed characters including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Toadstool, Toad, Koopa, Donkey Kong Jr., and Bowser. Each character is divided into one of four different classes divided by their acceleration, top speed, and handling. For example, Mario and Luigi are all rounders with no weaknesses and strengths. Yoshi and the Princess accelerate the fastest, but their top speed leaves something to be desired. Toad and the Koopa troopa are slower, but handle turns much better than the others. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the heavyweights Bowser and Donkey Kong Jr. who have low acceleration but the highest top speed rating. The differences are very noticeable during gameplay which makes each tier quite distinct from one another in some really fun ways.
Super Mario Kart is 3D via the hardware’s Mode 7 capabilities. This means that, while everything scales and animates smoothly the terrain is unfortunately limited to being completely flat. Despite this issue the developers managed to crank out a full roster of interesting tracks that are all distinct from one another. Unfortunately the themes tend to repeat themselves. There are only four different scenery types. These include the Mario Circuit, Donut Plains, Ghost Valley, Bowser’s Castle, Choco Island, Koopa Beach, Vanilla Lake, and the final course which is Rainbow Road. These themes are re-used in most of the different cups, but these sequel tracks are laid out completely differently. Of the themes the only one I’m not particularly fond of is the standard Mario Circuit, but I really like how all of the others make nice use of the Super Mario World motif. The grand prix mode is divided into four cups each of which features five different courses.
What set Mario Kart apart from most other racers (aside from using go-carts for vehicles) are that it’s focused on using items. These are accessed by driving over blocks laid out on each track. Doing so rewards you with a random tool to use. These include super mushrooms which offer a boost in speed, feathers which allow you to jump (useful for accessing shortcuts), red and green shells for throwing at your opponents to temporarily stop them, the super star which grants temporary invincibility, a boo that makes you invisible for a short time, and more. These items are useful for the most part, but in the end they steer the focus away from pure racing. In my opinion this element works in the game’s favor by making each race dynamic. Along with this each course also features environmental hazards strewn throughout the tracks, and in some areas you can fall and must be rescued by lakitu. The game also features coins that make you go faster, and each time you’re by an item or hazard you lose them. Super Mario Kart was very innovative in its time, and even today there are very few cart racers that have matched the it in any of these regards.
Nintendo fleshed out the experience by adding in several different gameplay modes. You can race in the Grand Prix mode with a second player in tow, and even compete against each other one-on-one in any of the courses you’ve unlocked. If you’re flying solo you can also try to beat out your best scores by completing time trials. The biggest, and best of these features however is the battle mode. You and a friend collect items and attack each other. Both racers are equipped with three balloons and lose one each time they’re struck. The first one to run out loses the match. There are only four courses to choose from, but they’re all entirely unique to this mode and are laid out in arena format. It’s highly addictive, and by far the best way to enjoy this game. Unfortunately you can’t access this mode in single player because there’s no option to compete against a CPU opponent, but that’s not a big deal. Regardless, the sheer amount of content included here will keep most gamers busy for a long while. That’s pretty good for such an old title.
Super Mario Kart relies entirely on mode 7 for its psuedo 3D gameplay. What this means is that it looks a bit dated, but the gameplay is extremely smooth. You view the action from behind your racer, and the scenery scales quite nicely. Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier the courses are all flat including the barriers which are generally multi-colored to make them easier to see. For the most part Super Mario Kart is nicely colorful, and it’s pretty impressive looking for a 16-bit title. The biggest issue I have is the fact that even in single player the screen is still split horizontally. The developers did include a map of the course showing each of the racers on the bottom. You can switch this out for a rear view mirror view, but the map is actually decently helpful. The soundtrack is enjoyable, but it’s not instantly recognizable as that from a Mario title. The music is completely original, but deep down I would rather have remixes from Super Mario World instead. Each racer has their own victory theme which is a very nice touch.
Even now few developers have managed to reach the level of quality Nintendo did with the first Super Mario Kart. The graphics might be aged, and the rubber band A.I. is annoying, but it’s still just as fun as it was on the day it was released. There’s a good reason why so many developers have copied the formula.
