Kart racing is big business in the video game market. Nintendo struck it out of the park when their experiment spawned an entire genre. Super Mario Kart was and still is a huge hit in the marketplace. Its influence was vast with many copycats (some good, some not so much) being released throughout the years. These days you have so many options for some arcade style kart racing. Because of this it can be difficult to weed through the good and bad. That’s where we come in. Today we’ve decided to highlight the top 15 best kart racers. Spoiler alert: there’s a whole lot of Mario here. It’s unavoidable because Nintendo’s plumber is still king here. Regardless let’s speed right into it. These are the best kart racers of all time!
#15. – Crash Team Racing
Many prefer this title to Mario Kart 64. I’ve always thought that this was just because of the platform it was released for. Yes, Crash Team Racing is a good game but playing it you’ll discover it’s clearly a solid tier below Nintendo’s earlier offering. Regardless, Naughty Dog brought Crash Bandicoot’s trademark style to the kart racing genre. For better, or worse. As various characters from the namesake franchise (each with their own handling strengths and weaknesses) you race around each track a specific number of times. In the adventure mode specifically you have other objectives some of which are decent but others bog down the experience. The focus on collecting in particular isn’t my favorite. Regardless it’s mostly a good time.
#14. – Chocobo Racing
What do you do when you have the most successful RPG series worldwide? Release a kart racing game based on it, of course! Chocobo Racing took the world by surprise, and while reception was mixed I really like it. In this game you choose from a variety of different side characters and enemies from the Final Fantasy franchise. From here you select a specific power-up, and you’re off to the races! The aforementioned weapon selection was an interesting mechanic for the series at the time. In Grand Prix mode you can choose which four courses you would like to compete over. These features are refreshing, but gameplay is pretty standard fare. I did like the stage design however, and the fact that the characters had specific power-ups exclusive to them.
#13. – Banjo Pilot
Okay so I’m cheating a little here including this one. Technically there’s no ‘kart racing’ seeing as how each character rides on miniature airplanes. It’s so similar to other games on this list that I wasn’t bothered by the distinction. This title actually began life as Diddy Kong Pilot. When Microsoft purchased Rareware they had to change the franchise it was based around, and they settled on the next best thing; Banjo Kazooie. In typical fashion you race around each course a set number of times with each character having their own strengths and weaknesses. There’s a verticality here you don’t often see with the genre due to the vehicles flying. Speed boosts and items are at varying heights. It definitely requires more attention than most others. Despite only loosely fitting the criteria Banjo Pilot is still one of the best Kart racers of all time.
#12. – Lego Racers
Who doesn’t love legos? Playing with them with my stepson makes me feel like a kid again. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could build your own car out of them and race against other opponents? Well, Lego Racers has you covered! As with what you would expect the building aspect is central to the game. You not only create your own character, but also build your car. For such an old game there’s a lot of options here and I would expect nothing less from a videogame about Legos. There are also some really nice touches such as the power ups you collect being differently colored Lego pieces. Lego Racers also has good track design, and solid fundamentals. It’s a great game that’s a clear cut above most similar titles.
#11. – Battle Racers
Battle Racers came out on the Super Famicom and was never released outside of Japan. It’s easy to see why; the developers licensed out a few regional franchises such as Ultraman and Gundam for its characters. It’s a shame Bandai didn’t retool this one because it’s a lot of fun. The developers tried something a little different here by combining elements from both F-Zero and Mario Kart. While it looks like a simple clone of the latter many aspects of the former were incorporated. You do ride in karts, and you’ll find power-ups scattered in each course. The difference is that you’ll be bouncing off of the walls pretty consistently. You’ll also find areas where you can recharge your energy ala F-Zero. It’s a neat hybrid that works pretty well.
#10. – Mario Kart 64
Many will consider it blasphemous to include this one so low down on any list of the best kart racing games. Even at the time of release Mario Kart 64 didn’t quite sit right with me. The course design wasn’t particularly interesting, and some of the new power-ups were unimpressive. Worse yet Nintendo did away with the single best power-up; the feather. That one made the first game super interesting as far as finding shortcuts go. Complaints aside, Mario Kart 64 is still a super fun time. Nintendo added in a lot more dynamic elements into each course. You’ll find falling boulders in the mountain area, a missing map in another with various directional signs in another, and even a train that rolls through in the Kalimari Desert. It’s pretty neat. The multiplayer mode has been upgraded to four players but the courses just aren’t that interesting in my opinion.
#9. – Super Mario Kart
Yes, I actually prefer the original Super Mario Kart to it’s 64-bit iteration. The more simplistic approach served the franchise better at the time in my opinion. Plus the power-slide required more skill back then when it didn’t offer a speed boost. Super Mario Kart was one of the games that was focused entirely around the mode-7 capabilities of the console. The only drawback is that the developers opted to go half-screen with the visuals. This is confusing because no graphical fidelity is lost when you play multiplayer. The real highlight here however is the battle mode. The courses are absolutely on-point and I love how the feather power-up can take you to otherwise inaccessible areas or save you last minute from danger. Super Mario Kart was an anomaly in its time, and nothing released since has replicated it perfectly.
#8. – Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed
This was the second console kart racer Sega released based on their classic franchises, but it doesn’t quite reach the same heights as the first. That’s an unpopular opinion I know. Regardless it’s pretty clear to see why. Sonic Racing Transformed is centered around the gimmick of your ship changing into two other forms. It can be a hovercraft style speedboat, or an airplane. This happens automatically as you play. All the old standards are in place here; you race against other opponents while gathering/using items, powerslide around corners to get a boost, and more. The problem I have is that the transform mechanic just wasn’t interesting. Courses transform sometimes to accommodate this but I found the designs lacking. The stages are thematically amazing but their designs were disappointing. The character roster is also disappointing. It’s a great game for sure, but not as good as the last one.
#7. – Mario Kart: Super Circuit
One of the most impressive games initially shown off for the Game Boy Advance before launch was Mario Kart: Super Circuit. It used the classic mode 7 style rendering, but took up the entire screen on the handheld. Super Circuit also looked remarkably better than Super Mario Kart did on the Super Nintendo. There are a few reasons this one scores so high on this list. First off it contains all new courses as well as remade versions of those from Super Mario Kart. Secondly, the power slide no longer offers a boost. This makes for a more pure racing experience that’s better in some ways than the others in my opinion. Multiplayer modes even make the cut here and it’s a ton of fun to play with your friends.
#6. – Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Most people find it strange that I prefer this game to Transformed. The gameplay design just feels tighter here, and less convoluted and busy than the sequel. The character roster is also significantly better. The only area in which this is a downgrade is in the themes used for the stages. That’s pretty easy to overlook though, in my opinion. I really like the way the power-up system works here. By collecting three of the same power-up you get a supercharged version of it. This is not a new concept, but it feels more fully realized here. There’s also an all-star attack that differs between the characters. Unfortunately you’ll only get this when you’re losing. Finally, the power sliding feels really good in this title. It’s better than in most other kart racers. You get just the right amount of feedback for it. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is amazing.
#5. – Speed Punks
Here’s a game that most people haven’t even heard of. Speed Punks (or Speed Freaks as it’s known in Europe) was developed by Funcon (yeah I haven’t heard of them either) and published by Sony. Instead of basing it on an established franchise the developers decided to create a series of strange characters and fantastical courses. They’re all super deformed kids which screams 90s attitude. Why didn’t Naughty Dog didn’t license out Crash Bandicoot to this developer? it’s a fairly basic kart racer. Speed Freaks has the typical items, multiplayer, and characters with different racing stats. There are a few things that set it apart from the pack however. First of all you can stack special items. This results in more powerful effects and is pulled off particularly well here. The course design is also absolutely amazing. Shortcuts are actually fun to find, and the layouts are fantastic.
#4. – Mario Kart DS
As became tradition with this release Nintendo highlighted the capabilities of their new handheld hardware with a Mario Kart game. This one holds a special place in my heart because it was the first really great 3D installment in the franchise. At the time it had the most polished and refined mechanics, the best selection of special items, and less weird gimmicks like the franchise so often suffers from. The game also allowed for single cartridge multiplayer which was a godsend for me and my DS owning friends. Furthermore this was the first online title in the franchise, and even featured a ton of remade courses. You really got the best of all worlds here. Best yet it plays like a dream. This was a sign of what was to come for the Mario Kart series, and revived my interest in the franchise.
#3. – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
For the first time since the franchise’s inception Nintendo didn’t make a new installment for the release of their Nintendo Switch console. Instead they revamped their last one, and added a ton of content to it. Honestly the Wii U version is completely obsolete now, and at the time of release it was the best sequel. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has more content than any other arcade style racer up to this point, and they’re still releasing new DLC to this day. You have an absolutely huge roster of characters from more than just the Mario franchise. Furthermore the gimmicks (which I didn’t love) also return, but these are avoidable by playing on specific courses. Most of the tracks from previous games have been remade in full 3D and high definition glory. Furthermore this also has the most advanced multiplayer options across the entire genre.
#2. – Sonic R
Sonic R is easily the most controversial inclusion on this list. It’s not even nostalgia talking; I was very late to the party on this one. Sonic R just hits all of the notes that my admittedly peculiar tastes require. It’s not exactly a literal kart racer (only one character actually drives) because frankly the characters in this franchise run so fast they don’t need vehicles. The focus here is on taking advantage of each character’s specific abilities. For example, as Knuckles you can glide, Tails can fly, Sonic has a double jump, and Robotnik can fire missiles. There are several other characters as well. The emphasis here is on exploration. You have to find the chaos emeralds to progress while coming in first place. It’s very challenging and forces you to memorize each stage. It’s light on content, but I’ll be darned if I don’t absolutely love Sonic R.
#1. – Diddy Kong Racing
Rare has long been known to copy Nintendo’s formulas. This was the one case where they completely surpassed them. Diddy Kong Racing is without a doubt the best kart racer of all time. It has all the content of a regular game in this genre and much more. On top of racing in karts you also have hovercrafts and planes. These can even be mixed and matched and allow other racers to take different paths. There’s an adventure mode which is super fleshed out. You even have boss battles here which are extremely memorable. The multiplayer modes are particularly impressive. Not only can a second player join in on adventure mode, but you have several different options for versus play. This includes things like regular battles, to gathering eggs, to collecting more bananas than the foe. The sheer variety of this game is astounding no matter which way you play.
