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Mario Kart 64

 
Games: Mario Kart 64
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Mario Kart 64
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Game Description

Mario Kart 64 is the 64-bit sequel to one of the best-selling games of the 16-bit era. Mario and his peers race against each other around lap-based tracks, using special items to their advantage. Items of mischief with roots in the Nintendo universe include banana peels, Koopa Troopa shells, ghosts, invincibility stars and more.

Eight of Nintendo's best-known characters -- Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario and Bowser -- make an appearance in the sequel. Sixteen circuit tracks are divided among four Cups (Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special) and four battle tracks are included, too.

Mario Kart 64 also features the same gameplay modes as the original. Mario GP, which is for one or two players, pits your character in a series of races against the rest of the computer-controlled field. The VS mode is for two to four players, with no computer competition. Little "kart bombs" populate the track to make things even more interesting. Battle is the famous mode in which two to four players chase each other around a closed arena.

A Time Trial mode also exists for one player. For the sequel, Nintendo implemented a feature that enables ghost riders of your best races to be saved. Additionally, the go-karts are available in three engine sizes: 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. The engine size affects the speed of the game.

Peripheral support is available with the Controller Pak and Rumble Pak. The game does contain a built-in EEPROM chip to save your options and your best times, but an entire Controller Pak is required to save two ghost riders from the Time Trial mode.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

The original Super Mario Kart made a surprise appearance for the Super NES in 1992, taking the world by storm. The game, which has spawned an entire battle racing genre by itself, consistently has been considered one of the best games of all time. Nearly five years later, Mario Kart 64 has appeared. Sequels often fall flat compared to their originals, and one might say that Mario Kart 64 would be hard-pressed to meet the high expectations set by the first one. Opinions, therefore, may seem muddled in this case.

How does the gameplay in Mario Kart 64 compare to the original game? In some ways it's better, and in some ways it's not. The tracks are much longer, with some laps taking two-plus minutes to complete, and much wider than the original. Question boxes are found at several places on the track; this is essential since the tracks are a lot longer. There are new items such as triple shells, banana bunches, spiny shells and fake question boxes. These items definitely help the gameplay. Alas, the feather was removed from the sequel because it would be too easy to take some massive shortcuts.

The original's proven formula is also retained with Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus and Battle modes. The Mario GP mode is the same as before, with computer competition for one or two players, except only four courses comprise each cup this time. The Time Trial mode is nicely improved over the original. You can now save a "ghost" of your best race to the Controller Pak. That means you can take your ghost driver over to your friend's house so they can race not only against your best time but against an exact replica of your best race.

The VS mode is pretty much the same as the original, except annoying "kart bombs" must be avoided. Finally, the legendary Battle Mode is included. Disappointingly, only four courses are available, and the overall course design isn't as good as the original. Some items from the other modes aren't included here, either. On the plus side, two to four players can participate in the fun.

The biggest problem with Mario Kart 64 is its questionable artificial intelligence. This problem is evident in two areas: how the items are given out and how the computer plays in the GP mode. First of all, the type of item you get is completely dependent on what place you're in. So if you're in first, then you'll pretty much only get green shells and banana peels. But if you're behind, then you'll get all kinds of good items, such as stars, lightning bolts, spiny shells, triple red shells and so forth.

The problem lies within the fact that you can just hit the brakes so your opponent passes you, and then you can get a better item and win the race. Since the items are so frequent and liberally dealt, it commands a whole new type of strategy over the original. The other fault with the AI is in the Grand Prix mode. The computer opponents have the uncanny ability to make sure they're always close to you. Even if you get a lightning bolt and cruise by everyone, they'll be back close to you within a few seconds after they become big again.

Both of these AI quirks will cause you and your friends to say "That's unfair" or "That's cheap" on a consistent basis. Once you start to master the game with new techniques, you'll begin to appreciate somewhat the cheating ways of the computer because races always will be very close.

Control in Mario Kart 64 is very good. As expected, the A button is gas and the B button is brake. The Z button, or Bottom C button, activates an item. New to the sequel is the ability to have two items at once. For example, if you get a single shell, you can hold down the Z button while racing to keep it behind you as protection. And if you run over an item block, another item will be waiting for you once the shell is used. The R button jumps this time, too. But it's not the key to the power slide. The key to the power slide is using the analog Control Stick.

Basically, while going around a bend, you must hold the Control Stick to the direction of the wall for a second or two, jerk it to the opposite direction and back again for holding. Then you must repeat the process of holding one way and jerking the other way and pressing back. The letters underneath your go-kart will change if you're doing it properly.

Graphically, Mario Kart 64 received some enhancements, but the graphics don't have the "wow" factor that one would expect when going from a 16-bit to a 64-bit game. The courses are now three dimensional and composed of polygons. But sometimes the courses can seem too bare and simple. Surprisingly, the drivers are still sprites, not polygons, like the original game. It appears these concessions were made to enable a multi-player mode that plays well.

One of the more impressive aspects of Mario Kart 64 is the sound. All the characters have several voice samples that are used throughout the game. They're useful so you know who's around you and whom you attacked. It's a nice feeling to hear Wario say "Mama miaaaaaa!" after you just hammered him with a red shell. As usual from Nintendo, the sound effects are fitting and high quality. The music is a vast improvement over the original, too. A wide range of full, rich musical tracks come to you in lovely stereo sound.

Now the question is, which game is better: Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64? My vote goes to the original. Super Mario Kart has the advantages of better control (especially the power slide technique); much less cheating; narrower, shorter tracks; and a cooler Battle mode. On the other hand, Mario Kart 64 improves on the original with nifty new items, new gameplay additions (e.g., towing an item behind you), some very cool GP tracks, and a four-player mode.

Despite the fact that Mario Kart 64 doesn't quite compare to the original, it's nevertheless one of the best racing games for the system. The good still far outweighs the bad. And you'll eventually learn that you can fight cheapness with cheapness of your own. You may find that races turn into a chess match of sorts, as you take advantage of cheating techniques. Another classic from Nintendo.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

The computer's cheating ways can get annoying quickly, but you'll get used to it. As a one-player game, there's not much here. But it's a must-have multi-player game.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

As expected, everything is bright and colorful, but there isn't enough detail at times. The sprites can seem out of place, too. On the other hand, more items and action take place on-screen without any slowdown. It's fast and smooth even in the multi-player modes.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

Great voices, good sound effects, and decent music comprise this category. Strangely, music is absent from the multi-player modes.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Time Trial is great fun for one player, {%Mario} GP is great for two players, and Battle Mode is great for three or four players. Unfortunately, these modes aren't very fun when played with other combinations of people, and this hurts the game a little.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

A great manual and a useful cardboard insert are included. {@Nintendo} has excelled again in this area.
~ Scott McCall, All Game Guide
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Wikipedia: Mario Kart 64
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Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart 64box.jpg
North American box art
Developer(s) Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Composer(s) Kenta Nagata
Series Mario Kart
Platform(s) Nintendo 64, Nintendo iQue, Virtual Console
Release date(s) Nintendo 64
JP December 14, 1996
NA February 10, 1997
EU June 24, 1997
Virtual Console
JP January 30, 2007
NA January 29, 2007
PAL January 26, 2007
Genre(s) Racing game
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s) ELSPA: 3+
ESRB: K-A
OFLC: G
Media 96 Mb (12 MB) cartridge

Mario Kart 64​ (マリオカート64 Mario Kāto Rokujūyon?) is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. On January 26, 2007, Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's European Virtual Console service for the Wii. It was released on the American service on January 29, 2007, and in Japan on January 30, 2007.

Mario Kart 64 is the sequel to Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Changes from the original include the move to 3D computer graphics and the inclusion of four-player support. Players take control of characters from the Mario universe, who race around a variety of tracks with items that can either harm opponents or aid the user. The move to three-dimensional graphics allowed for track features not possible with the original game's Mode 7 graphics, such as changes in elevation, bridges, walls, and pits. However, the characters and items remained 2D pre-rendered sprites.

Music for the game was composed by Kenta Nagata. The introduction music for Mario Kart 64, which is loosely based on the original Super Mario Kart theme tune, was remixed and used in the music video game Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix for the Nintendo GameCube. The game was critically well received by critics and was a best seller.

Contents

Gameplay

Mario Kart 64 was the first in the series to use 3D computer graphics.

There are four forms of play in the game: Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus, and Battle. There are eight playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach, Wario, Yoshi, Toad, and Donkey Kong. They vary in weight, speed, and acceleration. There are 16 tracks that are based on different locations seen in Mario video games. Each track has a unique shape, and can contain various obstacles, hazards, and short-cuts. All eight characters participate in each race. Up to four of them can be playable characters, while the rest are computer-controlled for one- or two-player races; three- and four-player races feature no computer-controlled racers. On a track, various actions can be performed to change the flow of a race. Items can be acquired by hitting a clue box. The items' uses include acting as projectiles to impede opponents, speeding up the user, or stopping opponents through the placement of bananas and fake clue boxes. However, AI-controlled racers do not use any kind of shell. One can earn a small turbo boost through obtaining mushrooms, and also by drifting, which one can perform by hopping and tilting the control stick in the direction of the turn, which allows for speedier turns. There is also an advanced drift technique that allows players to turn against the direction of their drift for a speed boost.[1]

In Grand Prix mode, one or two human players compete against computer players in a tournament composed of races on four individual courses, arranged in four-course cups. For each race, points are awarded based on placement, and at the end, the winner is decided based on the number of points accumulated. Difficulty level is measured by engine size: 50, 100, or 150 cc. There is an unlockable difficulty called 'Extra', allowing players to race on mirrored tracks. Time trial mode allows a player to race around any track in the game, either by themselves or against a 'ghost' of a previous run, attempting to improve their time. The player starts with three mushrooms (speed bursts) and cannot obtain any additional items. If the player is racing with a ghost, this phantom player mimics the motions and time of the last personal record run. Versus mode entails two to four players racing head-to-head in a single all-human race on any course. This mode is identical to Grand Prix, but lacks AI players and has the added obstacles of moving bombs that are placed sporadically around the track. Battle mode pits two to four players against one another in one of four available battle courses. These courses are separate from the race courses, and are suited for more combat-oriented gameplay. Each player begins with three balloons attached to their kart. When damaged, a player will lose one of his or her balloons. When all of the balloons on a kart are gone, the player is eliminated, in the case of a one-on-one match, or turned into a bomb on wheels, able to crash into any living player and cause damage a single time until the match ends. The winner is the last kart to survive the battle.

The game is compatible with the N64 Controller Pak, but only to save track ghosts in the Time Trial mode, which requires 121 pages, almost the entire standard controller pak. All other data is stored in-cartridge.

Playable characters

A beta screenshot of Mario Kart 64 from a 1996 issue of Nintendo Power. The character roster is shown including Magikoopa, whom was later replaced with Donkey Kong in the final version.
See also: Mario Kart: Playable characters

In Mario Kart 64, player's can choose any one of eight unique characters to operate their kart. Koopa Troopa and Donkey Kong Junior, both of whom appeared in Super Mario Kart, did not return for Mario Kart 64. They ended up being replaced by Donkey Kong and Wario. In pre-release screenshots, a Magikoopa was playable, but before the game's final release the Magikoopa was replaced by Donkey Kong.

Characters are divided into three categories. The 'light weights' include Peach, Yoshi and Toad, who are favored for their quick acceleration. The 'heavy weights' include Wario, Bowser, and Donkey Kong and are favored for their responsive steering, and the 'middle weights', Mario and Luigi, are balanced characters.

Development

In production, its original name was Super Mario Kart R, but the title was later changed due to a copyright infringement of Sega's Sonic R.[citation needed]

Music

The soundtrack to Mario Kart 64 was composed by Kenta Nagata.

Re-releases

Almost ten years later, Mario Kart 64 was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on January 26, 2007, and in North America on January 29, 2007, for 1000 Wii Points. Due to the lack of a Controller Pak, it is impossible to save ghost data, as was allowed in the Nintendo 64 version. Nintendo has posted messages advising users about this before they download the game, both when the Wii Shop Channel is first accessed and in the More Details tab on the individual game page. Like Super Mario 64 on the Virtual Console, this version of the game is presented in 480i and can also be run in 480p mode with a suitable television set-up, with the exception of the PAL release which is presented in 576i at 50Hz only, regardless of TV or console set-up. Most 2D graphical elements were not enhanced for the higher resolution, and thus look blurrier. The emulation of this title on Wii Virtual Console has a speed variance from the original title.

Merchandise

Mario Kart 64 included a line of action figures that were released worldwide in 1999 as part as the Video Game Super Stars line, created by Toy Biz. Series 1 included Mario, Bowser, and Yoshi, while Series 2 included Ghost Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and Wario.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 87%[2]
Metacritic 83 of 100[3]
Review scores
Publication Score
Edge 8 of 10[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly A[5]
GamePro 5 of 5[6]
GameSpot 6.4 of 10[7]
IGN 8.1 of 10[8]
Nintendo Power 4.33 of 5[2]

Mario Kart 64 received generally positive reviews. The game has an average review ratio of 87% on Game Rankings, including reviews from IGN and GamePro, and magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly.[2] IGN stated, "Though the single-player mode is a bit of a step back from the SNES original, Mario Kart 64 still offers one of the best multiplayer experiences to be had on Nintendo 64."[8] GameSpot insisted that though the graphics and sound of the game are impressive, the gameplay is too easy and lacks depth.[7] In GameSpot's re-review of the Virtual Console release the reviewer criticized its sound, lack of ghost-saving, and graphics, saying the latter had "aged rather poorly."[9] The game placed 17th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.[10] Mario Kart 64 sold approximately 5.5 million copies in the United States and 2.24 million in Japan.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "Mario Kart 64 Translated". IGN. http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060464p1.html. 
  2. ^ a b c "Mario Kart 64 Reviews". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/197860.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  3. ^ "Mario Kart 64 (n64: 1997): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/n64/mariokart64?q=mario%20kart%2064. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  4. ^ "Edge Online: Search Results". Edge. http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/search.php. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  5. ^ "Mario Kart 64 N64 Review Index, Mario Kart 64 Reviews:". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3111925&p=23&sec=REVIEWS. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  6. ^ Doctor Zombie (2000-11-24). "Review: Mario Kart 64 for N64 on Gamepro.com.". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/n64/games/reviews/509.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  7. ^ a b Ward, Trent (1997-02-06). "Mario Kart 64 for Nintendo 64 Review - Nintendo 64 Mario Kart 64 Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/n64/driving/mariokart64/review.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  8. ^ a b Schneider, Peer (1997-02-20). "IGN: Mario Kart 64 Review". IGN. http://ign64.ign.com/articles/150/150502p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  9. ^ Mario Kart 64 for Wii Review - Wii Mario Kart 64 Review
  10. ^ "20-11 Official Nintendo Magazine". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=7258. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
  11. ^ "The Magic Box - US Platinum Chart Games.". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
  12. ^ "The Magic Box - Japan Platinum Chart Games.". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 

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