Great Games: Mario Kart
Wahoo!
The most nostalgic memories of my teenage years were the long hours spent playing Mario Kart Wii with my brothers on Friday nights. Life wasn’t always easy in those days, but the game allowed us to escape and enjoy ourselves. This was my first Mario Kart game, so it remains a personal favorite. While Mario Kart can be enjoyed alone, like Super Smash Brothers, there’s nothing quite like competing with your friends.
The first Mario Kart game was developed for the SNES in 1992. It was directed by Hideki Konno and produced by Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The team wanted to create a racing game that could have two screens, so two players could play at once. This was in contrast to F-Zero which was single player. Mario was Nintendo’s most popular character at the time, so it made natural sense to make him the face of their new game. You could also play as Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad, and Yoshi. Later characters would include Rosalina, Wario, and even Link! You can choose what level of difficulty you’d like to race at, as well as customize the karts for speed, weight, and acceleration.
Mario Kart has a few special features that help it to stand out from a lot of other racing games. First of all, the racing tracks, which not only include the best of the Super Mario games, but also new lands straight from the imagination of Nintendo. Of course, you have the simple and iconic like Peach’s Castle and Mario Circuit. You also have the stylistic and inventive, like Twisted Mansion and Moonview Highway. My favorite track is still the famous Rainbow Road. Not only does it have a bright and magical assortment of colors, but it is also a lethal track that keeps even the best racers on their toes. Rainbow Road’s enduring popularity explains why it was the flagship track chosen for the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Secondly, here would we be without those crazy items? The bananas that make your opponents slip, the Bullet Bills that help you catch up from behind, and of course, the infamous Blue Shells that can take you out of first place. It is these items that add a level of unpredictability to the game. Speed alone will not save you if you’re thrown off the track by a Red Shell. That said, knowing how to drift during turns in the road is a necessary skill.
In general, most Mario Kart games will give you a fun time. The superfans may obsess over the details, but I found a lot of them satisfying. That said, I didn’t really care for the original SNES or GBA versions of Mario Kart. The SNES version was great for the time, I imagine, but it’s aged poorly compared to the 3D ones. The GBA version is just awful. The first Mario Kart game I recall disliking. The Wii, DS, 3DS, and Switch versions are all great. I even liked the Wii Wheel and used it every chance I got. The DS and 3DS versions were always a good stress reliever after work, and I enjoyed the many Switch parties with my friends. I never got around the 64, GameCube, or Wii U versions, but I still hope to try them someday. Though the best way the experience Mario Kart is through the Japanese arcades where you can put your feet onto the pedals. I only hope that they introduce these to the US someday.
