Mario Kart 64
Reviewed by Scott McCall
Let me start off by saying that I consider myself one of the world's
biggest Super Mario Kart fans. I also consider myself one of the
best players in the world at it. From that standpoint, I was
anxiously awaiting a sequel to the game. It took long enough,
huh? Almost four and a half years after the original game
came out, a sequel has finally arrived. Does Mario Kart 64
live up to the original?
Yes and no. Fortunately, the good far outweighs the bad. First
of all, as you already know, the graphics have received a
major overhaul. The courses are now three-dimensional and
much larger. Although a lot better than the graphics in the
original, they are still not all that impressive for one reason:
they need to keep up the frame rate in the three- and four-player
modes. The trade-off is well worth it, though.
One of the more impressive facets of Mario Kart 64 is the sound.
All the characters have several voice samples that are played
back throughout the race. Surprisingly, at least to me, I haven't
gotten tired of the voice samples yet. Of course, I never got
tired of them in Super Mario 64 or Wave Race 64, either. There
is also a wide range of full, rich musical tracks coming to you in
lovely stereo sound.
So let's get to the goods. How does Mario Kart 64's gameplay
compare to the original game? In some ways it's better, and
in some ways it's not. The tracks are much longer and wider
than the original. I thought this might ruin the balance, but
it doesn't. There are now question boxes 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 GP, Time
Trial, Versus and Battle modes to choose from, depending
on how many people are playing. The GP mode is the same
as before, except there are only four courses in each cup this
time. The Time Trial mode is nicely improved over the original.
There are three great Time Trial courses, and 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 Versus mode
is pretty much the same as the original, except there's these
annoying "kart bombs" you have to avoid. Finally, there's the
Battle Mode, and this is where one of the two major problems
with the game lies. The courses are just too large and unexciting.
Though they can be a blast with three and four players, they
just aren't any fun in the two-player mode.
What's the game's other fault? The 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 are in. So if you're in first, then you'll pretty
much only get green shells and banana peals. But if you're
behind, then you'll get all kinds of good items such as stars,
lightning bolts, spiny shells, triple red shells, etc. 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 in 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
constant basis. After you start to get good and master the
power-slide, though, you'll begin to somewhat appreciate the
"cheating" ways of the computer.
Now the question is, which game is better, Super Mario Kart or
Mario Kart 64? I would have to say that the original game is
better because of the better Battle Mode and cheat-free AI. But
Mario Kart 64 is by no means anything less than a great game.
The gameplay is more different than you think because of the
AI, track design, new items and different power-sliding technique.
And you can't forget there is a four-player mode. Even if you don't
like the four-player Battle Mode, you'll probably have a blast
playing the four-player Versus mode.
Despite those few flaws outlined above, I just can't help but
play the game...a lot. Even though obscenities will often fill
the air in the multi-player modes, you eventually learn that
you can fight cheapness with cheapness of your own. Once you
start to get good enough, you may find that races turn into a
chess match of sorts. So go grab a friend and get this game. I
personally recommend playing a best-of-five in the GP mode.
Graphics: 4.1 out of 5
Sound: 4.1 out of 5
Control: 4.7 out of 5
Gameplay: 4.8 out of 5
Lastability: 4.8 out of 5
Overall: 4.8 out of 5