![]() ![]() It's just you, your friends, and a fistful of balloons against wide-open areas and the terror of red shells. ![]() This is another instance where Mario Kart's simplicity works for it instead of against. From the classic and friendly Mario Circuit, to the perilous Vanilla Lake 2, to the glittering Thunderdome that is Rainbow Road (constructed by the filthy hands of Satan himself), Mario Kart's tracks offer challenges suitable for all comers.Īnd then there's Battle Mode. Though the racetracks are flat-looking in this age where we can literally make Mario drive up into space, they're still master-works of racing design. Mario Kart didn't become a genre-spawning phenomenon simply because we were all taken with the novelty of making Mario putter around in a go-kart. Do not lick Chocolate Island.īut is Mario Kart still fun without all its current-day bells and whistles? Heck yeah. As someone who will fight to the death for the honor of modern Mario Kart's Dry Bones, it's also nice to just sit back and relive my childhood with my main man, Koopa Troopa. There are only eight racers to choose from: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Toad, Koopa Troopa, and Donkey Kong Jr (before his Rare makeover we'll never see his like ever again). There are no blue shells to wail over, no blue sparks to fret about, no anti-gravity track portions, no distracting background elements, no endless parade of items to keep straight in your head – and no rubber-banding that keeps AI-controlled drivers sniffing at your butt when you should logically be ahead of them by miles.īlessed be Super Mario Kart's trim driver roster, too. ![]() The series' latest release, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch, is incredible, but there's something undeniably good, simple, and pure about Mario's first time behind the wheel. That said, it's impossible to avoid being inundated with nostalgia and longing when you pick up the original Super Mario Kart. "Oh no, he's actually floating!" "Well of course he is. There's a reason why Zophar's Domain has been a popular dispensary for ROM hacks, edits, and fixes for decades. Even classic games from the era are plagued by balancing issues, game-breaking bugs, and other gremlins that can't be fixed with a downloadable patch. ![]() The "good old days" of 16-bit gaming still had plenty of stinkers. It's not a perfect game, but no other title on the mini-console's roster does as thorough a job projecting the SNES Classic's mission statement: "SNES games are simple, but still wildly fun."Īs much as I love retro games and tend to retreat to them when I'm in need of a digital blankie, I try to avoid over-romanticizing them. This may sound strange, but Super Mario Kart is the SNES Classic Edition's most perfect inclusion. What's Super Mario Kart's role in this brave new world of multiple Mario Kart sequels (not to mention endless imitators)? Grandpa was always in last place, It's a friendly game, it's a colorful game, and it's an accessible game – but it's also an old game. With its imaginative courses, easy-to-grasp mechanics, competitive racing, and unspeakably addictive Battle Mode, the original Super Mario Kart quickly became a staple of sleep-over parties across the world. Like Tetris, Super Mario Kart is a game that seemingly everyone has played, including your game-avoidant Grandma and Pop-Pop. The proof's in the Mode-7 pudding: Super Mario Kart sold like crazy, and went on to spawn a series that still whips the public into a frenzy of turtle shell-hurtling. In retrospect, however, that ad marked the beginning of the end for the Genesis' untouchable coolness. Any commercial that makes Ecco the Dolphin appear more fun and exciting than Super Mario Kart deserves every single accolade available to '90s ad companies. The advertisement linked above is probably the pinnacle of Sega's marketing achievements. If I live to be one thousand years old, I'll never get over how Sega's marketing team managed to make Super Mario Kart look old, slow, and crusty next to the Genesis' "Blast Processed" library. Join us as we review all the games on the SNES Classic Mini Edition in chronological order! Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team. This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. ![]()
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