Mario Kart 64

This was the first game I brought for my N64, because I loved the SNES version, but I remember at the time I was really disappointed with it. I think it's down falls were due to the fact that the levels were much longer not like the short fun ones on the SNES, I think they should have made more short levels as opposed to the fewer long one's. Also the AI in this game was bad as mentioned in another review, no matter how fast you went the other racers were close behind, often getting speed boosts from no where and over taken you. I did like however, the graphics and the controls, also the multiplayer mode was alot of fun, but I didn't get into it as much as I did in the SNES version. I think that if you've never played the SNES version you will like this game alot, because it is a good game with alot of replay value, I advise you to buy the GBA version because it combine the SNES and N64 versions into a much better game.

Hearing John Ulmer describe this as the best racing game on the N64 made me glad that I'm not really a driving game fan because if this was the best then it must have been a poor console for the genre. This remake of the vastly superior SNES game was such a major disappointment for me, not only by way of comparison but just on its own terms – it needs skill but doesn't allow you to get better and it just isn't as much pure fun as it should have been.

The bright graphics and vocals are all good but the increased power of the N64 went to the programmers heads and it is just all too busy. The tracks have great backgrounds, which I have no problem with, but the amount of stuff occurring on the track is a real problem. The sheer volume of obstacles mean that even the most skillful driver will get caught up and it is endlessly frustrating when it happens – it certainly reduces its value as a straight racing game. It doesn't help that you simply cannot pull away in the way you could in the SNES game. With that game a good lap would mean the reward of space and a bit of a lead; however with the N64 the characters seem to stick with you no matter what – even a mushroom will make little difference a few seconds after you have used it. In fairness they also seem to slow down (although not to the same degree that they speed up) when you hit an obstacle but it is still annoying because a perfect race can still see you in 4th if you hit an obstacle on the last third of the final lap.

The characters are all OK and have had their individuality hemmed in a bit (not sure why – I still go for Toad) and again the courses see good use of the Mario universe. Some of them tend to be a bit too long and too many of them are overly complex with it. The items are surprisingly useless (not helped by how the others will catch you no matter what you do to them) and not helped by the computer characters having a seemingly endless supply of their chosen weapon (causing the third lap to be a total mess of bananas etc). The good items are useless because the computer will catch up in seconds while the idea of a "first place seeking" missile must have been good on paper but is crap in reality. The battle mode has not survived at all. The levels are complex and the items useless; the best way of winning it just to fire lots of green shells and the retreat to an upper level to wait it out. Even the simplest levels are a garish affair and it was more than I could bare – my favourite part of the SNES game had become an unplayable, skill and strategy free zone.

Overall this is not an awful game but it is rather poor. The fact that it might have been more for kids would explain why the skill has been taken out of it to some degree, but it doesn't explain why it is just so frustrating and random to play. The mockery of the battle mode is just another straw on my already broken back – maybe this is why I got so good at Goldeneye?

2 words: Rubber banding. I never heard that term before but once you play you'll know exactly what I mean. It's impossible NOT to notice cause it's very prevalent in this game while racing.

Otherwise this game is a great N64 game that holds up well! I just think the more recent Mario Kart editions are even BETTER! Wario stadium is easily my favorite track cause it's so big and full of opportunity. It deserves to be played by everyone at least once. :)

It is customary for a Mario game to be very light and fun because they don't bet on a sad, heavy or something very dramatic story, but Mario Kart 64 has a difference. The difference of this game is that it is much lighter than the others because it is just a racing game, without very big challenges. The characters in the game are very cool, the visuals of the levels are also cool, and all the game mechanics are very interesting. There is a considerable drop in quality from Super Mario 64 to this game, mainly in terms of graphics, but this is something that does not matter much, since the proposal is completely different and this is probably due to the fact that it is a simpler game. If you want to have fun playing a game alone, try playing any game in the Mario Kart franchise.

Nintendo IS the Disney of video-gaming; their catalogue of classic games have defined millions of childhoods across the globe and influenced things inside and outside the gaming industry itself. Mario Kart 64 is one of those many treasure-troves of Nintendo's gold-mines of entertainment. Mario is here with Donkey Kong, Peach, Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, Toad and even Bowser. The roster's grown since then, but still what a great selection of characters for a crossover racing game.

Released in 1996, Mario Kart 64 was one of the launch titles of the Nintendo 64, alongside Super Mario 64 (though that game was delayed in Europe and Australia by almost a year from the console's release), and Kart 64 still has fast, fun and vibrant gameplay. You're first place one minute, and then your position is under constant threat thanks to the use of blue-shells, banana peels, lightning bolts and trick-question-mark-boxes which are actually bombs.

This game brings back quite a lot of memories from my childhood: the discovery of many glitches, playing it with my cousins whenever they had a sleepover at my place, and just playing it with my brother gave me such cherishing moments that's helped me become the gamer I am today.