GENRE
	Racing
	DEVELOPER
	Nintendo
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WORTH PLAYING TODAY?
	yes
	BUY NOW AT

Super Mario Kart brings back a flood of treasured memories from the summer of 1992. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System wasn’t even a year old when this, the first of many Mario spin-offs, hit the scene and pushed the console’s much-touted Mode 7 capabilities to their limits. In this game, one or two players were able to become one of their eight favorite characters from the Mario universe and race each other to the finish line if not compete in the vastly more popular and innovative battle mode. While racing titles on the Sega Genesis at the time were bragging about their wonderful “blast processing” in comparison with the SMK title screen, the actual sprites-on-2-D racing environment proved to be an effective method for its time.

visuals

In the 16-bit era, sprites were the order of the day. The eight racers were portrayed in 16 different angles all around their bodies to provide for full kart rotation. These simple character sprites, when seen in the distance, were summarily squished down into not-so-pretty, yet still recognizable globs of pixels to represent the competing racers. The racing tracks themselves consisted of giant, square-shaped fields that would rotate and pan underneath the player’s wheels. These colossal environments, while beautiful from above, looked rather grainy up close and merely served their purposes to adequately represent the various track surfaces. On top of the flat track were placed innumerous obstacles in the form of even more 2-D sprites that stood up perpendicular to the course. Sure, the graphical engine might not be very pretty by today’s standards, but was sheer groundbreaking material back in the day.

audio

Probably the best audio aspect found in Super Mario Kart is the attention to detail paid to the karts’ engine noises. Right out of the gate, a player can easily tell whether the kart warmed up just the right amount by the pitch emitted by the engine. A peel-out sounds just like a peel-out, and the engine of course starts over from silence. Throughout the race – provided that obstacles aren’t hit along the way – the karts accelerate fueled by coins found on the raceways and eventually reach a wonderful, high-pitched hum. Each character has its own complimentary sound effect, by which one can tell who’s doing the passing and item dropping. The quirky musical tracks, while in the standard memorable Mario fashion, are better replaced by pulse-pounding CDs.

gameplay

Back before we had fancy things like analog control, there were these things called directional pads. We’d control everything from platform games to these racers with them, and we liked it that way! Rather than have various degrees of pressure on either side of the wheel, the method of turning involved a complicated procedure of pressing and releasing left or right in just the right proportion. But those well acquainted with the digital arts wouldn’t have 16-bit racing any other way. In Super Mario Kart, however, this problem was partially solved by way of the Power Slide. Tapping the R Button to jump, racers can lean into the turns and skid all the way around corners at an accelerated speed. It’s a different rigmarole from the left and right shifting found in Mario Kart 64, but fun nonetheless.

Grand Prix mode offers one or two players the opportunity to race against the remaining computer-controlled characters in a series of five races. Choosing from the Mushroom, Flower, Star or Special Cups, each of the five tracks are chosen from throughout the Mushroom Kingdom for a total of 20 tracks. Upon driving over a Question Block painted on the road, a (somewhat) random item is selected for the player and can be used against other racers. Rather than the frequent Spiked Shells, Lightning Bolts, and Triple-Shells found in its successor, Super Mario Kart relies on simple weapons like Red or Green Shells, Banana Peels, and the all-important Feathers for jumping. Most worthless among these items were a pair of coins that could’ve otherwise easily been picked up along the way. In one-player mode, a rank of 4th or better must be attained in each race in order to progress to the next track, while only one person in two-player mode must do this for both to continue. First place acquires 9 points, 2nd receives 6 points, 3rd gets 3 points, and 4th is left with the table scraps of a single point. Whichever racer has the most points after the five races wins the golden cup for that circuit. Sure, it’s traditional, but fun and still challenging after all these years.

Time Trials allow single players to record their best times possible on each of the 20 tracks and race against the ghosts of immediately prior best races.

multiplayer

Battle Mode is where the true mettle of these plucky go-kart racers is tested. Both players are given three balloons circling their karts as targets for the enemy to wipe out. Hitting any weapon destroys one balloon. Each of the four battle arenas had their own unique attributes; my favorite was often number two with its pools and reservoirs which players could jump into using the Feather. Here, additional Question Blocks were hidden along with the perfect sniper’s hideout. Other battle arenas were simple circular areas with varying numbers of walled-off lanes in each quadrant. Arena three was noteworthy for its icy surface and strategically placed ice cubes for barriers.

overall

Super Mario Kart is a classic concoction of pure racing goodness that stands up to the test of time today. This title has inspired innumerous kart clones, spin-offs, and sequels due to its sheer quality of game mechanics and infinite replay value. Back in the days of the X-Band modem, it was a kick to play against other gamers in the region or nationwide at our favorite racing game on the Super NES. We can now only look forward to versions of Mario Kart for the upcoming Nintendo consoles with all the multiplayer networking they’ll provide.

9.5/10