Perhaps the most controversial addition to Mario Kart 64 was the feared blue shell, an over-powered item that could hit any kart on its path to collide with the leader. Mario Kart 64 also included a mirror mode known as “Extra Mode,” which reversed all the courses in the game for a bigger challenge and thus adding to the sequel’s replay value. That said, Nintendo emphasized longer tracks in the sequel as opposed to the amount of them. Super Mario Kart included 20 courses while Mario Kart 64 had only 16. Yet, Nintendo drew 2D sprites for the characters, undoubtedly to save some processing power for the actual courses.Īll four cups from the original GP mode returned, but with fewer courses. For one thing, Nintendo used polygons to build all of the courses in the sequel, giving Mario Kart 64‘s tracks more texture as opposed to the first game’s Mode 7-generated flat raceways. While the game certainly ushered in a new era of 3D graphics for the series, Mario Kart 64 wasn’t without its technical limitations. The only reason that didn’t happen was that Miyamoto took developers off the project in order to finish Super Mario 64 in time for launch, therefore delaying the release of the racing game. It’s unclear how close we were to getting this version of the game, but Nintendo originally intended to include this Kart sequel in the N64’s launch line-up.
Originally known as Super Mario Kart R (the “R” could stand for the Japanese word “Rokujūyon,” which means “64”), this beta version was slightly different from the finished product.
10 of the following year.ĭuring the first official unveiling of the N64 – then known as Ultra 64 – at the 1995 Shoshinkai Software Exhibition, an early version of Mario Kart 64 was among the 30 games showcased for the new console. Today, we add Mario Kart 64 to that list – first released in Japan on Dec. If you grew up gaming in the late 90s, nothing will make you feel older than the fact that many of your favorite video games from the era are now over twenty years old.
With the success of Super Mario Kart, which is the third bestselling title on the SNES, it’s no surprise that Nintendo greenlit a sequel for its next console, the Nintendo 64 – the platform that introduced 3D to the world of Mario. The mode was a welcome break from the traditional racing experience. Not bad for a day’s work.īeyond its fun Mario Kart GP mode, the game’s most notable feature was its multiplayer Battle Mode, which pits two players against each other, as they tried to pop balloons attached to their go-karts by shooting shells at each other. In fact, famed Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto and his team spent some time at go-kart raceways studying how the karts zipped through the tracks in order to get the game’s unique feel right. For Mario and friends, go-kart racing was a perfect fit. Kart wasn’t designed to be a fast-paced racer, but instead a racing game that fit Nintendo’s decidedly wacky cast of characters. Super Mario Kart debuted in 1992 as a lighter alternative to Nintendo’s classic futuristic racing game F-Zero, with an emphasis on casual multiplayer gameplay to set it apart from the latter’s more fast-paced single-player experience.
And then there’s Mario Kart, the most iconic and bestselling Mariospinoff of them all. Mario and his friends have played tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, competed in mini-game challenges in Mario Party, and punched each other in the face in the Super Smash Bros. It’s no secret that part of Nintendo’s success in the last three decades is due to the myriad ways the company has used its iconic cast of characters to explore genres beyond side-scrolling platformers.