Mario Kart 64

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Mario Kart 64 (originally titled Super Mario Kart R) is the second game in the Mario Kart series. It is for the Nintendo 64, and is also available on the Wii's Virtual Console. It is the series's first step into 3D graphics. However, the drivers themselves were not in 3D.

It has set many trends in the Mario Kart series, and courses such as Sherbet Land and Wario Stadium were used again. The courses Moo Moo Farm, Frappe Snowland, Choco Mountain and Banshee Boardwalk were later featured in Mario Kart DS, and the first three are playable online.

Gameplay

As opposed to Super Mario Kart, a race now has three laps, not five, due to the fact the raceways are a lot longer then in Super Mario Kart. To get the items, the character had to get an Item Box. When the character gets the Item Box, the item-roulette will sound medium, and when the item-roulette stopped, they'll hear 4 "dings".

Player's steer with the Nintendo 64 Controller's control stick, and hold down A to accelerate. The B button is used for the brake. With the Z trigger items are used. When you press the R trigger you would jump and then turn so that you could turn if there is a tight corner like in open courses where there are hardly any boundaries to stop you go into other land like snow and sand. Don't turn to much or turn side to side otherwise you will slid and spin around making you stop for a few seconds.

The cups can be raced on the difficulty settings of 50, 100 or 150 cc or the unlockable Extra (also known as Mirror) mode. There is also a Time Trial Mode and a Battle Mode available. In Battle Mode, each player starts with three balloons, and loses a balloon when hit by any item. When a player has lost all of his/her balloons, he or she loses.

The rival system in this game is the more commonly used 2 Rival system, where 2 randomly selected rivals will fight with the player, and will use the "Handicap" feature to get themselves on level with the player. They will always stay the same no matter what the championship standings are.

Drivers

Lightweights

The Lightweight drivers have the highest Top Speed and the best acceleration in the game, but tend to slide out the most of the drivers. If a Heavyweight Player rams into a Lightweight Player, the Lightweight player will slip out, giving Heavyweights a large advantage over them in Battle Mode. Lightweights, with their faster speed and acceleration, have the advantage in Grand Prix mode, however.

• Mk64peach.gif

  Peach

• Mk64toad.gif

  Toad

• YoshiKart64.gif

  Yoshi

Middleweights

The Middleweight Drivers both are about even with everything, making them good for beginners. They feature moderate Acceleration and Top Speed.

• Red Kart.gif

  Mario

• Mk64luigi.gif

  Luigi

Heavyweights

The Heavyweights are rather clunky, and have the best traction of all the characters in the game. The Heavyweights have low Top Speed and Acceleration. With the ability to make Lightweights spin out by ramming into them, they are considered to be the best drivers in Battle Mode.

• Mk64dk.gif

  Donkey Kong

• Mk64bowser.gif

  Bowser

• 

  Wario

In a beta screenshot of the game, a Magikoopa took the place of Donkey Kong. Since Magikoopa had Donkey Kong's place, it is debatable what driver type he would have been(Lightweight, Middleweight, or Heavyweight).

Courses

Mushroom Cup		Flower Cup
Luigi Raceway	717 m	Toad's Turnpike	1036 m
Moo Moo Farm	527 m	Frappe Snowland	734 m
Koopa Troopa Beach	691 m	Choco Mountain	678 m
Kalimari Desert	753 m	Mario Raceway	567 m
Star Cup		Special Cup
Wario Stadium	1591 m	DK's Jungle Parkway	893 m
Sherbet Land	756 m	Yoshi Valley	772 m
Royal Raceway	1025 m	Banshee Boardwalk	747 m
Bowser's Castle	777 m	Rainbow Road	2000 m

Battle Courses

• Big Donut
• Block Fort
• Double Deck
• Skyscraper

Items

• Banana
• Banana Bunch
• Green Shell
• Triple Green Shells
• Red Shell
• Triple Red Shells
• Blue Shell
• Fake Item Box
• Mushroom
• Triple Mushrooms
• Super Mushroom
• Star
• Boo
• Thunderbolt

Beta Images

• Mario Kart 64 Beta 01.gif

  The original Beta title screen.

• 

  The original cast of Mario Kart 64 featuring Magikoopa.

Trivia

• The name was changed from Super Mario Kart R to Mario Kart 64 because Sega threatened to sue over the similarity to Sonic R.
• The lightning effect was changed in the release on the Virtual Console to a less intense flash, most likely to prevent seizures.