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' 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 which 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 of these are playable online. Also, the courses Mario Raceway, Sherbet Land, DK's Jungle Parkway and Bowser's Castle returned in Mario Kart Wii
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, while to reverse the player must use this button while pointing the joystick downward. 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 slide 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. It is also possible to lose a balloon if a heavier player such as Bowser hits a lighter player like Toad or Yoshi with great speed (more details here). When a player has lost all of his/her balloons, he or she loses, while the other player simply "wins" that round.
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.
- Mk64peachmodel.png
Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros. as that game's dasmel in distress, and as the dasmel in distress in every game since. She first burnt rubber in Super Mario Kart.
- Mk64toadmodel.png
Toad made his debut in Super M. Bros., too. His quote, "Thank you Mario, but the princess is in another castle." has become famous. He, too made his racing debut in Super M. Kart.
- Mk64yoshimodel.png
Yoshi made his first appearance in Super Mario World as Mario's friend, and just like Peach and Toad, made his racing premire in SMK.
Middleweights
The Middleweight Drivers both are about even with everything, making them suitable for beginners. They feature moderate Acceleration and Top Speed.
- Mk64mariomodel.png
Mario is the hero of every game in the series since Donkey Kong (game). He's been racing since SMK.
- Mk64luigimodel.png
Luigi is Mario's younger brother, debuting as a palette swap in Mario Bros. (game). He debuted in the racing world in SMK.
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.
- Mk64wariomodel.png
Wario first appeared in Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins as that game's main antoganist. This is his first racing game.
- Mk64dkmodel.png
Donkey Kong debuted in the game named after him, despite being a hero nowadays. This is his first speedway adventure.
- Mk64bowsermodel.png
Bowser debuted in SMB as the game's main villian, as well as in the series itself. He first raced in Super Mario Kart.
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
Battle Courses
| File:Mk64bigdonut.gif Big Donut |
File:Mk64blockfort.gif Block Fort1 |
| File:Mk64doubledecker.gif Double Deck |
File:Mk64skyscraper.gif Skyscraper2 |
|1Reappeared in Mario Kart DS.
|2Reappeared in Mario Kart Wii.
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
Voice Cast
Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, Wario
Issac Marshall as Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Bowser
Artwork
- Red Kart.gif
- Mario Slide.PNG
- Mk64luigi.gif
- Mk64peach.gif
- Mk64toad.gif
- YoshiKart64.gif
- Mk64dk.gif
- Dkkart64.jpg
Donkey Kong - Mk64bowser.gif
- Mk64kart.gif
Mario's Kart - Lakitukart64.gif
Toad and Mario Battle - Wariopeachkart64.jpg
Wario and Peach - Sherbetland64.jpeg
- Mk64racers.jpg
The racers
Beta Images
- Mario Kart 64 Beta 01.gif
The original Beta title screen.
The original cast of Mario Kart 64 featuring Magikoopa.
Trivia
- The lightning effect was changed in the release on the Virtual Console to a less intense flash, most likely to prevent seizures.
- In the American and European versions of Mario Kart 64, "Circuits" were renamed "Raceways".
- In the Japanese version, Luigi, Toad, Peach and Wario have different voice overs then their American counterparts, while other characters do not. Some of their phrases would be reused in Mario Party.
- In the Japanese version, the course of Royal Raceway in named Peach Circuit.
| Nintendo 64 games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Super Mario franchise | Super Mario 64 (1996) • Mario Kart 64 (1996) • Mario no Photopi (1998) • Mario Party (1998) • Mario Golf (1999) • Mario Artist: Paint Studio* (1999) • Mario Party 2 (1999) • Mario Artist: Talent Studio* (2000) • Mario Artist: Communication Kit* (2000) • Mario Tennis (2000) • Paper Mario (2000) • Mario Artist: Polygon Studio* (2000) • Mario Party 3 (2000) • Dr. Mario 64 (2001) | |
| Donkey Kong franchise | Diddy Kong Racing (1997) • Donkey Kong 64 (1999) | |
| Yoshi franchise | Yoshi's Story (1997) | |
| Crossovers | Super Smash Bros. (1999) | |
