There are 20 courses total in the game.
Early pressings of the instruction booklet said the Ghost item only appears in Battle Mode, but in actuality it appears in Match Race as well. This was corrected with later copies of the initial pressing, and in the Players Choice reissues.
This is the only Mario Kart game where Donkey Kong Jr. makes an appearance. He was replaced by his father Donkey Kong in subsequent games.
The only Mario Kart game where the characters do not speak nor make any sounds.
This is the only game in the Mario Kart series to have five tracks per cup. Each subsequent game has four tracks per cup.