Mario Kart 64

OK, let's get something out of the way. Two player battle mode in Mario Kart 64 is the most fun you can have with a multiplayer game this side of GoldenEye. Now, for the bad news. Although the control is exceptionally tight (a Nintendo trait if ever there was one), and the new power slides are very intuitive, there is a MAJOR problem with the AI. For one thing, unless they pick up a weapon while you watch, they always have banana peels. Now, in the original Mario Kart each computer controlled opponent had their own distinctive weapons, but that was OK, since you had whatever you picked up to use. Now, not only does the computer have unlimited peels, they can also use your weapons against you. That's a minor gripe; here's the big one: rubber band AI. To maintain all races tight to the finish, the computer can never really be left behind too far, they mysteriously bound back. Gone are the days of lapping Toad (sucker!). Besides that, this is a great game for the N64.

2 words: Rubber banding. I never heard that term before but once you play you'll know exactly what I mean. It's impossible NOT to notice cause it's very prevalent in this game while racing.

Otherwise this game is a great N64 game that holds up well! I just think the more recent Mario Kart editions are even BETTER! Wario stadium is easily my favorite track cause it's so big and full of opportunity. It deserves to be played by everyone at least once. :)

Mario Kart 64 is the first game I bought for Nintendo 64 back in late 1996. Even after so many other games and other systems that out did the Nintendo 64, I kept coming back to this game. Mario Kart offers a wide variety of courses to race on with eight unique Nintendo characters. A few of these characters being: obviously Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Donkey Kong.

There are four sets of races, each featuring a unique course going anywhere from Peach's Castle to Donkey Kong's Jungle. The course's are fun to travel through while you pick up items off the road helping you to stop your opponents and get a better boost. Mario Kart 64 is by far the best racer I've played. It is so unique and fun that you just become engulfed by it.

When the racing get's old, try to beat your friends in a little battle match or set a course time trial record with your favorite character.

Mario Kart 64. Featuring: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser.

Uniqueness: 5/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Plain Fun: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

This was the first game I brought for my N64, because I loved the SNES version, but I remember at the time I was really disappointed with it. I think it's down falls were due to the fact that the levels were much longer not like the short fun ones on the SNES, I think they should have made more short levels as opposed to the fewer long one's. Also the AI in this game was bad as mentioned in another review, no matter how fast you went the other racers were close behind, often getting speed boosts from no where and over taken you. I did like however, the graphics and the controls, also the multiplayer mode was alot of fun, but I didn't get into it as much as I did in the SNES version. I think that if you've never played the SNES version you will like this game alot, because it is a good game with alot of replay value, I advise you to buy the GBA version because it combine the SNES and N64 versions into a much better game.

"Super Mario Kart 64" is a very fun game and much better than I expected it would be. When it came out in '96 I didn't buy it straight away, but a few friends of mine owned it and I got really good at the game -- and found it really fun to play.

Later I ended up buying it used at a game store and played it all the time. It's a really addictive racing game and elitists will be surprised that just because Mario is attached, it's not a cash in (like Mario Tennis and Party) -- it works well with or without Mario and, like "Paper Mario," doesn't sacrifice gameplay to target towards the little kiddies.

This is a great racing game AND a great Mario game. It's got fun features, well-designed tracks, fairly decent graphics for the time period (remember N64 was top of the line in '96) and a great two-player battle option.

All in all, a must-own if you've got an N64.