Mario Kart 64
14 Dec 1996
All releases
01 Jan 1970 - Wii
25 Dec 2003 - Nintendo 64
10 Feb 1997 - Nintendo 64
08 Jan 1998 - Nintendo 64
24 Jun 1997 - Nintendo 64
14 Dec 1996 - Nintendo 64
29 Jan 2007 - Wii
26 Jan 2007 - Wii
26 Apr 2008 - Wii
30 Jan 2007 - Wii
26 Jan 2007 - Wii
22 Jan 2016 - Wii U
06 Jan 2016 - Wii U
29 Dec 2016 - Wii U
21 Jan 2016 - Wii U
31 Dec 1999 - Nintendo 64
Tags
Time to beat
Main story
Main story + extras
100% completion
Mario Kart 64 is the second main installment of the Mario Kart series. It is the first game in the series to use three-dimensional graphics, however, the characters and items in this game are still two-dimensional, pre-rendered sprites. The game offers two camera angles and three engine sizes: 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. Each kart has distinctive handling, acceleration and top speed capabilities. Shells that you fire at rival racers, Bananas that make them skid out and Lightning Bolts that make them small and very slow are just a few of the game's unique power-ups.
| Audio | Subtitles | Interface | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ✓ | ||
| Chinese (Simplified) | ✓ | ||
| English | ✓ | ✓ |
Updated versions
People label this game as iconic and it sort of is to a point however it does have its flaws. It’s definitely a game that has aged really well. It may be a little more basic than some of the other Mario Karts as this is a series which has continued to get better and better but there’s no denying that it is still very solid in every area. Much better than the original Mario Kart game. This games comes with a whopping 16 levels to race on. Not only do the stages get harder as you go through the game but this also makes it feel as if the CPU is cheating to a point because somehow the CPU adapts to the environment and at every turn it turns flawlessly while im out there struggling for my life not to get off tracks. And even when I was ahead somehow it wasn't hard for the CPU to somehow catch up. Like how are you this fast bro?
The first two tournaments were beyond light work but there was a huge difficulty jump soon as the third tournament ascends. It’s kind of fun to be playing a Mario Kart game that’s really tricky like this. You do get like golden medals/trophies after each tournament. I had fun switching up the characters a lot too although I couldn’t tell if they played differently or not here. They just felt all the same just with different physical designs.
The graphics are definitely pretty solid here. Less pixelated than the og and you could tell that Mario's design was starting to become more of what he looks nowdays. It just shows there was an upgrade to their budget. The colors are on point and all of the characters look really good so I'll give credit where credit is due. The soundtrack is also iconic and I did recognize quite a few of the tunes since they tend to return in future titles. There isn’t a whole lot to say about the game beyond this since there isn’t a story mode so the gameplay is really the full package. There is endless replay value as it is a high quality racing game.
At the end of the day you want to play a game that is fun and this one is really fun all the way around. The levels are short enough where they all really fly by and so that helps make it easier to replay the levels. It is a super fun game. It’s certainly a racer that you won’t be forgetting any time soon. Nintendo games back then were clearly in a whole other league and it's mindblowing how much this racing franchise keeps improving and improving.