is a
go-kartKart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motor sport with simple, small four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
racing gameA racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first- or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
developed by
Nintendo EADNintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development is the largest division inside Nintendo. Famed developers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka serve as heads of the EAD studios and are credited in each game released from EAD, with varying degrees of involvement...
for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES). The first game of the
Mario Kart seriesMario Kart is a series of cartoony go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games. The series debuted in 1992, with critical and commercial success.To date, there have been four Mario Kart...
, it was launched in Japan on 27 August 1992, in North America on 1 September 1992 and in Europe on 21 January 1993. Selling eight million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the third best selling SNES game of all time.
Super Mario Kart was re-released on the
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
's
Virtual ConsoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on 9 June 2009.
In
Super Mario Kart the player takes control of one of eight
Mario seriesThe Mario series is a series of highly popular and acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping and defeating enemies...
characters, each with differing capabilities. In single player mode players can race against computer controlled characters in multi-race cups over three difficulty levels. During the races, offensive and speed boosting power ups can be used to gain an advantage. Alternatively players can race against the clock in a Time Trial mode. In multi-player two players can simultaneously take part in the cups or can race against each other one-on-one in Match Race mode. In a third multiplayer mode – Battle Mode – the aim is to defeat the other player by attacking them with power ups, destroying balloons which surround each kart.
Super Mario Kart received positive reviews and has been praised for its presentation, innovation and use of
Mode 7The term Mode 7 originated on the Super NES video game console, on which it describes a simple texture mapping graphics mode that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled...
graphics. It has been ranked among the best games of all time by several organisations including
Edge,
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
,
The AgeThe Age is a broadsheet daily newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. The Age was founded by three Melbourne businessmen, the brothers John Cooke and Henry Cooke who had arrived from New Zealand in the 1840s, and Walter Powell...
and
GameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased...
whilst
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognised...
has named it as the top
console gameA console game is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment. The game consists of manipulable images generated by a video game console, and displayed on a television or similar audio-video system. The game itself is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld device connected...
ever. It is often credited with creating the kart-racing sub genre of video games, leading other developers to try to duplicate its success. The game is also seen as having been key to expanding the
Mario series into non-platforming games; a diversity which has lead to it becoming the best selling game franchise of all time. Several sequels to
Super Mario Kart have been released, for
consolesA video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or electronic device that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and in
arcadesA video arcade is a venue where people play arcade video games that are housed in colourfully-decorated cabinets...
, each enjoying both critical and commercial success. Whilst some elements have developed throughout the series the core experience from
Super Mario Kart has remained intact.
Gameplay
Super Mario Kart is a kart racing game featuring several single and multiplayer modes. During the game players take control of one of a selection of
Mario series characters and drive karts around
Mario series themed tracks. While racing the player's viewpoint is from behind the kart, the view behind the kart can be displayed on the lower half of the screen in single player mode. In race modes players attempt to finish in front of other opponents – which can be
computer controlledGame artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
or controlled by other human players – or aim to complete a circuit in the fastest possible time. There is also a battle mode in which the aim is to attack the other human player. During races players can pick up power ups by driving over question mark tiles on the track; these are used to gain an advantage during the race. Examples of power ups include shells and bananas which cause racers to spin if hit and stars which make the player temporarily invulnerable to attack. Computer players have specific special powers associated with each character, that they are able to use throughout the race. In competitive race modes coins can be picked up along the tracks. Having more coins increases the racer's top speed and protects players from spinning when hit by another kart: they instead lose a coin. Players also lose coins when they are hit by power ups and when Lakitu returns them to the track after they fall off. Players are able to "power slide" around corners in order to maintain their speed, although power sliding for too long causes the kart to spin. Karts are also able to hop which can facilitate faster, tighter turning. Reviewers have praised the gameplay of
Super Mario Kart describing the battle mode as "addictive" and the single player gameplay as "incredible".
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
has stated that the gameplay mechanics defined the genre.
Game modes
Super Mario Kart has two single player modes, Mario Kart GP and Time Trial. In Mario Kart GP one player races against seven computer controlled characters in a series of five races, these are called cups. Initially there are three cups available – the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup and Star Cup – at two difficulty levels, 50
ccA cubic centimetre or cubic centimeter is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1×1×1 cm...
and 100cc. By winning all three of the cups at the 100cc level, a fourth cup – the Special cup – is unlocked. Winning all four cups at 100cc unlocks a new difficulty level, 150cc. Each cup consists of five five lap races, each taking place on a distinct track. In order to continue through a cup a position of fourth or higher must be achieved in each race. If a player finishes in fifth to eighth position they are "ranked out" and the race must be replayed – at the cost of one of a limited number of lives – until a placing of fourth or above is achieved. Points are accrued by finishing in the top four positions in a race; first to fourth place receive nine, six, three and one points. The racer with the highest number of points after all five races have been completed wins the cup. In time trial mode players race against the clock, through the same tracks that are present in Mario Kart GP mode, attempting to set as fast a time as possible.
Super Mario Kart also has three multiplayer modes; Mario Kart GP, Match Race and Battle Mode. The multiplayer modes support two players and the second player uses the bottom half of the screen which is used as a map in the single player modes. Mario Kart GP is the same as in single player, the only difference being that there are now two human controlled drivers and six computer controlled drivers. Match Race involves the two players going head to head without any computer characters on a track of their choosing. In Battle Mode the two players again go head to head but this time in one of four dedicated Battle Mode courses. Each player starts with three balloons around their kart which can be destroyed by power ups fired by the other player. The first player to have all three of their balloons destroyed loses the battle.
Characters
Super Mario Kart features eight playable characters from the
Mario series –
Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
,
Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
, the
Princessis a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series. She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was...
(later named Princess Peach),
Yoshiis a fictional dinosaur. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario's accomplice, and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island...
, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa and Toad. Each character's kart has different capabilities with differing levels of top speed, acceleration and handling. During races, computer-controlled characters have special items, or superpowers, which they are able to use. These powers are specific to each character; for example, Yoshi drops eggs which cause players who hit them to lose coins and spin, while Donkey Kong Jr. throws bananas.
The characters are rendered as
spritesIn computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene....
portrayed from sixteen different angles. The sprites were described as "detailed" by Nintendo Magazine System when the game was first reviewed and were thought to contribute to the "spectacular" graphics of the game as a whole. More recently,
NintendojoNintendojo is a non-profit website that focuses on Nintendo-related subject matter, created and run by fans. Nintendojo is the oldest Nintendo-specific fansite still in existence, having been founded by Peer Schneider in September 1996...
called the sprites "not-so-pretty" when they are rendered at a distance, and IGN has commented on the dated look of the game.
Super Mario Kart was the first game to feature playable characters from the
Mario series other than Mario in a non-platforming game and the selection and different attributes of the characters is regarded as one of the game's strengths, IGN describing a well-balanced "all-star cast". All of the characters present in
Super Mario Kart have gone on to appear in all of the later games in the
seriesMario Kart is a series of cartoony go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games. The series debuted in 1992, with critical and commercial success.To date, there have been four Mario Kart...
, except for Koopa Troopa, who has only appeared intermittently after being replaced by
Wariois a fictional Nintendo video game character originally designed by Hiroji Kiyotake. Wario was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
in
Mario Kart 64. The Donkey Kong character in later
Mario Kart games is considered to be the grown-up version of
Super Mario Karts Donkey Kong Jr.
Tracks
The tracks in Super Mario Kart
are based on locations in the Mario
series, including Bowser's Castle and Donut Plains from Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
. Each of the four cups contains five different tracks for a total of twenty unique tracks, additionally there are four unique Battle Mode courses. The course outlines are marked out by impassable barriers and feature a variety of bends ranging from sharp hairpins to wide curves which players can power slide around. Numerous obstacles themed from the Mario
series appear, such as Thwomps in the Bowser's Castle levels, the jumping fish from Super Mario World in Koopa Beach and pipe barriers which are found in the Mario Circuit levels. Other features include off-road sections which slow down the karts such as the mud bogs in the Choco Island tracks. Each single player track is littered with coins and power up tiles, as well as turbo tiles which give the karts a boost of speed and jumps which launch the karts into the air.
The tracks have received positive commentary with
GameSpyGameSpy, also known as GameSpy Industries, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current company...
describing them as wonderfully designed and IGN calling them perfect. When naming its top five Mario Kart
tracks of all time in 2008, 1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by UGO Entertainment, a division of Hearst Corporation, following the acquisition of the 1UP Network from Ziff Davis Media...
named Battle Mode Course 4 at number three and Rainbow Road – along with its subsequent versions in the series – at number one. The track themes in Super Mario Kart
influenced later games in the series; recurring themes that first appeared in Super Mario Kart
include haunted tracks, Bowser's castle and Rainbow Road. Some of the tracks from Super Mario Kart
have been duplicated in later games. All twenty of the original tracks are unlockable as an extra feature in the Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
sequel Mario Kart: Super Circuit
. Remakes of Mario Circuit 1, Donut Plains 1, Koopa Beach 2 and Choco Island 2 appear as part of the retro grand prix series in Mario Kart DSis a racing game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America, Australia, and Europe in November 2005, and in Japan in December 2005. The game is the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to be...
and remakes of Ghost Valley 2, Mario Circuit 3, and Battle Course 4 appear as part of the retro cup and battles in Mario Kart Wiiis a racing game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series and the second Mario Kart title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released worldwide throughout April...
.
Development
Super Mario Kart was
producedA video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
by
Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer who has been called the "father of modern video games" and "the Walt Disney of electronic gaming" for helping create the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises and games such as Nintendogs and Wii Music.-Early...
and
directedA video game director is a person who is in charge of significant creative aspects of a video game. This title is not widely used in the video game industry, and is absent from most titles produced for western audiences...
by Tadashi Sugiyama and
Hideki KonnoHideki Konno is the development head of Nintendo EAD Group 1. He is notable for being one of the main designers of the Mario Kart series of games. Games he has worked on:Ice Hockey...
. In an interview Miyamoto has said that the development team originally set out to produce a game capable of displaying two players on the same game screen simultaneously. In the same interview Konno stated that development started with a desire to create a two player racing game in contrast to the single player gameplay of SNES
launch titleA launch game is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
F-Zerois a futuristic racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 13, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992. The title was downloadable over the Nintendo Power peripheral...
. Computer and Video GamesA video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device. However, with the popular use of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
suggest that this initial emphasis on creating a two player experience is the reason why even in the single player modes, a horizontal split-screen is utilised during gameplay. The intention to create the racing modes of the game had been present from the start of the project and Battle Mode was developed from the desire to create a one-on-one mode where victory was not determined simply by competing for rank. The game did not start out as a Mario
series game and the first prototype featured a generic man in overalls in the kart; the team decided that characters three heads tall would best suit the design of the karts. The decision to incorporate Mario series characters into the game didn't come until two or three months after the start of development. The choice was made after the development team, when observing how one kart looked to another driving past it, decided to see what it would look like with Mario in the kart. Thinking that having Mario in the kart looked better than previous designs, the idea of a Mario themed racing game was born.
Notable in the development of Super Mario Kart
was its use of Mode 7The term Mode 7 originated on the Super NES video game console, on which it describes a simple texture mapping graphics mode that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled...
graphics. First seen in F-Zero, Mode 7 is a form of texture mapping available on the SNES which allows a plane to be rotated and scaled freely, achieving a pseudo three-dimensional appearance. 1UP.com have credited the use of Mode 7 with giving the game graphics which at the time of release were considered to be "breathtaking". Retrospective reflection on the Mode 7 visuals has been mixed with IGN stating that the once revolutionary technology now looks "crude and flickery" whilst the
Video Game BibleThe Video Game Bible was founded in 2001 by Andy Slaven and Michael Collins. It published a game collector's guide, which covered United States-released home consoles from 1985 to 2002....
describes them as "beautiful" and adding to the game. Super Mario Kart
featured a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) chip; DSPs were used in SNES games as they provided a better handling of floating-point calculations to assist with three-dimensional maths. The DSP-1 chip that was used in Super Mario Kart
went on to be the most popular DSP chip to be used in SNES games.
Reception
Super Mario Kart proved to be a critical and commercial success; it received a
Player's ChoicePlayer's Choice is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Player's Choice titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
release after selling one million copies and eventually went on to sell eight million copies to become the third best selling game ever for the SNES. Aggregate scoring sites
Game RankingsGameRankings is a website which keeps track of video game reviews from other sites, and combines them to present an average rating for each game. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games. The Ratings show the general critical opinion about a game; thus, Gamerankings has...
and
MobyGamesMobyGames is a website which catalogs computer and video games, both past and present. The site contains an extensive database of video game information...
both give an average of more than 90% whilst
GameStatsGameStats is a website which keeps track of video game reviews from other web sites, much like Game Rankings. GameStats was founded by IGN in 2002. To differentiate itself from similar websites, GameStats includes a "GPM", system which stands for Game Popularity Meter. This keeps track of how often...
and
TopTenReviewsTopTenReviews is a website which aggregates reviews for software, hardware, web services, music, movies, and video games from other sites and publications. Founded by Jerry Ropelato in 2003, TTR is, as of May 2008, one of the most popular sites of its kind by size and traffic, with the largest...
give averages of over 80%. Critics praised the game's Mode 7 graphics; in 1992 Nintendo Magazine System
described them as superb and the graphics have since been described as among the best ever seen on the SNES.Another aspect of the game to have been praised is its gameplay, which ThunderboltThunderbolt is an independent videogames website that was launched on November 20, 2000 by Philip Morton . Thunderbolt publishes reviews, previews and features covering the major gaming platforms, particularly consoles...
has described as the "deepest [and] most addictive... to be found on the SNES console". Nintendo Magazine System
showed a preference for the multiplayer modes of the game and stated that whilst the "single player mode becomes dull quickly" the "two-player mode won't lose appeal". Retrospective reviews of the game have been positive with perfect scores given by review sites including Thunderbolt and HonestGamers. The use of the style and characters from the Mario
franchise was also praised as well as the individual characteristics of each racer. Mean MachinesMean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and it's sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
describes the game as having "struck gold" in a way that no other – not even its sequels – has matched and GameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased...
named the game as one of the greatest games of all time for its innovation, gameplay and visual style.
Since being released Super Mario Kart
has been listed among the best games ever made several times. IGN ranked it as the 15th best game ever in 2005, describing it as "the original karting masterpiece" and as the 23rd best game ever in 2007, discussing its originality at time of release. The AgeThe Age is a broadsheet daily newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. The Age was founded by three Melbourne businessmen, the brothers John Cooke and Henry Cooke who had arrived from New Zealand in the 1840s, and Walter Powell...
placed it at number 19 on their list of the 50 best games in 2005 and in 2007 Edge Magazine
ranked Super Mario Kart
at number 14 on a list of their 100 best games, noting its continued influence on video game design. The game is also included in Yahoo Games' list of the hundred greatest games of all time which praises the appealing characters and power ups and 1UP.com's "Essential 50", a list of the fifty most important games ever made. The game placed 13th in Official Nintendo Magazines 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognised...
ranked it at number 1 on a list of the top 50 console games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy.
Legacy
Super Mario Kart has been credited with inventing the "kart racing" sub-genre of video gaming and soon after its release several other developers attempted to duplicate its success. In 1994, less than two years after the release of
Super Mario Kart,
Segais a multinational video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan...
released
Sonic DriftSonic Drift is a kart racing game released in Japan for the Sega Game Gear in March 18, 1994. It features Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, and Doctor Robotnik. Players race around a track collecting rings and power-ups...
; a kart racing game featuring characters from the
Sonic the Hedgehog series. Also in 1994
UbisoftUbisoft Entertainment S.A. is a French computer and video game publisher and developer with headquarters in Montreuil-sous-Bois, France. The company has facilities in over 20 countries, with studios in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, Canada; Bucharest, Romania; Barcelona, Spain; Shanghai,...
released
Street RacerStreet Racer is a racing video game published by Ubisoft for various systems. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, Mega Drive in 1995, PlayStation and GameBoy in 1996 and PC and Amiga in 1997. Inspired by Mario Kart, the go-kart themed game combined racing with...
, a kart racing game for the SNES and
Sega Mega DriveThe is a fourth-generation video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 and Europe in 1990. The console was released in North America in 1989 under the name Genesis, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region...
which included a four player mode not present in
Super Mario Kart. Future games that followed in the mould of
Super Mario Kart include
South Park RallySouth Park Rally is a racing video game based on the characters from the television series South Park.- Plot :The Mayor of South Park has decided to stage a rally series that will take place through the heart and outskirts of the town...
,
Konami Krazy RacersKonami Krazy Racers is a kart racing video game published and developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America and some PAL regions. It was a launch game for the system...
,
Diddy Kong RacingDiddy Kong Racing is a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. An enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS...
and several racing games in the
Crash Bandicoot series. Response to the karting games released since
Super Mario Kart has been mixed, with GameSpot describing them as tending to be bad whilst 1UP.com notes that countless developers have tried to improve upon the Mario Kart formula without success.
Super Mario Kart is also credited as being the first non-platforming game to feature multiple playable characters from the
Mario franchise. As well as several sequels Nintendo has released numerous other sporting and non-sporting Mario spin-offs since
Super Mario Kart; a trend in part accredited to the commercial and critical success of the game. The
Mario characters have appeared in many sports games including those relating to basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and soccer. Non sporting franchises using the
Mario characters have also been created, including the
Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games and the
Mario Party series of board game based, party games.
Mario series characters have also made cameos in games from other series such as
SSX on TourSSX on Tour is a snowboarding video game, the fourth title in the SSX series of video games for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, PSP and Xbox. The game was developed under the working title SSX 4. It was released in North America on October 11, 2005 and was released in the PAL region on October 21,...
and
NBA Street V3NBA Street V3 is the third game in the NBA Street series. It is the sequel of NBA Street Vol. 2. It was released for PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox, along with a PlayStation Portable port of V3 called NBA Street Showdown....
, both published by
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
. The genre spanning nature of the Mario series that was sparked off by the success of
Super Mario Kart has been described as key to the success and longevity of the franchise; keeping fans interested despite the infrequency of traditional
Mario platforming gamesThe Mario series is a series of highly popular and acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping and defeating enemies...
. Following this model the
Mario series has gone on to become the best selling video game franchise of all time with 193 million units sold as of January 2007, almost 40 million units ahead of second ranked franchise (
Pokémonis a media franchise published by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world,...
, also by Nintendo).
Super Mario Kart was re-released on the
Japanese Virtual Console on June 9 2009. Previously, when naming it as one of the most wanted games for the platform in November 2008,
EurogamerEurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
stated that problems emulating the Mode 7 graphics were responsible for its absence. The game has also been given a classification by the
Office of Film and Literature ClassificationThe Office of Film and Literature Classification was a statutory censorship and classification body overseen by the Australian Government which included: the Classification Board which classified films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia; the Classification...
in Australia for the Wii.
Sequels
Several sequels to
Super Mario Kart have been brought out for successive generations of Nintendo consoles, each receiving commercial success and critical acclaim. The first of these,
Mario Kart 64is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. On January 26, 2007, Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's European Virtual Console service for the Wii...
was released in 1997 for the
Nintendo 64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
and was the first
Mario Kart game to feature fully 3D graphics. Although reviewers including IGN and GameSpot felt that the single player gameplay was lacking compared to its predecessor the simultaneous four-person multiplexer modes – a first for the Nintendo 64 – were praised. The second sequel
Mario Kart: Super Circuit was released for the
Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
in 2001. It was described by GameSpot as more of a remake of
Super Mario Kart than a sequel to
Mario Kart 64 and featured a return to the graphical style of the original. As well as featuring all new tracks players are able to unlock the original SNES tracks if certain achievements are completed.
Mario Kart: Double Dash! was released for the
Nintendo GameCubeThe is Nintendo's fourth home video game console with Wii being fifth, and is part of the sixth generation console era. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
in 2003, unlike any other
Mario Kart game before or since it features two riders in each kart allowing for a new form of
cooperative multilayerCooperative gameplay primarily refers to a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates with the absence of player-controlled competitors. Cooperative gameplay is usually built around the single player mode of a game, modified to allow additional players...
where one player controls the kart's movement and the other fires weapons.
Mario Kart DSis a racing game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America, Australia, and Europe in November 2005, and in Japan in December 2005. The game is the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to be...
, released for the
Nintendo DSThe is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen...
in 2005, was the first
Mario Kart game to include on-line play via the
Nintendo Wi-Fi ConnectionThe is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS and Wii games. The service is separate to the company's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop game download services....
. It went on to become the best selling
hand-heldA handheld game console is a lightweight, portable device with a built-in screen, games controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
racing game of all time, selling 7.83 million units. The most recent instalment in the series –
Mario Kart Wiiis a racing game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series and the second Mario Kart title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released worldwide throughout April...
– was released for the
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
in 2008 and incorporates motion controls. Like
Mario Kart DS it includes on-line play; it also allows racers to play as user created
MiiA Mii is a digital avatar incorporated by Nintendo for the Wii's Mii Channel. After creating them, they can be used as participating characters in certain Mii-oriented games, as first shown in Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii...
s (after unlocking the Mii character) as well as
Mario series characters and comes packaged with the Wii wheel peripheral which can act as the game's primary control mechanism when coupled with a
Wii remoteThe Wii Remote, sometimes unofficially nicknamed "Wiimote", is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the...
.
Mario Kart Wii went on to be the worldwide best selling game of 2008 ahead of another Nintendo game –
Wii Fitis a video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is an exercise game consisting of activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral. A little over one year after its release, Wii Fit became the third best selling videogame in history with 21.82 million copies sold as of June 30, 2009...
– and the critically acclaimed
Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the sixth 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto series....
. Two
Mario Kart arcade games have also been released,
Mario Kart Arcade GPMario Kart Arcade GP is an arcade-only iteration of Nintendo's Mario Kart series, developed by both Namco and Nintendo. Designed for the Triforce arcade board , players can race as one of eleven characters in twenty-four tracks...
in 2005 and
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 in 2007. Both were developed jointly by Nintendo and
Namco, is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. The company is most famous for creating Pac-Man, the best-selling arcade game in history...
and feature classic Namco characters including
Pac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the U.S. by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular in the United States from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is universally considered as one of the classics of the medium, virtually...
and Blinky.
As the series has progressed many aspects included in
Super Mario Kart have been developed and altered. The power up boxes which are flat against the track in
Super Mario Kart due to the technical limitations of the SNES became floating boxes in later games. The roster of racers has expanded in recent games to include a greater selection of Nintendo characters including some which had not been created at the time of
Super Mario Karts release – such as Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on November 1, 2007, the United States on November 12, 2007, Canada on November 14, 2007, Europe on November 16, 2007, Australasia on November 27, 2007 and South Korea on September...
who appeared in Mario Kart Wii
. Multiplayer has remained a key feature of the series and has expanded from the two-player modes available in Super Mario Kart
; first to allow up to four simultaneous players in Mario Kart 64
and eventually up to twelve simultaneous on-line players in Mario Kart Wii
. Many of the track themes have been retained throughout the series, including Rainbow Road – the final track of the Special Cup – which has appeared in every Mario Kart console game. Other features present in Super Mario Kart
have disappeared from the series. These include the "super-powers" of the computer characters, the feather power up which allows players to jump high into the air and having a restricted number of lives. The only other Mario Kart
game to feature the coin collecting of the original is Mario Kart: Super Circuit
. The aspects of style and gameplay from Super Mario Kart
that have been retained throughout the series have lead Nintendo to face criticism for a lack of originality but the franchise is still considered to be a beloved household name by many, known for its familiar core gameplay. Despite the technical innovations that have taken place since the start of the series many still consider Super Mario Kart
to be one of, if not, the best game of the franchise line.
External links
Super Mario Kart
first impressions
Twin Galaxies - Super Mario Kart records