Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart 64 is a kart racing game in which the player controls one of eight selectable Mario characters in several race tracks that vary in shape and theme. During a race, the players can obtain random items from special boxes placed in different areas of the track that are used to impede the opposition and gain the advantage. For example, shells and bananas allow the player to attack opponents and slow them down, and Mushrooms grant the player a temporary boost in speed and jumping ability.[3] In a change from the previous installment, players can carry more than one item at a time.[4] Mario Kart 64 has 16 race courses and 4 battle courses.[5] It is the first game in the Mario Kart series that supports slipstreaming.[6]

Game modes

Racing on D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, the first course of the Special Cup. Mario Kart 64 is the first game in the series to use 3D computer graphics.

There are four different game modes available in Mario Kart 64: Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus, and Battle. Grand Prix mode supports both single-player and competitive multiplayer gameplay, while other modes only support one or the other.

• Grand Prix – This mode has one or two players participate in four consecutive three-lap races, each on a different course, on one of the four selectable cups (Mushroom, Flower, Star, or Special[7]) against seven (or six) computer players. When the player completes a race, points are awarded based on the rank they finished ranging from one to nine and the placement order gets carried over to the next race as the new starting lineup. If the player ranks 5th or under, the player must restart the race. Unlike the original Super Mario Kart, the player can restart an unlimited number of times, instead of only being allowed three restarts. After finishing all four races, trophies are awarded to the players who scored the highest accumulation of points: bronze for third place, silver for second, and gold for first. Difficulty level is measured by engine size: 50, 100, or 150cc. There is an additional unlockable difficulty called "Extra", which allows players to race at speed 100cc on tracks that are inverted left-to-right. This is the first game in the series to provide this feature. Later installments call this feature "Mirror Mode" or "150cc Mirror Mode".
• Time Trial – This is a single-player-only mode where the objective is to complete a three-lap race on the selected track in the fastest total time possible. There are no opponent racers or item boxes, though the player will always begin each race with a Triple Mushroom in reserve. For any given course the top five fastest total times are saved, and the fastest single lap time of any race is also saved. The player can select to race against a ghost character who will mimic the movement of the player from a previous race. Ghost data for up to two different courses can be saved permanently only on a Controller Pak device. However, the Virtual Console version of Mario Kart 64 released on the Wii is incompatible with the device and is thus unable to save ghost data.[8]
• Versus mode – Two to four players compete in single races on any track without any computer players. With two players, the total number of wins for each player is tracked, and in three- or four-player matches, the number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place wins is tracked for each racer.
• Battle Mode – This mode, supporting two to four players, has a last man standing objective where the players attack each other with items inside one of four selectable arena courses. The players begin a match with three balloons attached to each of their karts. A player will lose one balloon each time their character is damaged by coming into contact with one of the other players' offending items, and is eliminated from play upon losing all balloons. The match ends when one player remains, who is then declared the winner. In three- or four-player matches, the first two players' characters to lose all their balloons will transform into mobile "Mini Bomb Karts" and forfeit the ability to win the match. The Mini Bomb Kart is still maneuverable by the player and can collide and inflict damage on another player only once, after which it can no longer participate.[9]

Production began in 1995 with the title Super Mario Kart R,[12] where the "R" means "rendered".[13] The game was developed concurrently with Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, intended to be a launch game for the Nintendo 64, but more resources were given to the other two.[14] Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto acted as producer and often consulted with game director Hideki Konno.[15] Some brief early footage of the game was showcased at the Shoshinkai Software Exhibition in Japan on November 24, 1995.[16][17][18] Miyamoto stated that the game was 95% complete, but Nintendo chose not to display a playable version due to the difficult logistics of demonstrating the multiplayer features.[17] The prototype featured the Feather item from Super Mario Kart and a Magikoopa as one of the eight playable characters, who was replaced with Donkey Kong in the final game.[12][19]

The player's driving controls were designed to be similar to operating a radio-controlled car.[20] Mario Kart 64 features tracks that are fully rendered in 3D, and billboarding to display the characters and items through the use of Advanced Character Modeling (ACM), the MIPS CPU, and Silicon Graphics workstations. Konno stated that, though rendering the characters as 3D models was not impossible, the display of eight simultaneous 3D characters would have exceeded the processing power of the console. Instead, the characters are composed of pre-rendered sprites that show the characters from various angles to simulate a 3D appearance, similar to Super Mario Kart, Killer Instinct, and Cruis'n USA.[14] Rare, developer of the Donkey Kong Country games, provided Donkey Kong's character model.[21]

The technique of rubberband AI prevents all the racers from easily separating, and the Spiny Shell item, which targets and attacks the player in first place, was added in order to keep each race competitive and balanced. The item was included in all subsequent Mario Kart games.[22]

The soundtrack for Mario Kart 64 was composed by Kenta Nagata, which is his first work on a Nintendo game.[1] The soundtrack was released several times in different formats including compact disc and audio cassette.[23] Four different versions of the album were released: Race Tracks and Greatest Hits Soundtrack in North America; Original Soundtrack and Club Circuit were released in Japan. It was later released in a three disc collection, along with the soundtracks of Star Fox 64 and Super Mario 64.[24]

In addition to the regular release in Japan, Nintendo released a "limited edition" which was the regular cartridge bundled with a black-and-grey Nintendo 64 controller.[25] The Japanese release in December 1996 was followed by a U.S. release in February 1997. Nintendo of America president Howard Lincoln stated that in addition to the time needed for the localization, Mario Kart 64 was more critical to the Japanese market, as there were fewer Nintendo 64 games available in that market at the time.[26] It was released in the U.K. on June 24, 1997.[27]

Mario Kart 64 was released as a downloadable Virtual Console game on the Wii in January 2007[28] and on the Wii U in December 2016.[29]

Mario Kart 64 received polarized reviews, as critics were either wildly enthusiastic or disappointed about the game. Peer Schneider of IGN called it "multi-player mayhem at its best", noting that the design was focused on the multiplayer modes, in some cases to the detriment of the single-player mode. He acknowledged that the basic formula did not innovate over the original Super Mario Kart, but found the track designs much more elaborate and visually impressive.[9] Trent Ward of GameSpot insisted that though the graphics and sound of the game are impressive, the gameplay is too easy and lacks depth.[34] A reviewer for Next Generation instead counted the graphics as the chief fault, arguing that there is no functional difference between the polygon-based tracks and the Mode 7 bitmaps of the original, and that this, combined with the use of sprite-based karts and drivers, makes Mario Kart 64 "less a sequel than the same game with new courses". He also criticized the rubberband AI and the slowdown when there are more than two players, though he praised the large selection of courses.[35] In contrast, GamePro regarded the game as an essential purchase, citing the easy accessibility, excellent use of analog control, vibrant 3D graphics, abundance of tracks, variety of challenges, signature sounds for each driver, and catchy music. They gave it a perfect score in all four categories (control, funfactor, graphics, and sound).[36] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it their "Game of the Month" award, with all four agreeing that though the game has some problems, particularly the smaller number of secrets as compared to the original, these are overridden by the sheer fun and replayability of the multiplayer racing.[33]

In GameSpot's Virtual Console re-release review, the reviewer criticized its lack of ghost-saving, its sound, and its graphics—saying the graphics had "aged rather poorly".[37] The game placed 17th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time[38] and 49th in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1997 list of the 100 best console games of all time.[39]

During the first three months of 1997, Mario Kart 64 was the best-selling console game in the United States, with sales of 849,000 units for the period.[40] By 2007, approximately 5.5 million copies of Mario Kart 64 had been sold in the United States and 2.24 million in Japan.[41][42] Game Informer reported in June 2014 sales of 9.87 million copies worldwide, making it the second-best-selling game on Nintendo 64.[43]

• Official Japanese website