Ever since his career as a plumber and princess-saver took off, Mario could not content himself with just one job. He ventured into the sports zone, pleasing fans with his supposed athletic abilities. One of these was racing, in a game known as Super Mario Kart. But does this game deserve a 1-up? Or should Mario just stick to going down pipes and eating mushrooms?

Graphics: 7
Super Mario Kart can be thought of as the prototype to Mario Kart 64. They’re the same, except that the SNES version is almost completely flat, from the walls to the coins to the item boxes. Because of that, it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between track and wall, making you run into everything during a race. And because the coins and item boxes are flat, it’s hard to judge how to line up so you’ll run over them from far away. I think they could’ve taken a few measures to fix that, seeing how Star Fox came out at the same time and those graphics are more “3D.”

The screen is split into two parts, like a Nintendo DS. The top screen is a back-view of your racer. The bottom screen is either a map of all the racers, or a front-view of your racer (depending on which mode you choose). I like how the map works, with a bunch of big racers on a tiny track. It gets the idea across, but it’s sometimes hard to look at as you’re trying not to crash into the flat walls above.

Music: 8
The music in the game is very lighthearted and fun to listen to, just like in the original Mario games. As you speed along the tracks, you’ll find yourself humming to the music throughout. Some songs are familiar; the Ghost Valley track is just like the Boo house song from Super Mario World. Other songs are brand new, like the Donut Plains.

Addictiveness: 9
Like all other Mario Kart games, Super Mario Kart always keeps you coming back for more. There are 4 cups in all, and 3 difficulties. Your main goal is to get first on every cup. Additionally, the game offers a 2 player mode so you can see who’s the fastest between you and your friend. You can also try and tackle Time Trial mode, where you try and get the fastest 5-lap time on a course. This mode is enjoyable to play when you don’t want the CPU or items getting in your way as you drive.

Story: N/A
Like all other Mario Kart games, there’s no story to be found here. Just good, clean racing fun.

Depth: 6
Besides getting 1st and whatever other personal goals you set for yourself, there isn’t a whole lot of depth that the game has to offer. The fact that the stages are virtually flat and the backgrounds are the same in each world gets repetitive quickly. You have 8 racers to choose from, but they all drive the same. The gimmicks in each stage don’t change much besides the way walls and items are arranged.

You may find some depth in Time Trial, as you try to find the best way around a track. There are some shortcuts that you can use in some stages that will give you a better time, but you have to find them first.

Difficulty: 9
One of the major complaints I have about this game is the difficulty involved in such an early racing game. The thing that annoys me the most is the auto-drift of the game. Not only do you start drifting after turning just a tiny amount, but when you do, you have virtually no traction at all. So as you start to round a turn, you end up flying into the wall on the other side rather than actually turning.

The coin system also needs a rehauling in this game. Each coin you pick up off the track slightly increases your top speed. You can also think of them as your “rings” in this game. When you bump into someone, you lose a coin. If you bump into someone with 0 coins, you’ll spin out and stop moving for a while, which gets very annoying because you can’t catch up at all. Also, as I said before, the coins are hard to see and line up with at a distance, so you’re always passing right by them.

Final Score: 7.5
Super Mario Kart as a standalone game is fairly average. It has its high points of fun and addictiveness, but they can’t replace the difficulties that come with the game. This game wouldn’t be the Mario Kart game that I’d recommend to someone, especially not someone who is being introduced to the series. But, it’s fun for a change of pace, a challenge, or just to see where Mario’s racing habits first game from.

Oh wow, this game was so much fun to play as a child, but now that I play it on this very day.  I seem to not like it because it was kind of hard.  I manage to beat 100CC and under, but never on the 150CC by getting all the gold trophies.  It still is fun though, but I would play it some of the time.  Very good review.

The game looks great I can't wait to play it, nice review by the way.

IT SUCKS

Xzman : Flame
Someone70 : You are a mod and stuff. I will leave this to you.

I thought that this game was really good though I like the super circuit on the Game Boy a whole lot better. I do not like the whole coin thing though.

billythekidmonster : Well, to each his own...

Besides, I'm not in charge of this forum. You'd be better off asking someone like tRIUNE. But don't bother, it's nothing major. X3

Game was pretty dang groundbreaking.  Whether you love it or think "IT SUCKS", ya gotta admit this was cool shiz back in the day.  While the game doesn't hold up quite so well nowadays, especially compared to the more recent Mario Karts, does have a personality of it's own on the SNES

Super Mario Kart is one of those games that I can always go back and play, its pretty fun, then again, its the first Mario Kart game ever, so there is a reason Great game

i used to be so good at 150cc.  i was playing it again on the wii (downloaded) and it was so hard. i don't remember it being that hard. haha i must have been so rusty