Mario Kart 64

 MARIO KART 64

Now, let's cover Mario Kart 64, which in many ways was the game that really nailed home and defined what the Mario series was. With full 3D graphics, sixteen distinct tracks across four cups, and the "main eight" that most subsequent titles would build their rosters off of, the impact of Mario Kart 64 is definitely one you can feel across the series as a whole. I know it was the one I grew up with.

As for our characters, as stated before, we see the first appearance of the main eight with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser all returning, and Donkey Kong and Wario replacing Koopa and Donkey Kong Jr. As we stated before, there's not much to say on any of them, as the Kart Racing is the core game mechanic. So, what we should be making note of instead is that this game adds in Triple Mushrooms, giving you three consecutive boosts; Super Mushrooms, giving you an indefinite amount of boosts for a short time; Fake Items, that look like regular item boxes; Banana Bunches, that let you lay down a bunch of peels on the road; Triple Green and Red Shells, giving you multiple projectiles; and the world-famous Spiny Shell, a ridiculously powerful blue shell that specifically seeks out the player in the lead with murderous intent. All of these can be added to the Mario Kart moveset.

As for our sixteen tracks, we have: Luigi Raceway, a generic track; Moo Moo Farm, set on a farm naturally; Koopa Troopa Beach, a beach level; Kalimari Desert, a desert track with a train running through it; Toad's Turnpike, a busy highway with lots of cars to run into; Frappe Snowland, a snow level; Choco Mountain, a mountain that looks like it's made of Cocoa Puffs; Mario Raceway, a longer generic Mario track; Wario Stadium, a monster-truck rally type stadium; Sherbet Land, another snow level but with a higher focus on ice; Royal Raceway, another generic track that intersects with the castle from Super Mario 64; Bowser's Castle, a Bowser's Castle level naturally; DK's Jungle Parkway, a jungle level; Yoshi Valley, a sprawling mazelike track; Banshee Boardwalk, a haunted boardwalk once again; and this one's iteration of Rainbow Road, which seems to be roughly the second most popular version out there.

Something I neglected to mention in the last post was the Battle mode, where players could drive around in a square/circle arena and use items against each other to knock out each other's balloons. Luckily, the first game's "arenas" aren't really anything to write home about and are mostly just square versions of the various track biomes. Mario Kart 64, however, has Big Donut, a giant round arena surrounded by lava; Block Fort, one of my personal favorites; Double Deck, a two-story card-table-looking stage; and Skyscraper, a small arena at the top of a, well, skyscraper.

Lakitu returns as the referee, while Boos, Cheep Cheeps, Chain Chomps, Monty Moles (or Chubbies, I guess), Bats (not Swoops apparently), Crabs, Penguins, Piranha Plants, Porcupos, Mr. Blizzards, and Thwomps all appear on the various stages as background elements or obstacles.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario Kart: drive, brake, jump, turn, skid, etc., Banana Peel, Green Shell, Red Shell, Feather, Mushroom, Star, Ghost, Coin, Lightning, Egg, Fireball, Poison Mushroom, Triple Mushroom, Super Mushroom, Fake Item, Banana Bunch, Triple Green Shells, Triple Red Shells, Spiny Shell

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Bowser

Donkey Kong Jr.

Toad

Koopa

Donkey Kong

Wario

Lakitu

Boo

Piranha Plant

Cheep Cheep

Monty Mole

Thwomp

Chain Chomp

Penguin

Piranha Plant

Mr. Blizzard

Stages:

Mario Circuit

Donut Plains

Ghost Valley

Bowser's Castle

Choco Island

Koopa Beach

Vanilla Lake

Rainbow Road

Luigi Raceway

Moo Moo Farm

Koopa Troopa Beach

Kalimari Desert

Toad's Turnpike

Frappe Snowland

Choco Mountain

Mario Raceway

Wario Stadium

Sherbet Land

Royal Raceway

Bowser's Castle

DK's Jungle Parkway

Yoshi Valley

Banshee Boardwalk

Rainbow Road (64)

Big Donut

Block Fort

Double Deck

Skyscraper

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance!