Mario kart 64

Mario kart 64
Logo of Mario Kart 64
Original title	マ リ オ カ ー ト 64
transcription	Mario Kāto Rokujūyon
Studio	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
Erstveröffent- lichung	December 14, 1996 February 10, 1997 June 24, 1997
platform	Nintendo 64
genre	Racing game
Subject	Kart Grand Prix racing
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Nintendo 64 controller
medium	96 MBit game module
language	English
Age rating	USK PEGI

Mario Kart 64 ( Japanese original title: マ リ オ カ ー ト 64, Hepburn : Mario Kāto Rokujūyon) is a racing game that was developed by Nintendo's division Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (Nintendo EAD) and was published on December 14, 1996 in Japan on February 10, 1997 in North America and Canada and on June 24 in Europe for the Nintendo 64 (N64). The game was released later as part of the Virtual Console -Angebots also on 26 January 2007 for the Nintendo eShop the Wii and in December 2016 to the Wii U .

It is the second part of the Mario Kart series and the successor to Super Mario Kart ( SNES , 1992) and the predecessor of Mario Kart: Super Circuit ( GBA , 2001). The most significant innovations compared to the predecessor are polygon-based 3D graphics (although some textures are still two-dimensional) and the integration of a four-player mode.

Within the first three months of its release, the game sold 849,000 copies in North America alone.

Gameplay

The second part of the Mario Kart series is, like all others, a racing game. The surroundings are three-dimensional, while karts, items, etc. are implemented as two-dimensional sprites . The game can be played with up to four players. All 16 routes are varied. On one the player is made to slide, in a desert you will be hit by a train if you are not careful, in Toads Turnpike you overtake vehicles that are not involved in the race and in the jungle you jump over a steamboat. There are also many other routes and extras. Well-known locations like Bowser's Castle and the palace of Princess Toadstool from Super Mario 64 also appear. There are also four battle routes, one in the shape of a donut with lava in the middle, one with four different colored plateaus, a platform with four floors and finally a route with a space-like design on a platform. You can only drive the Mario Grand Prix in pairs, with 3 or 4 players the Nintendo 64 would probably have had performance problems due to technical limitations . It is also the Mario kart part which the slipstream (engl. Slipstreaming ) introduced.

Game modes

Single player

In single player mode, the user plays against up to seven computer-controlled opponents. The player can choose between the following game modes:

• Grand-Prix: Here the player can drive in three different cubic capacity classes (50 cm³, 100 cm³, 150 cm³) as well as in extra class, whereby in the extra class the routes are mirrored. There are four cups (Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special) with four courses each. It is driven against seven computer-controlled opponents. At the end of a cup, the player receives a trophy depending on the points achieved: ( bronze , silver or gold ). The best trophy is saved for each of the difficulty levels.
• Time trial: Here the player drives a race track alone and without items. Equipped with three mushrooms, you have to set up the best time on one of the 16 courses. You can see its rank in the menu under Data. You can also watch your ride again under Replay.

Multiplayer

A Grand Prix race is also available for two players. With three and four players no more. There are also the following multiplayer competition modes:

• Versus race: In this mode, only the players drive against each other. The routes are chosen by himself, and after each completed round the player sees his statistics.
• Battle / Ballooning: Each player has three balloons and must use items to try to make his opponent's balloons burst. A balloon will also burst if a player falls. After a player has lost his three balloons, he becomes a bomb and can thus take a balloon from his opponent - this is only available in three-player / four-player mode. The winner is the player who is the last to have min. has a balloon left over. The fights will not take place on the Grand Prix tracks, but on specially prepared arena tracks. There are a total of four arenas in which the fights take place.

control

The N64 controller that is used to control the game.

Mario Kart 64 is controlled with the Nintendo 64 controller. The following key combination applies:

• A = The speed increases with the A button. If you jump with R and accelerate with A at the same time, you drift.
• B = The B button is used to brake the kart; when it comes to a standstill, it is reversed.
• R = You jump up easily and drift if you press A at the same time, which can lead to better turns when cornering.
• Z = With the Z button you stop the item roulette and use it.
• L = You can turn the music up or down (3 volume differences).
• C = With the C-button you can activate a speedometer . In addition, if you press it twice, you have an overview of all the drivers (since only the first 4 places are shown at the start).

driver

A total of eight Nintendo characters with different driving characteristics are available as drivers. All drivers are playable from the start and do not have to be unlocked first, as in the following parts of the Mario Kart series. The following characters can be selected:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Toad
• Yoshi
• Donkey Kong
• Wario
• Bowser

In the beta version, instead of Donkey Kong, Kamek was programmed as a playable character.

Items

On the racetrack, as in all other Mario Kart parts, the driver passes question mark blocks that contain items. With these items the player can change his chances in the game. The chance of getting strong items decreases the further he fights his way forward. The computer opponents cannot use tanks.

stretch

There are a total of 16 racetracks in Mario Kart 64. They are integrated into the game and cannot be expanded. All 16 courses are divided into 4 cups, which can be played in both one and two-player mode.

Ratings

• Rating by AEP Emulation Page

criteria	Rating
Gameplay / game depth	8 of 10
Long term fun	10 of 10
graphic	7 out of 10
Sound	7 out of 10
Overall rating	8 of 10

Rating of game tips : readers 91%, press 89%

Opinion of the NZone magazine : “ The ideal game for long evenings with friends. Fortunately, if you only play alone, you have enough to do until you have won all 16 courses. "

Rating by Yopi.de : 4.7 out of 5 points

Evaluation of sectional reports : 9.25 out of 10 points

Gamezone rating : 8.2 out of 10

criteria	Rating
graphic	8 of 10
Sound	7 out of 10
control	8 of 10
Gameplay	10 of 10

Rating by 4cheaters : 4 out of 5 stars

criteria	Rating
Fun	4 out of 5 stars
Items	3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating of test freaks : 9.1 out of 10

Criteria / evaluator	Rating
reader	8.5 out of 10
Experts |	8.4 out of 10
Gameplay	8.7 out of 10

Rating of Nintendofans : 8.9 out of 10

Rating by MobyGames : 85% and 3.8 points out of 5

Allusions

Allusions to other games

• Super Mario 64 - In the Royal Raceway it is possible to leave the track shortly after the bridge and drive to Peach's castle, which looks the same on the outside as in Super Mario 64. The award ceremony also takes place in the same area.

Allusions to this game

• Mario Kart DS - In the following issue of the series,four tracks from MK64 will appear in retro cupswith Moo Moo Farm , Frappe Snowload , Choco Mountain and Banshee Boardwalk .
• There are also retro tracks in Mario Kart Wii again, there are Mario Raceway , Sherbet Land , DK Jungle Parkway and Bowser's Castle .
• There are also retro tracks in Mario Kart 7 , here there are Luigi Raceway , Koopa Troopa Beach and the Kalimari Desert . In addition, the music that sounds when the player finishes the race in the top four is identical to that of Mario Kart 64. In addition, the music of Toad's Piste and Mario's Piste is heavily based on that of Luigi Raceway, Mario Raceway, Wario Stadium and Royal Raceway. The one from Koopa Metropolitan Fever is based on both Luigi Raceway and Toad's Turnpike.
• In Mario Kart 8 there are retro lines again, as there are Toad's Turnpike , Royal Raceway , Yoshi Valley and the Rainbow Road .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Super Mario Kart R". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 88. Point Davis. November 1996. p. 46.
2. ↑ Saturn's Distant Orbit. March 12, 2000, accessed May 31, 2020 . 
3. ↑ from the AEP Emulation Page website
4. ^ Slip streaming. Retrieved October 3, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Game modes description from AEP Emulation Page
6. ↑ Taylor Casti: 10 Things Even Italian Plumbers Don't Know About 'Mario Kart'. In: The Huffington Post . May 16, 2014, accessed February 14, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Gameplay description from AEP Emulation Page
8. ↑ to read on game tips

Web links

• Mario Kart 64 at Nintendo
• Mario Kart 64 at AEP Emulation Page
• Mario Kart 64 in MarioWiki
• Cheats for Mario Kart 64 at spieletipps.de
• Time trial world ranking at mariokart64.com