Game Debate #117: Mario Kart 64

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

On 9/4/2022 at 4:20 AM, rdrunner said:

4/10 - On the N64 alone, I prefer Diddy Kong Racing, F-Zero X, and even Cruis'n USA more than this.  I haven't even played all the racing games on the system either.

I do like Mario Kart games (who doesn't?), but 64 is also my least favorite Mario Kart.  Out of the games I have played, I would rank them like this: MK8, original, Double Dash, DS, 64.

Without rehashing every flaw people have already brought up, I'll just list the biggest reasons I don't like this game:

• Races are slow and take too long (especially Rainbow Road).
• Rubberband AI at its worst.
• Introduced blue shells into the series.

Plenty of better racing games out there in my experience, hence the score.

I gave it 6/10 because the multiplayer is really fun and I put a bunch of time into it back in the day. Having said that, after replaying it over the years, I kinda enjoy it less each time because of the points you mention; slow/boring races (wario, RR, Toads), terrible rubber-banding that often messes up making first untouchable, and the graphics are really tough on the eyes with poor visibility. I probably would have said 8 or 9 outta 10 back in 2000 but not so much these days. I'd rather play Super, DD, or 8.