Top 5 Best Mario Kart Video Games Ever Made
From handheld entries that defy belief to home console titans that sell tens of millions of copies, there’s a good deal of debate to be had about which is best. But, as with any veteran series and a real racing championship, there can only be one winner…
5. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014)
This was a Mario Kart game that offered a lot of firsts. It was the first HD, 60 frames-per-second entry. It was the first Mario Kart game to have a fully orchestrated soundtrack with jazzy renditions of classic and new music tracks alike (Any Nintendo fan would cry tears of joy hearing Mute City and Rainbow Road performed with such brilliance). It was the first MK game to offer DLC including *squeal* Link as a character with Hyrule Castle being his associated track.
It blended in a little of long-time fan favourite F-Zero with its anti-gravity track sections that allowed for some real roller coaster tracks that looped and twisted their way around great backdrops. The graphics were incredible and the then newly-launched MKTV website allowed you to watch replays and highlight reels of your best bits. Sadly, it’s now closed, although you can still watch highlights from inside the game.
4. Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996-7)
Anticipation was running high for the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Kart after gamers everywhere had been blown away by Super Mario 64.
Having the chance to race in full 3D was an enticing prospect and four player split screen action provided many-a racing fan with a great Saturday night in. The 3D design meant tracks could vary in altitude and had tunnels, jumps, steep inclines to climb and were ripe for off-track exploration. Who could resist playing chicken with the train in Kalamari Desert? Mid-air collisions during the river jump in DK’s Jungle Parkway could also prove fatal.
This was the first time the heinous blue shell also made its appearance and prevented so many from keeping their first place position. Other new features included regenerating item boxes which meant weapons were always in plentiful supply for chaotic action. Coins were gone and so was the feather. Donkey Kong Junior was replaced with Rare-designed Donkey Kong and Wario took the place of Koopa Troopa.
Mario Kart 64 hits number four on the list: a multiplayer classic for sure, but there’s more to come in that regard.
3. Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2008)
Mario Kart Wii debuted in 2008, two years after the launch of the Wii. It turned some hardcore fans off because of the motion controls that the Wii Remote offered to players; the steering wheel was fun, no doubt, but it wasn’t precise like the classic analogue stick or even a d-pad. It meant you’d have to shell out for a nunchuk, GameCube controller or classic controller if you really wanted the precision racing controls.
That said, despite the lack of innovation, this was still a very good game, content-wise. The new tracks were great with Toad’s Factory and Wario’s Gold Mine offering unique obstacles plus speed boosts and shortcuts aplenty. Miis were also playable as racers which was a nice touch.
Elsewhere, online play came to a home console version of Mario Kart for the first time, and was excellent fun as you tested yourself against the best racers in the world.
The feel of the game was fun, fast and exhilarating, especially tearing down the steep hills of Rainbow Road with the entire globe in the background. This one makes the top three since it sold a very tidy 36.83 million copies.
2. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch, 2017)
There’s not too much to be said about this version that hasn’t been said already: a graphically beautiful game that has all the colours of the rainbow splashing into your face, a stunning 60fps, 1080p display. It includes all of the downloadable content from the Wii U edition plus introduces Splatoon characters Inkling Boy and Girl and hails the return of King Boo.
But this goes one better than all other Mario Kart games in a few big ways.
First off, you’ve got a home console edition of Mario Kart with the ability to play both on the big screen and on-the-go. Then there’s the chance to play four player split-screen multiplayer literally anywhere you care to carry your Nintendo Switch.
You can daisy-chain two Switch machines together for up to eight players. It’s got online multiplayer for 12 racers. Heck, even the battle mode now makes sense as they’ve returned to the classic arenas rather than playing cat-and-mouse on tracks. That was a much needed change, and happily shows Nintendo’s willingness to listen and take criticism on board.
In many ways this is the most comprehensive version of Mario Kart available because of its huge number of characters (42) and tracks (48). This hits number two because, well… there can only be one winner, right?
1. Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992)
There’s so much to be said about this gem of a game that still boasts high prices on online auction sites. It introduced the world to the idea that Mario wasn’t just a plumber but could also pull off some nifty hops and drifts in the world of go-karting, too.
With a range of tracks that took favourite locations from the platform games (especially Super Mario World) like ghost houses, Bowser’s castles and the Donut Plains – complete with annoying gophers that cling to your face and don’t get off(!!) – the game was excellent.
Tight karting controls, subtle differences between the acceleration and top speeds of racers and troublesome weaponry especially on 150cc difficulty meant the game was easy to learn but difficult to master. You’d find yourself getting stuck with coins and feathers in your item box against some weapons you had no access to. Bowser could throw fireballs, Yoshi dropped eggs and Peach had a poisonous mushroom to halt your race.
You could race your friends in two player one-on-one races, go co-op (yet head-to-head) in a grand prix and, better yet, you could pummel your friend or foe in battle mode. You, a maze, the full range of weapons in a battle to the death.
Source – Whatculture
#Top 5 Best Mario Kart Video Games Ever Made
I cant say I agree with the # 1 spot but then again, that is what makes this kind of list fun. To see what other’s opinions on the various games are and how they stack up to your own.
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