Mario Kart 64!

[Matteo]

Mario Kart 64 was released yesterday (Monday) for the Wii's Virtual Console, as well as Contra III: Alien Wars, Comix Zone, and Bonanza Bros.

As great of a release Contra is, I was insanely excited to download MK64 and play it for the first time in years as my n64 is packed up in an attic somewhere. After shaking off my rust (I feel the controls are much more complex than the DS version), I sank into Kart racing gold.

Quite Simply, MK64 is the greatest kart racer of all time. I love MK DS and all but upon downloading this game and playing it for the first time in 4 years I remembered why. It plays so differently than any of the other MK's and this is evident playing the tracks on the 64 versions versus the tracks on the DS. I remembered why I was so angry at the track selection in the DS game. Choco Mountain, Frappe Snowland? They gave us the short end of the stick in the DS game! There are far, far superior tracks on this game! In comparison to DS, the game plays at a much faster rate and the characters and karts are larger, which allows for a more zoomed in look, increasing the tempo and speed of the game, and changing the entire feel of tracks like Choco Mountain.

The tracks in MK64 are all vastly different, laid out perfectly and the control is so much tighter and more difficult than in any other MK game. Its just a shame that theres no online multiplayer. Live on DK Jungle Parkway!

...and to think Gamespot gave this a 6.2:angry:
(The VC version)

[Chibidia]

That was such a great game. It also had allot of nice touches to it too... for instance the M64 castle on one of the tracks (obviously I forget the name). Rainbow Road took forever too finish. I remember when I bought 4 controllers... my buds and I would always race that track and play the 2 multi-level death-match arenas (becoming the bomb was teh coolz). It was like my favorite party game until Goldeneye came around.

I remember articles about the beta when Kamek was a playable character.

[Orion]

Brings back memories of long winter nights with friends, playing Mario Kart and getting so upset because no matter what you did in Extra mode, the other karts behind you would always find a way to catch back up. What fun it was..

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

I still have this for the N64, but my controllers are falling apart. I can't wait to be able to afford my Wii.

Speaking of Rainbow Road, you do know there was a massive shortcut for the skilled, right? That's one of the best parts.

[Nicholas Steel]

to me it was ok... but then again us PAL people had to put up with a slower version...

[Warlock]

I got it last night. I think it definately shows it's age, but it's still pretty fun. The controls I have some issues with - maybe just with the classic controller. I should try it with the GameCube controller next time. It just felt like I couldn't powerslide without going into the fence every time and (at least Peach) felt very noodley when driving.. it was hard to keep myself strait, especially around turns. Though I did get better by the forth track so maybe it's just me having to re-learn it :P

Graphically it's both pretty and ugly. I really will commend them that the game looks great running in essentially 460p. Coming from N64's 320x240 resolution (zomg), the rez bump is really good. However, the thing that is not so great are the sprites. Which unfortunately, every racer is actually a sprite, not a model. I don't know what Nintendo could have really done here short of doing a pixel resize instead of a smooth scaling, which may have looked tacky against the higher-rez models. But right now all the sprites are really blurry, but with sharp, contrasted edges (like, you know how when you use a contrast filter on an image in photoshop and it leave a little light ring around the sides?). It made them look "cut-out".. The interface and menus also looked this way, and especially the lap counter looked almost like a compressed JPEG with some actual color bleeding, etc (maybe it was :P)

Also, the bad thing about all the improvement is that the N64's flaws are really drawn out. For once you can *tell* how stark the tracks are (possibly also because Double Dash & beyond were *not* stark), and things like a really small draw distance (I saw racers, item blocks, etc fading in and out in front of my face), etc are really noticable.

Also, when downloading I got a little message that said you can't use ghost data because that was saved on those N64 memory cards. Umm, why? That just seems stupid to me. Those cards had to be tiny, you're telling me they can't emulate that function on the Wii's flash drive? Ghost data is not extremely important to me, but I just find it disappointing that it "just can't be" because they couldn't find a way to handle the issue of the memory cards. Can anyone think of any other N64 games that made heavy use of the memory cards? (and if you're forgetting, these were the cards that plugged into the back of the N64 controller). I'm just curious if this is going to be a bigger issue with a different game in the future.

But all in all, it's still a really fun game.

Edit: Haha:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/759/759659p1.html

IGN said the exact same thing I did.

[vegeta1215]

When I got Mario Kart DS a while back, I plugged in my N64 shortly afterwards to play some Mario Kart 64. (I also played all my other Mario Karts too). After playing the DS version, I just can't go back to the old ones. The controls on the DS version are so refined, the old ones just feel sloppy, even Double Dash to an extent. Also, the camera angle just bugs me on the N64. It makes you feel like you're really low to the ground and doesn't give you much viewing area. I prefer the "zoomed out" view in MK-DS.

Mario Kart 64 did have some excellent tracks. In fact I wish they could've fit all of them into MK-DS - the MK64 tracks are my favorites to play online.

When I get a Wii I probably won't get MK:64 since I own it already. But I'm glad Nintendo is starting to pull out the big guns for the VC.

[MottZilla]

Just remember the N64 itself was pretty flawwed. Almost anything 2D on the N64 looked pretty bad but you couldn't tell back then because of your crappy TV set. If you looked at it against via RGB (you'd need to RGB mod it I believe) then you would see how the sprites stand out, and are rather blurry. The N64 used lots and lots of blur. Infact the best 2D in games were probably the only truely 2D games like Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

Anyways, I think the problems with emulation are forgivable for the single fact that the N64 controller's analog stick sucks ass and doesn't last.

[Orion]

I've been playing it on the same TV that I played it on years ago, so it must be the Wii hardware that is improving it, and not the TV. But I'll agree that the N64 just made things blurrier as a whole, so things of that sort weren't noticeable.

The fact that it's like that doesn't really bother me that much anyway. I'm usualy looking more ahead at the track than I am at the actual character.

It's funny, it almost give is a kind of Paper Mario look.

[vegeta1215]

I've been thinking about tracking down a copy of the original Paper Mario too - I passed it up when it originally came out. I bought Paper Mario: TTYD for Gamecube and love that game. It did feel a little un-mario-ish due to the setting being outside of the mushroom kingdom. I'm sure playing the original Paper Mario will remedy this feeling.

My only concern is taking the step backwards in terms of the battle system. They made a lot of improvements in Paper Mario: TTYD I hear.

[Matteo]

I guess I am stubborn, but the zoomed in, frenetic pace of MK64 suits me. I like the fact that there is pop-up. I like the fact that the controls are so sensitive, one could almost call them manic. :P

In addition, the items where much more balanced in MK64. You could still get decent items in 1st or 2nd place. I feel like the new items take away from the racing too much. Thank God they didn't have the awful blue spiked shell back then.

I remember the shortcut in Rainbow Road. Classic. I loved how risky it was. It was either certain first place or certain last place if you tried it. Also the Wario Stadium shortcut!

The fact that they didn't include the ghost data really bugs me. There are plenty of ways they could have included it; its a shame that they didn't bother. It makes me nervous that Nintendo is going to continue to take shortcuts in the VC games of the future.

I feel like there were several good games that made extensive use of the memory card. I am pretty sure Turok used it. Also Excite Bike? As well as many 3rd party games.

[Nicholas Steel]

I guess I am stubborn, but the zoomed in, frenetic pace of MK64 suits me. I like the fact that there is pop-up. I like the fact that the controls are so sensitive, one could almost call them manic. :P

In addition, the items where much more balanced in MK64. You could still get decent items in 1st or 2nd place. I feel like the new items take away from the racing too much. Thank God they didn't have the awful blue spiked shell back then.

I remember the shortcut in Rainbow Road. Classic. I loved how risky it was. It was either certain first place or certain last place if you tried it. Also the Wario Stadium shortcut!

The fact that they didn't include the ghost data really bugs me. There are plenty of ways they could have included it; its a shame that they didn't bother. It makes me nervous that Nintendo is going to continue to take shortcuts in the VC games of the future.

I feel like there were several good games that made extensive use of the memory card. I am pretty sure Turok used it. Also Excite Bike? As well as many 3rd party games.

the blue spiked shell IS in MK64 tho... and the reason most likely for the zoomed in camera on the n64 would be to hide the view clipping to a degree.

[Matteo]

My apologies, you are completely right regarding the blue shell. I don't know what I was thinking.

In regards to the zoomed aspect. The karts are actually bigger in MK64 then in MK DS. On the same courses. Its still zoomed in, but it really does change the whole feel of those same courses (from MK64 to MK DS)

I just find it hard to believe that anyone who has played this game alot could find the newer Mario Karts superior.

Once I re-learned how to use it, the old school drifting is far more complex and difficult to master. I love the bunny-hop!

[MottZilla]

Well I don't know about MK64 being plain better than MKDD or MKDS, but it's definitely a solid game and a classic now. I certainly enjoyed the game back then and still do when I emulate it. And I play it with a PSX Dual Shock controller. =D

[Warlock]

FYI, I'm quite sure you only get the good items in 1st place in 50cc (i.e. I was playing 50cc Mushroom Cup and got a friggin' Lightning Bolt in first place). This is the same with almost any Mario Kart. In 150cc you won't get anything but mushrooms, shells, ? blocks, and banana peels for the most part.

Either way, that's *less* balanced, not more. That just means a 1st placer can get a thunderbolt and become potentially unbeatable - or at least get an insane lead. They don't care in 50cc because that is supposed to be easy mode anyways. But when you get up to 150cc it's supposed to be challenging.

Anyways, as for which game is the best, I'm with Mott on this. I think MK DS is the best of the series, and Double Dash has some of the best tracks and also did some much-needed refining of the controls (though the two player thing is more of a gimmick - I don't hate it but I'm glad it was only for that game). But Mario Kart 64 has *the best* multiplayer period. And actually, I went to GameSpot and they bashed MK64's multiplayer maps. WTF Gamespot? They said "they are too big and sometimes you can't find the other player". Umm, yeah.. that's what makes them awesome. Players can sneak up on each other and it makes the game that much more exciting. But to be fair, that's not even the case because there *is* a friggin' map with player locations. So GameSpot is full of it. Block Fortress and Double Decker are some of the best Battle Mode courses of any Mario Kart game. It's just a shame that Double Dash's were so woefully bad (except Luigi's Mansion which was decent but not *as good* and Pipe Fortress or whatever which was pretty good - about on par with MK64's Donut one). MK DS had some decent but all together not very memorable ones. The only ones I'm even remembering now are the DS-shaped one, the Dessert one (that's Dessert, not Desert), and the beach one. Those were all ok but still pretty small. I definately prefer the larger arenas.

I'm really hoping though that the Wii Mario Kart contiues where Mario Kart DS left off with the Retro Cup and we see a lot of this stuff back (but looking better of course :P). And I really hope that they actually make Battle Mode online this time - I still can't believe it wasn't in MK DS.

[vegeta1215]

I didn't play battle mode in Mario Kart 64 as much as I did in Super Mario Kart. Still, the tracks were very good. If Gamespot complained about them being too big, they must've complained that the ones in Double Dash were too small. Luigi's Mansion and Pipe Fortress save it from being a total waste though, and the Mario tilt stage is really fun, esp when playing bomb battle.

(Try this when you get a chance - get as many bombs as you can, and while the map is tilting, get in the middle and just spin in a circle and toss bombs in every direction. It's so fun.)

I think the bomb battle and shine get modes were a welcome addition to the formula, so I hope they concentrate on making some good battle mode maps in the future, cause they sure didn't spend much time on them for the GCN and DS versions. Better yet, make a few new ones and just put all the old ones in too! And why not throw in every Mario Kart track while you're at it! Seriously, who would not buy a game like that? MK-DS came close by adding the Retro Cups.

[Warlock]

I thought Shine Mode was boring, but I did like Bomb Battle.

[Orion]

If I recall, couldn't you pan out the camera angle in MK64?

[War Lord]

I really wish Nintendo would do like on live where they re-release this stuff but add online multiplayer.

I would enjoy nothing more than stomping you guys at MK64.

[Nicholas Steel]

id like to have a 60 fps version running at 60 fps instead of a 60 fps version showing all frames at a rate of 50fps.

[AlexMax]

I really wish Nintendo would do like on live where they re-release this stuff but add online multiplayer.

I would enjoy nothing more than stomping you guys at MK64.

More like you get stomped by random internet people who figured out how to get five second laps in Frappe Snowland, amirite.

At least you can't snake in this game...