If I’m remembering correctly, the Mario Kart for Game Boy Advance was like the definitive edition (ok it wasn’t on a TV and maybe not as convenient to play with other people but whatever). I recall it having all of the SNES tracks plus at least as many new ones and it was solid as heck.
I’ll still defend Double Dash though. Had some good LAN matches with that one (not that it was very practical) and I dug the whole co-op Kart thing. In the case of the 64 one, I think it’s popularity has a lot to do with being the right franchise at the right time with the right innovation (4 player split screen) and it’s just fixed in the minds of gamers and non-gamers alike because the whole 4-players on a TV thing was a BIG deal back then (see Goldeneye also).
That said, I’m pretty much done with MK outside of dumb party settings (where it can still be fun). Beyond that. I get it already.
MK64 also invented that rad power sliding mechanic and has all sorts of magic shortcuts. I also really like how some tracks (Moo Moo Farm…) get really fast in 4-player.
Mario Kart 8 is super, super great. it is a beautiful combination of Mario Kart 7 (our generation’s best MK) combined with the flash and flair of Sanic Kart 2 to produce something that is wonderful to play among friends and beverages.
those are my two favorites followed by this order:
I had a N64 as a child, moved on to a PS2 with Devil May Cry.
I dusted off the 64 after finally finding a copy of Jet Force Gemini. This was instantly one of my biggest vidcon disappointment - I could not believe a game could look this bad, have framerate this terrible. Were - were all these other N64 games like this?
Ogre Battle 64 looked criminally blurry too. A big waste of perfectly good sprites.
dkr is massively superior in single player. not even close. the driving mechanics are also better. mk64 is probably a bit more resilient in multiplayer.
mickey’s speedway usa is actually the best kart game on n64 in terms of drive-feel
there were definitely a few people who seemed to feel this way around double dash’s release (I think its overall standing has improved since), and at the time I was baffled by it beyond thinking that people’s memories of the n64 really aren’t accurate in light of current stuff. I still am.
double dash seemed absolutely terrible when i first tried it - i played it on 4p for an evening with friends and decided it was the worst game in the series, hands down, and that i’d never touch it again. when i got back into kart a few years later my main focus was time trials. this was when i realized 64 was hot fucking garbage. trying to be precise and clean with those fiddly ass physics and controls is just fucking awful. by contrast, every mario kart i’ve played since has been a joy to time trial. consistent physics = good driving. mk64 is just chaos. it’s not a great game, but 4p chaos is always going to be appealing
The Japanese game has a number of notable differences. There is a carrot in each world to collect, unlocking two minigames and…something else! Several rooms are completely different, the “boss rush” is more difficult, powerups appear in single player, there’s two more characters, and 1P can play multiplayer against up to three COMs.[/quote]
Did anyone knew? I didn’t.
The Mario Kart discussion made me realize the N64 had a lot of racing games, and pretty good ones at that. It even had versions of a couple of the brands that were big on Playstation, Wipeout and Ridge Racer.
The only ones I really played, somehow, were the Star Wars one and Re-Volt. The latter is probably better in my memory than in reality, but I might have to pull it out again sometime to see.