Super Mario Kart is a game. It’s the first one in the Mario Kart series, and it’s a very fun series. It’s easy to explain the story of why this game exists, they wanted a multiplayer racing game that was more casual than F-zero. F-zero was a quick racer but it had no multiplayer and it was more challenging. It was also a launch title to show off what the Super Nintendo could do with Mode 7. Mode 7 is a thing on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in which one sprite is displayed at an angle to make things look 3-D.
The gameplay of Super Mario Kart is “3-D” racing because this game isn’t actually 3-D. It looks 3-D but it doesn’t have 3-D courses, it’s fake 3-D. So instead of items blocking like in later Mario Karts, it has item panels on the ground. The controls are pretty bad. Driving around with the basic character of Mario feels bad. Turning feels off and the drifting is probably the worst thing about the controls. Drifting turns very harshly which makes it feel terrible and makes hard turns difficult to deal with. The items are also odd. This game has the Cape Feather, an item that gives you a big hop. Few of the tracks have shortcuts made for this specific item and also it’s too specific of a situation so most of the time it’s useless. The mushroom on the other hand is not useless. It gives you a dash of speed which is far more applicable on courses and a few tracks have shortcuts for this item. The offensive items like the green shell, red shell and banana are decent. The Coin item is also here to take up a slot.
The 1 player mode is racing against the 7 computer controlled racers. One thing to note about this mode is that the computer cheats. The computer controlled racers have their own exclusive items that they can use at any time while the player has to get one from the item panel. Battle Mode is probably the best thing to play because playing with a buddy is always fun. The worst battle course is 4 because it’s way too big for 2 players so it drags the pace down. The best battle course is 2 because it takes after Koopa Beach and it has the best layout.
Onto the courses, Mario Circuit is a course. This game also has repeated course themes because of limitations of the SNES, so there are 4 Mario Circuits. This won’t be a ranking of all the courses because reading about why Mario Circuit 2 is better than Mario Circuit 3, which is boring. The Mario Circuit theme is a standard race track. These courses usually don’t do anything interesting. The only “Interesting” course is Mario Circuit 2 because it has a big jump. The best Mario Circuit is Mario Circuit 4 because it has a good layout, wide turns to deal with this game’s awful turning controls and it has the length to justify the 5 laps. The worst Mario Circuit is Mario Circuit 3 because it appears in way more Mario Kart games for no reason and tighter turns. Overall, these tracks are mediocre
Donut Plains is a generic course theme. There are also three courses in Grassy Plains. They all blend in which is problematic to talk about these tracks. The worst one is Donut Plains 3 because it tightens the turns and drifting in this game is garbage but the bridge is broken in this one so it’s slightly below average. The best Donut Plains is 2 because it has wider turns. Overall, the most boring set ever.
Ghost Valley is a pretty cool course theme. A spooky pier is a good aesthetic. Not only that but Ghost Valley 1 and 2 both have Cape feather shortcuts which is neat, not Ghost Valley 3 though which makes it the worst Ghost Valley. Ghost Valley 1 is the best one because the cape feather shortcut is pretty cool. The shortcut is a bit difficult but it makes it satisfying to do it successfully. Overall, a cool set of courses.
Bowser’s Castle is a castle with lava and this is the worst theme overall that isn’t Vanilla Lake. The worst one is Bowser’s Castle 2 which is just the 3rd worst course in the game. It has a poor layout which doesn’t suit the controls at all and it’s boring. The best Bowser’s Castle is 3 and it’s average. It has a decent layout and a few unique obstacles but it still has the issue of sorta not suiting the controls. Overall, a disappointing set of courses.
Koopa Beach is uninteresting. Two beach courses but both layouts are circles. Koopa Beach 1 and 2 are difficult to even talk about because they are just circles and they both share the same obstacle of rising and falling water. Koopa Beach 1 is the smaller circle so that one is better. Overall, a boring set of courses.
Vanilla Lake is an ice with a lake and it’s awful. Two courses and both of these are garbage. Vanilla Lake 1 is awful because of the ice physics which don’t work well with this game’s control, ice blocks that are made to infuriate any players, and the layout is just a circle. Vanilla Lake 2 is also garbage but it’s like the course is trying way too hard to be garbage so it’s less bad than 1. The layout is still just a circle but the ice blocks are easier to dodge due to placement and it’s just less annoying overall. But these two courses are garbage overall.
Rainbow Road is a course and not a course theme. There is only one Rainbow Road which compared to the repeated course themes is a breath of fresh air. It’s also the only course that has no walls at all which makes it more difficult. At least it has good music and it actually has a decent layout so it makes it one of the best courses overall.
Super Mario Kart is not a good game but it at least started the Mario Kart series which is a good thing. The foundation is generally alright which would be further improved on in later games. You should really only play it for the historical value of kicking off this series. It’s on the SNES and the Nintendo Switch Online Service.
