Super Mario Kart-Retro Game Review

Hi there, I'm Burnt Waffle Productions. Yeah568 introduced me in the last article. As he said I'm a neighbour and friend of his, so anyways, on with my first article!
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No, not Mario Kart Wii, or DS, or Double Dash. Think back further, all the way back to Super Mario Kart, the game that started one of the most popular gaming series of all time.

Story:

Well, simply put, there is no story. Mario and his friends (and enemies) decide they want to beat each other in racing. I could be mean and give Mario Kart a low rating for having no story, but I suppose I can't criticize the story if the game doesn't have one.

N/A

Gameplay:

The gameplay is simple, yet addictive. The premise of the game is to race against other Mario characters and complete five laps around the track before anyone else does. To prevent other racers from placing ahead of you, you need to run over item panels and throw the items you recieve at enemies. Each track has a theme, msot of them based on levels from Super Mario World. I kind of wish they had included tracks based on worlds from Super Mario Bros. 3. It can get kind of boring playing tracks based on Donut Plains or Bowser's Castle four times. In one player mode, you can choose either Time Trials or Grand Prix. Time Trials give you a chance to get the best time on tracks. Grand Prix allows you to play through four cups, each with five tracks. The controls are simple, but effective. D-Pad moves, B excelerates, A throws items, and R drifts.

8.5/10

Graphics:

The graphics in Super Mario Kart use a feature of the Super Nintendo called Mode 7. Mode 7 scales other objects away from you to give the appearance of 3-d (although it's not actually 3-d). Pretty much anything that's not right in front of you is pixelated. I feel that while Nintendo could not have done much to make the Mode 7 graphics better, they could have improved the sprite (image) of your player. Looking at a game like Super Mario All Stars and then looking at the back sprites of your players, Super Mario All Stars looks highly superior. I'm not going to be stupid and rate the graphics of this game by today's standards, because that would be unfair. I'll finish off with this: The graphics were decent for the time, but not great.

7/10

Sound:

Most of the music is fairly catchy and suits each level well. None of the music really stands out as being fantastic, but the Koopa Beach theme is one of my favourites. Some of the other music is good too, like Bowser Castle and the Battle Music. While there aren't many sound effects, the ones that they have aren't bad. Super Mario Kart has a solid music line-up, but nothing amazing.

8/10

Conclusion:

Super Mario Kart was a fantastic game for it's time, and is still fun today. But if you're looking for a serious racing game, this game is not for you, nor is any other game in the series. Also, if you've played some of the newer Mario Kart games and then go back and play the original, you may find it dissapointing. Despite this, Super Mario Kart is still a solid game that's lots of fun and chocked full of retro charm.

Overall: 8/10 (not an average)

What do you think? Good? Bad? Discuss it in the comments.

~Burnt Waffle Productions