Super Mario Kart; it has to be one of my all time favourite games, even now I enjoy playing it although the game play and graphics have moved on a long way since the early days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). That was way back in 1992 gosh I suddenly feel quite old looking back at how long ago it was.
You select a one of eight characters; Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr, Koopa Troopa and Toa, depending on which character you go for will have an impact on your race style. Some characters Karts will have greater handling and acceleration while others will be harder to bump off the track and each character has their own special power, for example; if you are racing against Donky Kong Jr watch out for those banana skins that he throws around.
Nostalgia rules with this footage from the original SNES version.
If I had a SNES in front of me now I know I would be straight on it playing the original Super Mario Kart even though things have moved on an awful long way as you can see by watching the video below which contains footage from latest Mario Kart offering available on the Wii.
Far better graphics and game play on the Wii
I guess despite nearly twenty years between the two versions the basics have remained the same. You race your way around a fun and sometimes challenging track, collecting or avoiding banana skins, weapons and power boosts to aid your way around as you aim to be first past the post.
Although already a very popular game it was in 1997 that this game really took off when it was released on the Nintendo 64. It was at this time that Super Mario Kart featured 3D characters and as long as you had 4 controllers you could invite frieds over and enjoy the experience of the four-person multiplexer. Four human controlled characters and 4 CPU controlled in a mad dash for the line.