With Mario Kart Wii heading our way soon, we thought it might be a good time to get a little nostalgic over your favorite aspects of past games. Tracks, characters, tiny details -- what makes your favorite version of Mario Kart the one for you? What about track types? Maybe you love the beaches and jungles but hate anything with ice. There's a lot to discuss; regardless of how similar the games seem to be from system to system, there are so many differences to talk about!Wii Warm Up: On track
With Mario Kart Wii heading our way soon, we thought it might be a good time to get a little nostalgic over your favorite aspects of past games. Tracks, characters, tiny details -- what makes your favorite version of Mario Kart the one for you? What about track types? Maybe you love the beaches and jungles but hate anything with ice. There's a lot to discuss; regardless of how similar the games seem to be from system to system, there are so many differences to talk about!Related Headlines
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-17-2008 @ 9:04AM
Shadow31 said...
My favorite version is the original SNES, though I don't really know why... they just did it right.
Still, none of them have battle courses like that one or the N64, and I liked how in DD, each character had a special item...
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4-17-2008 @ 9:15AM
david said...
I love the GBA version! Oh the wonder I felt playing it, and I sorta love it because its the forgotten Mario Kart game. God bless it and all that rode it.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:16AM
meist3r said...
I like the SNES one the best. My favorite tracks are the Ghost Valley ones. It's just what makes Mario Kart so good. Black background, brown ground and no frills or rainbow colored eyesores to get you off your lap record. I spent literally hundreds of hours swapping cartridges with friends trying to beat their times. I think the SNES one was spectacular for it's pseudo 3D graphics and had brilliant gameplay for the time. We are so used to that now that in hindsight I begin to wonder if this was the beginning of the end of 3D funracing.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:20AM
tim said...
I agree - if they scaled up the snes engine/mechanics exactly but improved graphics and added more - it would be the best ever wii party game ever. I'm craving the snes version on the VC, to remind me how fair, tight, almost twitch-like the mechanics were. I remember being SO disapointed with the n64 version - the sluggishness, fuzziness, lazy control, all extra 'realism' (as much as mario allows) makes the games worse. I am enjoying the wii versionm but for very different reasons than the original. A snes vs race was a pure, fast and wonderful event - all the new ones are so boring, wide, slow.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:21AM
Mr Khan said...
I would have to go with Double Dash, just because it was the first Mario Kart i truly mastered
Also because of Wario Stadium, Baby Park, Peach Beach, and Yoshi Circuit, 4 of the best track's in the game's history
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4-17-2008 @ 9:42AM
Adam said...
I loved the SNES version, but I think my best Kart memories are from VS racing on the 64 version. Trying to nail all the shortcuts perfectly. Nothing was better than using that huge Wario Stadium shortcut at the beginning on a newb who couldn't figure out why you were already half a lap ahead!
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4-17-2008 @ 9:44AM
Andy said...
My fave belongs to the SNES version of the Mario Circuits. Too much fun.
Rainbow Road, as psychedelic as it was, happens to be a close second.
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4-17-2008 @ 9:49AM
Nigeria - MK: 0430-8491-9123 said...
Well, the only Mario Kart I'd previously played was the DS version, so I guess it'll have to be that.
On the Wii version, I just unlocked all the tracks on 50cc mode and there's no Baby Park. :0
That was the favourite track in my house on the DS.
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4-17-2008 @ 7:00PM
Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! said...
Baby Park debuted on Double Dash, so that's probably why they wouldn't include it a third time on the Wii version. But I agree, it's one of my favorites.
4-17-2008 @ 9:52AM
coasterboy said...
this game is awesome - especially playing online - the spiny shell is a pain in the a$$ though :( also wii wheel is OK, but prefer the nunchuk - wiimote combo.. although not possible to throw some of the items backward????
andy(UK)
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4-17-2008 @ 10:23AM
meist3r said...
You can drop all items that you can send forward to the back (except the blue shell), hold down (back) the analog stick of the nunchuck before you press Z. This should send banana peels, bombs and shells flying out your exhaust. You can do this while driving because the steering doesn't care what angle the stick is aligned on the y-axis.
4-17-2008 @ 10:24AM
lewisj82 said...
My favorite was the SNES original also and I CANNOT wait for it to eventually be released on the VC. I remember thinking that Mario Circuit 2 was the coolest thing ever because you got to jump over part of the track. Ahh... the good old days.
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4-17-2008 @ 10:24AM
Neal Eaton said...
I really love the the 2 player Karts on Double Dash. It added another layer of strategy to the game.
At 1st it was always a race to get Toad or Toadette, but later (like when we play new...3 years later) we all have a set that we like the best. Me...I go back and forth between the Red Koopa w/Toadette, and Peach w/Luigi. I also have a soft spot for a Waluigi/Bowser Jr. as a team (you just can't beat the craziness that happens when you are in Baby Park and the GIANT shells that are Bowser/Bowser Jr.s are going EVERYWHERE).
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4-17-2008 @ 10:28AM
wud_e said...
You really can't beat Baby Park. Me and my in-laws spent about 3 hours playing just that track late one night. It's absolute MAYHEM!!
4-17-2008 @ 5:44PM
Mr Khan said...
That's why i love it, too
Some once complained that it was like Final Destination, thus too bland, but Baby Park is simply too small to be bland, like if Final Destination was 1/8th of its size
4-17-2008 @ 7:04PM
Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! said...
Baby Park set to 9-laps FTW
4-17-2008 @ 10:25AM
wud_e said...
I'll mostly Toads voice from Mario Kart 64. Ahhhwhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!! :( I hate how Toad sounds like an old chain smoker now.
From DD I'll actually miss the double cart racing. I'd at least like the option to do double kart racing if I wanted to in the new MK.
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4-17-2008 @ 10:32AM
nintendo1889 said...
Royal Raceway in Mario Kart 64! I like how you go tearing up a high ramp and as you fall toward Peach's Castle, it creates an ackward zoom in/out effect that makes you feel like you're part of the game!
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4-17-2008 @ 4:17PM
jason said...
Whenever I took that jump, I would get disappointed if my guy didn't bounce when he landed.
4-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
martyn (london) said...
i'm loving the new Wii MK but the wheel knocked a good 20 secs off my lap times so i'm GC controller all the way now, particularly for the online against the ridiculously fast Japan kids!
being able to play the snes courses again on Wii makes me sure that the reason the snes version was the greatest is it's purity. You can really refine your lap times without ridiculously complex 3d terrain in the way. keep it simple and fun i say.
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4-17-2008 @ 10:49AM
Chris said...
I loved Mario Kart DS because of the snaking. For me, it added a lot of depth, replayability, and skill to an already awesome game.
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4-17-2008 @ 10:54AM
cwk5014 said...
Having not extensively played too much of the series beyond MKDS and some of MK64, I don't want to make a complete generalization... but I never did like the wide open, flat tracks. In MKDS, for example, N64 Frappe Snowland, Figure 8 Circuit, and GCN Luigi Circuit. Since I refuse to snake, a lot of the time on these tracks, about the only excitement comes in cutting corners and then you're left to just coast straight forward until your next turn. I like tracks that DO things, but only if they're not so intrusive that you can't play on them. Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Road, and Waluigi Pinball are three good examples, although the last one's bordering on intrusive.
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4-17-2008 @ 1:28PM
michael said...
The original was such a treasure when it came out. I remember getting it, and having to wait in the car while most of my family ran into some store - and opening it, and reading the booklet from start to finish probably twice - why were they in that store forever!? I never played the GBA version, but I went back to MK on my SNES, and the control just felt crazy. I guess I'm a fan of the MK64 and later controls.
Ironically tho, my favorite of the series - thus far, was Mario Kart 64. I think the tracks were all beautifully designed, and battle mode was the best multi player experience ever. Big Donut and Block Fort remain my two favorite battle stages ever.
I was severely disappointed in Double Dash, because they bastardized the Block Fort, and generally the stages all felt tiny. There was something about the tracks, as well, that just didn't feel right. It didn't live up to MK 64 to me.
Mario Kart DS - which I am just a newcomer too has been incredible, I only wish I could play it all on a big screen! I also wish Nintendo would release the Arcade games on the home console. I'd love to play through the courses at home. I think the game looked beautiful by Namco, and I only wish the arcades by me didn't charge $1 per round.
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4-17-2008 @ 1:29PM
michael said...
I forget to basically say MK64 is still my favorite. Double Dash was fun, but just didn't feel as genius as 64. I have high expectations for Wii tho. I'm extremely excited for it to come out, and I wish the 27th would come faster.
4-17-2008 @ 2:29PM
brbarnhart said...
In high school, my buddy and I played a ridiculous amount of SNES Mario Kart. We became so good at the game that in GP Mode the computer players were a complete non-factor, with the exception of one track. Race #1 in the Special Cup, Koopa Beach. If you got hit by an item early in this race, it was difficult to make your way through the pack. This is what made it so fun. As we would play our way through the entire circuit, I would look to this race like I would look forward to Christmas.
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