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Mario Kart 64 is a go-kart racing game released on Nintendo 64 on February 10, 1997, developed and published by Nintendo. This is the second opus of the Mario Kart series following Super Mario Kart released on Super Nintendo in 1992. The game no longer uses the mode 7, this time the game is in full 3D. It is also from this episode that the multiplayer modes up to 4 were introduced.

Mario Kart 64 offers several game modes such as Grand Prix, the time attack and the battle mode. The player have the choice between 8 emblematic characters of the Mario universe at the selection of pilot: Mario, the famous mascot of Nintendo, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, the sworn enemy of Mario, Donkey Kong, Wario, the evil double of Mario that appeared in Mario land on Game Boy, and Yoshi the dinosaur which serves as a mount to Mario in Super Mario World. These characters have a speed, acceleration and a road holding that varies according to their weight.

In Mario Kart 64 there are 4 different Grand Prix: mushroom cup, flower cup, star cup and finally the Special cup, which appears after having won the gold trophy in each of the 3 other cups. Each Grand Prix consists of 4 circuits that take place in different scenery making references to the world of the famous plumber. These circuits are full of traps, as carnivorous plants, moles that arise from the ground and many other obstacles. There are also many secret passages that are hidden in the environment.

The Mario Kart series is best known for its friendly and funny gameplay that is based on the various bonuses that you can pick up along the route by hitting colored blocks scattered throughout the circuits. You can get various weapons such as green and red shells, banana peels, the lightning that makes the enemies decrease in size, or even the legendary blue carapace which goes directly to the character at the head of the race and then explodes. You can also pick up some support items such as mushrooms giving boost acceleration, the star which makes you invincible and multiplies the speed of the kart while smashing everything in its path, and finally the ghost who steals a bonus from another participant while making the player invisible. These bonuses are distributed according to the position of the character when he picks up the colored block. Thus, the character who is in first position will only obtain banana peels or single green shells, while the last characters could pick up stars, three red shells or the devastating blue carapace. This system helps to make the races more exciting and fun.

Mario Kart 64 takes its full dimension between friends. The multiplayer modes allow participating in grand prix up to 4 players in split screen. However, this is only with 2 players that the grand prix takes place with 7 participants, the others characters being controlled by the IA. Starting from 3 players, there is only the characters controlled by a person that are involved in racing. The battle mode that appeared firstly in Super Mario Kart is also available in this opus. Playable up to 4, you have to try to break the 3 balloons of your opponents by using all the weapons available.

With its diverse circuits and its good humour, Mario Kart 64 is the archetypal the game to have a good time with friends on Nintendo 64.

	Nintendo 64 Developper : Nintendo | Editor : Nintendo Rank : 64% (by 1 magazine) Review (1) | Cheat (2) | Guide (1) |
	Wii Rank : 62% (by 1 magazine) Review (1) |

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