How Do You Feel About Mario Kart 64?

I think the tracks are kinda dull and something about it just feels...mediocre.

Well, it was my first one, so..... You know how it goes.

They have some serious SNES bias. I think MK64 is a fine game, better than the first one, one of the best titles for the N64 I think.

I liked it back then, for sure.

Also the best character is always Wario, don't care what anybody else says

I know I really liked it when I was a kid, but that was quite a while ago and I'm not sure how much I'd like it now. You know, rose-tinted nostalgia glasses and all that.

Another great N64 Kart Racer? Diddy Kong Racing. It may have been my favorite N64 game but I could never beat the damn thing. Fantastic music.

I really didn't enjoy it. I just felt like the tracks lacked a lot of character and felt really dull. I was more into Diddy Kong Racing.

I liked it. I was also a little kid when I played it so I dunno.

Only in hindsight does it kinda suck. Falling off edges happens too easy and the penalty moves you from 1st to dead last everytime. Trying to navigate that penguin cave is insane.

I've never played it (also despite Super Mario Kart being my first Mario Kart my favorite is Double Dash)

@rachelepithet: That track and Yoshi's Valley are the two worst in the game.

I do prefer it over the SNES game. I have not played any of the more recent ones for comparison though, but considering Sonic Racing Transformed or whatever the name of that was is a straight up clone of the Wii Mario Kart game, and also is more fun than the N64 game, I guess I'd prefer the Wii Mario Kart over it too.

I do remember some levels in the N64 Mario Kart being totally busted though, especially the Yoshi and Donkey Kong maps where the frame rate dropped into single digits, and the penguin one had some draw distance issues as I recall?

I really enjoyed the one with the traffic though, as well as the battle modes (especially that skyscraper).

I started with Super Mario Kart but I've always considered Mario Kart 64 to be the best one. I really should put MK 64 in again and see if it lives up to my memories. Since I replayed Super Mario Kart recently and it doesn't seem that great. Still a solid game but I don't like the handling of the karts. Although I used to be a lot better at it than I am now since every circuit had a Gold cup on it.

I used to love it, but a few weeks ago, I went back and played it again with a friend in college. Man, that game is terrible! The tracks suck, controls don't feel quite right, and there are Bob-ombs walking the tracks in multiplayer. Do yourself a favor: if you have a game you loved as a child, don't go back and play it when you're an adult.

I remember playing it and thinking it wasn't as good as Super Mario Kart. I didn't play very much of it, and this was back when I was young enough to be pretty enthused about any game I could get my hands on. I don't think SuperMK is perfect, but it's got simplicity and nostalgia on its side.

The single player was intense. I only managed to beat Wizpig, (that was his name right), the first time. I never could beat the second version of him. That was a great game that deserved more iterations. CURSE YOU RARE FOR MAKING GREAT GAMES AND THEN BEING BOUGHT BY MICROSOFT.

Anyway the 64 version is my second favorite behind the Gamecube version. The Snes version mimicked 3D while the 64 version was actually 3D. I didn't much care for the GBA version either. It was too flat.

The best character is also toad from the 64 version while the combination of the koopas and Diddy Kong was the best team in the Gamecube version.

Last Mario Kart i liked.

I liked DS and Double Dash a lot. I did play the original SNES version when I was a kid but I remember very little about it.

(Crash Team Racing beats them all)

It was the only mario kart game i played at any length. I had fun with it!

My first and only Mario Kart game actually. I have very fond memories of it, but I was only 11-12 when I played it, so I don't know how well it would hold up today for me.

@mikey87144: I would really like a straight up new Banjo Kazooie platformer. Nuts and Bolts was great but not really what I was looking for. Too bad Rare doesn't really exist anymore.

Easily the worst of the Mario Karts that I've played.

I like Mario Kart 64. It was also the first one I had played.

I played a ton of it in college, so it's absolutely my favorite. Although most of the time it consisted of playing Drink Don't Drive/ Beerio Kart/ whatever you call a Mario Kart and drinking mash-up game.

@riostarwind: I'm with you. I played a good deal of Super with friends when it came out because it was awesome. I played a ton of 64 for years after that one came out because it was even better.

I honestly bought a N64 for only that game, but then I had a best friend who took the races serious and really sucked the joy out of it.

It was my first and favorite Mario Kart game. Donkey Kong all the way.

It was a HUGE game when I went to daycare every day after school (and summer). I have some fond memories of it, but I can easily take off the rose-tinted glasses and see now that it wasn't the greatest game.

For my money, I still think Diddy Kong Racing is FAR superior.

Have the Giant Bomb crew ever stated the reasons for their dislike for it? I've always heard they don't like it, but never why they don't like it. I'm really curious

I wouldn't have gotten through my mandatory computer skills college course without that game.

I think MK64 is probably the easiest for most people to jump in and start racing. There's less of an emphasis on drifting than in the rest of the series. The steering is looser and kinda wack. Still fun though. Its about the only mario kart game I can get my girlfriend to play with me so I think that pretty much sums it up.

Best in the damn series and I'm sick of the crew trashing talking it. I want a stream of them playing ALL Mario Kart games and then ranking them. 64 is the best. Second best maybe behind the DS version.

As much as I loved the original Mario kart in middle school, playing some of its tracks on the DS version really showed how flat and barren it was. Mode 7 was neat and all but actually having varied terrain in a 3d version makes every one after the first a better game imo.

And I can see how some people don't like the rubber banding in these type of games but come on, it's not about racing, it's about screwing your friends over at every available opportunity. Blue Shell FTW!

I love it and I don't really see why people dislike it so much, but then again it was my first Mario Kart...

@believer258 said:

And Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed beats that. Though I admittedly have much more fondness for the gallery of Crash Bandicoot characters than I do most of Sega's lot. Ripper Roo, yo! And Pinstripe always looked like one of the weasel gangsters from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Cortex is also one particular character that is unfortunate to see go down with the sinking ship that is the Crash Bandicoot franchise.

I loved it as a kid and still like it to this day, but I would not go as far as say it was the best Mario Kart. That title goes to Mario Kart DS.

I played so many hours of 4 player split-screen in that game with my brothers and cousins. It's been so long since I last played it that I don't know how it would hold up today but I remember the battle mode to be particularly great.

Ditto!

In my experience people like or dislike a Mario Kart game more or less completely based on the driving mechanics. 64 has some pretty weird, squirrely steering compared to just about every other game in the series. Since I started with those controls, that's just Mario Kart for me, and I love it. I can see why someone would dislike it though. In a way it feels somewhat like a half-step between Super Mario Kart and Double Dash. Super Mario Kart had really unforgiving controls, whereas Double Dash is very beginner-friendly. In 64 you can definitely fly off the course plenty, but people generally figure it out, whereas I have seen some catastrophic stuff from people trying Super Mario Kart for the first time. So maybe they don't like 64 because it feels close enough to SMK to be familiar, but it doesn't quite match. Double Dash and onward have their own unique feel that I think is way different from SMK and 64, so they can perhaps just be enjoyed as their own unique set of games rather than inviting comparisons to SMK.

Played the shit out of it as a child so naturally I love it.

It's good. Super Mario Kart is still the best, though.

SNES Mario Cart is the only cannon Mario Kart.

But I can't stand anything on the N64 due to it's awful controller.

I don't know, there was something off about it, like the camera was zoomed in too close? I can't quite remember because it's been so long, but it just didn't feel or look right. Also, the AI was glued to your tailpipe at all times and there was zero chance to get any kind of lead whatsoever.

Has the best version of Rainbow Road, though, and by some distance.

This is as clear as I can get .... Ugh!!!!

It's one of the weaker entries, but since it's Mario kart it's still good.

It's the only one I've ever played, I thought it was good, Diddy Kong Racing was much better though.

Analog stick and 3d is better for racing than a D-pad and Mode 7. Hands down.

I loved it, but I think Crash Team Racing on the PS1 was even better.

I played it tons of this game and even a lot of battle mode (but never Skyscraper because we drove off more times than hit each other).

Only until I was older did I race more with friends.

A year or so back I was introduced to drinking Mario Kart. You have to drink an entire beer before you finish your first lap. Some drink as they drive, some chug before they drive anywhere, and some all but finish the first lap before starting in on the beer. The loser must feel terrible shame and take a shot.

I will fight anyone who says nay!