Mario Kart Retrospective - Super Mario Kart (SNES)

Tomorrow (OMG OMG OMG OMG), Mario Kart 8 will hit store shelves and the WiiU shop. In the day leading up to May 30th, I figured I would go back and look at each Mario Kart game, starting with the first (and most superior in my opinion): Super Mario Kart for the SNES.

Super Mario Kart was released in North America on September 1, 1992, just days after it launched in Japan. The idea, as put forth by developer Shigeru Miyamoto and directors Tadashi Sugiyama and Hideki Konno, was to create a 2-player themed game to contrast the F-Zero single player focus. This is why, even in single player, the screen is split horizontally.

Originally, this was not supposed to include the characters from the Mario universe, the first prototype used a generic man in overalls. The idea to use the Mario characters came about 2 or three months into production, after the team did some "What If?" testing.

There were 8 characters to choose from in Super Mario Kart, (compared to the robust 30 in Mario Kart 8); Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad, Yoshi, Koopa Troopa, and the only Kart appearance of the official Donkey Kong Jr. (I still get confused over which DK is which in the timeline, I think the one in returns is the grandson of the original DK, I should look into this sometime).

The game modes have remained relatively unchanged since the original, so I won't repeat myself every time. The single player consists of the Grand Prix and the Time Trials, while the multiplayer was made up of the Grand Prix, Match Race (Vs) and Battle Mode, with the latter always being a point of contention with players, some love it, some never touch it.

The overall theme of Super Mario Kart's tracks were inspired by Super Mario World levels, with the exception of the diabolical Rainbow Road (you son of a bitch track.....). There were 20 tracks to race in the game plus 4 tracks exclusive to Battle Mode.

Super Mario Kart went on to sell 8 million copies and become the third best selling game ever for the SNES. Guinness World Records even ranked it #1 on the list of top 50 video games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy.

This was the game I played the most of (Until Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS), and while it wasn't the first racing game, it did invent the the "kart racing" idea and was a massive success, paving the way for many iterations and knock offs.

Keep checking the page as I delve into the other games in the series and have a panic attack in anticipation for tomorrow's release.