- Hey, y'all, Scott here,
Super Mario Kart, right? First one in the series. I haven't fully played through this and unlocked everything yet, so I should really do that
to form a full opinion. - Hey Scott, Scott here. I'm you 14 minutes into the
future and I'm here to warn you that you think Super
Mario Kart is just okay. - Thank you. You get a new Nintendo console. You want to pick up a few
multiplayer titles for the system. Well, you have a few choices. - Welcome to Mario Kart. - It's hard to think of another series that's as universally
enjoyed as Mario Kart. And when I say universally
enjoyed, I mean it. Go up to anybody on the street and ask if they want to play Mario Kart. If the seven out of 10 chance
you don't get maced wins out, you'll be having some top-of-the-line multiplayer fun with a stranger. Mario Kart is one of the most
accessible multiplayer games out there, due to just how
understandable it is for anybody. It's go-kart racing in the Mario universe, just how God intended. You'll lap around each
track three times or so and see if you can get first place, or maybe second place,
if you're a (beep) loser. Item boxes are scattered across each track and running into them gives
you a random something to hurl onto other players
or defend yourself with. It's hard to imagine the Nintendo console without Mario Kart. It's the true multiplayer
mainstay of each system. The Smash Brothers and Mario Party might have something to say about that, but in my opinion, Mario
Kart is the easiest for casual fans to grasp onto. It's racing, and it's this word. It's so easy to get. While anybody can win
or lose in Mario Kart, the items do make things
pretty randomized. You can truly get skilled at it and make your chances of
winning them much higher, which is what I think
makes it so appealing to general audiences and core fans alike. Mario Kart as a series is one that just gets better and better
with each entry, sometimes. When a new Mario Kart comes out, it normally just straight-up replaces the last one for me most of the time. The new games have been
basically just taking the formula of the previous installment
and just building onto it, leaving little to no reason
to return to previous games, with some Double Dash
riddle exceptions in there. While I'm content just playing the newest Mario Kart from here on out, it's pretty fun to take a
look back at previous entries to see just how different they are from the more recent ones. With that, I think it's
the best possible time to go all the way back
into the depths of 1992 and check out the first
game in the series: Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. Now, technically speaking, Mario-themed racing games were nothing new by the time 1992 kicked in the door. The Famicom Grand Prix series were Mario-themed racing
games that were in fact Mario-themed but really not Mario-themed. These were only released in Japan and featured Mario on the cover. But lo and behold, the games
were exactly what you'd expect from racing games before Mario Kart. With the launch of the Super Nintendo came the release of the game F-Zero, a racing title to show off
the power of the system. It relied heavily on that
new-fangled dang-dung mode seven, a graphical capability of the SNES that allowed for
backgrounds to be distorted and blown up and just worked to death while retaining smooth movement. I think the best way to show
off what mode seven could do is to just compare Rad
Racer on the NES to F-Zero. You see what I'm talking about? It wasn't true 3-D, but it
was still a giant leap forward for console racing games, along for fast-paced smooth
movement of the track. While F-Zero was a great showcase for what mode seven could do when an impressive and fun launch title, at the end of the day, it was a racing game without multiplayer. F-Zero was a little too intense to appeal to a wide audience
itching for multiplayer. So Nintendo started to tinker with a new racing game
project on the Super Nintendo, one that was more accessible
with simpler tracks and a slower pace compared to F-Zero. Go-karts were the vehicle of choice due to this design change, with one of the placeholder drivers being some sap wearing overalls. They then said, "(beep) it, just use Mario," and the game became a Mario Kart racer, a super Mario Kart, if you will. My personal history with
the Mario Kart series started with this game's
follow-up, Mario Kart 64. So for a while, Super Mario
Kart was that elusive one that I didn't know much about at all. I finally got to try it out via the Wii virtual console years ago. So let's just say this
ain't my first rodeo, probably my fourth or fifth. It was always a game that I respected and had enough fun with
whenever I pop it in or download it on a
modern Nintendo system. But I would just generally
turn it off after 30 minutes and would go on to play any
other Mario Kart, to be honest. But let's finally give it a fair shot. This is Super Mario Kart
on the Super Nintendo. (Super Mario Kart theme music playing) Here we are, the first title screen
of the rest of our lives, and it includes a lot of
fun graffiti on the sky and tic-tac-toe on the ground, signs of a good kart racer. There are a few modes we can dive into. For single player. we have the
Grand Prix and time trials. Gotta start off with the Grand Prix, it's the traditional single-player
campaign for Mario Kart. And have you ever thought a
character selection was jank because of one sole character? Everybody's here: Mario, Luigi,
Peach, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Bowzer, what-the-hell, and Yoshi. Donkey Kong Junior making his first and only playable appearance
in the Mario Kart series. Every other character here
has been a Mario Kart staple ever since the first game. Koopa Troopa's missed out on
a game or two here and there but I can't really imagine
Mario Kart without these guys. Now with Donkey Kong
Junior, I have an idea of what Mario Kart would be without him. Oh yeah, Mario Kart. Just an odd character inclusion,
but let's be fair here. This was back in 1992. The cast of Mario characters wasn't nearly as expansive as it is now. Plus the modern Donkey
Kong characters and designs didn't exist until the release of Donkey Kong Country two years later. But still, why Donkey Kong Junior instead of regular
no-nonsense Donkey Kong? Who looked at this game here and said, "Where are the wheels?" The Grand Prix allows us
to pick one of four Cups, the fourth one being unlocked later with three speeds to choose from: 50, 100, and 150 cc, with 150 cc being unlocked later as well. Each cup has five different tracks and you have to play through each of them trying to get the highest
place in a race you can to attempt to nab first,
second, or third place overall. You mainly wanna try getting
first overall though, as getting the gold in
all three of the cups unlocks the final one. That's still fundamentally
how the Grand Prix works in Mario Kart now. And would you look at this? This definitely looks like an SNES version of Mario Kart, that's for sure. Wait, (record scratches) yeah, this truly is the
Mario Kart for map lovers. Remember when I said this game was specifically designed for multiplayer? To that I say, well, no (beep). It is always displayed
in a split-screen view. Almost feels like a precursor to dual-screen games on the DS. During single-player races, the bottom view is just this giant map, while in multiplayer,
it's obviously replaced by the second-player screen. Some may say this is annoying, but the game was fully designed
around this screen layout so it never really feels
like my view is obstructed or things are squished. It doesn't make the game
harder to play at all for me personally, but
it's not an ideal layout. The map, yeah, this thing can take a hike. It's not really that useful, and just a small translucent
mini-map is all you need. This is so overly detailed
with character sprites so big that I never really find glancing at it to be that beneficial at all. Now controlling the game is
definitely something special. You accelerate with the B button. I think that's banned in some countries. When you run over an item
plate, not into a box, you use the A button to use. I don't like that. This is just an odd jump
for your thumb to make. I think it would have
been far more natural to have Y be accelerate,
and B use the items. It's not a deal breaker
though, far from it. I actually find Super Mario Kart to control quite well overall. But then we get to the pure terror known as somewhat-tight turns. (ominous music and thunder crashes) Drifting is something
that separates the men from the boys with Mario Kart. If you don't drift, you'll
look like a buffoon. Hey everybody, look at this guy, not getting as many
turbo boosts by drifting. (beep) Imbecile. In Super Mario Kart, you justifiably drift by holding one of the shoulder buttons, but man, this is some tricky stuff. I'll say, "All right
guys, I'm going for it. I'm gonna drift," and then proceed to make
a fool out of myself. Look, I'm on milk. Drifting is one of the most
satisfying things to do in modern Mario Kart games, so it's a shame that
Super Mario Kart's drift just isn't dependable enough for me. It's just so awkward here. Like, it just feels like
whenever I go to drift, I drift too much and
it's just hard to manage. I found with sharp
turns, it's easier for me to just take 'em slow
and to let off the gas. At least then I feel way more in control. Now, of course, there's a
problem with that tactic. You may say, "You
shouldn't do that, Scott. Slowing down allows for
your opponents to catch up." All right, listen up. Even if I played perfectly and I was resident turn-making champion, my opponents would still catch up to me because the computers in the
Grand Prix (beep) cheats. Mario Kart's known for
being unfair at times. But that usually comes from items randomly getting socked at you and there being nothing
you can really do about it. With Super Mario Kart, the randomized items aren't the issue. The CPU's having so many advantages is what keeps me up at night. It makes almost every loss I experienced in the Grand Prix feel unfair. Rubber-banding artificial intelligence is the term of the day. It's when no matter
how much better you are than the computer control players - you constantly hit them with items, you make every turn correctly, you leave them in the dust - they will be granted faster speed so they can catch up to you and make it so you don't have
a huge lead on everybody. Listen, I get it. They do this to keep the game enjoyable. If you were super far
ahead of the computer, it really wouldn't be that fun. It's just way too much in this game. It simply feels unrealistic
when I pelt this monkey in a go-kart with a shell, he speeds up and remains on my ass. And when I get hit or fall off the track, it's hard to come back after falling into sixth,
seventh, or eighth place. But when your rival falls back, they have no problem
getting back into first. Not only this, but the computer players have special abilities
that you just can't use. Mario and Luigi become invincible whenever they damn well want to. They don't need to run over an item blade, they don't need to do anything special. They can just do it whenever they want. It's great. Yoshi can throw a ton of eggs, Toad throws poison mushrooms, Bowzer spits fireballs, why can't I do any of this? Why can the computer
do all of these things without even picking up an item? No matter how many times
you peg 'em with items, they will always come
back and be right on you. This makes playing through the Grand Prix kind of nerve-racking. It's not crazy difficult by any means, but if you mess up once, it's hard to recover when the CPUs barely mess up and
recover instantaneously. And when you mess up in this game, I'm already upset about this and I haven't even finished the sentence. It takes forever to recover. The hazards on these tracks mean business. You get gofered by Monty Mole, fall in the water, squished by a Thwomp. Look how long this takes
to get back to driving. Now, like I said, the AI can
use special items against you, but that doesn't mean you're completely
defenseless in this game. Item panels on the ground
are all over the place, and running over one nabs you some sweet, sweet whatever. Mushrooms give you a speed boost. These are terrifying. Other Mario Karts have
a specific animation that plays when you use your boost. Thus, you know when it commences. Super Mario Kart, yeah, you just book it. It's hard to use this thing strategically. I always find that it sends me crashing into a wall most of the time. Green shells, something
to pelt onto an opponent either ahead of or behind you. The red shell can only
be thrown in front of you but locks onto an opponent. I gotta be honest, I prefer
green shells in this game. I like that they can be thrown behind, and red shells are honestly not the best at homing onto another player. Bananas. You know what? I'm cool with you guys. They aren't that hard to avoid, but I don't write a
strongly-worded letter to Nintendo if I end up getting them. The feather: now we're in Super Mario Kart exclusive territory. The feather reappeared in Mario Kart Eight Deluxe's Battle Mode, but other than that, this thing is laid
dormant in the first game. And for all the kids
watching, close your ears. Things may get a little vulgar. I don't like this item. (beep) Gives you a mini
jump and you can use it to take shortcuts and jump
over walls or other hazards. But it's just too context-sensitive. Like if you get a feather
when you're right next to a viable shortcut or something, okay. But whenever I get a feather,
I want an offensive item. I want something to use. Whenever I get it in a regular race, I just end up wasting it
so I can get a new item. This one is only funnily looked at because it was exclusive to
the first game for forever. It's fine when it's useful, but most of the time
it's pretty worthless. Like, using the feather
effectively is fun to pull off, but like I said, it's just too context-sensitive for my liking. The invincibility star is pretty great. The lightning bolt temporarily shrinking all other players is God-like. The balloon item is exclusive to the multiplayer mode's
Match Race in Battle Mode and steals the other
player's item and coins. Coins are all over the track and can be picked up to
increase your top speed. These made a comeback in Mario Kart Seven but they're just not that
integral to the game. They're fine, but Mario Kart works perfectly without them. I never really saw that
much of a difference comparing somebody collecting coins to somebody with barely any of 'em. I don't really care about the coins but I don't hate them either. Now the items in this game are actually pretty
balanced, in my opinion. None of them seem crazy overpowered when playing against human players. They're not nearly as
exciting as newer games, but it's definitely one
of the most skill-based, balanced-item rosters in the series. Excluding this garbage. Now the Grand Prix goes through all the racetracks in the game, and a good majority are actually based off of Super Mario World: Donut Plains, Choco Island, Bowzer Castle. There are 20 courses overall
spread across four Cups, but there are only eight types of courses with multiple variants of most. There are two Vanilla
Lakes, three Bowzer Castles, four different Mario Circuits. That's kind of boring. While the track layouts
are all pretty different, it gets a little tedious and makes each Cup feel
like the same thing, but with a shuffled track order, and with maybe like one
different course thrown in there. Choco Island is hard to focus on for me. This choco texture burns my retinas. Ghost Valley Three can go lay down. While I like the theme of the track here, it's an absolute classic. Jesus, the holes. The Mario Circuit and Donut Plains tracks feel so totally similar. Grassy Plains stages take
up half the track list. Any form of Vanilla Lake needs to settle down with the ice blocks. But I do like the Bowzer Castles though, and it all culminates in the last track of the Special Cup: Rainbow Road, the most visually-distinct
track in the game, because, you know, there's
only one version of it and it's a difficult yet solid track. This is no bumper bowling, you can fall off this thing at any moment. I like a good few of the tracks here but I only really remember the themes. There's nothing distinct
about these layout variations. I know this was because
of hardware limitations so that makes this track
list understandable, but it doesn't make it any
less uninteresting at times. Overall, Super Mario Kart's Grand Prix is an unfair slog of a
single player campaign. The computer cheats, and the game refuses to let you proceed if you rank lower than fourth place. You have to use one of your
three or so lives to retry. The whole lives and ranked out
thing isn't bad or anything, it's just kind of odd. Like the game refuses to
let you not rank fairly high and forces you to just
keep playing until you do. Other games are like,
yeah, tough luck numbskull, you can get last place in
every race, we don't care. We want to see you lose. It's just kind of annoying
when you do super well on all tracks but one. I don't know how most people can wake up in the morning knowing
Vanilla Lake One exists. I'm bad at that track, just let me get fifth place and move on. Playing through the Grand Prix is like playing with a
paddle ball backwards. You can go through time
trials for any of the tracks to see if you can get a better time, and then there's multiplayer. You can play with another
player in the Grand Prix, play with just one other player on specific tracks in Match Race, and then, the Battle Mode. This is what makes Mario
Kart so great for me. Four different battle tracks
that are just giant squares for you and one other player to use items against each other in. I always love the Battle Mode. It's so great. I will say, though, with the walls being flat
images on the ground, it makes traversing these
stages to be a bit annoying. And with the items not as
deathly as in later games, it's not as invigorating of a mode. Still, this alongside just
standard multiplayer races is where this one shines the most. Basically, just like any other Mario Kart. Well, that's what I like
to call Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. It still is, in fact, Mario Kart. And there's definite fun to be had here, but just like most first entries in a long-running series like this, it isn't the first game I'm jumping to. I'd really recommend playing
this game on the original SNES with an original controller. Playing this thing on any system after it just doesn't feel right. This truly is a situation where, oh, I'm playing Super
Mario Kart on the Wii U. Why don't I just play Mario Kart Eight? After playing it via
the original cartridge, everything felt much more natural. This just feels right. I highly recommend if you're looking to give this game a fair chance, play it on original hardware. This is a fun game overall, it's single player just
annoys the piss outta me. And of course it's not
that crazy exciting. Super Mario Kart is still a
good multiplayer game today. It's just there are much better options, so why play this one? Well, now that I've sustained
a paddle ball injury and fully think that Super
Mario Kart is just okay, I have to let Past Me know that. He'll have no (beep) clue what to think about the game without me. - Hey Scott, Scott here, I'm
you 14 minutes into the future and I'm here to warn you that you think Super Mario Kart is just okay. - Thank you. You did good, future Scott. Well, now I guess I'll
just play Mario Kart 64. - Scott, wait!
No matter how much I might rage over the CPU being a cheating bastard in modern Mario Kart games, I always feel a little better when I remember that at least it can't give itself free invincibility stars anymore.
Seriously, what sick sadistic asshole decided THAT should be a thing?