Super Mario Kart: Difference between revisions

|genre=[[Mario Kart (series)|Racing]]

'''''Super Mario Kart''''' is a racing game for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], which was first released in 1992 and re-released in 1996 as a [[Player's Choice]] title, being the first title in the line up. Unlike other racing games at the time, which focused on single player pure racing with more complicated tracks, ''Super Mario Kart'' had a development focused on two players and was designed to be an easy and intuitive "pick up and play" experience that heavily involves the use of acquiring weapons on an obstacle course-like track to impede another player's progress. The development of a one-on-one [[Battle Mode]] was invented as another way to enjoy the competitive system by another means. A notable aspect of the game is its {{wp|Mode 7}} graphics, where the game simulates a 3D plane by rotating and scaling a background graphic on a scanline-by-scanline basis, allowing players to simulate driving through a track. Part of this game is heavily based on ''[[Super Mario World]]'' in terms of graphics and overall theme, such as sprites reusing assets from ''Super Mario World'' and the game's soundtrack rearranging ''Super Mario World'' melodies.

The game's high success has created the hugely influential [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'' series]], as well as being the pioneer of the kart-racing genre. Due to the game's success and creation of the ''Mario Kart'' spin-off, many elements from the game has found their way into multiple other ''Mario'' series, such as ''[[Super Mario 3D World]]'' receiving [[Mount Must Dash|a level designed after one of its courses]]. The game's use of its wider cast of characters such as [[Bowser]] and [[Peach]] has likely influenced the creation of later multiplayer-oriented ''Mario'' spin-off titles that involved a playable, larger cast of ''Mario'' characters such as [[Mario Tennis (series)|''Mario Tennis'']] and [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'']]. It has ranked among the greatest games of all time by various organizations due to its legacy and its gameplay.

The game features eight playable characters from the [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]], such as [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], [[Yoshi]], and [[Bowser]]. However, some other characters from the series acts as obstacles in the game's tracks, like [[Thwomp]]s, [[Monty Mole|Gopher]]s, [[Piranha Plant]]s, and [[Cheep Cheep|Flopping Cheep Cheep]]s. [[Boo|Ghost]]s do not act as enemies, but both as item and as part of the [[Ghost Valley|Ghost Valley tracks]]' background. Yoshi, Bowser, and Donkey Kong Jr. are the only drivers in this game to have their own taunts when surpassing other racers regardless if they are being used by the player or CPU. The others do not have their own taunts and instead the standard beep is heard when surpassing other racers but can only be heard when used by the player.

The soundtrack for this game was created using the [[Wikipedia:Akai S1000|Akai S1000]], Roland D-550, [[Wikipedia:Yamaha TG77|Yamaha TG77]] synthesizers and the [[Wikipedia:Roland R-8|Roland R-8]] drum machine.<ref>[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JJBlHHDc65fhZmKUGLrDTLCm6rfUU83-kbuD8Y0zU0o/edit?pli=1#gid=717751203 NEWER VGM Sound Sources.] ''Google Docs''. Retrieved March 3, 2021.</ref>

The staff for ''Super Mario Kart'' has consisted of 15 members. ''Super Mario Kart'' was directed by Tadashi Sugiyama and [[Hideki Konno]], the latter who would go on to play prominent roles in later main entries of the ''Mario Kart'' series with the exception of ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]''. [[Yoichi Kotabe]], Mie Yoshimura, and [[Yoshiaki Koizumi]] has provided the illustrations for the game. [[Soyo Oka]] has composed the game's soundtrack, with [[Rainbow Road (SNES)|Rainbow Road]] being one of her favorite composotions.<ref>[http://www.rocketbaby.net/interviews_soyo_oka.html Interview between Rocketbaby and Soyo Oka]. Retrieved February 12, 2015.</ref>

''Super Mario Kart'' was born out of the idea of making a two-player racing game following ''[[fzerowiki:F-Zero|F-Zero]]'', which was exclusively single-player.<ref name="Iwata Asks">[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mariokart/0/0 Iwata Asks: Mario Kart Wii] (accessed March 22 2012)</ref> The team wanted to make a fun, multiplayer-oriented alternative and was aimed to be enjoyed "with family and friends." according to Nintendo Producer Hideki Konno.<ref>Otero, Joseph. (May 29, 2014). [https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/29/how-anti-gravity-made-mario-kart-better How Anti-Gravity Made Mario Kart Better.] ''IGN''. Retrieved November 27, 2020.</ref> The prototype initially only featured a generic "guy in overalls". The design for the characters onscreen were three heads tall as opposed to ''F-Zero''{{'}}s seven heads tall to suit the design of the karts. At first, there was no racing involved; it was a test of two karts moving freely. The decision to include ''Mario'' characters and concepts was made three to four months in development, when the developers added Mario driving one of the karts moving around because they were curious about how the game would look, and decided that it looked better.<ref name="Iwata Asks"/> Before Banana Peels were added, oil cans that spill their substance out were used to spin karts out.  The battle mode was implemented because the developers thought it would be a good idea to include a form of one-on-one battles that did not involve competing for ranks during the races.<ref name="Iwata Asks"/>

Shey Stevens from the magazine, ''Electronic Games'' gave the game a 93%, citing how the game changes up mechanics from ''F-Zero'' such as the item-based system to deliver a unique experience. Stevens has additionally praised the one-on-one combat modes the game offers.<ref>Stevens, Shey. (December 1992). [https://archive.org/stream/Electronic-Games-1992-12/Electronic%20Games%201992-12#page/n77/mode/2up Archive for Electronic Games magazine, page 79-80.] Retrieved November 27, 2020.</ref> A section by Bro. Buzz from the ''Game Pro'' magazine has given the game a score of 5.0 in graphics, control, and fun factor and a 4.0 in sound, ending with, "''Super Mario Kart'' makes wheel-spinning, bumper-grinding, motor racing actually cute! The little guys definitely have a lot of drive."<ref>Bro. Buzz (December 1992). [https://retrocdn.net/images/2/26/GamePro_US_041.pdf "Super NES Pro Review: Super Mario Kart"] ''Game Pro''. No. 51. pp. 80–82. Retrieved November 17, 2020.</ref> Nadia Oxford from USgamer, reviewing the game's release on the [[Classics#Super NES Classic Edition|Super NES Classic Edition]], has called the game "the SNES Classic Edition's most perfect inclusion." and has generally praised how well the game is held up, despite its simplicity compared to later ''Mario Kart'' entries, with ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' being compared to in the review.<ref>Oxford, Nadia. (January 23, 2019). [https://www.usgamer.net/articles/super-nes-classic-game-by-game-7-super-mario-kart Super NES Retro Review: Super Mario Kart.] ''USgamer''. Retrieved November 27, 2020.</ref> The flaw Oxford has cited was the single-player splitscreen and the fact that the game supports only two players rather than four. ''Electronic Gaming Montly'' has given the game an Editor's Choice award in its November 1992 issue.<ref>Alessi, Martin; Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed, Sushi X. (November 1992). [https://retrocdn.net/images/7/7f/EGM_US_040.pdf Review Crew: Super Mario Kart.] ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. p. 25. Retrieved November 27, 2020.</ref>

|SNES

|align="left"|''"Chock full of great visuals, awesome sound, tight play control, amazing track design, items galore and a multi-player mode that’s hard to beat, Super Mario Kart is my favorite game of all time. It’s also one of the main reasons to own a Super Nintendo.''"

|Wii

|align="left"|''"Super Mario Kart has certainly made its mark on gaming history, spawning several sequels on successive Nintendo consoles, not to mention many imitators. To play it today is every bit as enjoyable as it ever was; sure the graphics and sound may have dated, but the core gameplay is still top notch. This is one hell of a fun racing game with enough playability to keep you coming back for more. It’s amazing that Nintendo chose to wait three years before treating us to this seminal game on the Virtual Console, but we’re glad they finally saw sense!''"

|align="left"|''"Where each of the N64, Cube and Wii installments of the series have focused on multiplayer, more characters and more crazy items, though, this SNES original keeps things simpler -- emphasizing, instead, the actual racing instead of the combat within each race. It's a different take on the same idea, which is interesting since it's the original take on that idea. So stick with the other Kart games if you want the multiplayer chaos, but come on back to this very first racing adventure with Mario and his crew. It's absolutely worth 800 of your Wii Points to re-experience, or to play for the very first time.''"

''Super Mario Kart'' is the 4th best-selling game for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], selling 8.76 million copies worldwide as of December 31, 2009.<ref>Futter, Mike. (June 2, 2014). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140604084937/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/06/02/mario-kart-8-speeds-to-over-1-2-million-sales-in-opening-weekend.aspx  Mario Kart 8 Speeds To Over 1.2 Million Sales In Opening Weekend.] ''Game Informer''. Retrieved November 27, 2020.</ref>

''Super Mario Kart'' was adapted into a Japan-only electro-mechanical arcade game developed by {{wp|Banpresto}} and {{wp|Atlus}} called ''[[Super Mario Kart Dokidoki Race]]'', released in 1994.<ref>[https://www.marioboards.com/index.php?topic=35637.msg1780735#msg1780735#msg1780735] Borp's coverage on Mario boards</ref> The playable characters are [[Mario]], [[Luigi]], [[Princess Peach]], [[Yoshi]], and [[Bowser]], with [[Cheep Cheep]], [[Monty Mole]], and [[Lakitu]] in supporting roles. The game seems to operate on magnets to move the karts and is based on chance by who can press a series of buttons fast enough. There are five music tracks in total, two in particular being the music for the title screen and the Mario Circuit theme. The latter theme is sped up and has additional notes that play throughout the track with an ending note. A male announcer voice can also be heard throughout the gameplay. The other three music tracks are a preparation theme and two different victory themes.<ref>Super Mario Wiki (October 31, 2015). [https://youtu.be/1SMFdLu-cuw Super Mario Kart Dokidoki Race Gameplay]. ''YouTube''.</ref>

SMK Japanese Card.jpg|A Japanese collectible card.

SMK Japanese Logo Artwork.png|The game's logo.

|Jap=スーパーマリオカート

|JapM=Super Mario Kart

|Kor=슈퍼 마리오 카트

|KorM=Super Mario Kart

|ChiS=超级马力欧卡丁车<ref>[https://www.nintendo.com.hk/topics/article/a_200904_02_sc.html 超级马力欧兄弟 35周年！] ''Nintendo''. Retrieved September 4, 2020.</ref>

|ChiSM=Super Mario Kart

|ChiT=超級瑪利歐賽車<ref>[https://www.nintendo.com.hk/topics/article/a_200904_02.html 超級瑪利歐兄弟 35週年！] ''Nintendo''. Retrieved September 4, 2020.</ref>

|ChiTM=Super Mario Kart