365//365: Day 362 – Super Mario Kart (SNES) [PP]

"Driving down the highway of success."

With only one mediocre title under its banner, the Super Mario Kart franchise has been known as one of the most successful light-hearted approaches to a racing title. The title that started it all, aptly titled Super Mario Kart, can still be considered one of the best in the franchise. While is graphics have not aged particularly well, for its time it was above average with some particularly exciting effects. Each stage resembles what theme Nintendo went out of their way to portray, with extremely clever track layouts that gave way to shortcuts that could propel you into the lead for good. Excellent controls helped lead players down victory lane, with eight different characters in three specific weight classes that allowed for different acceleration, top speeds and overall handling. Even by today’s standards, these eight core racers feel like more than enough variation with the tracks laid ahead. The audio is a mix of engaging musical pieces and sound effects that reflect the action at hand. Again, not the best representations of the Super Nintendo, either then or nor, but they fit their environments to a tee nevertheless. Really the only drawback comes with the gritty visual design, which was a reflection of hardware limitations for its time. There’s a lot of pixelization about, but the cohesive feeling between all of the components present leads Super Mario Kart sliding into first handily. If you own a Super Nintendo and do not have Super Mario Kart in your possession, it’s not too late to inherit a game that defines the word “classic”. The best racing title on the system, and one of the best in the series as a whole, Super Mario Kart has more than enough to keep players satisfied for quite a long time

While it can look rough at times, Super Mario Kart is as smooth of an experience as any gamer could hope for.

Rating: 8.9