Its hard to believe that its been 30 years since Mario Kart 64 was released for the Nintendo 64. Mario Kart 64 was released back in 1996 and was one of Nintendo’s top games for their fifth generation game console. Mario Kart 64 was the sequel to the popular Super Mario Kart title for the SNES which came out back in 1992. Super Mario 64 was considered to be a revolutionary 3D racing game because it surpassed games like Virtua Racing and Daytona USA in terms of being fast-paced and addictive. Mario Kart 64 what wonderful stage designs and catchy atmospheric music which made each race track feel more memorable. As fun as Mario Kart 64 was during the mid 90’s one of its biggest drawbacks included its limited roster which only featured eight characters. This game allowed players to select names like Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Toad, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario. Similar to Super Mario Kart from ’92 this game featured four different cups with multiple stages where players compete in a grand prix to try in finish within the top three. Mario Kart 64 allowed players to change the difficulty of each cup which was cool and provided players with a refreshing challenge. When Mario Kart 64 came out on the N64 it was like equivalent of what Gran Turismo was on the PS1 in 1997. Mario Kart 64 was considered to be one of the greatest non-arcade racing titles of the mid 90’s.

Mario Kart 64 was competitive, addictive and adventurous and it was one of the best video games that Nintendo produced during the 90’s. After Mario Kart 64 appeared on the N64 in ’96 the game managed to sell roughly under 10 million copies worldwide. Not only was Mario Kart 64 a massive commercial success but it set the bar high for racing titles that would appear on Nintendo consoles in future. Mario Kart 64 was a game that looked more polished than anything you would see on the PS1 during the mid to late 90’s. Also, Mario Kart 64 managed to gain a massive cult following within the past three decades. The soundtrack in Mario Kart 64 is more memorable than many installments that followed. There have also been plenty of online mod projects involving Mario Kart 64 which is a testament to how popular the game still is after all of these years. Not only does Mario Kart 64 deserve to be celebrated but it also deserves credit for being one of the few games from the 90’s that put the 3D racing genre on the map.