Despite having bailed out just before the Gamecube for reasons of supposed maturity but also video game apathy, I had started gaming with the original orange hand-held Donkey Kong, progressed onto the NES, then the SNES, then onto the N64. The SNES was the console that featured this game and it is the one SNES game that I keep coming back to when I get a chance. The N64 version was not much cop and only continues to confirm how much I love this original.
The game is split into two parts - the various types of races and time trials and the two-player battle mode. The races are visually simplistic by today's standards of course but they were and remain both challenging and fun. The game is nicely weighted throughout with the courses and cups building the difficulty level while the jumps between cc class require you to be able to get and maintain speed. The items are useful but, importantly, avoidable even the dreaded red shell can be evaded with a bit of skill and a healthy dose of good fortune. The courses are a real good mix and use the standards of the Mario games really well. They are also mostly skill based and mean that, if you are very good in some of them you can open up a real healthy lead, although in others the amount of obstacles mean that it does get frustrating the odd time. The way the characters all follow the same order all the time is a bit of a bother but I suppose it does allow for competition to be maintained although it is fun to try and "take out" the computer chosen leader and make him finish the cup outside of the points. The tracks are mostly shaped like race tracks and not someone's intestine, which also makes the time trials that much more fun (again, they are skill based).
The battles play out in relatively simple grids with a simple radar system. It is effective and very fun and again requires skill rather than blind storming around; I loved it because it was manic but also allowed for strategy. The characters are fun and the only problem is that everyone I ever played against wanted Koopa just like me. Toad was a close second but, although the others had their strengths, they also came with their weaknesses whereas Toad and Koopa gave up the strengths in exchange for no one main weakness.
Overall an enjoyable racing game that lends fun and skill really well. I would call it a retro-gaming classic but is it retro if it continues to stand the test of time in terms of pure fun?
