When it first came out, I didn’t feel there was a link between kart racing and Mario characters.
1992 – Super NES (Nintendo)
Looking back, I don’t think that mattered. I was sold from the get-go!
Somehow, in the constant stream of updates on upcoming games in Nintendo Power‘s “Pak Watch”, I missed this one completely. I might have been breezing through the articles, hoping to see a new Mega Man title announced, a new Contra title, or perhaps something else. Either way, on those traditional after-school visits to Blockbuster Video on Fridays, I kept an eye out for the new stuff.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the box pictured above. Of course, I recognized Mario, but all his friends and enemies were bunched together into one crazy display of action. What was it? A driving game? There was that magical Blockbuster-labeled plastic case behind it, meaning a copy was available for rent. I pleaded with my mom, who only shrugged and said “are you sure you want that one?”
Without hesitation, I said “YES! I’ve been waiting for this game for so long!!”
She may have known I was full of it at the time, because I talked about games with her all the time; what was coming out, what was fun, whatever. She probably didn’t care a whole lot, but like any other parent would, she pretended to. I didn’t know any different, because she loved to watch me play some games, regardless. In any case, if I had been excited about this one, she hadn’t heard anything about it.
Anyhow, when I got home, the game absolutely blew my mind. Combining kart racing, Mode 7 graphics (which was an amazing thing, back in the day), the Mario license and weapons to use against competitors… a match made in video game heaven.
I ended up getting my own copy of the game that following Christmas. I also got this beauty of an accessory, which I always associate with Super Mario Kart.
As it turns out, Turbo doesn’t work that great with racing games.
I remember 1992 as being the Christmas of Mario Kart, the AsciiPad, and tons of random baseball and Toronto Blue Jays stuff. They were, after all, WORLD FRIGGIN’ SERIES CHAMPIONS!
No, I wasn’t able to use the controller with Mario Kart, but it worked with so many games oh-so-perfectly. Crank one of those extra buttons to the middle setting, and you could go “turbo” by holding that corresponding button. Crank it all the way to the right, and that button will FREAK OUT on auto-turbo. It seemed to work best when I played Contra III: The Alien Wars, but no Street Fighter II bonus stage was ever left unbeaten after I got this baby.
Until I set out to make this video, I actually had no idea Super Mario Kart had credits. I mean, of course it was supposed to have credits, but I would always race, win whatever Cup I felt like competing for, then turn off my Super NES.
What you see in the second half of the video was completely new to me a few months ago. Strange, but then again, that’s another reason I’m having a blast playing through all these games again!
