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[enigmatic_alex44]

I tried it with the SNES version but I just don't see the appeal with that game. The controls were horrendous, even back when Mode 7 was all the rage, and it's just not fun to play. Every track is just a flat, Mode 7 texture and it was just too soon for this genre. I can respect the game for starting the whole kart racer genre though.

Tried Mario Kart 64 next. Yikes. After the incredible Mario 64, I couldn't believe they'd use low res 2D sprites for the character models in MK, it stuck out so much and it made it feel like your character isn't really present on the race track. I mean:

Hideous. The N64 and PS1 delivered two incredibly superior racers in the form of Diddy Kong Racing and Crash Team Racing. In comparison to those, Mario 64 felt slow, ugly, and controlled poorly in comparison. During that whole era, me and my bro were all about Diddy and CTR. I didn't try the GBA one, but that looks exactly like the SNES style MK, no thanks.

Double Dash came along, and I figured I'd give the series YET ANOTHER shot. Wow! This game was great, so glad I did! If Double Dash disappointed me I'd have given up on this series for good at that point. Visuals were on par with the other heavy hitters on the Gamecube, drifting was fun because the controls were finally good and the 3d character models make you feel present on the track. Sadly the game does feature the worst track in the series, Baby Park, and again there are only 16 tracks in total so it doesn't feel as content heavy as it should at this point in the series. The double character thing felt a bit gimmicky, but it was a cute feature. Plus it's the first (and only ;_ MK to star my girl Birdo <3

Mario Kart DS and Wii improved even more, now delivering 32 tracks each in the base game, amazing! Online was also introduced, which was a huge deal. You didn't get tired of the track selection nearly as fast and the character selection increased again. I probably prefer Double Dash (aside from only having 16 tracks), but DS and Wii have DD beat in content plus DS features Waluigi Pinball, one of my favorite tracks in the series.

Mario Kart 7 and 8 came along, and are now the definitive racers imo. Only Sonic All Stars Transformed attempts to come close. Both games, again, have 32 fantastic tracks (8 has 40 now with the DLC, all quality save for Baby Park). Both 7 and 8 are visually gorgeous on their respective systems and have amazing soundtracks. 8 is my favorite, 7 is 2nd and Double Dash is probably 3rd if I had to rank them.

This is one of Nintendo's few series' that went through a lot of growing pains before it became great and king of it's genre imo. What your take?

 

[buddha0991]

but the first one is the best one

 

[SomedayTheFire]

You're in for a treat OP.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I don't know how well it holds up now, but at the time (Christmas present shortly after it came out), I thought Mario Kart SNES was amazing.

 

[Shiggy]

I absolutely agree. Mario Kart 64 has aged very badly. Played it before MK Wii released and was kinda disappointed.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Hell I still feel the series hasn't topped DD. But I do agree though OP, I really didn't care much for the series until that.

 

[clav]

Why are the controls horrendous?

Are you just holding accelerate all the time?

Do you hate the GBA version, too?

 

[jon bones]

from the creator of "16 years later, Squall & Rinoa remains the best romance/love story in a game, right?"

srsly though, all the games were great for their time

 

[Zane]

MK64 really is irredeemable trash aside from the soundtrack but SMK is the shit, dude

 

[Skelter]

but the first one is the best one

No.

 

[JimboJones]

I was really disappointed in it after playing super circuit.

 

[dark_prinny]

DD is the best Mario Kart ever.

 

[coamithra]

Piss all over my childhood why don't you!

But seriously, when placed in the context of their time, both SNES and N64 Mario Karts were incredible games. The proof is in the pudding: if they weren't then why did we even get to Double Dash?

 

[Balb]

Opposite for me. Double Dash was the first Mario Kart game that I didn't embrace. Didn't like the double kart mechanic. the aesthetic, the music (except Rainbow Road) or the battle mode.

 

[lt519]

Woah. Super Mario Kart was absolutely amazing. The series hit its stride later in life but it's always been truly great. Second best battle mode (64 wins there), very memorable courses, and probably the best power up in the series (feather). The whole series is great but Super Mario Kart was a revelation back in its days. It's dated now, but so are 90% of racers from that era (but not Rock N' Roll, never Rock N' Roll).

The best is still Mario Kart DS though, challenge modes, first truly online, snaking, awww yeah

 

[Madao]

MKDD was a step dowm imo.

the original still holds up, MK64 was fine in CRTs (things blended better) and MKSC was a good debut for the series in handhelds (basically portable SMK). MKDD felt wrong on release.

MKDS is when the series really became great. while MKDS' graphics haven't aged that well, it's when the games finally felt good in 3D and without weird shortcomings.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

I loved 64.

And I loved Double Dash.

After the Gamecube I stopped playing Nintendo games so never tried the new ones.

 

[Choomp]

I don't think the games before DD hold up very well, and Double Dash is probably one of my favorite in the series, but the N64 versions and older are all fairly fun. The series has always been good, I think, just some haven't aged well.

 

[inner-G]

DD = crap

MK64 = plays like crap for 2015

MK = good

MK8 = good also

 

[rrs]

MK64 battle mode is cool and playing with friends makes you forget that the game has awful steering

 

[Canis lupus]

You're not wrong. Double Dash is still the best in the series, also looks better than MK Wii.

 

[Kibbles]

What. I've been meeting up with friends at their house drinking beers and playing Mario Kart 64 for the past couple months now. Framerate sucks but it's still 4-player split screen fun. I don't think anyone else knows you can do turbo drifts, I always see them drifting but not getting the boost, keeping that to myself lol. Although idk wtf is up with all the bombs on the tracks, I don't remember there ever being bombs scattered everywhere.

I haven't played 8 yet, no WiiU, but it looks way too chaotic, I just want simple kart racing where everyone has just a kart. wtf is up with those gliders and coins and shit

 

[Poyunch]

I can't deal with a person who hates on Baby Park, the best track in Mario Kart history.

 

[Haunted]

Super Mario Kart on SNES was fucking incredible.

 

[Razlo]

but the first one is the best one

Yeah exactly. Still has the best battle mode and a great race mode too. I've been waiting for an entry to be the complete package in the same way and have been disappointed.

Sounds like OP is real hung up on graphics.

 

[SephLuis]

I loved MK64 back in the day, but the one I played the most was DD.

DD was, and maybe is, my favorite MK. I played Wii and MK7 later, but neither were as good as DD.

The closest to that was MK8. I am still undecided if the best is DD or MK8.

 

[evilromero]

At the time it was widely accepted to be the first disappointment in the series and stayed that way until Wii.

 

[ohlawd]

gotta agree with the OP

64 and all entries before that were boring.

 

[KidB]

My opinion may be a bit unpopular but I didn't really like any game in the series before MK DS. On the other hand, I really liked all the releases from MK DS onward. I can't explain why, maybe it was the inclusion of online that did it for me...

 

[Deleted member 231381]

MK64 was just plain unsatsifying, so yeah, I can agree with that, but I think MKDS was actually the breakout Mario Kart title, not DD.

 

[Jamix012]

Nah. MK 64 may have lame racing compared to modern games, but it still has the best battle mode in the series

 

[plasmawave]

It's my least played MK game.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Nah. MK 64 may have lame racing compared to modern games, but it still has the best battle mode in the series

Nope. That would be MKDS.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Mario Kart didn't become good until DS. The handling in SNES/64/SC/DD is varying levels of shit.

 

[Razlo]

I wonder how old the people are who think the series wasn't good until later, and when the first game they played was.

 

[oni-link]

I think 8 is better, but DD is just behind it

I still play 4 player DD with friends, even though most of them no longer game, they still make time for DD 4 player

The first two games were good, though they have aged poorly

A HD version of DD would be great even today

 

[Nintenleo]

Super Mario Kart aged a lot better than MK64, even if 64's battle mode has been huge for years. I had so much fun with SMK at the time and I still consider it one of the best 90s games, with a driving system deeper than what it seems.

I liked MK:SC and maybe even more than DD. The game has a nice number of good features, but it's been oblitared by the following chapters. In my opinion, the series started great and the only big let down was DD.

MK8 is surely the best, i'd say one of the best games ever. But that battle mode...WHY? WHY?!

 

[VARIA]

but the first one is the best one

One of them, definitely. There was a bigger emphasis on skill and mastering of a course in SNES MK, instead of the later games which unbalanced themselves by giving better items to the losing opponents.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

First one was an instant classic. 64 was never for me. Barely dabbled in anything else in the series, if at all.

 

[Mohasus]

MK Wii was the one for me, for the first time drifting wasn't a pain in the ass. MK7 and 8 are even better.

That said, I played a lot of it on SNES and N64 (who the hell had a gamecube rofl), I just don't think I could go back to them. And I never liked Mario Kart DS.

 

[McLovin]

I remember getting into the SNES MK really bad when I was a kid. I would close my eyes and see the game running lol

 

[panama chief]

FoH op. DD was ok, but to say the series wasnt good until then is nuts. the battle mode in super was godly. as was the racing. same can be said about 64. didnt age that great, but it laid a decent foundation down.

 

[virtualS]

Super Mario Kart (the original) is by far and away the best game in the series.

Tight powerslidey fun and a game more about mastery than bullshit.

Those who were there and in charge know exactly what I'm talking about.

SMK is my favourite video game of all time and MK64 was the biggest gaming letdown in my life. MY LIFE.

 

[wild wild rice]

but the first one is the best one

This first post woulda been so on point if MK8 never came out.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

DD was great, but Mario Kart 8 is the first Mario Kart that I think is simply amazing, one of the best games ever.

And the DLC is amazing too.

 

[Neiteio]

It's been great to me since MK64, but I think its current installment, MK8, is the ultimate realization of the formula. Well, aside from certain preferences in Battle Mode, but honestly Battle mode hasn't been fun for me since MK64, so whatever.

 

[JimboJones]

I can't deal with a person who hates on Baby Park, the best track in Mario Kart history.

It's a prime example of everything wrong with double dash! it was a party game kart game.

Spoiler

OK i'm being slightly dramatic but I wasn't a big fan lol

 

[goldenpp72]

The Snes game is still the most hard core racer of the series, it required a lot of ability to actually kick ass in the game, and the battle mode was fun still. It was an is an amazing game.

MK64 was kinda sloppy, but block fort helped a lot

 

[jstevenson]

having played a bunch of Mario Kart 64 this weekend on a CRT, your graphics impressions are off. Looks fine on a tube TV.

The framerate is the real issue there at times.

Double Dash felt like a step down to people who loved SNES/N64 Mario Karts. The network stuff was fun if you could get enough people.

Mario Kart Wii is still the bottoming out of the series, but the Wii U one is aces.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I agree OP, I never saw the appeal of previous Mariokart titles. It wasn't until DD that the technology was there to create truly fantastic tracks, and two players in a single kart was great for gameplay.