Back to the good old days before the blue shell from hell.

Less than a year after the Super Nintendo was launched, our pals at Nintendo had the bright idea of taking the Super Mario World universe and squeezing it into a kart-racing game. It sounded like a crazy idea at the time, but they managed to pull it off with style and create an almost timeless game, fondly remembered by gamers to this very day.

Super Mario Kart pushed the Super Nintendo’s much-touted Mode 7 capabilities to the max, creating an illusion of 3D which was visually quite impressive back then, and still passable even today. There is a good sense of speed too, especially on the 150cc cup where the action comes fast and furious. With just a bit of practice before long you’ll be power-sliding round all those 180-degree corners with the greatest of ease watching as the landscape effortlessly rotates around you.

There are eight different characters from the Mario universe that you can choose between for your race. Each character's kart has different capabilities with differing levels of top speed, acceleration and handling. Mario and Luigi are the good old all-rounders and recommended for newcomers to the game due to their decent top speed and responsive handling. Princess Peach and Yoshi are blessed with great acceleration but poor handling, which can cause you to skid out of control if you are not careful. Expert players favour Bowser or Donkey Kong Jr. due to their impressive top speed, but if you crash or get hit by a red shell the low acceleration is a pain. Last but not least we have Koopa Trooper and Toad who have amazing handling, but beware the larger characters can easily push these two around!

The use of weapons was one of the things that set Super Mario Kart apart from other racers of its day. Simply running over a “?” block in the track allowed you to pick up a random item to use at a time of your choosing. The clever thing was good racers got less useful items like green shells or banana skins, whereas if you were performing badly for whatever reason you would conveniently often acquire items such as invincibility stars, red shells which homed in on your opponent in front and lightning, the most devastating of all as it caused all your opponents to shrink which meant they could be easily overtaken or even squashed! In addition to that you might get a ghost which would let you steal weapons from your opponents, a mushroom turbo boost or a feather which was useful for jumping walls or holes to form a handy shortcut to victory.

There are four different cups you can compete in: Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special (which is unlockable). Each cup ranges in difficulty respectively and contains five tracks which are themed from the Super Mario World universe. Anyone who is remotely familiar with Super Mario World will instantly remember Donut Plains, Ghost Valley, Bowser’s Castle and Choco Island. It’s amazing how well these themes translated into racing tracks; Nintendo truly did a sterling job here. In addition to this you can also race on beaches, keeping to the racing line through shallow waters, or even take a trip on Rainbow Road. You’ll start off with 50cc karts which are a complete walkover, 100cc puts up a sterner challenge as it is faster and your opponents will fight back more. Seasoned veterans can enjoy the 150cc class which can be unlocked, but be warned: it is much more unforgiving.

The key to success in any racing game is the quality of design in the tracks, and Super Mario Kart does not disappoint in this area. The tracks are nice and tight and encourage the driver to take the perfect racing line to ensure victory. In addition to having to contend with your fellow racers there are also environmental obstacles such as falling Thwomps, gophers that latch on to your kart and need shaking off, lava pits and deep water to avoid. There are speed boost strips on many of the tracks which you will want to hit to make sure you stay ahead of the pack. Also, a well-timed mushroom boost can make a nifty shortcut across some tough terrain, and it’s worth trying to get hold of a feather to jump over certain parts of the Ghost Valley tracks.

To help gamers hone their racing skills there is the clever addition of a time trial mode. Your best times get saved with the game cart’s battery back-up facility. The best part is you can even race ghosts of your best performances to help spur you on to better lap times.

The single player mode can get a little old after a while, but as the game always plays in split screen anyway (the bottom screen being a map or rear view mirror in single player mode), it should be a good indication to you that this game was designed from the ground up to be best enjoyed with a buddy. This is where the game really comes into its own as you try to sabotage each other’s attempt at first place, sometimes resorting to cheap shots from a red homing shell just before your opponent crosses the finishing line. So cruel.

The icing on the cake has to be the Battle Mode: if you have a friend with a competitive streak you can have hours of fun with this. Both players are given three balloons and duke it out in a giant battle arena of your choice. All the regular items from the main game can be picked up to be used against your opponent. Red shells make for an easy hit, but skilled players will know when to power-slide around a corner or drop a green shell behind them at just the right time to avoid this. Before long the arena gets filled with green shells ricocheting from wall to wall eventually destined to collide with someone’s kart; it doesn’t pay to stay still.

Super Mario Kart has certainly made its mark on gaming history, spawning several sequels on successive Nintendo consoles, not to mention many imitators. To play it today is every bit as enjoyable as it ever was - sure the graphics and sound may have dated, but the core gameplay is still top notch. This is one hell of a fun racing game with enough playability to keep you coming back for more. Our only hope is that this classic will see a release on the Virtual Console at some point soon. C’mon Nintendo, emulating the DSP-1 chip can’t be that hard for you, can it?