☆ Sometimes The First Video Game In A Series Remains The Best ☆ #Retrogaming

Have you ever played a video game that is so pure and perfect that any further iteration of that game would only ruin it?

Well I’m guessing that you have all played the game that I’m thinking of and you may disagree with my thoughts but in my opinion the first in the long running series is still by far and away the best in the series.

The series has had around 13 games released since the first game was released in August 1991 and that ’91 version is still the best.

The game I’m thinking of is the legendary Super Mario kart.

Back in ’91 this game was a bolt from the blue as Nintendo took its number one plumber onto the track for the 2^nd time (the first time was a strange 3D Rally game but that kind of doesn’t count…)

Super Mario Kart remained glued into my SNES for months on end. It was and still is a timeless classic game of skill, fun and more fun.

The thing is with this game is that it’s fair to everyone. If you’re good enough at the game you’ll win. It’s a test of skill and not luck where there’s no Blue Shell nonsense to contend with. The strongest power up is a red shell and even that is defendable if you have the right collectible item on your person (banana, feather or green shell).

The reason I have had these thoughts once again was due to the fact that out of all the 21 video games on the SNES Classic that I went to immediately was my trusty Super Mario Kart, a game so good that it feels like it hasn’t aged a day (although the Super Play re-review disagreed with my thinking on that considerably). Maybe it’s because I know what I’m getting but it just feels good to hold that SNES pad in hand while zipping round those awesome courses. 

The Mario Kart World championship is a thing and it’s telling that the SNES Super Mario Kart is the version that is used for these championships. 

The reason for this comes back down to the fact that this game is pure. Untainted by the blue shell syndrome it enables all races to be on a level playing field meaning the best karter will always win. 

The interesting thing about World Championship SMK is that you have to be great across all three Super Mario Kart disciplines in order to excel. You have to be a great racer, a great time trialist and of course a great battle moder. It’s the ultimate Super Mario Kart test for the worlds best.

Having said all that, I persuaded my wife to play SNES Mini Super Mario Kart with me this week as it was the only game that she had played not so long ago but on the Wii. 

When confronted with a Mode 7 Super Mario Kart experience my wife was totally disorientated by the whole experience and struggled to make it round 1 lap!

I was a little forlorn as I realised that if you didn’t play this game at the time it may take a long while to get used to SMK madness that we all know and love. 

As I lapped her for the 3^rd time I felt a little sorry for her.....for about a minute….. 

 

Do You Agree With My Super Mario Kart Summary or are YOU Thinking I'm Mad?

 Rich