Tech Olive

It’s the end of the month and you know what that means. If you don’t know what I mean, please read our first retro review.

The Super Nintendo; the best gaming system ever made in my opinion. It hosted so many of the greatest games and it’s where my first gaming experiences came to life. I remember when my sister and I opened up the Super Nintendo during Christmas. Our faces lit up like light bulbs  and we high-fived each other like we just won a competitive game of Kemps. We both knew that the Super Nintendo would change our lives forever.

Obviously when you think of Nintendo, you think of Mario. He is the staple of the Nintendo franchise. You probably think of Mario while he’s jumping over obstacles and playing around with his long time friends like Bowser, Yoshi, Luigi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, and many others. Along with this, Nintendo had the most genius idea yet. What’s better than putting these cartoon characters into high-speed go karts? I loved the idea.

I never knew what addiction was until I played Super Mario Kart. I wouldn’t doubt the many hours that I probably put into this game when I was a youngster. Today, I am amazed at the physics of the game. There are many tricks that allow you to go even faster around the track. For example, you can “hop” through corners, which makes you powerslide through turns, allowing for faster cornering. On top of this,  each character has their own driving style. For instance, Bowser has great top speed but accelerates slowly, Koopa Troopa has exceptional turning abilities, and Yoshi’s acceleration is top notch. I personally used Toad as my character and still do when I play more recent versions of the game. I can’t imagine how much time Nintendo put into the driving physics.

Multiplayer is quite fun as well. My favorite multiplayer mode is Battle Mode, where each player is given 3 balloons that rotate around each player’s go kart. The objective is to be the last man standing while you try to pop other players’ balloons. Aside from Battle Mode, you can compete in a Grand Prix or a time trial with your friends. While playing multiplayer, you will also learn to fear these words: “So-and-so’s got a red shell!”

As you can see above, I still have old school skills.

Overall, Super Mario Kart is a great game, not only for the experienced gamer, but for the whole family. It will definitely bring back some old memories.