Another highlight is Yoshi Valley, a course with multiple routes, plenty of places to fall off, and the positions of all characters hidden until they've finished the race. Weaving through vehicles on Toad's Turnpike is particularly memorable, as is Choco Mountain where you have to look out for falling rocks, or Kalimari Desert where you contend with a train crossing the track at inopportune moments.

There's the usual range of locations across the 16 tracks, with relatively traditional circuits alongside mountainous terrain and wintry stages. The use of slopes, drops and uneven terrain opened up different racing possibilities from its predecessor. The biggest change the switch to polygons provided was the addition of elevation to the tracks. The music is typically catchy and upbeat, matching the locations well with Koopa Troopa Beach's Carribbean flavour, or the more sinister sound of Bowser's Castle. Track edges and scenery at times looks very angular and the sprites of the racers look a little rough around the edges, but generally the bright, cartoony style works well and you're usually zipping around too fast to pay much attention to the visual disparity between karter and circuit.Īudio-wise, there are some very effective sounds such as when you drive over a rickety bridge or the shattering of the ice that surrounds you after Lakitu has fished you out of freezing water. Elsewhere in the game there are waterfalls, caves and a simple snow effect. There are more things to look at around the circuits and this is apparent from the first track with advertising boards and trees off to the side, an action-mirroring video screen and a drive through a tunnel with the light adjusting accordingly.

Making use of the more powerful N64 hardware, there was an obvious graphical upgrade over the first game, with the SNES' Mode 7 presentation ditched for a combination of polygons (the tracks) and pre-rendered sprites (the racers). Available to play alone or in two-player mode, the cups can be tackled at the usual 50, 100 or 150cc difficulties and a mirror mode can be unlocked, too. Mario Grand Prix is the main mode of play where you pick one of eight characters, then race the other seven in four cups, each featuring four three-lap races.

Mario kart 64 2 player