Super Mario Kart lays the foundation of kart racing, two player friendly. Short but addictive, essential for arcade racing fans.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player3+
Split screen
Description
Kart racing game using Super Nintendo's Mode 7 featuring iconic Nintendo characters. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in 1992. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser and rivals racing on themed circuits, item boxes to use, two-player and battle mode. Founding entry of the kart racing genre, a Nintendo masterpiece.
Super Mario Kart review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Mode 7 spins a flat ground beneath karts drawn entirely by hand, frame by frame, in eight orientations. That contrast between a rotating floor and flat coloured characters gives the game its bright toy look: donut plains, Bowser's castle, a ghost valley and a rainbow suspended in the dark.
Signed by Soyo Oka, the music inaugurates the series with playful, rousing themes that sparkle with good cheer, from the famous "Mario Circuit" to the wildest tracks. Each race pulses with an infectious joy perfectly in tune with the game's frenzy. This melodic freshness has become inseparable from the Mario Kart legend.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Drifting in mode 7, dropping shells and banana peels, then nabbing the perfect racing line founds a race as easy to pick up as it is deep to master. The driving, twitchy and tactical, rewards your trajectory and your item management. A pioneer of the genre, it retains a freshness and balance that still charm in multiplayer.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Inventing the kart racer, throwing shells at your rivals and drifting through corners in split-screen: this pioneer laid the foundations of an entire genre. The instant driving, prankish items and versus mode create a joyful, fiercely competitive chaos. Two-player, rivalry flares. Snappy, clever and timeless, the grandfather of fun racing, as exhilarating as ever.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Drifting, dropping a shell at the right moment and then snatching first place delivers an instant racing thrill that every track rekindles. Cups to win, times to beat and split-screen duels multiply the rematches without end. A pioneer of the genre, this kart keeps a rivalry and a grip that the years haven't worn down.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Winning every cup is only the tip of the iceberg: chasing best times, unlocking mirror mode and perfecting your racing lines keeps you busy well past the credits. Battle mode and two-player races endlessly revive sessions with friends, where every item box can flip the order. As the founder of kart racing, this masterpiece keeps a legendary replayability driven by the quest for the perfect lap.
The European PAL SNES edition of Nintendo EAD's Super Mario Kart from 1992, founder of the console kart-racing genre and one of the best-selling SNES PAL titles. The PAL cart is rarer than the US version, and PAL boxed CIB in the original cardboard box is valued for its status as a historical pivot in any Nintendo SNES PAL collection. Graded sealed prices climb steadily, sustained by the absolute stature of the Mario Kart franchise.
Is Super Mario Kart still worth playing in 2026?
Super Mario Kart founds the arcade karting genre as we know it, namely a Mode 7 split screen duel with a balanced Nintendo roster, random items and compact tracks. The handling requires adjustment, namely marked braking and drifting, but the tactical depth unfolds quickly. The local multiplayer remains a retro evening classic. Absolute recommendation for anyone wanting to grasp the Mario Kart formula at its source and for fans of 16 bit split screen arcade racing.
