Product Description

Colossal, immense, and gigantic; beautiful, gorgeous, and grandiose -- these are the words one thinks of when describing Rare's follow-up adventure to Banjo-Kazooie. Keeping consistent with the attitude found in this title, Rare has wittily named it Banjo-Tooie. Banjo-Tooie, simply put, is incredibly unimaginable. The worlds are ludicrous in size, the gameplay is polished and deep, and the soundtrack proves to be an immaculate compliment. When it comes to defining platform-based entertainment, Banjo-Tooie is filled with chapter after chapter of standards. Explore eight giant worlds, solve puzzles and help game characters to unearth jiggys, play as Mumbo, a T-Rex, Submarine, Money-Van, Washing Machine, and more, and learn more than 40 new moves on the way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1035 in Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Released on: 1997-02-10
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo 64
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Features

• FOR NINTENDO 64

Editorial Review
Mario Kart 64, one of the first games released for the Nintendo 64 platform, is an updated translation of the very popular Super Mario Kart for the Super NES (SNES). And while the game clearly takes full advantage of the graphics power and speed of the N64, a few components that made the original so compelling have been left out of this release.

Still, Nintendo's expertise at sucking players into the game world is strongly evident, and Mario Kart 64 offers enough challenges to keep players (especially casual gamers) entertained. Placing a familiar Nintendo personality behind the wheel of a sputtering kart powered by a 50, 100, or 150-cc engine, the game lets players race computerized opponents or up to four other players on a variety of well-designed tracks. Because karts lack the power and speed of race cars, drivers must focus on collecting power-ups and nonlethal weapons rather than negotiating hairpin turns on two wheels. Grabbing and using on-track items is the heart of the game's fun: a strategically-placed banana peel sends the unlucky victim into a spin, nailing an opponent with a turtle shell launches their vehicle skyward, and a rocket provides a quick boost to near-breakneck speeds, if only for a moment.

The multiplayer mode provides enormously chaotic fun for up to four players--flip it on at a party and watch the guests congregate around the screen. --Eric Twelker

Pros:

• Well-designed tracks
• Simple controls
• Strong multiplayer appeal

• Computerized opponents sometimes pull off questionable feats

GameSpot Review
Super Mario Kart, one of the greatest head-to-head titles ever released for the cartridge systems, is back, this time for the Nintendo 64. There's a whole new set of courses, new racers, slick 3-D graphics, and most surprisingly, a four-player simultaneous play option. This should all be great news to Mario Kart fans, and in fact it is - sort of.

Don't get me wrong: There's nothing really wrong with the new Mario Kart - the increasingly rotund plumber and his jolly crew have never looked and sounded so good. And from Wario's penguin-like mumblings to the glittering crown on the Princess'- head, it's obvious that the design team was plenty willing to get down and dirty with the presentation aspects of the game. The addition of more detailed sliding techniques and a few new nasty things to distract (read: crash) your opponents are welcome features (the deadly lightning bolt just can't be beat for dispensing raw fear). But once you get past the predictable new additions, you begin to realize that there's really not much depth to Mario Kart 64.

History has shown us plenty of titles that featured the very best sound and graphics money could buy which still somehow ended up being not much fun to play - Killer Instinct, Rebel Assault, and Tomb Raider all come to mind. While Mario Kart 64 is certainly better than most of these titles, it still shows a lack of solid play design that really hurts its long-term play value. First off, and perhaps most importantly, single-play mode is just too easy. This is due in part to the game's extra wide tracks, and in part to the poor AI routines - which deliver opponents who seem more like they're on their way to the local convenience store than in an all-out race for the finish line. This same lack of play consideration also infects the super-large battle courses. The result is that players can (and do) drive around for minutes without even spotting an opponent - much less getting a chance to score a hit. None of these problems ever really destroys the game entirely, but they do make it more difficult to get excited about picking up the controller for more than a handful of races. This is a big surprise considering Nintendo has built its empire on solid control and design in its games.

If you own a Nintendo 64, you're probably going to buy this game whether or not you read and heed this review - after all, there aren't really a lot of N64 games to choose from, and it IS a Mario title. Fair enough. The thing is, even with all its bells and whistles, Mario Kart 64 is very likely to disappoint you after about a week. I wouldn't feel right about not giving you that warning. That said, I'm off to Mario Kart on my SNES to reminisce about the good old days, and dream of what this cartridge could have been. --Trent C. Ward
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Fun for all ages!
Ok, I am 26 years old. I rented this game so my girlfriend's 16 year old brother would have something to do over Thanksgiving when I visited. We ALL ended up playing this game! It is an incredible amount of fun, and it's reply value is incredibly high. I wish there was better music, but it would take away from the sound effects, which are definitely very good. This game is a must for all ages, particularly those who like to play games with other people. Note, if you want to play a 4 player match, you should have a pretty big TV.

One of the best racing games on the N64
Mario Kart 64, the sequel to the first Mario Kart game on the SNES is great. Nintendo got rid of some of the things that made the SNES title so much fun, but added a lot too. The gameplay is much more enhanced, the characters look much better and the individual go-karts are very realistic.

Like the SNES version, this game includes 3 modes of play: GP (Grand Prix), Battle, and Time Trial. In GP you choose one of 8 characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser in a large variety of courses in the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup Star Cup, or Special Cup (which you unlike by getting gold trophies in each of the 3 basic courses) in 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc mode. 50cc is the easiest, but in 100cc and 150cc the computer gets much faster and more challenging. There are several items you can collect by driving through the question mark boxes which help you during each race. Lightning bolts (the rarest item to get) makes all of the other opponents small, mushrooms give you a speed burst, banana peels make one of your opponents crash if they slip on it, red shells are used to shoot directly at an opponent to get them off course, and green shells keep bouncing off the walls until it hits one of the racers. Unlike the SNES Mairo Kart game, there are several objects you need to avoid to stay on course. In different races there are trucks and cars that will make you crash if you hit them, snowmen that will blow up if you hit them, and many other obstacles in different courses.

In Battle mode you and up to 3 others choose one of the 8 characters. You drive around a course trying to pop each other's 3 balloons. You can pop their balloons by shooting red or green shells at them or throwing banana peels at them to make them slip. You can also use the other items to avoid being hit by them. Once all of your balloons are popped you become a bomb which you can drive around the course trying to run in to the other players. This mode is a lot of fun, especially if you get tired of continually playing Grand Prix mode.

In Time Trial mode you race in any of 15+ courses and try to set records for each lap and/or race.

The controls for Mario Kart 64 are very simple and easy to master, and the music and sound effects are great as well.

If you want a great racing game for your N64, I highly recommend that you check out Mario Kart 64.

This is the best N64 game I own
I bought this game once I got an N64. It has a very unique way of making the 3D characters perfect to the tiniest details. Everything's so smooth! Also, compared to MarioParty, the supporting characters have cooler voices. If you happen to be one of those people who are a big fan of one of these characters, get this game. Also, if you fit the description above, MarioParty and this game are as good as each other, and they're perfect for parties.