<s>
is	O
a	O
kart	O
racing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
the	O
second	O
main	O
entry	O
in	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
series	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
(	O
1992	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Nintendo	I-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
System	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
iQue	B-Application
Player	I-Application
in	O
China	O
in	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
and	O
Wii	B-Device
U	I-Device
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
in	O
2007	O
and	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	I-Application
+	I-Application
Expansion	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
on	O
October	O
25	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
one	O
of	O
eight	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
franchise	I-Application
,	O
who	O
race	O
around	O
16	O
tracks	O
(	O
4	O
in	O
each	O
of	O
4	O
cups	O
)	O
with	O
items	O
that	O
can	O
either	O
harm	O
opponents	O
or	O
aid	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
is	O
a	O
kart	O
racing	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
controls	O
one	O
of	O
eight	O
selectable	O
Mario	B-Application
characters	O
in	O
several	O
racetracks	O
that	O
vary	O
in	O
shape	O
and	O
theme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
has	O
16	O
racecourses	O
and	O
4	O
battle	O
courses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
series	O
that	O
supports	O
slipstreaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
four	O
different	O
game	O
modes	O
available	O
in	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
:	O
Grand	O
Prix	O
,	O
Time	O
Trial	O
,	O
Versus	O
,	O
and	O
Battle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Grand	O
Prix	O
–	O
This	O
mode	O
has	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
players	O
participate	O
in	O
four	O
consecutive	O
three-lap	O
races	O
,	O
each	O
on	O
a	O
different	O
course	O
,	O
on	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
selectable	O
cups	O
(	O
Mushroom	O
,	O
Flower	O
,	O
Star	O
,	O
or	O
Special	O
)	O
against	O
seven	O
(	O
or	O
six	O
)	O
computer	B-Application
players	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
original	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
,	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
restart	O
an	O
unlimited	O
number	O
of	O
times	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
only	O
being	O
allowed	O
three	O
restarts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
version	O
of	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
released	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
is	O
incompatible	O
with	O
the	O
device	O
and	O
is	O
thus	O
unable	O
to	O
save	O
ghost	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versus	O
–	O
Two	O
to	O
four	O
players	O
compete	O
in	O
single	O
races	O
on	O
any	O
track	O
without	O
any	O
computer	B-Application
players	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Battle	O
–	O
This	O
mode	O
,	O
supporting	O
two	O
to	O
four	O
players	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
last	O
man	O
standing	O
objective	O
where	O
the	O
players	O
attack	O
each	O
other	O
with	O
items	O
inside	O
one	O
of	O
four	O
selectable	O
arena	B-Application
courses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Yoshi	B-Application
's	O
Valley	O
,	O
the	O
rectangular	O
progress	O
bar	O
does	O
not	O
identify	O
characters	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
vagueness	O
of	O
the	O
course	O
's	O
paths	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
features	O
eight	O
playable	O
characters	O
:	O
Mario	B-Application
,	O
Luigi	O
,	O
Princess	O
Peach	O
,	O
Toad	O
,	O
Yoshi	B-Application
,	O
Bowser	O
,	O
Wario	O
and	O
Donkey	O
Kong	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
to	O
feature	O
the	O
character	O
Kamek	O
,	O
a	O
villainous	O
character	O
from	O
Yoshi	B-Device
's	I-Device
Island	I-Device
,	O
before	O
being	O
replaced	O
by	O
Donkey	O
Kong	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Production	O
began	O
in	O
1995	O
with	O
the	O
title	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
R	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
"	O
R	O
"	O
means	O
"	O
rendered	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
concurrently	O
with	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
64	I-Application
and	O
The	B-Application
Legend	I-Application
of	I-Application
Zelda	I-Application
:	I-Application
Ocarina	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
,	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
launch	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
(	O
N64	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
but	O
more	O
resources	O
were	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
other	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
series	I-Application
creator	O
Shigeru	O
Miyamoto	O
acted	O
as	O
producer	O
and	O
often	O
consulted	O
with	O
game	O
director	O
Hideki	O
Konno	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
prototype	O
featured	O
the	O
Feather	O
item	O
from	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
and	O
a	O
Magikoopa	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
eight	O
playable	O
characters	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
Donkey	O
Kong	O
in	O
the	O
final	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
features	O
tracks	O
that	O
are	O
fully	O
rendered	O
in	O
3D	O
,	O
and	O
billboarding	O
to	O
display	O
the	O
characters	O
and	O
items	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Advanced	O
Character	O
Modeling	O
(	O
ACM	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
MIPS	B-General_Concept
CPU	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	O
workstations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
the	O
characters	O
are	O
composed	O
of	O
pre-rendered	O
sprites	O
that	O
show	O
the	O
characters	O
from	O
various	O
angles	O
to	O
simulate	O
a	O
3D	O
appearance	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
,	O
Killer	B-Application
Instinct	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Cruis'n	B-Application
USA	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rare	O
,	O
developer	O
of	O
the	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
Country	I-Application
games	O
,	O
provided	O
Donkey	O
Kong	O
's	O
character	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Halfway	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
production	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
suffered	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
crash	I-Device
,	O
causing	O
the	O
original	O
character	O
models	O
to	O
become	O
lost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
item	O
was	O
included	O
in	O
all	O
subsequent	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Kenta	O
Nagata	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
his	O
first	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
Nintendo	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
soundtrack	O
was	O
released	O
several	O
times	O
in	O
different	O
formats	O
including	O
compact	O
disc	O
and	O
audio	B-Device
cassette	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
released	O
in	O
a	O
three	O
disc	O
collection	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
soundtracks	O
of	O
Star	B-Application
Fox	I-Application
64	I-Application
and	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
64	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
regular	O
release	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
released	O
a	O
"	O
limited	O
edition	O
"	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
regular	O
cartridge	O
bundled	O
with	O
a	O
black-and-grey	O
Nintendo	B-Device
64	I-Device
controller	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
of	O
America	O
chairman	O
Howard	O
Lincoln	O
stated	O
that	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
time	O
needed	O
for	O
the	O
localization	O
,	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
was	O
more	O
critical	O
to	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
,	O
as	O
there	O
were	O
fewer	O
N64	B-Operating_System
games	O
available	O
in	O
that	O
market	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
was	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
downloadable	O
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
game	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
in	O
January	O
2007	O
and	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
U	O
in	O
December	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2021	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
also	O
ported	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
first	O
three	O
months	O
of	O
1997	O
,	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
was	O
the	O
best-selling	O
console	B-Application
game	I-Application
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
with	O
sales	O
of	O
849,000	O
units	O
for	O
the	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2007	O
,	O
approximately	O
5.5	O
million	O
copies	O
of	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
had	O
been	O
sold	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
2.24	O
million	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
and	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
Metacritic	O
ranks	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
sixth-highest	O
ranked	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
title	O
based	O
on	O
fifteen	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supporters	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
adequately	O
used	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
(	O
critics	O
from	O
GamePro	O
and	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
)	O
,	O
made	O
the	O
game	O
stand	O
out	O
from	O
others	O
in	O
the	O
racing	O
genre	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
series	I-Application
(	O
GameSpot	O
's	O
Trent	O
Ward	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
an	O
improvement	O
over	O
its	O
16-bit	O
predecessor	O
(	O
NintendoLife	O
's	O
Corbie	O
Dillard	O
and	O
a	O
reviewer	O
from	O
GameRevolution	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Detractors	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	O
felt	O
they	O
lacked	O
detail	O
(	O
Tom	O
Gulse	O
from	O
Computer	O
and	O
Video	O
Games	O
and	O
Peer	O
Schneider	O
from	O
IGN	O
)	O
,	O
were	O
n't	O
better	O
enough	O
than	O
the	O
previous	O
16-bit	O
entry	O
(	O
AllGame	O
's	O
Scott	O
McCall	O
and	O
Neil	O
West	O
from	O
Next	O
Generation	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
failed	O
to	O
fully	O
benefit	O
from	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
's	O
power	O
(	O
Francois	O
Caron	O
of	O
Jeuxvideo.com	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64s	I-Application
track	O
design	O
and	O
gameplay	O
polarised	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
and	O
Video	O
Gamess	O
Ed	O
Lomas	O
and	O
N64	B-Operating_System
Magazines	O
Jonathan	O
Nash	O
felt	O
that	O
success	O
was	O
too	O
dependent	O
on	O
getting	O
the	O
right	O
power-ups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Morley	O
disliked	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64s	I-Application
wide	O
,	O
motorway-like	O
track	O
design	O
by	O
saying	O
that	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
provide	O
an	O
"	O
adrenaline	O
filled	O
"	O
experience	O
which	O
players	O
might	O
have	O
hoped	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technical	O
issues	O
such	O
as	O
poor	O
collision	O
detection	O
and	O
lag	B-Application
in	O
the	O
four-player	O
"	O
Battle	O
Mode	O
"	O
were	O
also	O
noted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
did	O
have	O
supporters	O
,	O
who	O
noted	O
its	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
courses	O
(	O
West	O
,	O
GamePro	O
,	O
and	O
Electric	O
Playground	O
)	O
,	O
found	O
its	O
track	O
designs	O
more	O
detailed	O
and	O
impressive	O
than	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Kart	I-Application
(	O
Schneider	O
and	O
Diillard	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
thought	O
it	O
had	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
replay	O
value	O
(	O
Caron	O
and	O
GamePro	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
named	O
it	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
"	O
Multiplayer	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
(	O
behind	O
Saturn	B-Application
Bomberman	I-Application
)	O
at	O
their	O
1997	O
Editors	O
 '	O
Choice	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
placed	O
17th	O
in	O
Official	O
Nintendo	O
Magazines	O
100	O
greatest	O
Nintendo	O
games	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
and	O
49th	O
in	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthlys	O
1997	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
100	O
best	O
console	B-Application
games	I-Application
of	O
all	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
