History Videogame / MarioKart64

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: While this is the point where the series largely evolved to its final format, Nintendo were still working out some of the gameplay mechanics.

* AlwaysNight: Banshee Boardwalk, Rainbow Road[[note]]This has been justified in ''Mario Kart 8''.[[/note]], and it's always sunset at Toad's Turnpike.

* AlwaysNight: Banshee Boardwalk, Rainbow Road, and it's always sunset at Toad's Turnpike.

** Yoshi Valley has so many paths that the game doesn't keep track of the positions and replaces it on the HeadsUpDisplay with ?s. You never know the positions ''until you reach the finish line on the last lap''.

New items were introduced to shake things up such as triple shells, triple mushrooms, and the five bananas. The game also added several new modes and mechanics to existing modes.

* ShortcutsMakeLongDelays: The shortest route through Yoshi's Valley is a narrow, windy path with no railing, falling off will cost you several seconds of recovery time. The [[LeapOfFaith Rainbow Road]] shortcut, capable of giving you an irreversible lead if executed properly, will also take forever to recover from if you failed.

Mario Kart 64 (1996) was a racing game for the Nintendo 64 and the sequel to VideoGame/SuperMarioKart, that managed to turn [[VideoGame/MarioKart the series]] 3D and add two extra players into Battle Mode.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: While this is the point where the series largely evolved to its final format, Nintendo were still working out some of the gameplay mechanics. Most notable is the blue shell; in this game if someone fires it at you, it's possible to dodge it by quickly dropping down into second place and allowing it to hit whoever gets in front of you. This was dropped from the following incarnations, where there's no way to avoid being hit (unless you're invincible or finish the race first).
** More subtle, but the lightweight characters (high acceleration/low speed) are actually ''faster'' than the heavyweights (high speed/low acceleration). Using the lightweights (Peach, Toad, and Yoshi) properly can make them potential game breakers, as not only are they faster and can pick up quickly after crashing, they can also drive over terrain better than the other drivers. The only advantage that the heavyweights in this game (Bowser, Wario, and Donkey Kong) have are that they can bash the lightweights and the middleweights off the road or make them spin out. The original advantages and disadvantages that were present in ''SuperMarioKart'' for each weight class were reverted back in later games, starting from ''MarioKartDoubleDash Double Dash]]''.

* ShoutOut: Sherbet Land is named after a world in the original WarioLand.

* SuddenlyVoiced: Luigi, Toad and Wario are voiced for the first time. The other characters stick with the same voices or vocal effects they had in the SNES era or ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', and for Yoshi it was the final time he used his original vocal effects, which were ditched in favor of his own voice in the following year's ''VideoGame/YoshisStory''.(Though the MarioParty series would continue to use Yoshi's old voice up until it's 4th installment on the GameCube)
* TheRival: In each Grand Prix, you are given at least two of these, and they will be the main abusers of RubberBandAI of that GP.

** More subtle, but the lightweight characters (high acceleration/low speed) are actually ''faster'' than the heavyweights (high speed/low acceleration). Using the lightweights (Peach, Toad, and Yoshi) properly can make them potential game breakers, as not only are they faster and can pick up quickly after crashing, they can also drive over terrain better than the other drivers. The only advantage that the heavyweights in this game (Bowser, Wario, and Donkey Kong) have are that they can bash the lightweights and the middleweights off the road or make them spin out. The original advantages and disadvantages that were present in ''SuperMarioKart'' for each weight class were reverted back in later games.

* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: The 4th-place ending again.

* NintendoHard: 150 cc and especially Extra.

* TheRival: Each racer you pick has a driver that will almost always place 2nd place. For example, playing as Toad will have Peach be super persistant, but while playing a different driver, she may be in near last place.

* SuddenlyVoiced: Luigi, Toad and Wario are voiced for the first time. The other characters stick with the same voices or vocal effects they had in the SNES era or ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', and for Yoshi it was the final time he used his original vocal effects, which were ditched in favor of his own voice in the following year's ''VideoGame/YoshisStory''.

** More subtle, but the lightweight characters (high acceleration/low speed) are actually ''faster'' than the heavyweights (high speed/low acceleration). Using the lightweights (Peach, Toad, and Yoshi) properly can make them potential game breakers, as not only are they faster, they can also drive over terrain better than the other drivers. The only advantage that the heavyweights in this game (Bowser, Wario, and Donkey Kong) have are that they can bash the lightweights and the middleweights off the road or make them spin out. The original advantages and disadvantages that were present in ''SuperMarioKart'' for each weight class were reverted back in later games.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: It was a fairly common belief that the Green Thwomp in Bowser's Castle was a secret racer.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: On 150cc, you'd better not let the 2nd place driver get too far ahead, or else they speed up so quickly that you'll never have a chance of catching up, short of repeated Lightning bolts in a row.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: Bowser's Castle.

* GoddamnedBats: Midway through Banshee Boardwalk

* SpritePolygonMix: The backgrounds are 3D, the rest... not so much.

A racing game for the Nintendo 64 and the sequel to VideoGame/SuperMarioKart, that managed to turn [[VideoGame/MarioKart the series]] 3D and add two extra players into Battle Mode.

A racing game for the Nintendo 64 and the popular sequel to VideoGame/SuperMarioKart, that managed to turn the series 3D and add two extra players into Battle Mode.

''Mario Kart 64'' did away the old gamebreakers of the original (yes, Feather, we're looking at you) and added some new ones present in just about every game since (Blue Shell). Fortunately new items were also introduced to shake things up such as triple shells, triple mushrooms, and the five bananas. The game also added several new modes and mechanics to existing modes.

A racing game for the Nintendo 64 and the popular sequel to VideoGame/SuperMarioKart, that managed to turn the series 3D and add two extra players into Battle Mode

* GreenHillZone: Luigi Raceway, although Moo Moo Farm is literally a bunch of green hills.

* LevelAte: Choco Mountain, though that's debatable.

* ShiftingSandLand: Kalimari Desert

* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Sherbet Land.