History Videogame / MarioKart64

*** If you jump across the river where it runs parallel to the track after the first three corners, and hit the bank on the other side on the right hand side of the dividing polygon, Lakitu will place you down on the ramp leading towards the big jump, skipping several corners and saving over 10 seconds.
*** If you aim far to the left when being launched off the ramp for the big jump, you can land on the bank beside the final corner of the track and Lakitu will place you down just before the final corner. This saves around 2 seconds over driving round normally. It is fairly easy to pull off in 150cc, but a trickier (though still possible) in 100cc/Time Trials.

* Royal Raceway:
** If you jump across the river where it runs parallel to the track after the first three corners, and hit the bank on the other side on the right hand side of the dividing polygon, Lakitu will place you down on the ramp leading towards the big jump, skipping several corners and saving over 10 seconds.
** If you aim far to the left when being launched off the ramp for the big jump, you can land on the bank beside the final corner of the track and Lakitu will place you down just before the final corner. This saves around 2 seconds over driving round normally. It is fairly easy to pull off in 150cc, but a trickier (though still possible) in 100cc/Time Trials.

* FranchiseCodifier: The ''Mario Kart'' series started in 1992 with ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'', but its numerous traits of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness make ''Mario Kart 64'' the true architect of the series and the one which drew the blueprint for the elements, presentation and structure that came to define all subsequent elements (including ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'', which otherwise borrows many aspects of the SNES original).%%* FreezeFrameBonus: The drivers here aren't at their most expressive, being 2D sprites, but if one were to look closely when they get hit, they appear to be clutching their heads to protect themselves from the pain.

* PutOnABus: Koopa Troopa was left out and replaced with Wario. The most common joke at the time was that Wario had stolen Koopa Troopa's kart. ''Nintendo Power'' published a piece of fan art that had Koopa Troopa on the phone with the police, confirming that "a fat man with purple overalls" stole his kart.

* FranchiseCodifier: The ''Mario Kart'' series started in 1992 with ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'', but its numerous traits of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness make ''Mario Kart 64'' the true architect of the series and the one which drew the blueprint for the elements, presentation and structure that came to define all subsequent elements (including ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'', which otherwise borrows many aspects of the SNES original).

** Toad's Turnpike has a shortcut which involves driving onto the barrier at the edge of the track shortly after the start of the lap, around the point where the track passes over a lower section of the track further along the lap (you can see this by having the map view selected). Then, when Lakitu places you back on the track, drive through the wall on the righrt hand side and, if you aimed correctly, you will land down on the later section of the track below, skipping a large chunk of the lap. If you miss and fall down in the hidden water by the side of the lower section of the track instead, Lakitu may put you down on that section anyway.

*** It is possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyGLr4dcFI "clip through" the fence with a mushroom]] after driving through the tunnel after entering via the first crossing as described in the above "red shell" shortcut. This enables the shortcut to be performed on time trials, but it is very, very, very, very, '''very''' hard to do; there are only two documented cases of this shortcut being pulled off successfully, and it was made obsolete by the discovery of the shortcut below...

*** It is possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyGLr4dcFI "clip through" the fence with a mushroom]] after driving through the tunnel after entering via the first crossing as described in the above "red shell" shortcut. This enables the shortcut to be performed on time trials, but it is very, very, very, very, '''very''' hard to do; there are only two documented cases of this shortcut being pulled off successfully.

*** It is possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP7m64ZkpZc&t=18s cut inside the train tracks before the second crossing, then use a mushroom to jump back over the fences surrounding tracks to rejoin the racetrack]]. This saves a small amount of time over driving round normally.

*** There is a built in easter egg whereby, if you enter the train tunnel after the second crossing while using a star, the finish line will be extended outwards into the tunnel. Programmers have confirmed that this was intentional. However, it is possible to abuse this by driving in using a star after the ''first'' crossing instead, driving up to the extended finish line, then quickly changing direction.
*** It is possible to cut inside the train tracks before the second crossing, then use a mushroom to jump back over the fences surrounding tracks to rejoin the racetrack. This saves a small amount of time over driving round normally.

** There is a built in easter egg whereby, if you enter the train tunnel after the second crossing while using a star, the finish line will be extended outwards into the tunnel. Programmers have confirmed that this was intentional. However, it is possible to abuse this by driving in using a star after the ''first'' crossing instead, driving up to the extended finish line, then quickly changing direction.
** It is possible to cut inside the train tracks before the second crossing, then use a mushroom to jump back over the fences surrounding tracks to rejoin the racetrack. This saves a small amount of time over driving round normally.

** It is also possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfkGi0pKa-o&t=2m22s jump over the steep bank of sand]], bouncing up twice to clear the grey wall coming out of the tunnel, just before where the above shortcut would be done, saving a few extra seconds. This does not require the use of a mushroom, but is much, much, '''much''' harder than the above shortcut.

*** It is possible to use a mushroom boost to jump over the brick wall just before the final corner of the course, saving several seconds over driving round normally. This can be done in Time Trials mode as well as Grand Prix/Versus.

** On Mario Raceway, it is possible to use a mushroom to jump over the wall separating the elevated portion of the course after the fist few turns from the lower section of the course later in the lap. Doing this on all 3 laps can result in finishing the race in under [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reB36rhG4ms 50 seconds (NTSC)]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pLdqQ7wmgk just over a minute (PAL)]].

*** It is possible to use a mushroom boost to jump over the brick wall just before the final corner of the course, saving several seconds over driving round normally. This can be done in Time Trials mode as well as versus.

** Luigi Raceway has a skip that involves [[ViolationOfCommonSense using the Spiny Shell in first place]]. At the beginning of the second lap, a hot air balloon appears with an item box that always contains a Spiny Shell. Grab the Spiny Shell, and if you're in first at the end of the second lap, shoot it and turn left as you cross the finish line. The blast will send the player over the wall and into the tunnel.

** DK's Jungle Parkway is yet another course where it is possible to skip almost an entire lap in a few seconds. By driving off to the left at the very end of the lap, down into the angle between the wall of the cave and the finish line. For a slower version, you can fall into a hidden underground lake and be put back in the cave by Lakitu, or for a faster version, land directly in the bottom of the cave (this requires driving in at precisely the right angle). Either way, if done correctly you will have passed the finish line while falling down into the gap, and therefore fool the game into thinking you're at the end of the lap when you're back in the bottom of the cave, therefore skipping an entire lap. It is possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbOewCo-NCk finish the entire course in 20 seconds (PAL]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2Z0M-nIrd0 17 seconds (NTSC)]] by doing this on all three laps.

*** An even more difficult trick involves jumping over the fence at the startin the right spot, and fooling the game into thinking you fell off before the finish line, therefore getting get put back by Lakitu at the ''end'' of the lap, skipping the entire course. With this, the entire course can be completed in just [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_j9eAsbWd4 41 seconds]].

** DK's Jungle Parkway is yet another course where it is possible to skip almost an entire lap in a few seconds. By driving off to the left at the very end of the lap, down into the angle between the wall of the cave and the finish line. For a slower version, you can fall into a hidden underground lake and be put back in the cave by Lakitu, or for a faster version, land directly in the bottom of the cave (this requires driving in at precisely the right angle). Either way, if done correctly you will have passed the finish line while falling down into the gap, and therefore fool the game into thinking you're at the end of the lap when you're back in the bottom of the cave, therefore skipping an entire lap. It is possible to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbOewCo-NCk finish the entire course in 20 seconds]] if by doing this on all three laps.

** There exists the famous Rainbow Road shortcut. There's a steep hill at the very start, which allows you to jump over the rails by performing the hop that forms the first part of a drift... and if you make a leap of faith in the right spot, it's possible to land on a portion of track far below, cutting around one third of the course.

* DeathOrGloryAttack: The "Leap of Faith" shortcut Rainbow Road. Driving off the left side of the track just after the start at the right speed and angle will allow you to land on a lower tier and bypass 2/3rds of the track. Pulling this off will give you a near-insurmountable lead vs. AI racers. Miss the jump and you might as well restart.

** There exists the famous Rainbow Road shortcut. There's a steep hill at the very start, which allows you to jump over the rails by performing the hop that forms the first part of a drift... and if you make a leap of faith in the right spot, it's possible to land on a portion of track far below, cutting half the course. Given that Rainbow Road is [[MarathonLevel the longest track in the game by far]], this is quite an advantage, and pulling it off on all three laps is a ''requirement'' if you want to finish a time trial under the five minute limit for a ghost.

** There exists the famous Rainbow Road shortcut. There's a steep hill at the very start, which allows you to jump over the rails by performing the hop that forms the first part of a drift... and if you make a leap of faith in the right spot, it's possible to land on a portion of track far below, cutting half the course. Given that Rainbow Road is [[MarathonLevel the longest track in the game by far]], this is quite an advantage, and pulling it off on all three laps is pretty much a ''requirement'' if you want to finish a time trial under the five minute limit for a ghost.

* SequenceBreaking:
** There exists the famous Rainbow Road shortcut. There's a steep hill at the very start, which allows you to jump over the rails by performing the hop that forms the first part of a drift... and if you make a leap of faith in the right spot, it's possible to land on a portion of track far below, cutting half the course. Given that Rainbow Road is [[MarathonLevel the longest track in the game by far]], this is quite an advantage, and pulling it off on all three laps is pretty much a ''requirement'' if you want to finish a time trial under the five minute limit for a ghost.
** Wario Stadium in the same game also has a short hill at the beginning that, if used in the correct manner, allows you to skip about half the course from the very beginning. For added fun, this brings you to another area of the track which, with enough skill, can be skipped ''back'' to the very end of the course. This leads to a track that generally takes about four minutes to complete having world records of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soQCw2tpw7M about fifteen seconds.]]
** Choco Mountain has a skip where in the time trial, players could abuse the given mushrooms to drive up a wall near the start-finish line and tumble down right behind it, allowing players to finish a lap in less than ten seconds. 3-lap world records have fallen under 20 seconds due to this. It is harder than it sounds since the angle at which the player must drive up a wall is rather precise and making a mistake will have Lakitu carry you elsewhere. Only three people have done it three laps in a row.

** While this is the point where the series largely evolved to its final format, Nintendo was still working out some of the gameplay mechanics. 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 Breaker}}s, as not only are they faster and can pick up quickly after crashing, they can also drive off-road better than the other drivers. The only advantage that the heavyweights in this game (Bowser, Wario, and Donkey Kong) have is 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 ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'' for each weight class were reverted back in later games, starting from ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash''. And on another note, like ''Super Mario Kart'', you still can't advance to the next race if you place 5th or lower (though at least there's no lives system anymore, so you can't GameOver per se). Visually, it's the only ''Mario Kart'' game to run at 30 FPS, and that's ''with'' the SpritePolygonMix that has not been seen in subsequent proper-3D ''Mario Kart'' games.