Mario Kart on the GBA is better than it was on the SNES.

Author's Rating:

Pros: 40 different courses, single cartridge battle mode, improved weapons, and multiple slots for ghost saves.

Cons: Dark ghost levels make holes hard to see. No initials for best laps.

The Bottom Line: 
If you like racing, you don't want to miss out on this game. I've played all three versions of Mario Kart, and this is hands down my favorite.

Author's Review
Anyone who enjoyed playing the original Mario Kart on the SNES is going to absolutely love the handheld version. This game is hands down the best racing game currently available for the GBA.

The graphics are mode 7 like the SNES version was, but the character sprites are taken right out of the N64 version. There are twenty brand new courses which all look great, and there are the twenty SNES courses which must be unlocked. Those have been updated with better graphics as well. There is never any slowdown no matter how many racers are on screen at one time. The only complaint I have about the graphics is that on some levels, especially the haunted ones, the colors can be a bit dark. The floor boards are a dark brown, and there are black holes in the floor. In less than ideal lighting, those black holes can be hard to spot if you don't know where they are.

The gameplay itself is somewhat of a mixed bag. The racers handle looser than they have in previous versions. In the 50cc courses you'll have little problem getting around the tracks. When moving up in speed, however, you'll find yourself sliding around a lot at first. I consider this a plus as opposed to a minus, however, as it forces you to be a more realistic driver. You can't just hold down the gas and rely on your power slides to get you through anymore. Now you have take your finger off the gas going into some of the sharper turns and time your power slides a bit more precisely. Coins have returned after missing from the N64, and they are a welcome addition. The more you collect, the faster you go so they are very important.

As always, there are a lot of weapons. All the weapons from the N64 version are available except for the phony question blocks, which are missed. Best of all, the red shells are more accurate now and are better able to take corners. The only problem I've had with the weapons is when trying to drag them behind my racer. Holding the L button while stearing can be a bit tedious, and I often end up launching my weapon when I didn't want to. I think it would have been better if Nintendo had decided to make you hit the L button twice instead of holding and releasing. Hitting it once to drag and again to fire would be a great help in some of the later levels where the opponent AI will attack you viciously.

The replay value of this game is amazing. For less than $30, anyone with a GBA who enjoys racing should go out and buy it. All forty courses can be raced in 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc, and the AI in each division gets more and more aggressive. Use lighter racers in 150cc, and you will get bumped around and off of courses regularly. To unlock the original courses, you have to get over 100 coins during a grand prix. This will have you playing the new 20 courses quite a few times. In addition to getting bronze, silver, and gold cups now, you are also given a letter grade. While I haven't discovered any rewards for getting good grades, it's fun nonetheless to see how well you can do. Then of course there is the time trials where you can now race against up to ten of your best ghosts as well as swap a couple of ghosts with a friend and race theirs. The only complaint I have about the time trials is you can't enter your initials. If you have other people playing your copy, you can't tell who has the best lap times unless you each use a different character.

On top of all the hours you will be playing the single player game, there are multiple options for playing with friends. You can hook up with three other people using just one cart, but you will only be able to race four different courses, and you will only be able to use different colored Yoshis. With four seperate cartridges, however, you can race all the races with all the characters and play in battle mode.