Luigi Kart 97

Luigi Kart 97 (styled as LUIGIKART 97 abbreviated to LK97) is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in 1997 in Japan and 1998 for the rest of the world. It is the sequel to Super Mario Kart, and features a move to 3D computer graphics and the inclusion of four-player support. Players take control of characters from the Luigi universe, who race around a variety of tracks with items that can either harm an opponent or aid the user. The move to three dimensional graphics allowed for track features not possible with the original game's Mode 7 graphics, such as changes in elevation, bridges, walls and pits. However, the characters and items remained 2D pre-rendered sprites. The introduction music for Mario Kart 64 is loosely based on the original Duper Luigi Kart theme tune. The game is compatible with the N64 Controller Pak, but only to save track ghosts in the Time Trial mode. All other data is stored in-cartridge. This was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console, but it cannot be played with the Wii Remote. This is the second Mario Kart game in the series.

Gameplay
Players choose from a roster of eight characters that vary in weight, speed, and acceleration. These characters race in a variety of tracks based upon different locations in the Luigi world. Each track has a unique shape, and can contain various obstacles, hazards, and short cuts. Eight characters participate in each race. Up to four of them can be human characters, while the rest are computer controlled (for one to two players only). Three and four player races have no computer controlled racers.

On a track, various actions can be performed to change the flow of a race. Items can be acquired by hitting an item box, a rainbow-colored box with a spinning question mark. The items' uses include acting as projectiles to impede the opponent, speed up the user, or stop opponents through other means. One can earn a small turbo boost by drifting, which one can perform by hopping and tilting the control stick back and forth three times. However, AI-controlled racers do not use any kind of shell.

There are various modes of play such as the Luigi Grand Prix where one or two players of the Luigi species compete with computer players in a group of eight around a series of four courses per cup - Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, and Special Cup respectively. A player selects one of the four cups at the beginning of the game as well as a difficulty level, measured by engine size (50cc, 100cc, or 150cc). After a gold trophy has been acquired for each cup on the 150cc level, the Extra difficulty level is playable, where the tracks are mirrored. The player can also race on a track alone while recording a time (Time Trial mode), and trying to beat this time on subsequent races. There are two modes where players can face each other. The VS. mode allows you to race with each other, and Bob-ombs are thrown in each track. The Battle Mode allows players to compete in one of four special arenas filled with item boxes; each player has three balloons attached to their kart which are lost if any damage is done to the kart, with the winner being the last remaining player. If three or four players are participating, then the first one or two players without balloons transform into bombs on wheels that can crash into the remaining karts.

One of the major flaws of the gameplay revolves around the computer "cheating". When hit with weapons, the computer characters can stop for half a second and then continue at full speed. This is possible in Mario Kart Wii when you are a player. This is at odds with a player controlled character being thrown into the air and coming to a complete stop. Also, the computer can seem to catch up with the player controlled character, regardless of the lead the player has developed (especially when said player is not drifting).

Racers
Mario Kart 64 has eight drivers from which the players can choose. Koopa Troopa and Donkey Kong Junior, both of whom appeared in Super Mario Kart, did not return for Mario Kart 64, and were replaced by Donkey Kong and Wario. In pre-release screenshots, a Magikoopa was playable, but before the game's final release the Magikoopa was replaced by Donkey Kong.

The racers from the lightest to the heaviest are: Toad, Yoshi, Peach, Luigi, Mario, Wario, Bowser, and Donkey Kong. Unlike the other Mario Kart games, the racers of a lighter weight class have higher top speeds just like their acceleration. However, lighter weight racers are more prone to spinning out in collision with heavier weight racers, and can lose a balloon in Battle Mode from that collision.

Production Credits
Executive Producer - Hiroshi Yamauchi

Producer - Shigeru Miyamoto

Director - Hideki Konno

Assistant Director - Yasuyuki Oyagi

Programmers - Masato Kimura, Kenji Yamamoto, Yasuhiro Kawaguchi, Yuzuru Ogawa, Masahiro Kawano, Hirohito Yoshimoto

Demo Sequence Programmer - Hajime Yajima, Takumi Kawagoe

Visual Director - Tadashi Sugiyama

CG Character Designers - Tomoaki Kuroume, Hiroaki Takenaka, Tokihiko Toyoda, Shigefumi Hino, Masanao Arimoto, Hisashi Nogami

CG Map Designers - Makoto Miyanaga, Naoki Mori, Hiroyasu Kuwabara

Music Composer - Kenta Nagata

Sound Programmers - Taro Bando, Yoji Inagaki

Japanese Sampling Voices - Asako Kozuki, Tomoko Maruno, Charles Martinet,Julien Bardakoff, Thomas Spindler, John Hulaton

English Sampling Voices - Charles Martinet, Leslie Swan, Isaac Marshall

Technical Support - Takao Sawano, Tsuyoshi Takahashi, Hirohito Yada

Progress Management - Kimiyoshi Fukui, Keizo Kato

Special Thanks to - Yasuhito Sakai, Yoshitaka Nishikawa, Hideki Fujii, Yusuke Nakano, Wataru Yamaguchi, Phil Sandhop, Super Mario Club

Donkey Kong 3-D Model provided by Rare U.K.

Trivia!

 * Oddly, the word "Circuit" was switched with "Raceway". For example, Mario Circuit is the name of Mario's track in the Japanese version, and in the American version, it's switched to Mario Raceway.
 * This is the first appearance of Donkey Kong and Wario as playable characters in the series.
 * Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Wario have different voices in the Japanese version. Their voice clips would later be reused in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Party 1 + 2.
 * In production, its original name was Super Mario Kart R, but was changed, likely because it was too similar to Sonic R 's name (a Sonic racing game).
 * This Mario Kart game has fewer unlockables than any other game in the entire series; its only unlockable content are "Extra" Mode (Mirror Mode) and an alternate title screen change of Yoshi, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong (holding a Green Shell), and Mario on Kalimari Desert (both unlocked by beating all cups with 1st).
 * Kamek was originally going to be a playable character in the game, however he was scrapped in favor of Donkey Kong.

Mario Kart 64