Probably the strongest aspect of the game is its course design. Solo players can still have some fun with this tournament mode and the game's Time Trials mode, but obviously, Mario Kart 64 is a game where more players make the experience all the more awesome. If it's just you and another player, you can also play the game's Mario Grand Prix mode, which is split up into four cups, each with four tracks. Battles task you with popping your rivals' balloons (three per kart) through the use of shells, banana peels, and other familiar Mario Kart weapons, making for simple, addictive fun. The former lets you select from any of the game's 16 tracks, while the latter offers up a mild four arenas for you to do battle on. Up to four players can take each other on in split-screen action in Versus and Battle modes. Truly, Mario Kart 64 thrives on its competitive modes.
Despite the fact that later Mario Kart titles would feature online multiplayer, you just can't beat local competitive awesomeness. It was the party game mentality at its most entertaining. Even more exciting was the fact that you could play against up to three other people at the same time. The idea of Nintendo characters racing against one another while throwing shells and banana peels every which way was equal parts wacky and exciting.
Mario Kart 64 was the first game in the series I played, and I still remember being completely blown away by it. But how does the game play these days? While certain aspects haven't aged all that well, I'm happy to report that Mario Kart 64 is still a crazy good time, but only if you've got some friends to play with. That said, several key factors helped propel the Nintendo 64 follow-up to insane levels of popularity. That's kind of a shame, because Super Mario Kart is kind of the better game. Even though Super Mario Kart marked a strong debut for Nintendo's infamous kart racing series, it's not spoken of with the same gusto that Mario Kart 64 is.