Mario Kart Used to Be a Very Different Racing Game
If you grew up with a Super Nintendo, chances are you played one of the system’s two big racing games, F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. Acording to an interview published in Retro Gamer magazine, Super Mario Kart was originally a multiplayer version of F-Zero.
The developers’ original plan for the racing game “didn’t include Mario or karts.” Instead, they were looking to create a racing experience separate from the focused single-player style present in F-Zero. Starting with this multiplayer concept, the team went through a trial and error phase that resulted in the kart-racing game we all know and love. Although there was a big challenge involved in shifting towards the more minimal environments, the limitations at play worked to produce a more accessible, family-friendly racing game than the speed-centric F-Zero.
It makes sense that one company produced two separate racing franchises from the same series. Especially considering that said company was not yet known beyond its stable of platformers and adventure games. Perhaps a new IP with the bones of an old one represents less of an investment risk than a totally untested creation. The rest of the interview will be available in the next issue of Retro Gamer. Look forward to our review of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, coming at the end of this month for the Nintendo Switch.