Original Release: Kritter5X, 2023, Web browser
A solid fan adaptation of SNES Mario Kart, fully playable but still in development of this writing, with new tracks and characters and that can be played via web browser
Mario Kart: Ultra Circuit (Web browser, Kritter5X, 2023)
Where to Buy: Free, play online in browser at Itch.io
Review by: C. M0use
This free fan project does a remarkable job of capturing the aesthetic and feel of the original SNES Super Mario Kart, but with a new set of courses (across four Cups) and a bunch of characters from later series entries blended in (with well-done pixel art representations).
While it’s a cool project, it’s still in a developmental state and I can’t entirely say it’s “fun to play” as of yet. It seems mostly complete in terms of overall structure, but has a lot of little gameplay niggles. The physics seem to get more wonky as you accelerate, giving you wild control and unpredictable huge caroms off other drivers or obstacles, and this seems to be worse on particular track types. The game also sometimes loses track of what place you’re in and/or what lap you’re on, ending the Cup prematurely as you’re never able to move on from the current race.
It seems like it’s not too much polish away from being a truly complete and great Mario Kart knockoff, but it also has had very sparse updates in the last year. I wouldn’t blame the developer for abandoning it, I mean you can’t monetize it for obvious Nintendo reasons and you always have the threat of one of their aggressive C&Ds hanging over your head. If it does continue and fix its remaining issues I’d love to see a downloadable offline version of it, for preservation purposes if nothing else, and maybe as a reference for building a good old-school kart racer in Construct 3.
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