Genre: Racing
Platform: GBA

Have you heard of Mario Kart? What Nintendo fan HASN'T? First, there was Super Mario Kart, then came Mario Kart 64. Finally, here's a version of Mario Kart for your Game Boy Advance!

I'm sounding like a broken record, but this is 0-5 stars.

Graphics: ****

Hey, the graphics are pretty good and actually look 3D! Sure, they can't match the graphics of Mario Kart 64, but hey, this is a Game Boy Advance!

Sound and Music: ****

I really liked the Snow Land music, and the music on the Extra tracks was really good, too. The rest wasn't bad, but not especially great.

Difficulty: *** 1/2

This game can range from really easy to nearly impossibly hard.

Controls: ****

I don't know about you, but I personally don't have a problem with the controls. There aren't about a gazillion combinations to memorize, and it's somewhat easy to remember what does what.

Levels: **** 1/2

There is a wide diversity of levels, from Cheep Cheep Island to Snow Land. Plus, it has the original Super Mario Kart levels, with, of course, a few alterations and better graphics. That's quite a lot of levels... a pity that the Extra Tracks aren't there by default... you have to fulfill certain "requirements" to get them... and no, I'm not telling you what they are! Look somewhere ELSE on the Internet!

Concept: ** 1/2

Mario Kart has been made and repeated, so this isn't that original. On the other hand, it's definitely better than the simple Bowser-kidnaps-Peach-Mario-rescues-her.

Story: no stars

There is no story! What more do I need to say?

Bosses: N/A

No bosses at all. Yeah, I know that in too many of my Reviews there haven't been bosses, but hey, I don't make the games!

Replayability: ****

There's plenty of things to try to top, like your highest coin amount, getting first place in all engine classes, and so on. But is it really enough to keep you going forever? Probably not.

Secrets: ***

There are, of course, the Extra Tracks and Special Track, but after opening them in one engine class you probably won't bother to do it in another. Sure, its got secrets, but not too much above average.

Gameplay: ****

This has good gameplay, period. The "items" are really neat, as you can use them to pass your opponents or at least pad your lead. Being able to jump is a good feature, too. Plus, the levels aren't simply repeats. This game has what Episode I: Racer (which I reviewed last time) lacks. However, the gameplay in this game is not perfect, but hey, can you expect that of everything?

Fun Factor!: ****

I get a lot of "fun" out of this game. While the "fun" might wear out after a while, I definitely get enjoyment!

OVERALL: ****

Despite this being a good game overall, there are simply too many problems preventing it from getting a perfect score. Multiplayer is difficult to initiate. Yes, I know you can play parts of it (though only with Yoshi) if they only have one gamepak, and that's amazing for a Game Boy, but it's not quite that great. I know that they couldn't really help it, but that's one annoying thing. Also, the concept has been used quite a bit, and it's not especially new. However, despite these drawbacks, this game emerges as a must-have for Mario Kart fans, and probably for most racing fans and Mario fans.

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