Mario Kart Arcade GP
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| Mario Kart Arcade GP | |
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 Promotional flyer for MarioKart Arcade GP |
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| Developer(s) | Namco, Nintendo |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Series | Mario Kart |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date | October 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Input methods | Steering wheel |
| Cabinet | Sit-down |
| Arcade system | Triforce |
| Display | Raster, horizontal orientation |
Mario Kart Arcade GP is an arcade-only sequel to Nintendo's Mario Kart series, developed by both Namco and Nintendo. Designed for the Triforce arcade board (also used for F-Zero AX), players can race as one of eleven characters in twenty-four tracks. On certain machines a player's data can be saved on a magnetic card, which can be inserted into the machine again later to retain unlocked items and records.
This game's arcade cabinet houses a camera that will take a photograph of the player's face. The photo can be customized and then will be displayed above the player's character during multiplayer races.
The game is noted for being the first Mario Kart to feature playable crossover characters: Namco's Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Blinky. The game received a sequel in 2007 in the form of Mario Kart Arcade GP 2. It is unlikely that either game will receive a console release.
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[edit] Playable characters
Mario Kart Arcade GP contains eleven playable characters, including Namco's Pac-Man, Ms. Pac Man and Blinky (the red ghost).
[edit] Stages
There are 6 stages in Mario Kart Arcade GP, each with a different theme, from the beach theme in the Mario stage to the jungle theme in the DK stage. Each stage has four tracks; the first two are in normal mode, and the final two are "reverse" versions of the first two, however these are not mirror versions as seen in the other Mario Kart games; instead, you race on the same track but in the opposite direction. The player can earn the reverse tracks by beating the two normal tracks. Also, for the first time in a full 3D Mario Kart game, there are coins scattered around the tracks, and picking up coins makes a player's kart go slightly faster, like in Super Mario Kart for the SNES and Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the GBA. In accordance with Mario Kart tradition, the last course is Rainbow Road.
After finishing all 4 races from each stage, a "challenge game" comes up, in which the player is required to complete a certain task; each of them requires the player to drive to a goal under a certain amount of time while under a certain condition, such as driving backwards through a field of banana peels, or having to hop over obstacles that cause the player to waste valuable time if hit. Each challenge game is different and the entire set of races is not counted as complete if the player fails it. If the player wins the challenge game, then one of each driver's special item is awarded for use in future play.
Completing all 6 Stages will open up “Special Stages”. These 6 Special Stages are the reverse of the previous ones and the level of difficulty increases. The time allowed to complete the Challenge Games is also approximately halved.
When all six Special Stages (including the Challenge Games that has increased difficulty) are completed, all races in 50cc are cleared. Players will be entitled to play the Grand Prix mode now in 150cc. The color of the chassis of the karts will turn to gold. Karts in 150cc have a much higher speed than in 50cc, and therefore requires much better handling skills.
Upon completion of the first 6 Stages, the title 6 Cup CLEAR will be available to the player. If the stages are completed without a single loss, the title Straight CLEAR will be available. After the next 6 Reverse Stages are completed the title 150cc Racer will be available. Upon completion of all 50cc and all 150cc Stages, the title Grandprix Master will be available.
[edit] Items
When a player hits an item box, the player is given one of the three selected items chosen at the start of a race. Mario Kart Arcade GP features items new and old.
Winning the Challenge Game will reward a user with a special item. The special item is specifically related (and only available) to the driver that the player chooses. For example, Pac-Man has special items including the Power Pellet, Rally-X, Pooka, and Galaga Boss. All of them are related to popular classical games of Namco.
The six special items rewarded have a similar nature among different characters, e.g. completing the challenge game in Mario Stage will reward the player with an item to make him invincible.
However, the Special item rewarded for Rainbow Stage does not necessarily share similarity across different characters. For example, Chain Chomp for Mario and Luigi is “lock-on shot”, while Thwomp for Bowser which is back-dropping, or Galaga Boss which is forward shooting but without lock-on for Pac-Man, or Conga for Donkey Kong which is radial in nature.
In the course of Special Stages, items rewarded from the races will be labeled with a “+” sign, signifying that is a “plus item”. “Plus items” are the same as the items that players can acquired from normal stages, but plus items usually have longer time spans and increased power.
“Triple items” will be rewarded if player completed a stage in the 150cc Grand Prix races. Triple items are selected items from the normal ones, but they can be fired, dropped or used three times with one hit to the item box. For example “Triple Pie” means player can drop a pie three times instead of one time.
[edit] Time attack
When the game is started, the player is allowed to choose between the normal game or to do a time attack, which is a time trial. The results of the time trial are recorded as the player's name and current title, time to complete and character used. The records of the top players are displayed at the end of each demo game.
If a certain timing is achieved, the player is able to unlock the factory Ghost player character. The Ghost will appear when replaying the same stage and level. Different titles will be awarded to the Player from upon the unlocking of each factory Ghost player, from time at rookie, Time AT-20, Time AT-19, etc. The numerics drop as more factory Ghosts are unlocked, with the highest-leveled title being time at expert, time at maniac and time attacker.
If the Player has unlocked the 150cc stages, the 150cc time attack is available by pressing the red button on the left while selecting time attack from the screen.
[edit] External links
- Official Mario Kart Arcade GP site (Japanese)
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