( Luigi with the Pipe Frame, Slick tires, and Parafoil) Unless you chose Bowser, because then you probably lost and feel bad about yourself.( Luigi with the Standard Kart, Slick tires, and Super Glider)

And then the drum beat picks up, urging you to race to the finish, but really you know the results don’t actually matter, because you already feel like a winner. And after a shimmering noise pans from the right speaker to the left speaker, there is this anemic but still rad electric guitar solo that just mimics the previously established melody. The organ and slap-bass are the backbones here, offering a really uplifting chord progression, while the whistling synths let you soar to new heights as you catch insane air even with a big stupid character like Bowser. From a instrumental standpoint, this song is really diverse and and mellifluous. It is basically ethereal victory music that plays before you’ve even won anything. It is at once the best and worst part of the game and something for which composer Kenta Nagata should be remembered by forever.ĭo you remember how f***ing high you felt throwing caution to the wind, jumping off the side of the Rainbow Road’s initial declivity, hoping you would stick the landing and assure victory for yourself? That is what the Rainbow Road song sounds like to you, me, and everyone out there who had the privilege to play this game as a child. But the thing that stuck out most upon my revisiting was the game’s soundtrack.

I thought this was a travesty and started Karting it up on my original console, rediscovering what made the game so great in the first place, testing my muscle memory and remembering the intense schadenfruede of hitting someone with a shell right as they were about to hit a big jump. Weirdly, only one person selected Mario Kart 64, the game that essentially defined the spirit of console before more well developed games ( Super Smash Bros.) homed in on what made the N64 so special.

In terms of reliable distractions that aren’t as life-ruiningly immersive as contemporary consoles, but still competitive and community fostering, the N64, its stupid-ass tri-pronged controller and all, is the all-time MVP.Īfter the console turned 20 years old this June, the Nerdist writers banded together to pay tribute to our favorite games, which ranged from Star Foxto GoldenEye to Harvest Moon 64. The Nintendo 64 is easily that best game console of all time.