Mario Kart 64







Wario's Stadium Shortcut

    We somehow forgot to post this Wario's Stadium shortcut, so here it is: In Wario's Stadium, turn left towards the wall when you hit the four mini-bumps. If you double hit the jump button while on the top of any of the mini-bumps right before you hit the wall, you can jump over that wall and just about skip half the course. This takes some practice and I find that using the smaller characters works best.

    Submitted by NopeNotEd


Full Course Time Trials

    Here are the top times to beat in Time Trials. Good luck!

    Luigi Raceway -- 01:43.35

    Moo Moo Farm -- 1:18.70

    Koopa Troopa Beach -- 01:30.92

    Kalimari Desert -- 1:53.32

    Choco Mountain -- 01:46.84

    Mario Raceway -- 01:17.57

    Toad's Turnpike -- 1:46.84

    Frappe Snowland -- 01:17.57

    Wario Stadium -- 04:01.24

    Royal Raceway -- 02:36.59

    Bowser's Castle -- 01:50.75

    Sherbet Land -- 02:04.02

    Rainbow Road -- 04:05.88

    Yoshi Valley -- 01:38.44

    Donkey Kong's Jungle Parkway -- 01: 58.34

    Banshee Boardwalk -- 01:52.49


Banana Trick

    When you hit a bannana peel put on your brakes immediately. This will prevent you from skidding out. After you brake for 1 second release and give her the gas. This is really helpful in Battle Mode because you will not LOSE A BALOON.


Drafting Trick

    When driving, if you can get directly behind a racer for a short time, you'll see air come off of both sides of your kart (like when you go off a ramp), and you'll get a short outburst of speed, not much, but enough to pass whomever is in front of you.

    Anthraxic@aol.com


Essential Short-cuts

    There are many short cuts in Mario Kart 64, most of which are easy to see and to execute. But even the most obvious ones are easily overseen, and N64.com has organized them into a short, quick reference guide for Mario Kart fans to access.

    We realize many short cuts have not been listed here, but we believe these are the real key shavers designed to clip off a few seconds, putting you ahead of your rivals in any mode.

    1. Noku Noku Beach -- The waterfall: Many people believe this is only accessible with a mushroom power-up, but this is false. Gamers can make the jump off the ramp without a power-up. Just aim straight into the cave, use jump (the right shoulder button) make sure not to hit the walls, and jump right out from under the waterfall.

    2. Hydro Pond (the ghost house) -- After driving through about half the course, your driver will enter the ghost house. Upon entering, take a right, but not as sharp as normal, and you'll pass by a wall on your left. Instead of aiming toward the bats, you'll aim slightly left and pass on the left side of the wooden pole. This might look like suicide, but jump over the edge of the star-shaped pool and you'll pass up that first-place player.

    3. Rainbow Road -- Right at the start of the race there is a large hill from which each racer makes a slight jump. Oftentimes if you're aiming too far left or right your racer will fly off the course, which is not a short-cut. Here's the deal: just as the slope begins to descend, press jump and you'll fly much higher and farther than ever. This shaves seconds, and in the second and third laps, your racer should jump right over the heads of those difficult-to-see Chomps.

    4. Yoshi Valley -- This course is a tangle, as shown in the introductory map, but here are a few short cuts that will enable you to beat just about anybody. Follow the course until you hit the mazey part. Immediately go left and stay left. The first part of the short-cut is to stay left and on the narrow part of the course.

    After managing to do that, you'll hit a little checkered ledge, and you'll see a big red and white sign on the left pointing right. This is the hard part. Accelerate as fast as possible and stay to the far right. As soon as the rail on the left side ends pull a hard left powerslide off the road. You'll continue the powerslide onto the upcoming road after you land, and if you do it right, you'll have shaved off at least 10 seconds or lead the pack. Of course, this one takes a lot of practice, but once mastered, it can't be beat.

    5. Donkey Jungle Park -- Near the beginning of the race is a self-propelling ramp which sends your racer across a giant river. This one is quite simple. Instead of jumping straight off it, aim to the far left and you'll be ahead of the crowd by a few seconds. It works.

    Second, this course is full of sharp turns. Use the mushroom power-ups as you pass across the jungle terrain and though you'll be hit by coconuts, you'll still end up farther ahead than if you didn't.

    Third, there is one cave on this course that disrupts many players because of its weird angles and hard-to-follow path. But look at the ground and there is a light-colored path, which makes it far easier to follow.

    Fourth, upon entering the cave, accelerate to the maximum and aim toward the steep slope. If your racer is going fast enough then pull a hard left powerslide and you'll slide right up the slope, thereby shaving a few seconds.

    There are more, but we've listed them separately, so don't forget to check them out (like Wario Stadium and Rainbow Ride)


Ghost Rider: Luigi

    Go to the Luigi Circuit and race the course under 1 minute and 52 seconds (1:51). If you're able to do it you can then race against your ghost, "a recording of the course's best time." What's even better is that the ghost is permanently saved into the game.


Ghost Rider: Mario Raceway

    Like all of the courses, Mario Raceway has a ghost to race against in Time Trials.

    Try to beat this time: 1'30"00 to get the ghost to appear.

    After you beat the above times, immediately RETRY and you will see the message "Now Meet the Course Ghost."


Ghost Rider: Royal Raceway

    Go to the Royal Raceway and race the course under 2 minutes and 40 seconds (2:40.00). If you're able to do it you can then race against your ghost, "a recording of the course's best time." What's even better is that the ghost is permanently saved into the game.


Hidden Courses

    In order to open up the hidden courses -- courses which are mirrored (you race in the same direction, but the courses are flipped) -- you must receive the gold cup the 150cc class, not all 48 courses. The exception of these courses is Toads's Turnpike, in which you race against the traffic). Once you've done it, the title screen will change.


Big Rainbow ShortCut

    Here's a massive, risky shortcut that'll absolutely blow the socks off anyone who challenges you to a game of Mario Kart 64.

    Go to the Rainbow Ride Course, and at the start, before you get air on the big, long hill, take a wide turn left off the course and into midair. If you've got the correct angle and speed (which will take some practice), you'll fly through the air for nearly 10 seconds, and will land on the same course below with a sizeable bounce. While you're in mid-air pull your hand off the accleration and hit the brakes because when you land your speed will cause you to bounce right off the course.

    If all goes well, you'll be so far ahead of everyone else the rest of the race should be a breeze (that is unless the cheating AI kicks in...).


Turbo Start

    The Turbo Start trick works somewhat like the starting trick in WaveRace 64. At the very end of the second light -- as it dims -- press the A button (acceleration). If you time it right, you'll receive a turbo boost that pushes you far far ahead of the other players. In fact, Nintendo has programmed it so that you'll bust past the slower players if you're in the last ranks.