Mario Kart has come in all shapes and sizes over the years. It's an iconic title that's shaped a generation, so it's no surprise that there are countless ROM hacks out there that have allowed people to put their own spin on it and pay homage to it in their own way. There are so many amazing examples to choose from (the retro gaming community never sleeps), but I've listed 10 of my favourites that I've played throughout my career for you to check out, including new ones that are hot off the press!
Mario Kart has always been a huge part of my life, right from getting Mario Kart 64 on the N64 when I was 7 years old. I've played every game from Super Mario Kart to Mario Kart World, honing my craft in a bid to beat my friends... a feat that still escapes me to this day. I've played it till my thumbs are sore with friends, with family, and with loved ones who are no longer with us, so believe me when I say that I take my Mario Kart seriously!
The following hacks are full of surprises and brimming with nostalgia, not just focusing on Mario Kart history, but our childhoods as a whole. So, crack on and take a look - you won't be disappointed!
1. Mario Kart 64 Amped Up
- Brand new courses as well as existing tracks from other Mario games & other racers like Diddy Kong Racing
- RPG-esque with collectables
- Mirror mode available from the get-go
- Character sprites are fully 3D and reminiscent of the DS
- Options to change between 2D & 3D characters and items
- Nothing, it's the ultimate Mario Kart 64 ROM hack!
- Release Date: Version 3.0, 2025
- Made By: Litronom
- Base Game: Mario Kart 64
Back in the days when Mario Kart 64 was the only Mario Kart racer I had, I would dream of having more courses to play to mix things up a little bit. There wasn't a sequel to the game until 6 years later (going by PAL dates), and I know I wasn't the only one who wished we could have had a sequel.
Mario Kart 64 Amped Up feels like that sequel. It's incredible to play, with updated graphics reminiscent of the DS and tracks that we know and love from other Mario Kart games. Not only that, but the first course 'Ancient Lake' finally gives me the Mario Kart/Diddy Kong Racing crossover I've been waiting years for. There are even courses from Super Mario 64 like Hazy Maze Cave and the Secret Slide, as well as tracks from the 3DS like Neo Bowser City recreated in N64-style.
There are options to change between 2D and 3D sprites for characters and items, as well as having the option to toggle on collectible coins to pick up throughout each of the levels. I much prefer having the fully 3D characters, as that's how I thought Mario Kart 64 looked back in the day anyway, and the graphics look perfect on both Delta and dedicated handhelds.
Sure, it might not be as 'quirky' as some of the games in this list that add new characters into the list, but in terms of a crossover that implements key parts of Nintendo's gaming history, it's perfect.
2. Simpsons Kart 64
- Amazing character voices & custom items
- Cameos from Simpson's characters & renamed courses
- Great selection of characters to choose from
- Smooth gameplay
- No new courses - simply renamed Mario Kart 64 courses
- Released: 2024
- Made By: smashedbrothersgaming
- Base Game: Mario Kart 64
I'm not going to lie, it was a close call between putting Simpson's Kart at the top of this list. Hearing homer speak over the intro of the game and seeing the custom home screen made me very excited, but it was nothing compared to actually getting stuck into the game itself. There are so many little easter eggs to spot, from Blinky the three-eyed fish jumping up onto the track on Koopa Troopa Beach to Bumblebee Man standing on a fence on Moo Moo Meadows. See if you can spot who has replaced the picture of Princess Peach in the stained glass window of Peach's castle too.
The fact that this ROM hack uses lines of dialogue from the characters is amazing and makes the whole thing feel more immersive, a little like Road Rage meets Mario Kart, which is always going to be a great combination. Custom items replace shells, bananas, and mushrooms, with Duff Beer being used as boosts, the cans being used as bananas, and rocks from a slingshot replacing shells. Plus the fact that Kang (or is it Kodos?) replaces Lakitu is awesome.
There aren't any new tracks, but existing courses have been renamed to give them a Springfield feel. I don't mind that at all, however, as the main point of this ROM hack is seeing the Simpsons characters in an alternative universe, and I'm a huge fan of it.
3. Pokémon Kart 64
- Pokémon trademark phrases like 'Pika' & 'Cubone' make you feel like you've stepped into an alternative Pokémon Snap adventure
- Renamed courses (one new design) and unique items with lots of Easter eggs to spot
- Master Ball replaces Blue Shell
- Changes of NPCs to Pokémon characters (Moo Moos to Taurus, etc)
- One new course with the rest simply being renamed versions of existing Mario Kart courses
- Released: 2025
- Made By: Shrugboat
- Base Game: Mario Kart 64
And if you loved Simpsons Kart 64, then you'll also be all over Pokémon Kart 64. Hearing 'Bulbasaur!' or 'Pika!' as different characters fly by makes the 90s kid in me incredibly happy. Like Simpsons Kart 64, the custom home screen is a nice touch too, and the attention to detail in this game will make every Pokémon fan jump for joy.
Remember the coconuts that bashed you off the grass in DK's Jungle Parkway? Well, that's now the Safari Zone, and you'll get blasted with Safari Balls to knock you back onto the path. Wario Stadium has now become Porygon Stadium, a trippier version that feels like you've stepped into The Grid from Tron, and Royal Raceway is Giovanni Raceway. I won't go through them all; you get the idea.
Pick from classic 151 Kanto characters Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Meowth, Tangela, Cubone, Slowpoke, Porygon, and Gengar. The items are all Pokémon themed too; the Master Ball replaces the Blue Shell, pieces of ongiri replace Boost Mushrooms, and Poké Balls replace Green and Red Shells.
Like Simpson's Kart 64, there aren't any new courses, bar the reskin of Wario Stadium, but they're all renamed and have extra features. The Swoops in Banshee Boardwalk, now Haunted Boardwalk, are all Zubats. The Moo Moos on Moo Moo Farm are now Taurus (Tauri?) - this hack keeps it Kanto all the way through!
4. Super Mario Kart Horizons
- 20 brand new courses in this sequel to Super Mario Kart
- Great gameplay and graphics that stay true to the original
- New opening sequence and character selection screen
- Perfect for fans who grew up wanting more Mario Kart action on the SNES
- Gamers who grew up with older Mario Kart titles might find courses too 'simple', but that was how things were back in the 90s!
- Released: 2024
- Made By: gridattack
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart
We wrote about Mario Kart Horizons when the ROM hack arrived on the scene back in 2024. It had been in the works for 10 years and brought the long wait for a SNES-fan sequel to Super Mario Kart to an end after 32 years. This hack boasts unlockable content, 20 new courses, and a brand new soundtrack. If you grew up with this game in the '90s, then it'll take you right back to the days of Sunny Delight and Adidas Popper Pants.
From the new opening sequence and the character selection screen to the purple hues used for the evening skies on the new levels, it feels fresh and, to take a word out of Ron Burgundy's book, 'classy', while still staying true to the feel of the original. There are no new characters, but out of all the games on this list, this is the one that feels most like a 'true sequel'.
The courses aren't too hard either; it's not like this is a Kaizo ROM hack designed to make you slowly go bald while playing, a feature that definitely feels present in some of the later hacks in this article!
5. Super Luke Kart
- A whole new set of characters for the SNES classic, including Mega Man, Plankton (SpongeBob), Pikachu, & Ronald McDonald
- 4 new 'Copa' cups with brand new tracks to play
- Donkey Kong replaces Donkey Kong Jr
- Some of the later courses are super hard - not for those quick to anger!
- Released: 2023
- Made By: LukeNovaes
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart
I bet you never thought that you would see Ronald McDonald in a Mario game, and now you're going to see him twice in one article! Super Luke Kart might not be as iconic as having Mario in the name, but seeing Bomberman, Mega Man, and Plankton from SpongeBob going head to head with each other against the most famous fast-food clown in existence really does make me smile.
Super Luke Kart comes to us from Portuguese ROM hacker LukeNovaes, a Super Mario Kart specialist, and it's jam-packed full of new features. 20 new tracks with the Course 1, 2, & 3 difficulty increments like in the original game and 14 new drivers are available for players to race with. Plus all of the cups are open from the very beginning, so you can just jump straight in and enjoy the action.
Some of these courses are hard - Plankton ended up in the water of the 'Polo Norte 2' level more than he was on the land, though that's definitely my fault and not his. The course designs are designed to make you think rather than just plough straight into a race, so I'd say this is a game for someone who really wants to get tactical about technique - it definitely tries to trick you up!
6. Mario Kart Advance R
- A ROM hack that champions the graphics of the GBA classic Super Circuit
- 5 new cups with new courses
- Super clean gameplay with courses that make you think while playing
- The Acid Bath courses make me want to pull my eyes out they're so difficult, but I've had a blast playing through them nonetheless
- Released: 2024
- Made By: BlueYoshi
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart/Mario Kart Super Circuit/Mario Kart R (ROM hack)
5 cups, and some of the toughest, brain-busting courses of any Mario Kart game I've ever played. Mario Kart R is one of the older Super Mario Kart ROM hacks on the scene, and now there's an Advance version using sprites from Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
The 20 tracks in this game are from Mario Kart R, all with edited palettes to look as if the original ROM hack had appeared on the GBA. We've had a lot of SNES-friendly games on here, so I wanted to choose this as opposed to the original to give a little love to the GBA. It also gave me a chance to showcase our Delta skin, of which 100% of the proceeds go to charity!
Super Circuit holds a special place in my heart because it was the first time that we got to take Mario Kart out of the house and on the road with us. Had the levels been as tricky as Acid Bath, however, then I would have probably thrown my GBA through the open car window. Still, the custom soundtrack does provide some soothing tones to ease the pain of falling into something that might make Yoshi look like Dry Bones if he did it too many times. Acid Bath, - it's definitely not a traditional Mario Kart name, huh?
7. Hyper Street Kart
- Great new custom intro featuring Street Fighter characters
- Choose from classics such as Zangief, Blanka, and M. Bison
- New tracks with Street Fighter-themed names
- Custom powerups like 'Hadouken' instead of red shells
- Difficulty isn't as intense as some of the other ROM hacks in this list, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on your skill level
- Released: 2016
- Made By: The Real Phoenix & Ten Shu
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart
When I was playing Super Street Fighter on the SNES, I never thought that I'd be taking Zangief and Blanka around new courses in a Super Mario Kart ROM hack. In my defence, I didn't know what a ROM hack was back then, but it was still a pipe dream no matter how you look at it.
Hyper Street Kart feels like the game that Capcom should have released to combat the rise of Mario Kart back in the '90s. I would have played the heck out of it, and yes, every game I've played on this hack so far has been with Blanka. The guy's a menace in Street Fighter, and he's just the same in this game. Seeing Zangief and Chun Li on the map at the bottom of the screen just doesn't get old either.
And how does throwing a Hadouken instead of a Red Shell sound to you? Cool, right? There is a mixture of new and adapted tracks, all with Street Fighter-themed names too. All in all, it's a nice ROM hack that isn't insanely difficult but will please every Capcom fan.
8. Mario Kart 64 Deluxe
- Great selection of characters, including Crash Bandicoot, Waluigi, Banjo, & Sonic!
- Characters don't have new noises - just recycled sounds for their original counterparts
- New characters look darker than Mario & Luigi, who are the only originals from MK64.
- No new course names
- Released: 2021
- Made By: Reset.TV
- Base Game: Mario Kart 64
You might be thinking - why is a version of Mario Kart 64 with Crash Bandicoot and Sonic in it all the way down here? Don't get me wrong, seeing Crash and Sonic next to Mario and Luigi going down towards the finish line feels sacrilegious, but I'm all here for it.
The reason I've put this ROM hack so far down, however, is that while it's great getting to play as Skull Kid and Samus, none of the characters have new noises or lines of speech - they're simply reskinned and have the same noises as the original Mario Kart characters when racing. Banjo, for instance, makes noises like Donkey Kong, and Sonic has Yoshi's sounds, and the new character designs look a lot darker than Mario and Luigi.
The courses haven't been renamed either, so while it's a fun ROM hack of one of my favourite N64 games and one that I do enjoy playing, the level of detail really can't compare to the likes of Pokémon Kart 64 and Simpsons Kart 64.
9. Super Smash Kart
- The ultimate racer for fans of Super Smash Bros. on the N64
- Play as Captain Falcon, Fox McCloud, Samus, Link, & more
- Character sprites all look well-formed and run smoothly
- No new courses or adapted track names to tie in with Smash Bros
- Released: 2022
- Made By: tommygee37
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart
I played Super Smash Bros. religiously when I was a kid, so much so that I'm surprised my original box hasn't completely perished. The day I unlocked Captain Falcon was immense, but just like Hyper Street Kart, I never thought I'd be seeing the Cap' in a Mario Kart game. Sure, we use his Blue Falcon in Mario Kart today, but seeing him jumping over the original SNES Mario Kart tracks alongside his Smash Bros opponents is epic.
Fox, Pikachu, Samus, DK, Mario, Luigi, & Link join Captain Falcon to make up the character list in Super Smash Kart. There aren't any other bells and whistles to this game, bar the character sprites being replaced for smash characters, but it switches things up nicely if you're feeling nostalgic for Ninty's iconic beatdown game.
10. Super Retro Kart
- Great ROM hack that features characters from previous ROM hacks and new additions such as the hack's creator, Retro HD
- Black & white Game Boy Cup tracks and colour tracks for NES, SNES, & GCN Cups
- Imaginitive original course design (Check out Retropolis2)
- Some of the courses are a little hard to follow as there's a lot going on, but the map views look great!
- Released: 2023
- Made By: Retro Master HD
- Base Game: Super Mario Kart
Super Retro Kart finishes off this list nicely with its multiple cups based on different Nintendo systems. Having the Game Boy Cup levels in black and white is a nice touch, with the other cups based on the NES, the SNES, and the Nintendo GameCube. While I get the feel of the NES and the SNES in the level design and graphics, I'm not sure I really feel the spirit of the GCN. Still, I've enjoyed playing the courses regardless.
While I think it's cool that Retro HD has put themselves in the game, the character list is a bit of a mish-mash of some of the other hacks above. I do like that they all have their own custom items. however. Chun-Li throwing a Kikoken instead of a shell seems way cooler.
Some of the courses are a little trippy for sure. I'm talking about Retropolis2, and it's both a good and a weird thing in equal measure. The map looks amazing and well put together, but it can take a bit to get your head around as there's a lot going on. Still, I wouldn't want you to discount this hack - Retro HD has done a good job with capturing the essence of Nintendo's early machines, and that's why it's made this list!
