I will never get bored of Mario Kart ROM Hacks and demakes. I love the different ways that the game has been reimagined over the years, especially when it comes to remaking it for differnt consoles or porting it to handhelds it had no business being on in the first place. This demake takes the concept of the most famous kart racer in the world and gives it the 8-bit dot matrix treatment, accompanied by some choice chiptune beats.
I love games that you can play in your browser, especially when they work on mobile and have a simple, Game Boy-esque interface for you to use so you don't have to messa round opening up an emulator. You can literally open this game on your iPhone or iPad and start racing straight away. And I'm happy to report that no AI was used in the creation of this game at all - it's 100% old-school!
Dallasapp711 has released their creation on Itch.io for anyone to try out and play for free, giving us a look at what an early handheld Mario Kart might have looked like. According to them, 'Mario Kart Rally DMG packs the quick thrills and racing chaos of a classic directly into your Game Boy.' The tracks have all been inspired by classic game locations, though the gameplay has more of an arcade feel to it. You'll need to get through checkpoints before the timer runs out if you want to have a chance of progressing.
The game has been optimised entirely for the DMG, though you can only play it via your browser and not through a handheld or original hardware. It's nowhere near as advanced as the likes of Super Circuit, but it's fun to contemplate what Mario Kart might have looked like had it been made on the Game Boy before it's time. I'm glad we waited till the GBA to truly experience a handheld that could do Mazza and his pals justice, but I'm still enjoying some 8-bit Goombas and coin-collecting action!
Head to Itch.io to get racing!
