I have no idea how, or why, someone decided to have Mario and friends spend a day go-karting, but I'm eternally grateful that they did.

Super Mario Kart is the original seed that blossomed into the Mario Kart franchise. Since it's release on the Super Nintendo, every major Nintendo console has seen a new Kart game released during it's lifespan, and they've all sold like gangbusters. But before we had Double Dash, portable Mario Kart, or online racing, we had Super Mario Kart.

The title music for this game still puts me in a good mood over 25 years later. Everyone knows this game. At the time, it looked gorgeous (I would argue it still has a beautiful nostalgic charm). It had Grand Prix, VS mode, and of course, Battle Mode. And while Mario Kart 64 would take popping balloons on go-karts to the next level, this game invented the formula that would end up ruining friendships. Who doesn't remember a sleep over at a friend's house that involved staying up all night playing Battle Mode? Loser passes the controller. It was so ridiculously intense.

This game also harks back to a time before blue shells and Bullet Bills evened the playing field. Skills paid dividends in Super Mario Kart, and if someone was a lot better than everyone else, you had to result to unplugging their controller while they played to beat them. God, I love this game.

David Rae is my guest this week, and we look back on what it was like growing up with this gem. An absolute cornerstone of the SNES library, Super Mario Kart is perfect. Enjoy the podcast!