'Mario Kart 64' is the best game in the racing genre ever made to me. Maybe this is debatable and objectively not so quality-wise in today's world, even in it's own series, but to me, it undoubtedly is. This is because of what it did back in the day as a game, and what it meant to me as a gamer, or bigger yet, as a person. Because of the amount of time I spent with it, and the amount of fun, I had with it.
The formula of the 'Mario Kart' series, should be familiar. Being among the most successful series in gaming, there's probably not a lot of people who haven't played one of the games at least once, and even less that never heard of it at all. In this case, the game features the classic four cups each with four courses and each playable character has it's own themed course. With the help of items does the player attempt to win first place.
This game is legendary in my family. Many years ago, when we were all still together, we would all participate in tournaments. My parents, two of my cousins, my aunt and uncle, and me. Grandmother was always happy just watching in the background. At one time though, my third cousin was actually present. A rarity. It was the last time I ever saw him, as family perils and other drama broke up much of the family. I remember it like it was the day before yesterday: My mother and stepfather were Peach and Yoshi respectively, like they always were. My cousins were Donkey Kong and Toad like they always were and my third cousin took up Luigi. My aunt was Wario, she usually won, contrary to my uncle, who was Bowser and always got the Lightning power-up for being in last place. And I, I was Mario. The game? The game means family, and memory. Memory of lost loved ones.
