But what set Mario Kart apart from the start was, of course, the element of combat mixed in simultaneously with the racing. It laid the foundation for how the games' competitions would work, with a series of tracks organized into Cups and points awarded for position of finish within each race. It established the design of the colorful cartoon characters racing against each other through vibrant courses, modeled after the environments seen in earlier Mario games – this one drew most of its inspiration from Super Mario World, released the previous year. Super Mario Kart first brought Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom pals out to the racetrack. But we'll keep our discussion just focused internally, on its Kart legacy alone. Mario – the influence of the first Super Mario Kart, in hindsight, is astounding. The most successful of Mario's early spin-offs, by far, since previous to this the only non-platformers he'd headlined were obscure edutainment titles and the good but under-the-radar Dr. Perhaps, with a fresh look back across the series' seven steps through history, we'll be able to view Mario Kart 7 with proper perspective seven weeks from now. Let's look back across the entire Kart franchise, examine what each installment brought to the table and trace the influences that we already know are impacting the next game. (And many of us probably end up with some mix of both.) In advance of the game's release, though, let's try to set up a framework for the discussion of 7's relative quality when it does arrive. On the other, though, will be the haters – taking offense that 7 will, no doubt, 'not do enough new' to justify being called a new sequel. On the one side are those who'll praise the new installment, pointing out its innovations and loving whatever fresh elements it brings to the now 20-year-old core design. We're now less than seven weeks away from the release of Mario Kart 7, and longtime fans of the franchise are probably settling back into their old and comfortable camps of compliment or complaint.

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