The Final: (13)The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past v (14)Mario Kart 64

[ABMorales787]

Mario Kart 64 PAILS in comparison to A Link To The Past. There is nothing it has over it. At all. How it made it this far is beyond me. Yeah, it's a great game. But there are far better games in my eyes in the Nintendo 64 alone. But lets just see all the evidence as to why A Link To The Past is better:

1) Higher Acclaim

Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 92.78% (SNES)
Metacritic 95 (GBA)

Review scores
Publication Score
Allgame 5/5 stars (SNES)
GameSpot 9.2/10 (GBA)
IGN 9.7/10 (GBA)
Nintendo Power 4.9/5 (SNES)​

Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 87%
Metacritic 83 of 100
Review scores
Publication Score
Edge 8 of 10
Electronic Gaming Monthly A
GamePro 5 of 5
GameSpot 6.4 of 10
IGN 8.1 of 10
Nintendo Power 4.33 of 5​

In 2005, IGN editors placed it 11th in its "Top 100 Games", while readers voted it to 5th place. The following year Entertainment Weekly chose it as the best game of all-time. Members of GameFAQs ranked it the 4th best, and readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu ranked it 31st in a 2006 poll. It also placed 3rd in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list, 23rd in GameInformer's, and 3rd in a best 200 Nintendo games list by Nintendo Power. In July 2007, readers of the magazine Edge voted it sixth in a poll of the 100 best games of all time. ScrewAttack placed it 2nd on their list of top 20 Super Nintendo games.[53] It was awarded Best Sequel of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The game placed eighth (the second-highest Zelda game on the list) in Official Nintendo Magazine's "100 greatest Nintendo games of all time" list. In 2009, Game Informer put A Link to the Past 12th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that it "remains a blast today".

Mario Kart 64 received generally positive reviews. The game has an average review ratio of 87% on Game Rankings, including reviews from IGN and GamePro, and magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly. IGN stated, "Though the single-player mode is a bit of a step back from the SNES original, Mario Kart 64 still offers one of the best multiplayer experiences to be had on Nintendo 64." GameSpot insisted that though the graphics and sound of the game are impressive, the gameplay is too easy and lacks depth. In GameSpot's re-review of the Virtual Console release the reviewer criticized its sound, lack of ghost-saving, and graphics, saying the latter had "aged rather poorly." The game placed 17th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time. Mario Kart 64 sold approximately 5.5 million copies in the United States and 2.24 million in Japan. Joystiq reported in February 2009 that the game had sold over nine million copies worldwide

According to this, Zelda was better than Mario Kart all over. It is rated higher by reviewers, it is placed higher in lists, and did not feature downsides on re-releases. It's done all that over Mario Kart 64 In TWO SEPARATE CONSOLES. Which leads to my next point.

2) Older, But Still Kicking Ass

A Link To The Past was released in November 1991. Making it my age. 20. Mario Kart was released in 1996. Making it 15 years old. In that time, Mario Kart has seen a re-release via the Wii's Virtual Console. But so has Zelda. Wait. It was also re-released on the Gameboy Advance. Meaning, it has portability, and a wider choice of consoles. Another reason it's superior.

3) Gameplay

Mario Kart was among the top party games of the N64. A console that became a great success because of said party games. MK featured a simple look with simple gameplay that grasped anyone and took full advantage of 4 control scheme of the console. Simply put, Mario Kart was better for parties than Mario Party/lousypun] However, that was most of it. It's singleplayer mode was something you could finish in a day if you had nothing else to do. Play four 4 Cup's composed of 4 races with 3 different speeds. Then Do it backwards. That was it. After that, if you didn't have a friend to play with, the game offered no more.

A Link To The Past rather obviously focuses on singleplayer. Having the player go on for hours on end with a large variety of puzzles minigames and dungeons. It features a large variety of items to collect as well. Giving it the replay value Mario Kart can only get via multiplayer. Hell, the GBA version of A Link To The Past added a multiplayer fuction of it's own. The co-op game Four Swords. Yeah, it's a separate game. It's still in the same cartridge as A Link To The Past. So it even has multiplayer covered. Oh no!

Mario Kart is fun only when you have friends. Zelda is fun any time. And any place if you have it on a handheld.

4) Artistic Value

I dare to compare MK64 and LTTP to The Cat In The Hat and Oedipus Rex respectively. Why? One may be more mainstream but the other has far more depth, understanding and exploitation of emotions. Another comparison I'd be willing to make is MK64/Scary Movie and LTP/Blazing Saddles. Scary Movie may be more modern and better looking, but Blazing Saddles didn't rely on dipping into crude jokes that everyone relates to via pop culture and instead made you laugh by exploiting racial and political issues. Simply put that it may be more outdated in look, but that can never take away the value it contains in it's story. Mario Kart was simply made to nab kids and make them play together. A simple cash-cow concoction. If Mario Kart is supposed to be better because of this, I gasp at the fact that WiiFit was nowhere to be found in this tournament.



Make the right choice fellow reader. Vote for Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. Videogames are art. And art is more than visual or commercial satisfaction. It is something that can move your very soul with emotion and understanding. Thank you.

 

[Davi323]

Well, I voted for Zelda over Pokemon, and I sure as hell am not going to change my vote here. Even though technically speaking, the N64 is a superior gaming system to the SNES, for me, games are always about replay value. Mario Kart 64 is one of the funnest games ever...if you have 3 buddies. It's one of those games that excels in the multiplayer aspect, but falls somewhat short in single player mode. That isn't really a knock on the game itself, its just the game was clearly meant to be played party style, where you can race your friends rather than the computer.

For me, though, I like a game that I can play any time, without friends over. A Link to the Past is one of those games. Not only does it have an awesome storyline, cutting edge graphics (for the SNES) but the simple controls means you don't need much of a learning curve to just play. Simple to learn, but very fun is an ideal combination. Combine that with a great soundtrack, and A Link to the Past is an all around excellent game.

Vote: ALTTP

 

[Stormtrooper]

The entire tournament has been great, and it's a shame that the final can't live up to the prior rounds in the matchup department. Mario Kart 64 is a great game. It's brand of Kart Racing was the best for its time, and the game holds many, many fond memories. However, as has been stated numerous times already here, it's a good game going up against an All-Time Classic.

To get the obvious out of the way, of course MK64 has a better multiplayer factor, since Zelda is 1-player. And MK is a better party game for the same reason. However, party games get their appeal not based on how awesome the games are, but how much fun you have with your friends while playing it. You can get 4 people together to play almost any game, and you'll have the same experience.



Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past is widely considered the greatest (or among the greatest) in the amazing history of the Legend of Zelda series (which ranks in the top 2 or 3 of all time game franchises). Legend of Zelda originated many of the series key elements (2 worlds, hookshot, bottles, Kakariko Village, animal interaction (the bird-warp/bunny-morph), spinning sword attack, and millions (..... and millions) of other things.

Graphically, the 2 games don't even compare, and that's a bad thing for MK. MKs graphics are solid (good for their time), but totally and completely outdated by todays standards. LOZ:LttP has excellent visuals then, and now they still stand up.

Control-wise, LttP wins easily. MK 64s controls were OK, but suffer because of the N64s sub-par controller. LttP's controls were perfect.

Gameplay wise, MK has been surpassed by every version of the game that came out after. Better AI, better weapons, better levels, better gimmicks, better vehicles, different vehicles, etc. LOZ:LttP is (as mentioned already) considered among the elite in the series. The AI hasn't really changed much (if at all), the gimmicks have never been topped, and the story was among the tops in the series.

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past was absolutely incredible, and is among the greatest games of all time. Mario Kart 64 was a very good game in its time (maybe even a great game in its time), but time has really lessened its value. Time has not only not hurt Link to the Past, but it really may have made it even better.

My vote: Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past

 

[Vintage Nick]

I loved playing both of these games growing up. For Mario Kart 64, I played it alot with my friends and family when they were over. However, when you're playing it by yourself it becomes immensely boring. It's much more entertaining when you're playing with two or more people.

As for A Link to the Past, whenever I went to my cousin's house, I'd either play OoT on his 64, or Link to the Past on his SNES. I thought A Link to the Past was very enjoyable and was overall entertaining. Fast forward a few years later. On my 15th birthday, I had my very own copy of A Link to the Past for the Game Boy Advance. I played it, and was hit by a wave of nostalgia and memories. While the audio wasn't as crisp as on the SNES, it was still enjoyable. I played it more than the other GBA games that I had owned. The story was great, the visuals were amazing, and I still had a blast with the game.

Like I said, Mario Kart is entertaining, but mainly when you have others playing with you. ALTTP is a great game to play and immerse yourself in.

Vote: A Link to the Past.

 

[Lee]

WINNER!​