What is your favorite non-Mario Kart mascot racing game?

[Ando85]

I'm not that big into racing games in general but have always had a good time with mascot car racing games. I have spent countless hours playing Mario Kart. I've extensively played them all up to 7 on 3DS. The only reason I haven't played 8 is because I don't have a Wii U yet but it will be a top priority to get whenever I finally purchase one.

Mario Kart aside I would say my favorite is Diddy Kong Racing. I really liked the adventure mode as the progression has a similar setup to Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. A hub world with areas to unlock as you progress. I hear Crash Team Racing has a similar setup as well. Seems with racing and platformers I always leaned more towards Nintendo 64 in that era so I didn't pay to much attention to the Crash series.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Crash Team Racing is definitely the winner for me and I would go further and say it is superior to every Mario Kart game ever but I have not played MK64 so dont know about that one. I dont know how many hundreds if not thousands of hours we played that game hell we still play it now occasionally on the rare chance we all get together (may have a session this Saturday actually).

Im not really a racing fan though I was never hooked with Mario Kart on the SNES except battle mode which was awesome. Double Dash was the last karting game I enjoyed properly. Everyone has their favourites though some like MK8 which I think is the worst in the series by a long mile damn that game is so bare bones and unsatisfying to play probably on the same level of awful as Crash Nitro Racing.

Sonic Racing Transformed is not bad but it just lacks the pull of CTR and the better MK games. Shame we dont get more karting games really because the ones that do hit that sweet spot are some of the most fun games I have ever played although arguably only CTR has ever done that for me with Double Dash as a runner up.

 

[MrFalconfly]

CTR, most definitely.

But that's mainly because my first console was a Playstation, and the first game I played on said console was Crash Bandicoot 3.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I guess Sonic Allstars Racing Transformed wins by default, since it's the only non-Mario mascot racer I've played. It's not without its flaws, but I like it well enough. Especially the power-ups. Mostly they feel much more balanced than Mario's offerings. All of them can be dodged or blocked.

 

[william1657]

I quite enjoyed the Sonic Riders series.
Well, I enjoyed the first two.
I never got to play the third one because it required Kinect, which still doubles the effective price of the game.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

Crash Team Racing of course.. a lot of fun.. it was the first playstation game i ever played as a kid and i even bought the game again on the ps store for my ps3

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Star Wars Pod-racing in the 64 was pretty great.
Also...oh what was the one racing/battle game that had like a hillbilly that used giant bees and the disco dude who used a laser disco ball?
V8 Vendetta? Something like that...

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Another vote for CTR. It may have been a copy of Nintendo's cart racers, but Naughty Dog sure made it one of the best racing games for the Playstation. I think it was the only reason why my friends and me got multitaps (remember those?).

 

[Lufia Erim]

Diddy Kong racing. That game was fun and challenging. It is miles better than any Mario kart games past or present. There is SO MUCH TO DO. Thats how you should make a racing game. Period.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Definitely the Sonic Transformed series.

A little part is probably because I was brought up on Sonic instead of Mario but even then, I prefer the character and track variety.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Diddy Kong Racing.

While I felt the single player mode got kind of cheap towards the end, that more racing games don't have it is a crime.

 

[Kotaro]

I can honestly say that I like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed more than any of the Mario Karts. The items are a bit more balanced, with the Blue Shell-equivalent (the Swarm) being very avoidable if you're good at weaving through obstacles, and there is no annoying rubber band AI (rather, the challenge comes from the AI just being very, very good). It also did the whole transforming vehicle thing (kart, boat, hoverplane-thing) very well, with some tracks even having an extra bit of strategy in figuring out how to best take advantage of optional transformation spots. Add in the Split/Second (did anyone else play that, or just me?) mechanic of tracks changing between laps (for example, the Panzer Dragoon course has the second lap block off the cave and add a detour through a river, and the third lap has the bridge destroyed, turning it into a flight section), and you end up with the most fun kart racer I've had the joy of playing.
Also, it has Skies of Arcadia stuff, so it kind of wins by default anyway.

 

[Weaver]

Beat from Jet Set Radio, who is in Sonic All Stars Racing!

 

[joest01]

Wacky Wheels of course.
Duh!