MK64 Tactics

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Racing Tactics used in the world of Mario Kart 64 time trials competition. This page is a must-read before moving on to the course specific strategies, as it will provide the necessary building blocks for understanding more complicated strategies. This page will explain in detail everything you need to know about Mario Kart 64 game physics, and make it easier for you to spot the small mistakes in your runs. All tactics on this page are for non-shortcut, unless noted otherwise.

Controls

Acceleration (A button) and Brakes (B button)

For non-shortcut, always press A and never press B, no exceptions.

Turning (left/right on the control stick)

The farther you move the control stick left/right, the more sharply you turn.

Shrooming (Z button)

Hopping/Sliding (R button)

R+left/right to slide. While holding R, move the control stick back and forth twice to charge up the MT (mini-turbo), and then release R to release the mini-turbo and get a speed boost. More info in the MT section.

AB-spinning (A+B+left/right while standing still)

Can be used in combination with a Rocket Boost, or in combination with a shroom or shroomslide if you are not moving when you shroom (shortcut only). Press down+left/right while AB spinning to do a reverse-AB-spin (shortcut only).

Reverse (B+down)

Shortcut only.

Change view (C-up)

Switch between zoomed in and zoomed out.

Dashboard (C-right)

Switch between course map, speedometer, and big progress-rectangle.

Tactics

Weight Class

• All 3 lightweights are identical. Lightweights have faster speed, faster acceleration, and faster off-road speed than middleweights and heavyweights.
• The 3 lightweights and Bowser are the only 4 karts with fast acceleration ability.
• Always use a lightweight (Toad, Peach, or Yoshi), except...

  Exception

  Wario Stadium shortcut flap: Use Bowser.

Rocket Boost

• To get a speed boost at the beginning of a race:
  • Press and hold A after the 2nd red light finishes dimming, and before the blue light is halfway lit up.
    • You have a 10 frame (1/3 second) time frame to press A. Earlier is better, but makes a very small difference.
• To save an extra .01 (known as Everettstart):
  1. Start holding A much earlier (before Lakitu gets into position).
  2. Release A before reaching the aforementioned 10 frames. Then press A again during those 10 frames, as you would for a normal rocket boost (again, earlier is better).
  3. The less time you spend releasing A is better.
     • If you release/press A too soon, you wipe out with gray smoke. If you release/press A too late, you wipe out with orange smoke.
• As when shrooming, sliding is faster, so typically you want to start a slide as soon as possible, and then either MT or shroom at the end of the rocket boost.
  • If you need to turn sharply at the beginning of a race (e.g. FS or YV), do a quick AB-spin before starting the slide.
• If you need to go in reverse at the beginning of a shortcut race (e.g. FS or DK), do a reverse-AB-spin.

Turning

• "Turning" refers to simply pressing left/right to turn, but the typical method of going around turns is with an MT, and only turning for a short amount of time after the MT.
• Turning slows you down, so avoid turning more often than necessary.
• Occasionally you'll need to make direction-adjustments without an MT.
  • If a small adjustment (<20°)), then simply press left/right.
  • If a larger adjustment, then do a hop-turn.
• After any kind of turn, always untilt, unless you're in the middle of a turn that's too sharp for untilting.

Untilting

• Possibly the most overlooked tactic among lower-level karters, so I can't stress this enough: Being tilted slows you down.
• If you can see the character's head leaning to one side, or if the front tires are not centered in front of the back tires, then you know you're tilted.
• To untilt, quickly tap the control stick in the opposite direction of the way you're tilted.
  • If you were just turning left, then quickly tap right to untilt. If you just did a left-facing SSMT and then turned right to straighten out, then quickly tap left to untilt.