We are about to finally play Mario Kart World, the game that replaces Mario Kart 8 after more than a decade (between WiiU and Switch) as the flagship of the franchise. However, since the first title on Super Nintendo, all franchises have wanted to have their own “kart.” It doesn’t matter how cheap, derivative, or -directly- plagiarized it is: if we can put characters in little cars and have them collect powers to throw at their opponents, it has to be programmed no matter what. Do you want to open the box of thunder and see the 9 most outrageous plagiarisms in the history of Mario Kart? Start your engines, because this journey is one-way only.
Chavo Kart
Nothing says “desperation” quite like a kart game based on the animated version of a Mexican sitcom from the 70s. Of course, in no episode did La Chilindrina and Don Ramón appear riding in small cars throwing objects, but in 2014 it seemed like such a good idea that it was released for Xbox 360 and PS3. The good part? You could race through the series’ settings. The bad part? Well… Do I remind you that it’s a kart game based on El Chavo Del 8?
Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing
Of course, if there are games pulled out of nowhere, we have to talk about Star Wars. In this case, we could run with the characters from The Phantom Menace (in addition to Boba Fett and Darth Vader), all of them with big heads in a “super-deformed” style. It was such a disaster that it was only released for PS2 and, after seeing its sales, the rest of the ports were canceled. You only need to watch for a little while to see that it should be condemned to the deepest oblivion: the Force was not with it.
Crazy Frog Arcade Racer
Do you remember Crazy Frog? It was a kind of frog with a pilot’s helmet that sang a version of Axel F and, for some reason, it was everything at the end of the 90s. And, of course, it ended up starring in its own Mario Kart plagiarism, where it faced off against other characters from its world that absolutely no one remembers, like Rasta Dog, Punk Girl, or Dream Boy. This authentic disaster was released for Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2… and it even had a sequel in 2006, which apparently broke the curse and made Crazy Frog leave our lives.
South Park Rally
At some point, we will have to talk about how the quality of South Park games (before, of course, The Stick of Truth) was terrifying. South Park Rally, in particular, is one of the worst, and it deserves credit: based only on the first three seasons, Tantalus Interactive took just 7 months to finish programming and release it for sale, which gives you an idea of its quality. At least Trey Parker and Matt Stone provided the voices themselves… Even though they spent the next decade laughing at it!
Burger King PocketBike Racer
In defense of this game, at least it must be said that it does not hide that it is an advertisement: it cost just $3.99 more alongside any menu at Burger King, and the quality matches the price. Although it was originally made in seven months for Xbox Live Arcade, in the end, the result was so good (for what everyone expected) that they ended up bringing it to physical format. That said, don’t be fooled: beyond being able to choose a giant hamburger as a character, it doesn’t have much more to offer.
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing
The worst part is not that it’s a Garfield kart game. It’s that it’s the second Garfield kart game! And if you thought that would make it better by patching the errors, think again: it’s exactly what you think. I mean, it takes the mechanics of Mario Kart but doesn’t know what to do with them, leading to absolute frustration. Want to know the worst part? In May of this year, it was announced that there would be a third installment of Garfield Kart, titled Garfield Kart 2. Not even they can agree.
Woody Woodpecker Racing
What is the reason that Woody Woodpecker, a character already forgotten by pop culture, starts racing against other even lesser-known cartoon characters from Universal? Well, of course, it’s to try to strike gold and make some money along the way. Clearly, the result did not bring Woody Woodpecker back to fame for a moment. If anything, it sank him further into the mire of characters that will not return to the forefront no matter how hard they try.
Smurf Racer
When Peyó created the Smurfs in 1958, in the pages of Johan and Pirluit, no one imagined what capitalism would do with his tender characters. For example, turning them into race car drivers. Ten tracks, 13 racers, a disaster in the making only for the true fans of smurfing all the racing games.
