Kart Fighter

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Kart Fighter is a bootleg (read: unlicensed) two-player Fighting Game made for the NES. Predating Super Smash Bros. by 6 years, it contains Nintendo characters (from Mario Kart) beating each other up Street Fighter-style and is known as one of the first few NES Fighting Games. Each character has up to three command moves that allow him to do more damaging moves.

For a bootleg NES game, Kart Fighter is actually a surprisingly good effort, being one of the best 2D fighting games on the NES (and the bigger amount of Street Fighter II feeling you'll ever get on a NES game).

Characters:

  • Mario (spelled incorrectly as "Mari")
  • Luigi
  • Yoshi ("Yossy")
  • Toad ("Kinopio")
  • Peach
  • Donkey Kong Jr. ("Donkey")
  • Bowser ("Koopa")
  • A Koopa Troopa ("Nokonoko")

Tropes used in Kart Fighter include:
  • Banana Peel: Donkey Kong J.r.'s projectile attack is a thrown banana peel. Naturally, it makes the opponent trip (and does quite a bit of damage).
  • Blind Idiot Translation: Mostly averted with the character names, (they're based off the Japanese names) with the exception of Mario.
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Egregious with Luigi- most of his specials are AI only and cannot be done by the player. See "Secret AI Moves".
  • Easy Mode Mockery: You only get an ending screen if you beat the game on the highest difficulty setting.
  • Everything's Better with Monkeys: Donkey Kong Jr.
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: Peach and Donkey Kong Junior have a spinning charge move, Mario and Luigi spin when doing their uppercut, and Koopa Troopa has a shell spin move.
  • Fan Service: Most probably the reason why Peach has such a short skirt in this game.
  • Kamehame Hadoken: All of the characters have at least one projectile move, save for the Koopa Troopa. Yes, Yoshi can do a hadoken in this game.
  • No Ending: Averted. While many assume that the game repeats the last two fights endlessly (against Koopa and a clone of your character), the game ends after the second loop.
  • The Points Mean Nothing: While the game does have a high score screen, it's almost impossible to get on it because the default scores are ridiculously big.
  • Prehensile Hair: Peach has it in this game.
  • Ryu and Ken: Mario and Luigi, natch. They both have the same moves, the only difference is that most of Luigi's special moves can only be used by the AI.
  • Secret AI Moves: Poor Luigi. Most of his special attacks are only usable by the AI. Other than that, he plays like Mario.
  • Shotoclone: Mario and Luigi, both of whom come with hadouken and Shoryuken moves.
  • Shoryuken: Used by many of the characters in the game.
  • SNK Boss: Every single AI-controlled opponent after the first. They are able to read your movements and will use attacks to counter yours, and will even change strategies after being beaten once. This usually makes them hard to fight, unless, of course, the player spams blocking and low kicks.
  • Some Dexterity Required: This game actually has command moves, but thankfully they aren't hard to execute.
  • Spell My Name with an "S": MARI. That is all.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Yoshi, Peach, Toad and the Koopa Troopa. No longer mounts/distressed damsels/advisers/cannon fodder anymore. Yoshi is one of the more competent fighters and his AI will kick your ass if you don't know how to counter him.
  • Turtle Power: Bowser and the Koopa Troopa.
  • Waif Fu: Peach is in this game, and she can actually kick some ass.
  • Warmup Boss: Your first opponent, a Koopa Troopa. His shell spin special is pretty weak, and he has no far range attacks. As for the rest of your opponents...
  • A Winner Is You: Beating the game on the highest difficulty gives you a win screen.
  • Your Size May Vary: Bowser. Oh dear god, Bowser. Let's just say that he's the smallest character in the game and leave it at that.