Super Star Racers, at Your Service! Quiz

Answer: Toad

Toad was a nobody, he was a common villager. But then, along came "Mario Kart" and Toad became a star, so much so, that he would become the host of a series of "Mario Party" games. Short and stout with a mushroom for a head, this little tacker is quick. Though not quite as quick as Yoshi, he is still super quick.

His biggest issue is that he is a lightweight and can get easily knocked off his feet. Here's a hint, don't use him in Battle Mode.

Answer: Wario

Like Donkey Kong, Wario did not appear in the first outing of "Mario Kart", "Super Mario Kart" (1992). He is, probably, one of Mario's closest rivals in this game, he definitely has it in for him. With his big, heavy-set frame, Wario is decidedly slow off the mark and builds up slowly to top speed. Once he's belting along though, he will match it (top speed) with his monkey like partner, the Donkey Kong.

Answer: Bowser

Bowser is Mario's arch-enemy and plays the role of the villain in most of the games they share. He does join forces with Mario occasionally and the two best examples would be "Mario Land 2" (1992) and "Super Mario RPG" (1996). He is also the King of a turtle like race called the Koopas. Bowser is, how can I put it nicely... chunky! No, that's not right, he's a dragon, he's a huge dragon and, in this game, he is the king of the heavyweights.

He also gathers a large head of steam, which is fortuitous because that makes handling his large bulk that much easier.

Answer: Luigi

Poor Luigi, always the sidekick to his mascot brother Mario. Like Mario he too is a plumber by trade, however, despite Mario hogging all the limelight, he does have a few things over his elder brother. He can boast that he's taller and slimmer and there is an argument that he may be a better fit for some, particularly the novices, in this game, than Mario.

Whilst Luigi has similar traits and skills as Mario, he is definitely quicker of the mark than his esteemed brother, which is an advantage if you hit the brakes too hard.

His quick take-offs will see him recover faster and because he can maintain top speed a little longer, don't be surprised if he overtakes the red-capped wonder on the longer straights.

Answer: Peach

Princess Peach, reportedly the love interest of Mario, is one of the three lightweight racers in this game. Despite being a lady racer, mistake her for a damsel in distress at your own peril. This lady has speed and she has oodles of it. She will reach her top speed at least a second faster than Luigi, without sacrificing too much of her handling capabilities. Like all lightweights though, she will be muscled aside when the those large heavyweights come steamrolling through.

Answer: Donkey Kong Jr.

Forgive me if I confuse you. Cranky Kong used to be called Donkey Kong and he is the grandfather of the primate that we all love... Donkey Kong. In the middle, the son of Cranky Kong and the father of Donkey Kong, is Donkey Kong (or DK) Jr. DK Jr made his only "Mario Kart" appearance in "Super Mario Kart" (SMK) (1992), after which he made way for his son.

In SMK, Junior was on a par with Bowser, a heavyweight with ridiculous amounts of speed. Difficult to handle at times but he could spit out banana peels at will. If you wanted to break world records in SMK then your best choices were either Bowser or DK Jr.

Answer: Mario

Mario may be the man who is at the centre of most of Nintendo's iconic games but in this arena, he is a middleweight. That's not entirely a bad thing because he's also a Jack of all trades. The guy is good and he's the ideal player for beginners in this game.

He may be a little slow off the mark, but he will reach top speed in five seconds. He handles well but may be a fraction tardy around corners. Let's a go!

Answer: Koopa Troopa

Though Koopa Troopa had been around since 1985's "Super Mario Bros", it was in "Super Mario Kart" for the Super NES that he'd appeared as a "playable" character. Sadly for Koopa he would make way for Wario in the next series "Mario Kart 64". However, he would return as a racer again, the first time being in "Mario Kart: Double Dash" (2003).

In SMK he is similar to Toad, he has speed to burn and his handling capabilities are out of this world.

Answer: Yoshi

If you enjoy being a front runner then jump onboard with Yoshi because he is the fastest off the mark of all the racers in this game and, overall, he is one of the two fastest racers around the tracks of "Mario Kart". Who'd have thought a dinosaur could be light on his feet. Yoshi's problem is that he's a lightweight though, I'd go so far as to say the dude is a featherweight.

It means that his steering, at speed, is terrible, so don't be surprised if he is regularly running into walls or falling off cliffs and edges.

Answer: Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong first appeared in a 1981 arcade game called (surprise, surprise) "Donkey Kong". Also, in that game was a red hatted carpenter called Jumpman, who would later become an Italian plumber named Mario. Kong is one of the heavyweights in this race and he is a big brute of a creature. I can tell you that you won't be picking him because of his agility or his grace. What you will be picking him for is his raw speed.

He has loads of it and he's pretty good at maintaining it. Because he is such a monster, he will also be difficult to push aside.

Despite being one of my favourites he looks utterly ridiculous trying to squeeze his massive frame into that tiny little racer of his.