Some games you never really stop playing. For us, one of those is the original Super Mario Kart. The flat tracks, the little pixel karts that swing around as you take a corner, the green shells, the banana peels and the gold cup at the end. Dad played it nonstop as a kid, and now we play it together as a family. Somebody always wants a rematch.
StoneWheels is our tribute to that game: a few laps, some items and a shot at the cup. Only this time, everybody drives a kart made of stone.
Flat Karts, Bumpy Roads
We borrowed the original's look and gave it a 3D boost. The track is real 3D, so it can climb and dip, but the karts, the palm trees and the huts are still flat drawings that always turn to face you. Every kart is drawn from five angles, and the game shows the right one as it turns.
Lap 2 in Stone Valley! All five racers, and nobody wants to finish last!
There is no gas pedal. Your kart accelerates by itself, so all you have to think about is steering, braking and when to throw things. One hand on the arrow keys , one finger on Space. Easy to pick up, hard to win.
Pick your driver
There are five drivers, and they are not all the same. Each one has four stats: speed, handling, weight and acceleration. We tuned them so that every driver can set about the same lap time. The difference is how they get there.
Who's driving today?
- Bongo is the all-rounder. Good at a bit of everything, and the best pick for your first race.
- Tika is the queen of the corners. Light and nimble, she takes the tight turns like nobody else.
- Brakk wears a dinosaur skull for a helmet and drives like a boulder rolling downhill. Once he gets going, he is hard to catch and nobody pushes him around.
- Zuzu is a pterodactyl who would rather be flying, and drives like it: fast, wild and always looking for a gap.
- Nibb is a tiny triceratops with a big start. He is always the first one off the line, and he zips through the twisty parts.
Weight matters more than you would think. Heavy karts win the bumps and shrug off the grass. Light karts win by staying out of trouble.
Five tracks and a cup
The Cup is five races in a row. You start in Stone Valley, splash through the water on Coconut Coast, ride the bumps of Mesa Canyon, slide on the ice of Mammoth Glacier and finish on the slopes of Smoking Volcano. Every race gives you points for where you finish, and the most points after the volcano wins the cup. Finish the whole Cup and your score goes on the board here at vicvic.games.
Grass, water, sand, ice and lava.
If you want to learn a track first, there is Practice. Pick any track, race it on its own and try to beat your best time. The game remembers the record for every track and your best lap.
Eggs, meat, rocks and coconuts
Along the road there are rows of dinosaur eggs. Drive through one to crack it open and you get an item:
- Meat gives you a quick boost.
- A rock flies forward. Aim it at the kart in front of you.
- A coconut rolls out behind you. Leave it on the racing line and wait.
A little boost might be all you need to catch up!
Tips to win the cup
Here is what we learned after a lot of races together:
- The launch. Before the race there is a countdown. Press when the 2 shows up and hold it until GO, and you shoot off the line. Press it on the 3 and your kart spins in place while everybody leaves you behind. Press it on the 1 and you still get a smaller boost.
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The drift. In a turn, hold while you steer. The kart slides and the wheels throw sparks. Blue sparks mean a small turbo, orange sparks a big one. Let go of to fire it.
A perfect drift, and a little extra speed! - The slipstream. Stay close behind another kart for a moment and you get a short turbo for free. It is the best way to pass on the straights.
- The grass. Off the road you slow way down. A turbo ignores the grass, though, so if you have meat, cutting across the grass can be worth it.
- Save your coconut. If you are in first place, do not use it right away. Hold on to it and drop it when somebody gets close.
Come race with us
Five tracks, four rivals and one cup. Pick your driver, wait for the 2, and go get it.