Mario Kart 64/Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Mario Kart 64.

To do: Check for any differences between the European 1.0 and 1.1 versions.

International Version Changes

Audio Differences

Title Screen

In the Japanese version, the voice heard on the title screen is a bunch of Japanese kids shouting "Mario Kart!", while in the international versions you get to hear the titular person of this game, Mario, say "Welcome to Mario Kart".

Japan	International
"Mario Kart!"	"Welcome to Mario Kart!"

System Voice

In the international versions, the menus are narrated by Mario himself. In the Japanese versions, John Hulaton (incorrectly credited as 'John Huraton') did the system voice narration instead.

Japan	International
"Battle!" "Congratulation!" "Data!" "Mario Grand Prix!" "Okay?" "Option!" "Select Level!" "Select Map!" "Select Your Player!" "Time Attack!" "Vahsus!"	"Battle!" "Congratulations!" "Data!" "Mario Grand Prix!" "Okay?" "Option!" "Select A Level!" "Select Map!" "Select Your Player!" "Time Trials!" "Versus?"

Voice Clips

Wario, Toad, Luigi, and Peach's voices were rerecorded in the international version. Oddly, the Japanese voices would go on to be used in all versions of Mario Party, Mario Party 2 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. They were also used in BS Excitebike Bunbun Mario Battle Stadium.

Luigi

Luigi's Japanese voice is done by Nintendo of France translator Julien Bardakoff, while his international voice is done by Charles Martinet (the first time he voiced Luigi in a video game).

Japan	International
"Bingo! Hahahaha!" "Here we go!" "Hoh!" "Luigi is the top!" "Mama mia!" "Owowowowowowowow!" "Yahoo!"	"Bingo! Hohohoho!" "Here we go!" "Hoho!" "I'm Luigi! Number one!" "Mama mia!" "Wowowowowowowow!" "Yahoo!"

Peach

Peach's Japanese voice is done by Asako Kozuki, while Peach's international voice is done by Nintendo of America localization manager Leslie Swan, who previously voiced Peach in the international versions of Super Mario 64.

Japan	International
"Alright!" "Bingo!" "Yay, Peach's got it!" "Yahoo!" "Here we go!" "Hoo!" "Yaaaaaaaaaa!" "Get readyǃ"	"All right!" "Bingo! Bye-bye!" "Yeah, Peach's got it!" "Peachy!" "Here we go!" "Take that!" "Ieeeeeeeeee..." "Let's go!"

Wario

Wario's Japanese voice is done by Nintendo of Germany translator Thomas Spindler (Incorrectly credited as Thomas Spindlor), while his international voice is also done by Charles Martinet (the first time he voiced Wario in a video game). Spindler's performance features a thick German accent as well as a line spoken in German ("So ein Mist!", German for "Oh crap!"), as according to him Nintendo had envisioned Wario to be German early on, while Martinet gives him an Italian accent similar to that of Mario and Luigi, which became his standard voice in future titles.

Japan	International
"So ein Mist!" "Fire!" "Wrahahaha!" "Here we go!" "Whoaaaagh!" "Wario is gonna win!" "Yeah! Hahahaha!"	"Why-yai-yai-yah!" "Fire!" "Ahheheheheheh!!" "Here I go!" "Waaaaaaah!" "I'm Wario! I'm gonna win!" "Ah, hahahahaha!"

Toad

Japanese Toad is voiced by Tomoko Maruno, while the international voice is done by Nintendo of America tester Isaac Marshall.

Japan	International
"Here we go!" "Hooooh!" "I am the best!" "Okay!" "Oww, owowowowowowowowowowoh!" "Aaaaaaaaaaagh!" "Yahoh!" "Yeah! Hahaha!"	"Here we go!" "Hoo!" "I'm the best!" "Okay!" "Oww, wowowowowowowow!" "Aaaaaaah!" "Yahoo!" "Yeah! Hahahahaha!"

Misc.

The boost sound that plays when you get a turbo start doesn't play in the Japanese 1.0 version of the game.

Graphical Differences

To do: It'd help if someone could rip the graphics that aren't here yet.

The billboards in the Japanese version are all clever parodies of real-life companies. They were (mostly) changed during localization, likely in order to avoid getting Nintendo of America in hot water.

Japan	International

Marioro (a pun on Marlboro) was changed to Mario Star.

Japan	International

Luigip (a pun on Agip) was changed to Luigi's, itself appearing to be a parody of the now-defunct Bradlees chain of discount stores.

Japan	International

Yoshi1 (a pun on Mobil1) was changed to Yoshi, with a pawprint similar to the one added to English versions of Super Mario World.

Japan	International

The Koopa Air (a pun on Goodyear) sign is colored yellow and blue in the Japanese version. It's white and violet in international versions.

Japan	International

The Nintendo logo billboard is blue in the Japanese version and red internationally, reflecting its most common depictions in each region.

Japan	International

The orange 64 ball in Luigi's Raceway (a parody of the 76 gas station) was changed to blue and the 64 was given a different design.

In Mario Kart 7's version of the track, the ball was changed to yellow but is otherwise based on its Japanese design.

Since none of the track preview icons were updated, the original 64 ball and billboards can still be seen on some of the track previews even in international versions. They would be edited out for the high quality versions of the artwork included in the Mario Kart 64 Player's Guide, however.

Luigi's Raceway

The Japanese version has a collision on the grass above the tunnel on Luigi's Raceway, which can be reached by bouncing off another racer and flying over the wall. The collision was removed in international versions so that trying the same there just leads to you falling into the tunnel (or out of bounds, if unlucky).

Moo Moo Farm

The course "Moo Moo Farm" is called "Moh Moh Farm" in Japan. This is because mooing in Japanese is pronounced with a long "O" sound, which sounds like "moh moh". The text is also slightly taller and blurrier, and the wood was made a bit brighter.

Japan	North America

(Source: The Mushroom Kingdom)

On Japanese 1.0, moles can be hit while using a boo item, causing them to be launched away. All other versions have no mole collision while in this state.

(Source: abney317)

Toad's Turnpike

On Japanese 1.0, when getting stuck out of bounds, Lakitu places you back based on where you last touched the ground. In all other versions, Lakitu places you back on the track based on where you got stuck out of bounds.

Trophy Ceremony

The trophy ceremony in the Japanese version displays the text "You are in (position)". The international versions change this to "You placed (position)". The punctuation was also removed.

Japan	International

(Source: The Mushroom Kingdom)

Course Ghost

The course ghost text is different depending on the region.

Japan	International

Time Trial Replay Bug

In time trials on Japanese 1.0 when the race ends, if the autopilot driver hits the egg on Yoshi Valley, a rock on Choco Mountain, or a kiwano fruit on D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, then it disables the replay option.

(Source: abney317)

Speedometer Color

On Japanese 1.0, the speedometer on Frappe Snowland and Sherbet Land is white. On all other game versions, the speedometer was changed to blue on Frappe Snowland and Sherbet Land for better visibility.

Japan 1.0	Japan 1.1/International

Holding Drifts with L

On Japanese 1.0, you can continue holding drifts using the L button. The initial hop must be done with the R button, but the slide upon landing can be held with L.

Course Names

Courses have different names depending on the region.

Japanese	International
Luigi Circuit	Luigi Raceway
Moh Moh Farm	Moo Moo Farm
Noko Noko Beach	Koopa Troopa Beach
Kara Kara Desert	Kalamari Desert
Kinopio Highway	Toad's Turnpike
Mario Circuit	Mario Raceway
Peach Circuit	Royal Raceway
Koopa Castle	Bowser's Castle
Donkey Jungle Park	DK's Jungle Parkway
Hyūdoro Lake	Banshee Boardwalk
Big Donuts	Big Donut
Block Toride	Block Fort
Matenrou	Skyscraper

Credits Differences

In the Japanese version, completing the Special Cup on Extra Mode will display a Japanese-language version of the credits. This was removed from the English version for obvious reasons.

Additionally, the Japanese version has six voice actors, while the English version only has three. Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario) is the only one to be credited in both versions. Additionally, his name is misspelled as "Charles Martinee" in the Japanese version, likely owing to the way his last name is pronounced (mar-tin-AY). This exact misspelling would later make it into all versions of Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., Mario Golf, and Mario Party 2, strangely enough. Thomas Spindler (the voice of Wario) and John Hulaton (the announcer) also have their names misspelled.

Japan	International

(Source: The Mushroom Kingdom)

Wii Virtual Console Differences

Although the Wii Virtual Console releases use the same ROMs as the cartridges, some minor visual differences exist due to emulation errors and in-memory patches. These changes are not present in the Wii U Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online release.

Nintendo 64	Wii Virtual Console

• The color scheme for the train in Kalimari Desert was changed.

Nintendo 64	Wii Virtual Console

• The waterfall on Koopa Troopa Beach is a brighter blue instead of grey.
• The characters/numbers of the timer are spaced out by 1 pixel.
• The flash from using lightning was toned down to avoid the risk of seizures.

To do: Figure out what these changes in the Wii U version do and document them.

Nintendo Switch Online Differences

The billboards (with the exception of the Nintendo logo billboard) and the 64 ball in the Japanese version were changed to match the international version.

(Sources: gamercouleur, kikai)

iQue Player Version

The game was released in China for the iQue Player in December 2003. Like most games for the system, it is based on the international version.

International	iQue Player

• The game's title was changed from Mario Kart 64 to just Mario Kart.

International	iQue Player

• The Special Cup was renamed to "iQue Cup".

International	iQue Player

• The 64 ball now has a square instead of "64" on it.

International	iQue Player

• The "Shot!" billboard was replaced with an iQue billboard.

International	iQue Player

International	iQue Player

International	iQue Player

International	iQue Player

• The billboards have been translated.
• Most references to the Nintendo 64 were replaced with ones to the iQue Player. The only exception is the train in Kalamari Desert, which still has the number 64 on the front.
• The Controller Pak manager is inaccessible since the iQue Player handles Controller Paks differently to the Nintendo 64, as each game that requires a Controller Pak has its own .pak file on the iQue Player's NAND.
• An audio glitch occurs when entering a race, going back to the main menu, going to the data screen, and then backing out to the main menu again that causes the menu music to play in a slow and low-pitched tone.
• When improving your best lap in time trials, instead of the usual flashing lap time, the time is not visible during the race at all.