Mario Kart 64 Shortcuts and Glitches
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Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64) - Shortcuts & Glitches


Luigi Raceway - How to jump over the wall
When you emerge from the tunnel on Luigi Raceway, go towards the position where the grey wall meets the brick wall on your left. The sixth brick on your left is the one to look for, boost in it's direction then jump with the R button right before you hit the wall. If done right you'll jump the wall and cut the final curve of this course and save a fair bit of time in process.

This is a very difficult trick to pull off, and will set apart the master karters from the good karters.

Koopa Troopa Beach 1 & 2
Ramp jump trick
When you arrive at the ramp which is just before the tunnel entrance jump just before you get to the end of it, although a boost is good to have it isn't a necessity.

Shortcut
There is a small path of sand through the water on the right a second or two after passing the archway.

Kalimari Desert - Train Track Shortcut
If on lap one or two you get a star power up (If your in first or second its unlikely...) turn left on the second crossing, and head down the train tunnel. Just before entering the tunnel, activate your star power up, at one point inside the tunnel the lap counter adds a lap. It's also quicker to go through this tunnel even if you don't have the star, unless your murdered by the train that is...

Toad's Turnpike
Using any driver select the map on your screen, and continue along the course until you reach the point at which the map layers (overlaps) itself. Turn ninety degrees to the right and drive straight at the guardrail, but keep hopping until your kart lands atop of the guardrail. It's at this point that Lakitu will turn up and tow you back onto the course, as he puts you down hold the A and B buttons down together and tilt the analogue stick to the right, your driver will then do a spinout, continue this spin until your kart faces ninety degrees to the right, then release both the analogue stick and the B button.

Now you will be able to view your driver as you would on the player selection screen from the side. Jump with the R button before making contact with the guardrail, If done correctly you'll not only pass through the wall, but you'll land in a lake, perhaps it's vanilla lake, who knows. Lakitu will tow you out of the Lake and dependant upon where in the Lake you landed, will take you to a later part of the course. Failing this though, and beginning back on the guardrail, do this process again but start with the spin turn to the right. Keep practicing and I'm sure you'll pick it up eventually. Lakitu generally takes you to wherever the nearest land is from the water you fall in.

Frappe Snowland 1
This is how to skip a lap on the above track: Toward the final stages of the course, drive over the bridge and avoid touching any part of the track which is in-between the bridge and the final finish line. Drive off to the right when you reach the end of the bridge, then keep going off the course on the snowy ground until your at the finish line, then drive so far off the course Lakitu will come and tow you away.

When done correctly, Lakitu will tow you back to the bridge (The last place where your kart was in contact with the track) This will then skip you an entire lap! Next time you cross the finish line, your lap count will increase again! It can be repeated too! This as you can imagine will save a massive amount of time. Maybe even half your total time, and it isn't even difficult to pull off.

Frappe Snowland 2
This is a glitch in the game which dates back a long way, heres how it's done: Head to the ramp which gets you over the stream of water and then drive off to the left (or right, your choice) just make sure you land in some snow, as in the previous trick, make sure to not hit the track at all! Keep driving in the snow until your just past half way round the course, now head toward the map ends, prompting the Lakitu to tow you back to the track. There are several outcomes which can occur from doing this, it depends where you get picked up.

Lakitu could do the following three things:

  • Pick you up for a few seconds and then suddenly blur off to the finish line, this gains you just under half a lap.

  • Takes you to the finish line, however you don't gain half a lap but loose half a lap, its a gamble.

  • Gets tired of you trying out tricks and drops you in the water to drown, and don't think he picks you up either, because he doesn't!

  • There are a great deal more than this, but I've only done it three times, so if you get different results from doing the above test, let me know!

Choco Mountain 1 - How to jump the wall
This is a wall jumping trick rather than a wall passing through one, when driving through Choco Mountain normally, get to the bit where there's an overpass on the left, when your in TT Mode there's a guardrail on the left, Just before the track starts going downhill, and turn quickly ninety degrees to your left.

As you drive into the wall press the R button, this will jump you, try to do it exactly at the moment you hit the wall, you'll jump right over it! This means you don't have to brave the boulder route and have the risk of getting squashed, its also a little quicker and saves a second or two once you master it.

Choco Mountain 4 - At the start
Right at the start of the course, drive slightly forward, about the same length as your kart, it's best to do it on the second lap as you need a mushroom for the next step, turn left a little and boost toward the wall. As you hit it, also hit the R button to jump, like on so many of these tricks. There is a chance you land on a mountaintop. If you land in the right position you'll be towed and placed at the end of the tunnel. This works great at higher speeds, and it's particularly nice if you do it with a golden mushroom, so even if you mess up your first attempt you can try again. This feature is no possible in TT mode.

Wario Stadium One and Two Tips
Very simple to start, drive into the wall at the start as fast as you can and hop a second before you hit the wall. Using any of the four humps will increase your chances of making it over the wall. The next step is a little harder but still not one of the more difficult in this guide, go back in the direction of the wall you jumped over and look at the part where the finish line is, then driving full speed toward the place where the finish line, lines up with the wall, drive at the wall there, and jump just before you hit the wall as usual, the timing on these pre-wall jumps is something you'll get used to with practice. Try to make sure when you land your behind the finish line or the object of this trick is defeated. Drive past the finish line again and you get a very fast lap bonus. If you repeat this trick twice, you'll get two super quick laps, and it has been known for people to finish in 30 seconds or less! I personally managed to do it in 49 seconds, but I'm a newbie.

Wario Stadium - Loads of Wall Jumps
Wario stadium due to its rough bouncy manner has loads of places which you can jump over walls, the best of the bunch though are just after the largest ramp, the ones toward the finish line are particularly quick aswell, these are the ones you should use if your going for lap records.

Royal Raceway 1 - Skipping the river-jump
Generally on Royal Raceway you use a huge boosting ramp to get across the river before the castle, if you've got mushrooms however a large part of this course can be skipped, at the beginning drive past the first couple of turns and then go roughly halfway across the stretch of track that runs aside the stream of water, when your here turn ninety degrees to the left, then use a boost and hit the R button, you will then jump over the water. Then you hit the land on the opposite side and fall into the water, if you land in the appropriate part of the water Lakitu will put you onto the ramp and you'll skip a whole lot of the course.

DK’s Jungle Parkway 1 - Skip a lap
At the start of the course turn and go backwards into the cave tunnel and then continue heading backward until you near the end of the cave/tunnel. Go straight into the part where the left wall of the cave intersects the ground, use the R button to jump. When done correctly you'll fall off the course and into a hidden lake. If you land in the lake at a particular angle Lakitu will put you back into the cave, however your lap counter is now adjusted, this trick is fairly difficult because the angle does have to be right, but once it is mastered it will cut your overall times to pieces.

DK’s Jungle Parkway 2 - Getting dropped to the bridge
At the start drive to the bit where a small island is visible on your left and you can see a bridge on the other side on the right. Rather than turning right to reach the bridge, turn left and jump, if done right you'll land on a small island, It's much easier with a mini turbo or even a boost or golden mushroom. Lakitu then sets you down on the bridge, this doesn't do a great deal but the little island is nice at least :P

DK’s Jungle Parkway 4 - Heading left
Just a simple corner cutting manoeuvre , as you reach the bridge go left a little and see how far you can go without falling into the water, this was the first shortcut I discovered.

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