Kart racing games have made a name for themselves over the years, away from the main racing genre of games like Need For Speed, Forza, and the official Formula One games. Kart racing games often have simplified driving mechanics while integrating action elements, making them more than a simple A-to-B race.

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Kart games often have fictional characters as drivers from already well-known franchises, giving players' selections more meaning, perhaps even rooted in nostalgia. Due to the generally silly nature of these games, the maps are often more creative and less conventional than normal racing tracks. While Mario Kart is the most notable group of games within the sub-genre, plenty of kart racing games have been released over the years, with some even staying exclusive to PlayStation consoles.

10 Wacky Races: Mad Motors Brought Wacky Fun Exclusively To The PlayStation 2

Wacky Races Mad Motors Playstation

Wacky Races was a beloved cartoon series that originated in 1968 and would later get a reboot in 2017. It introduced iconic characters such as Dick Dastardly and Muttley, among many others. The series would inspire multiple games involving the characters, from platformer Wacky Races for the NES in 1991, followed by the 2001 release of racing game Wacky Races for various other consoles.

Dreamcast and PlayStation shared the next release. However, with Wacky Races: Mad Motors, PlayStation 2 had exclusivity to a title within the Wacky Races franchise.

9 Toy Story Racer's PlayStation Edition Was Almost An Entirely Different Game

Toy Story Racer

Toy Story Racer was a 2001 kart racing game initially released for the PlayStation and GameBoy Color. However, in 2010 it received a release on the PlayStation 3, with its GameBoy Color counterpart seemingly being left behind. The PlayStation version was arguably superior due to its 15 race types compared to the GameBoy Color's 2.

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As expected from the title, Toy Story Racer allowed players to race with their favorite Toy Story characters, from the likes of Woody and Buzz, to more obscure characters like Little Green Man and Babyface.

8 Speed Freaks Was Incredibly Vibrant And Over The Top

Speed Freaks PlayStation

Speed Freaks is often forgotten about when discussing classic kart racing games, but it arguably deserves more recognition. Upon its release in 1999, Speed Freaks immediately caught the attention of those that came across it, with its alarming yet hilarious art style and character designs, as well as its frantic gameplay.

Even the race formats themselves stood out, with the default race being 5 laps in total instead of the usual 3. As a PlayStation racer, it was arguably ahead of its time in specific areas.

7 Muppet RaceMania Was A Fun Variation On The Kart Format

Muppets RaceMania Kermit In His Kart About To Race 3 Laps

Mario Kart and Nintendo aside, the original PlayStation console was arguably the gateway for the kart racing sub-genre to pass through and begin its legacy. So many new ideas and worlds were born and created, whether they were new entities or based on already established franchises.

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Muppet RaceMania may not have been as fluid in gameplay as the likes of Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing, but the chaotic and almost raw nature of the game was a perfect fit for the Muppets aesthetic.

6 Chocobo Racing Was Another Inventive Twist On The Genre With Beloved Characters

Chocobo Racing

Chocobo Racing game was released in 1999 for the original PlayStation and had the usual kart racing game formula with its own twist. The racers were all drawn from recurring creatures and characters from the likes of Chocobo's Dungeon and the Final Fantasy series, with renowned characters such as Cloud being included as unlockable rewards.

Magic Stones acted as powerups making it more like a classic kart racing game, rather than just a standard racing game with familiar characters.

5 Motor Toon Grand Prix's Simplistic Design Gave It An Extra Layer Of Charm

Motor Toon Grand Prix

Motor Toon Grand Prix was an extremely cartoony-designed racing game for PlayStation consoles, with the first one only being released in Japan. Two years later, in 1996, the sequel was released all over and was just as chaotic as the first edition.

The sequel did look drastically better, with its improved graphics and gameplay being widely praised. However, it still had a simplified HUD, with the mini-map, icons, and various other shortcomings that stopped it from becoming truly successful.

4 The Creative Little Big Planet World Expanded Further With Its Karting Game

A Sack Person smiles while racing in LittleBigPlanet Karting.

LittleBigPlanet was huge for PlayStation upon its release in 2008 with its extensive creation tools alongside quirky physics, graphics, design, and soundtrack. LittleBigPlanet Karting joined the franchise shortly after the second installment of the series, with the developers of ModNation Racers applying their trade to the LittleBigPlanet universe.

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The creative and customizable universes collided with mixed results and reviews, but regardless, they had created a game with the creative freedom of ModNation Racers and that special LittleBigPlanet twist.

3 ModNation Racers Was Revolutionary For Kart Racing Games

Three created characters leap off a ramp in ModNation Racers.

ModNation Racers was arguably one of the most revolutionary and advanced titles released within the kart racing game genre. Exclusive to PlayStation with the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 3, ModNation Racers allowed players to create and customize everything from drivers and karts to the tracks themselves, making it a great alternative to the likes of Mario Kart.

The ModNation Racers community thrived with everyone creating and sharing their creative ideas and enjoying them all together. Unfortunately, the servers were eventually shut down. Still, the fact that it existed in the first place has players holding out for games like Mario Kart to follow suit in the future.

2 ModNation Racers: Road Trip Brought The Fun To The Newly Release PS Vita

ModNation Racer Road Trip PS Vita

ModNation Racers was a huge success for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles upon its release in 2010. PlayStation released the PS Vita in 2011, so another addition to the ModNation franchise was made especially for the new console.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip was treated as a sequel to the original, but it ultimately lacked any defining additional features. There were new weapons to play with, and the game was still just as fun to play, with it now being accessible for a new and exciting console. However, Road Trip's online servers were taken down a year before its predecessors, suggesting it wasn't as popular.

1 The Original Crash Team Racing Was Arguably A Closer Rival To Mario Kart Than The Nitro-Fueled Remaster

Crash gets ready to race in PlayStation's Crash Team Racing

While the Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled remake made its way to several consoles, the original Crash Team Racing was a PlayStation exclusive. The remake revamped the game with modern-day technology and graphics. However, the inclusion of micro-transactions and the often frustrating multiplayer modes sometimes took away from what made the original so special.

The original Crash Team Racing was a viable competitor for Nintendo's Mario Kart, with the Crash Bandicoot franchise already being a popular entity in itself before the game's chaos and charm were introduced to the world. Graphics aside, the game still holds up today, with much less stress surrounding it than its reimagined counterpart.

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