Which Mario Kart game was released for Nintendo 64 in Japan on December 14, 1996?

Mario Kart 64 was released in Japan on December 14, 1996.

The Nintendo 64 sequel followed Super Mario Kart and moved the series into fully polygonal 3D presentation. It retained the franchise’s familiar item-based racing while introducing a new visual style, more expansive environments, and courses designed around the Nintendo 64 hardware.

The Japanese launch came before the game reached other major markets. Mario Kart 64 was released in the United States on February 10, 1997, and in Europe on June 24, 1997. Nintendo’s holiday-season timing in Japan helped make the December launch particularly significant for the relatively young Nintendo 64 platform.

The alternatives belong to different series contexts. Super Mario Kart was the original 1992 Super Nintendo game, Mario Kart: Super Circuit was released for Game Boy Advance in 2001, and Diddy Kong Racing was a separate Nintendo 64 racing game. Mario Kart 64 also later appeared on Nintendo’s Virtual Console services.