Carries forward the speed and attitude of the original title, and that isn't a bad thing really. The music is given fuller rock instrumentation, and the racers are plentiful and have their own portraits and 2D sprites that provide personality. The inclusion of combat mechanics combines these two focuses well, and it's a smart addition that's risky but can have a big payoff, suiting the volatility of the races. To achieve its sense of speed, the game prioritizes performance. A steady framerate with all those racers and all the track flying by is pretty commendable when so many N64 titles were choppy.

But the overall look of the game suffers a bit for the cost of that performance. Tracks aren't that detailed, vehicles often look blocky (I've heard it called 'soap racer' and at certain distances that tracks), and something about the aesthetic just isn't that attractive. I liked the first game for its vivid colour and mysterious locations, and this game looks washed out and indistinct.

Moreover the game shows the flaws in its game design as you climb in difficulty. Early on you just feel puzzled when you boost next to a racer accelarating normally and don't make up any ground, but when you start playing on expert it becomes obvious that the rules the other racers play by just aren't the same. Rubberbanding gets egregious, and while I managed to beat a couple cups on this difficulty, it felt more like blind luck to me.

It's a solid and distinct racer for the system, a nicely polished iteration, but I think it loses a little bit of the magic and doesn't offer up many surprises.