It's probably not that surprising that a Mario Kart game is fun to play, as it's become a flagship series for Nintendo in the 17 years since this first release - but what's most interesting about this first Super Mario Kart is the particular appeal it had.
Picking up a Classic Controller or GameCube Pad and re-experiencing this design, in emulated form through the Virtual Console, is just as compelling as when it was first powered on through a Super NES back in 1992. (It took #23 in our own countdown, two years ago.) Most important of all, though, is that the game is still just plain fun to play. There's a reason why it's still fondly remembered to this day, and why it's been consistently honored with high-ranking spots in several publications' lists of the top video games of all time. And more than all those, too - the list of its accolades is immense. It's important as the start of the very idea of Mario-based spin-off series, even (since it was the first one). It's important as the start of Mario's most popular spin-off series. It's important historically for the industry, for establishing the "kart" sub-category of the racing genre. Perhaps an early inspiration for the Nintendo DS?
The constant split-screen view was a novelty in '92. That sales total, though, isn't the only important thing about this classic - Super Mario Kart is important in nearly every way a video game can be. Because you've very likely already played this game before - you may even be one of the over eight million individuals who bought a copy of the SNES cartridge in the '90s, a sales total that made it the third-best selling game of all time for Nintendo's 16-bit machine. First place finishes are worth the most points, second place a little less, and so on - so you'll want to try your best to be the first to cross the finish line every time, to ensure your place at the top of the winner's podium. You then choose your engine speed from 50, 100 or 150cc (roughly equivalent to an Easy, Normal and Hard difficulty setting) and try to take home the gold after completing a circuit of several sequential races against all the others, who are trying to knock you out of the running with off-the-wall weapons like Koopa shells and banana peels. You pick your character from a selection of eight Mario mascots, including the man himself, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, the grand and villainous King Bowser Koopa, Donkey Kong Jr. Super Mario Kart is all about racing for the checkered flag through a variety of cartoonish landscapes inspired by the Mario universe.