This was one of the popular games I had to miss the first entry in back in the day due to stores being sold out of it all the time. I was too impatient to mail a money order into a company from a magazine ad then wait probably two to three months to get my game either.
I got into Mario Kart with the N64 release. A friend had a copy and we played it every weekend, his parents would play too. It was fun playing four player. I had an N64 controller LONG before I had a Nintendo 64 console because of this.
I have tried going back to the first to see what the hype was about but as you mentioned, this one's reception is very different depending on when you started playing the franchise.
For me, I just cannot get into the Super Nintendo Mario Kart. I have tried many times but it just doesn't click with me. It is odd because I prefer the SNES version of F-Zero over the later releases so it is not just a graphics bias with me. The gameplay is fundamentally different with Mario Kart.
I have definitely felt how much the way the controls are can be a turn for the worse the moment you try to go for 150cc - recently I tried to do Star Cup again but the bots at Mario Circuit 3 destroyed me...it is quite the draining endeavor even with lightweights, let alone aiming to do a full 1st place finish unless you have mastered every inch of the way drifting works.
F-Zero is indeed way more solid in regards to controls, or at least the consistency in them, as you will always turn in a decent way [or at least in my case with Blue Falcon] and then sharpen it further with blast turning or even brakes if necessary. Reminds me that I still have to revisit it as well as try the bunch of ROM hacks there are for it.
Regarding SMK though, Mario Kart Super Circuit is easier to recommend because, at least from what I remember, the AI wasn't as prone to rubberbanding and the controls were just a bit more solid, even though they still feel different and the drift is SMK-style, but I say that with how I had completed all the cups in 150cc years ago. May be interesting to revisit it to take a break from SMK...
Thanks for reading and for your comment - it is a treat to see you reply with this much detail 😃