To get a boost at the start of the race and an early lead, do not hold the acceleration button before the race. Wait until after the last light flashes, then punch the gas. If you time it just right, you should get a boost that puts you into first place!
Course Ghosts
To get these ghosts, you must beat the times listed below.
Luigi Raceway 1'52''00
Mario Raceway 1'30''00
Royal Raceway 2'40''00
Don't slip!
If you slip on a banana, and are about to spin out, hit the brakes. You will stop (not spin out), a music note inside a balloon will appear next to your driver, and you will have saved yourself a lot of time.
Drafting
Align your kart behind the next racer. Wisps of air will appear from the sides of your kart. The small speed increase that your kart will gain should be enough to pass the racer that is being followed.
Extra in Mario GP
Get the gold trophy in the Special Cup 150cc in Mario GP. You will see the credits roll. After that you will be able to access "Extra" mode in Mario GP, which allows you to play the courses as if they were mirrored.
Note: You can't use "Extra" for Battle or Time Trails.
Gameplay faster than 150cc (Only VC)
Play Moo Moo farm on multiplayer. The game will play alot faster than 150cc and this ONLY works on Moo Moo Farm on multiplayer with 3 Players. This seems to be a glitch only with the Virtual Console downloadable game not the original.
Hidden Ending
To get a hidden ending in Mario Kart 64, place 4th place overall. This is a lot harder than it sounds because if you place 5th or lower in any one race, you must restart. The easiest way to place 4th overall is just to get 4th place in every race.
Invisible boxes
Put out many fake item boxs, and a few will be invisible.(You can Still blow up when you hit the invisible prize box.)
Luigi
You need two or more players. First pass a lap and get the itembox from the hot air balloon. Then go to the finish line. Then line up with the white line by the mountain. The person with spiny shell hold it. The other person goes to the opposite side of the track then charge at the spiny shell. You will fly through the mountain and land in the bridge.
Mario 64 Castle
Follow the yellow road in Royal Raceway, just after the big jump and to the right. That road will take you to the Mario 64 castle.
Mirrored courses
Win the gold cup in the 150cc class. After the Nintendo 64 is reset, the title screen will change to confirm that mirrored courses are enabled. Enter the 150cc option under GP mode to access the courses. Note that when racing the mirrored Toads' Turnpike, you will be going against the traffic.
New title screen
To be awarded with a new title screen (and mirror courses) beat the game (get a gold trophy) on 50cc, 100cc and 150cc on Mushroom cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup and Special cup.
Shortcut on Choco Mountain
Right before the boulders there is a rock wall, you can jump it if you do a power-slide just before to jump.
Shortcut on Frappe Snowland
At the starting line turn around, go back to before the bridge. Now get your speed up and cross the bridge, when you get to the other side DON'T touch the road, instead jump off the right side of the bridge (left in mirror mode) so that you land in the snow. Now go forward, WITHOUT touching the road, when you reach the start/finish line turn to the right and go out of bounds. Lakitu will tow you back to before the start/finish line, but you will still be on the other lap. You can do this 3 time and finish in 1/3 the time.
Shortcut on Kalimari Desert
On the first or second lap if you get a star you can do this. When you get to the 2nd Railroad tracks turn and go to the tunnel. Just before you enter the tunnel use your star, if you do this right you'll finish the lap and have a shorter 2nd or 3rd lap.
Shortcut on Rainbow Road
If you use a mushroom you can jump from the big hill just after start to a later part of the track on the left (right in mirror mode). This is very hard to do.
Shortcut on Yoshi Valley
Just after all the roads come to a point, you can jump to a lower track. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes very easy.
Shortcuts on Koopa Troopa Beach
#1 - The first shortcut is the sand bar on the right side on the archway. Just go over it and it's a shortcut (and an easy one at that)
#2 - Jump from the top of the ramp just after the archway, you need to have enough speed or you might not make it. A mushroom, star, or a last second power slide helps
Shortcuts on Royal Raceway
#1 - You can take a big shortcut if you jump across the river just after the first big turn. You need a mushroom or a star to do this (it is much harder if you use a star). Aim for the dark spot on the wall, if you do this right you can get towed up onto the big ramp.
#2 - In 150 cc you can jump to the left at the top of the big ramp and land on a bit of dirt near the finish line. If you do this right you will get towed to the finish line. This is very hard.
Shortcuts on Wario Stadium
#1 - When you first start the race, you can jump the wall at the top of the hills, you can shave almost half your time by doing this.
#2 - After the first shortcut you can jump back over the wall and land before the finish line, this is very hard to do. I myself have only done this 2 or 3 times, so don't say it is not posible, it is.
Toads turnpike
Must have 2 players. First one gets shield power. Then go to intersection on track. Plyers get on opposite sides of the track. The person with the shield power turns it on. The other person charges at the person with the shield power. He then goes through the wall and on to the track. He lands inside a tunnel. This counts as a lap.
