Gaming There Will Be Blue Shells: Mario Kart (8 Deluxe)

I think the Mario Kart franchise might be more popular than the actual canon Mario games: Super Mario Bros-Super Mario Galaxy 2. My reasoning is that Mario Karts are meant for multiplayer (especially 4-player). The canonical Mario Games typically are one player or two players max.

 

I confess, after seeing the Mario Kart 8 commercial at the cinema and reading more about the game, I might have to buy a Wii U soon.

 

Just got it this morning.
It is great…lot of fun…hopefully more people jump on the Wii U so that we can create a huge online community.

 

I had to come to work for an 8 AM meeting then I'm donating blood at 10 AM. I'm gonna grab some lunch, go buy the game and unlock as much as I can before my friends come over this evening. I can't wait!

 

Please share some details of your experiences when you have some free time.

 

Yeah, this game has been a blast, though I'm only practicing in 50cc so far. I remember how crazy things get in 150cc, gotta practice a lot first before I try the tougher difficulties.

Kind of funny to be in first place and get coins instead of bananas though, a bit annoying as bananas are often useful as shields, as there are always shells of course. Haven't had a chance to use the Megahorn yet, only got it a few times and blue shells didn't show up then. The hovercraft areas are fun, especially bouncing off other racers, not to mention how it gives the courses more variety now. Slightly disappointed Rainbow Road was still three laps, I liked how in 7 Rainbow Road was one long course. The game looks great, haven't tried any of the social features yet, but now back to practicing. Now to see how bad 100cc is.

 

With online gaming becoming all the rage, I wonder what has kept Nintendo from allowing chat during Mario Kart races? I know they want to deter and discourage unsavory conduct while playing, but it also hindering players from making friends and having a good time.

 

I think the idea of making Battle Matches on the normal tracks could spell disaster. If you do not have sufficient players, it will take quite a while to find someone and hit them with a red shell or green shell. Besides, I always liked the Battle Stages, they were unique varients of the regular tracks and sometimes completely different than anything offered in 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc.

However, there is hope. As you have said The2ndQuest, there will be DLC and so Nintendo can iron out the bugs and add more content. It will be great if there are character packs! I'm thinking Dry Bones, Dry Bowser, even other color Yoshi's with their specials from Super Mario World (they have the Kooplings in this installment) and beyond!

 

Something that has puzzled me, is why Nintendo only releases one Mario Kart per console or handheld? Now that Mario Kart 8 is on the Wii U, fans will have to wait tell Nintendo WiiU&Me (placeholder name for next Nintendo Console) and the next handheld system. Why not have two Mario Karts this time? Make them vastly different somehow and thus make the Wii U more appealing to buy.

 

Yeah, considering how good most Mario Karts are, one game per system is usually enough. I still dig out Mario Kart DS occasionally, that was the one I played the most. Ever since, I've had a hard time holding both the accelerate and item button on the 3DS (my hands are too big and fat).

Speaking of the DS, its wonderful to see the old tracks redone for the Wii U, they all look great and the hovercraft additions feel very natural.

It might just be me, but I really hate red shells in this version. Being struck by lightning mid jump is normal for Mario Kart, but not sure if red shells could track that far before. Not to mention the typical "everybody but you has red shells and fires them at you one after another".

150cc is annoying, but that's normal. Hm, still debating whether to just keep working at 150cc (think I'm making progress, though sometimes its just luck) or go back to 100cc and practice there.

 

Review by Kato Sai

Spoilers!!! You Have Been Warned.

Today I played Mario Kart 8 Demo Version. Here is my analysis.

The graphic were gorgeous, but the aesthetics and ambiance felt almost identical to Mario Kart 7.

The Tracks were visually appealing, but I found most of them to be redundant and that few of the interesting elements in the background could be interacted with. However I only had time to try three tracks: Mario Kart Stadium, Cloudtop Cruise, and Water Park. Of the three, I felt Water Park was the most unique and had more variant when it came to objects to encounter and penalties for poor driving. I imagine if got to test more tracks I might feel differently, but first impressions have merit.

As for the items. I got the fabled Super Horn, which created a path of desolation before me (however, there was no Blue Shell to test Its true purpose). I got the Potted Piranha Plant which acted quite similar to Chain Chomp in both Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Double Dash, but for a fan it was a delight to have a pesky Piranha on your side for once. I got the Boomerang Flower, and I must say that it quite a fun item. You get to throw is three times and it comes back. In this way it acts like the Three Green Shells, but rival racers cannot bump into you to remove your boomerangs. The Coins item acts as it did in Mario Kart 7, from what I gathered from playing coins give you better speed like in Mario Kart 7, and Super Mario Kart (Nintendo going retro!). I did not get the Crazy Eight item, but since it only gives you eight items from the classic roster (with exception of the coins) I do not feel I missed out on much. All the classic items have returned in full force, Red Shells ruin racers ahead of you, Green Shells make you feel grand when you hit someone, and all the rest remind you of older days, when you dominated the track.

The racers I got to race with were Metal Mario, Metal Peach, Shy Guy (He's in the game!), Yoshi and Larry Koopling. I had the most fun with Metal Mario because when he collides with other racers they bounce off him. It was pleasure to be Shy Guy, who I read was not going to be in the game. Shy Guy is one of my favorite character or minions depending on if you talking about the multitude of the Shy Guy species or just the character who often is featured in Mario Party Games. Metal Peach was much like Mario, only Peach. Larry Koopling was great fun to play. This is the first time if I recollect, that you can be any of the Kooplings. So I choose the coolest and closest son to Bowser before the advent of Baby Bowser/Bowser Jr. Yoshi was his typical charming self, but I unwisely choose a motorcycle on Cloudtop Cruise (do not choose a bike!).

My final verdict is that Mario Kart 8 is superior to Mario Kart 7, but it lacks the innovative control styles of Mario Kart Wii (unless Nintendo has made Wii U wheel). Since there will be DLC content, Nintendo can make favorites like Dry Bones and enigmas like Birdo downloadable. I imagine there will be Track Packs (nice sound to it) that will allow Nintendo to keep on giving for next few years. I would estimate there will be probably three track packs max, with a max of 12 tracks added (this is being optimistic) to 8 Tracks (more realistic and in homage to this being the number of this installment in the Mario Kart Franchise). Bearing in mind the possible improvements, I deem Mario Kart 8 the best Mario Kart to date. It was enjoyable, it has room to grow, and it is the best looking Mario game I've seen.

 

What makes Mario Kart 8 stand out, is that it can be improved. What exists is already a blast, but there is much Nintendo can do to make it the greatest Mario Kart ever.

 

I haven't played more recent Mario Karts, so I never did figure out what to do with bikes. Oh well, now is as good a time as any. 100cc isn't easy, but nowhere near as insane as 150cc is. Seems like they have toned down how often blue shells show up, though haven't been in first in 150cc long enough to tell for sure (since that's usually where the player is bombarded by blue shells). On the other hand, red shells seem to be have much better tracking, so always good to keep a shield handy.

Bumping into other karts while in hovercraft mode is fun. I think both karts get a speed boost, so the important thing is the positioning. Probably one of my favorite Mario Karts yet, though I'm probably one of the few who like the Gamepad- nice to have the item and accelerate button on different sides of the controller, my thumb gets too sore while playing 7 on the 3DS. Lakitu also puts you back on the track much faster, sot that's a very nice improvement. Annoying to have blue shells hit you even when you're not in first though (since instead of flying over the crowd, it flies through), and I have a hard time keeping track of the rest of the race compared to the DS' dual screen setup (hard to watch both the TV and Gamepad at once). Still very fun, and many of the courses look beautiful. The Sunshine Airport and Shy Guy Falls are some of my favorite so far.

 

Bikes too me more time to master in Mario Kart Wii. The handling is more sensitive. You can potentially drift and make turns better. But drift too much and you lose control. I used the bike once on Mario Kart 8 and the physics were pretty much the same.

 

I am so excited to have this game out! I got a wii u from my mom as a gift for Christmas. I haven't played to much of it yet. I own a few decent games, but this a Smash is what I've been most pped about! Oh, and X, but I still haven't finished xenoblade yet.

 

Now that Mario Kart 8 is out there are less reasons to not get a Wii U. My only worry is that Nintendo is not doing well fiscally and the rumors of It's decline and fall. I do not want to get a Wii U and then Nintendo pull the plug like Sega did with Dreamcast.