Some franchises will never die... And they don't deserve to either.
I feel so old talking about this, but I have to bring it up. Twenty-one years and eight games, Super Mario Kart came to me at a time where I didn't have a whole lot of access to playing outside with friends. My parents were on the move a lot in 1993, I felt kinda detached. That summer, as things slowly started to settle, I encountered this little gem.
I'm not a fan of racers in general. They're often the same, no matter how you look at it, and the computer is almost always a cheating bastard. This franchise changed my outlook, as they added a battle component, where you'd toss things at other racers to gain an advantage. This completely changed me forever, as the only other games I played with friends were brawlers and fighters, like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Summer 1993 was consumed by my closest friends because of this game, and as later entries emerged over time, they managed to draw us back together each and every time. Some sequels excelled (Mario Kart 64 and Double-Dash) while others dropped the ball (Mario Kart Wii), but now that we've arrived at the franchise's eighth entry, is this a time where Nintendo gets it right again?
Pros: Gorgeous and colorful visuals; Amazing track design, with immense levels of variation; 30 racers to choose from, as well as endless vehicle customizations; Tons of extras to unlock; Online multiplayer is frantically fun; Weapons are less overpowered
Cons: Rubber-band AI returns for the eighth time, making harder 150cc races feel cheap instead of challenging; Battle arenas are horrific, and lack any sort of inspiration; Some of the racers aren't all that great
First Impressions
What's the first thing that comes to mind when a friend mentions Mario Kart? Everyone has their favorite items, most memorable tracks, and a specific character that they hold onto dearly. Me? Since the beginning, I've always been Bowser, and my favorite tracks have often fallen around the Haunted Houses, and any wide-open areas with lots of jumps and insane gaps you had to fly over. While Mario Kart 64 holds some of the best memories for fans (as well as the best battle arenas ever), Double-Dash has always been my personal favorite.
Sadly, the dual-racer setup hasn't been returned to since, but the track design of that game was simply phenomenal. I really haven't been all that blown-away on the creative tracks since, even with great entries like Mario Kart 7. They were definitely fun and sparked a lot of creativity, but they lacked that sort of "WOW!!!" factor.
Enter Mario Kart 8, where Nintendo really upped the bar in terms of design and physics. Not only do your racers fly and glide like in previous entries, but they also added an anti-gravity kick to them. Now tracks loop vertically into the air, turn your world upside-down, pull you into the ocean, and even launch you high above the clouds. If this is where the franchise is headed in terms of evolution, this is a magnificent step forward.
And don't assume that all these changes make racing more complex. The transition between driving and flying on a track is perfectly seamless. Driving alongside a wall, or getting thrown onto a ceiling track feels no different than any standard driving mechanics. This allows the competition to remain smooth, and the player never loses focus.
Another improvement is the fact that you now have 29 characters to pick from (well, 30 if you include your Mii), however, you start with 12 at the very beginning. As you finish races in 50/100/150cc, more characters will become available, and the more coins you accumulate, the more vehicle customizations will unlock.
However, I do have to question Nintendo with their character selection. We get all seven Koopa kids from Super Mario Bros. 3 (which I absolutely LOVE!!!), as well as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, but did we really need Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina and Baby Peach on top of that? I felt that to be a bit of overkill, because that's too many fucking babies. But on top of that, Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach? Really? Why not Birdo, Boo, or any other variety of Mario characters from over the past 30 years of games?
Hell, they could have added WART from Super Mario Bros. 2 for a change. That poor guy has been pretty much forgotten! And don't give me that whole "well, he was a dream villain" excuse. Fuck you. There's a Shyguy as a racer! Wart should be a racer!
Visuals & Presentation
Can you believe it's been almost eight years since we started bitching about how Mario Kart Wii was going to arrive on a 480p console, and not sport true HD visuals? Hell, when it released in early 2008, I actually did a side-by-side comparison to its GameCube predecessor, and Double-Dash actually looked BETTER, and less blocky.
My worries were put to sleep, as this is definitely the most beautiful entry in the entire series, and not just because it's in 1080p. The vast amounts of color and vivid detail brought to every track really make this game shine, it makes me feel really sad for folks who happen to be colorblind. Framerate never drops, and the smoothness of speed really keeps the action alive in every race.
The music is jazzy, upbeat, and some of the tracks are cool little remixes of past games. Especially the title screen. Sound effects are reminiscent of the predecessors as well, and while some are repetitious, I still insist it's part of the series' charm.
Gameplay
This is pure Mario Kart, inside and out. And not only did the anti-gravity implementations turn things upside-down (literally), like I said earlier, a whole new dimension was added to the races. But they also threw in 16 classic courses as well, all ranching from the SNES to 3DS counterparts, so little tastes of nostalgia are there for fans to enjoy.
Acceleration and drifting controls are similar to earlier entries, and in some senses, a little more refined and tightened. Sharp turns and tight corners still take a little practice to master, but I assure you, everything will feel like second nature in less than an hour of play.
The tablet controller also makes use of the track's map, showing you not only where everyone's at on the course, but what items they're wielding. This is helpful, yet also problematic, as you have to completely remove your eyes from the TV in order to get an idea of what's going on below. It's especially unwise if you're in a close-knit race for 1st, as any millisecond of distraction can lead to you dropping several places in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, dropping several places in the blink of an eye is a normal thing whenever you decide to go against the AI in 100cc and 150cc. The rubber-band AI returns for the eighth time, folks trying to get all gold cups and stars are in for the same levels of frustration. While they finally scaled back on the number of cheap items (Mario Kart Wii is the BIGGEST offender of that crap) 1st place is still THE MOST dangerous spot to hold in any of the courses.
Unlike real players, all eleven racers will indeed gang up on you. Nothing is more infuriating than being seconds away from getting 1st, only to get hit with a blue shell, a lightning bolt, and then two red shells for good measure, while your opponents just zip on by and leaving you to sadly scoot across the finish at 9th.
There are some new items introduced, however, like the piranha plant, boomerang, and super horn. The horn will become a fan favorite, as it's the one item I know of that can successfully deflect the devastating strike of a blue shell. So if you happen to nab one and are holding first place, do NOT let go of it!
Now we come to the other aspect of Mario Kart... the balloon battle arenas. *takes a deep breath* Ya know what, Nintendo? I almost gave your game a "9"... Hell, it could have been a "10" with a lot of us! No matter what happens with these games, you always managed to screw SOMETHING up, it's getting downright irritating.
The battle arenas, in a nutshell, flat-out suck. They aren't arenas. Instead, we get to select one of eight ordinary tracks to battle on, and multiple racers go at it against a time limit. The whole purpose of battles is having the arenas built as these tightly-knit quarters, with little to no room to escape from wild green shells. This bullshit? Who the fuck thought this was a good idea to have these VAST OPEN areas be our arenas? I tried them, and half of the matches ended in time running out as several players were wandering aimlessly, looking for an opponent to hit.
No. This is general laziness on your guys' part. No amount of creativity got put into this, it feels more like an afterthought than an actual mode. How goddamn hard is it? Hell, you could have simply thrown together HD remakes of the ones from Mario Kart 64 and Double-Dash, and we'd be okay with that. THIS?! You would have been better off not having them at all.
But let's end on something positive. How are online matches? With the Wii U being a much more reliable online console than the original Wii, Mario Kart 8 plays extremely well online, and even surpasses everything the AI has to offer in terms of challenge. Not once did I ever drop out of a match.
They also added a nifty feature called "Mario Kart TV" which allows players to edit and upload clips of their matches online for others to see. I sorta wish we had access to the entire race as a replay, since the game picks out the moments for us. But being able to reverse, speed up, and watch our moves in super slow motion is a pretty fun little addition.
If I were to ask for any improvements, I'm gonna do a rare thing and suggest Nintendo offer DLC in the future. With how awesome this game already is, you guys could really improve its shortcomings by adding actual battle arenas and even new characters and cups. It's a longshot, and the puny built-in hard drive the Wii U has makes this extremely unlikely. But it's still something that'd be really nice.
Verdict: 8/10
Gripes aside, Mario Kart 8 delivers as one of the best games in the series, hands-down. While it falls short with fans who prefer to battle it out with friends in arenas, there's no denying that the actual races themselves are superb.
With some of the best tracks ever designed, as well as the large roster of characters and vehicle combinations, this is one game Wii U owners have been anxiously waiting for... and thankfully, it satisfies. I just hope Nintendo considers the idea of pushing things forward, as even though DLC is often frowned upon, if done right, it can really make this game the best kart racer ever made.
I bought a Wii U just for this last month. I do not regret it one bit. :D
I'm not a fan of racers in general. They're often the same, no matter how you look at it, and the computer is almost always a cheating bastard. This franchise changed my outlook, as they added a battle component, where you'd toss things at other racers to gain an advantage. This completely changed me forever, as the only other games I played with friends were brawlers and fighters, like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Summer 1993 was consumed by my closest friends because of this game, and as later entries emerged over time, they managed to draw us back together each and every time. Some sequels excelled (Mario Kart 64 and Double-Dash) while others dropped the ball (Mario Kart Wii), but now that we've arrived at the franchise's eighth entry, is this a time where Nintendo gets it right again?
Pros: Gorgeous and colorful visuals; Amazing track design, with immense levels of variation; 30 racers to choose from, as well as endless vehicle customizations; Tons of extras to unlock; Online multiplayer is frantically fun; Weapons are less overpowered
Cons: Rubber-band AI returns for the eighth time, making harder 150cc races feel cheap instead of challenging; Battle arenas are horrific, and lack any sort of inspiration; Some of the racers aren't all that great
First Impressions
What's the first thing that comes to mind when a friend mentions Mario Kart? Everyone has their favorite items, most memorable tracks, and a specific character that they hold onto dearly. Me? Since the beginning, I've always been Bowser, and my favorite tracks have often fallen around the Haunted Houses, and any wide-open areas with lots of jumps and insane gaps you had to fly over. While Mario Kart 64 holds some of the best memories for fans (as well as the best battle arenas ever), Double-Dash has always been my personal favorite.
Sadly, the dual-racer setup hasn't been returned to since, but the track design of that game was simply phenomenal. I really haven't been all that blown-away on the creative tracks since, even with great entries like Mario Kart 7. They were definitely fun and sparked a lot of creativity, but they lacked that sort of "WOW!!!" factor.
Enter Mario Kart 8, where Nintendo really upped the bar in terms of design and physics. Not only do your racers fly and glide like in previous entries, but they also added an anti-gravity kick to them. Now tracks loop vertically into the air, turn your world upside-down, pull you into the ocean, and even launch you high above the clouds. If this is where the franchise is headed in terms of evolution, this is a magnificent step forward.
And don't assume that all these changes make racing more complex. The transition between driving and flying on a track is perfectly seamless. Driving alongside a wall, or getting thrown onto a ceiling track feels no different than any standard driving mechanics. This allows the competition to remain smooth, and the player never loses focus.
Another improvement is the fact that you now have 29 characters to pick from (well, 30 if you include your Mii), however, you start with 12 at the very beginning. As you finish races in 50/100/150cc, more characters will become available, and the more coins you accumulate, the more vehicle customizations will unlock.
However, I do have to question Nintendo with their character selection. We get all seven Koopa kids from Super Mario Bros. 3 (which I absolutely LOVE!!!), as well as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, but did we really need Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina and Baby Peach on top of that? I felt that to be a bit of overkill, because that's too many fucking babies. But on top of that, Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach? Really? Why not Birdo, Boo, or any other variety of Mario characters from over the past 30 years of games?
Hell, they could have added WART from Super Mario Bros. 2 for a change. That poor guy has been pretty much forgotten! And don't give me that whole "well, he was a dream villain" excuse. Fuck you. There's a Shyguy as a racer! Wart should be a racer!
Visuals & Presentation
Can you believe it's been almost eight years since we started bitching about how Mario Kart Wii was going to arrive on a 480p console, and not sport true HD visuals? Hell, when it released in early 2008, I actually did a side-by-side comparison to its GameCube predecessor, and Double-Dash actually looked BETTER, and less blocky.
My worries were put to sleep, as this is definitely the most beautiful entry in the entire series, and not just because it's in 1080p. The vast amounts of color and vivid detail brought to every track really make this game shine, it makes me feel really sad for folks who happen to be colorblind. Framerate never drops, and the smoothness of speed really keeps the action alive in every race.
The music is jazzy, upbeat, and some of the tracks are cool little remixes of past games. Especially the title screen. Sound effects are reminiscent of the predecessors as well, and while some are repetitious, I still insist it's part of the series' charm.
Gameplay
This is pure Mario Kart, inside and out. And not only did the anti-gravity implementations turn things upside-down (literally), like I said earlier, a whole new dimension was added to the races. But they also threw in 16 classic courses as well, all ranching from the SNES to 3DS counterparts, so little tastes of nostalgia are there for fans to enjoy.
Acceleration and drifting controls are similar to earlier entries, and in some senses, a little more refined and tightened. Sharp turns and tight corners still take a little practice to master, but I assure you, everything will feel like second nature in less than an hour of play.
The tablet controller also makes use of the track's map, showing you not only where everyone's at on the course, but what items they're wielding. This is helpful, yet also problematic, as you have to completely remove your eyes from the TV in order to get an idea of what's going on below. It's especially unwise if you're in a close-knit race for 1st, as any millisecond of distraction can lead to you dropping several places in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, dropping several places in the blink of an eye is a normal thing whenever you decide to go against the AI in 100cc and 150cc. The rubber-band AI returns for the eighth time, folks trying to get all gold cups and stars are in for the same levels of frustration. While they finally scaled back on the number of cheap items (Mario Kart Wii is the BIGGEST offender of that crap) 1st place is still THE MOST dangerous spot to hold in any of the courses.
Unlike real players, all eleven racers will indeed gang up on you. Nothing is more infuriating than being seconds away from getting 1st, only to get hit with a blue shell, a lightning bolt, and then two red shells for good measure, while your opponents just zip on by and leaving you to sadly scoot across the finish at 9th.
There are some new items introduced, however, like the piranha plant, boomerang, and super horn. The horn will become a fan favorite, as it's the one item I know of that can successfully deflect the devastating strike of a blue shell. So if you happen to nab one and are holding first place, do NOT let go of it!
Now we come to the other aspect of Mario Kart... the balloon battle arenas. *takes a deep breath* Ya know what, Nintendo? I almost gave your game a "9"... Hell, it could have been a "10" with a lot of us! No matter what happens with these games, you always managed to screw SOMETHING up, it's getting downright irritating.
The battle arenas, in a nutshell, flat-out suck. They aren't arenas. Instead, we get to select one of eight ordinary tracks to battle on, and multiple racers go at it against a time limit. The whole purpose of battles is having the arenas built as these tightly-knit quarters, with little to no room to escape from wild green shells. This bullshit? Who the fuck thought this was a good idea to have these VAST OPEN areas be our arenas? I tried them, and half of the matches ended in time running out as several players were wandering aimlessly, looking for an opponent to hit.
No. This is general laziness on your guys' part. No amount of creativity got put into this, it feels more like an afterthought than an actual mode. How goddamn hard is it? Hell, you could have simply thrown together HD remakes of the ones from Mario Kart 64 and Double-Dash, and we'd be okay with that. THIS?! You would have been better off not having them at all.
But let's end on something positive. How are online matches? With the Wii U being a much more reliable online console than the original Wii, Mario Kart 8 plays extremely well online, and even surpasses everything the AI has to offer in terms of challenge. Not once did I ever drop out of a match.
They also added a nifty feature called "Mario Kart TV" which allows players to edit and upload clips of their matches online for others to see. I sorta wish we had access to the entire race as a replay, since the game picks out the moments for us. But being able to reverse, speed up, and watch our moves in super slow motion is a pretty fun little addition.
If I were to ask for any improvements, I'm gonna do a rare thing and suggest Nintendo offer DLC in the future. With how awesome this game already is, you guys could really improve its shortcomings by adding actual battle arenas and even new characters and cups. It's a longshot, and the puny built-in hard drive the Wii U has makes this extremely unlikely. But it's still something that'd be really nice.
Verdict: 8/10
Gripes aside, Mario Kart 8 delivers as one of the best games in the series, hands-down. While it falls short with fans who prefer to battle it out with friends in arenas, there's no denying that the actual races themselves are superb.
With some of the best tracks ever designed, as well as the large roster of characters and vehicle combinations, this is one game Wii U owners have been anxiously waiting for... and thankfully, it satisfies. I just hope Nintendo considers the idea of pushing things forward, as even though DLC is often frowned upon, if done right, it can really make this game the best kart racer ever made.
I bought a Wii U just for this last month. I do not regret it one bit. :D