Tag: Mario Kart

Mario Kart 8 – Friend Race #1

I had my first Mario Kart 8 get-together tonight, and it was somewhat of an experiment just to test everything out. I’ll normally have these get-togethers on a weekend afternoon, but I couldn’t wait to give it all a try. So I opened up a lobby; Josh and Ash joined in. Mario Kart 8 supports voice chat in friend lobbies, but I wasn’t interested in using it. But oddly enough, if you turn your microphone off by pressing the “-” button, you’re also unable to hear anyone who may be talking (it plays music instead). I do not understand the logic to that at all.

There are about two dozen pre-selected messages you can enter, and those are helpful. But if someone is speaking to you when you have your mic off, you won’t know what they’re saying…and apparently, they won’t know you don’t hear them. The whole thing isn’t very intuitive. And unfortunately, the game does not support a USB keyboard.

When I was ready, I chose to start the race and an options screen popped up. The first option gives the host the ability to choose the mode (100cc, 150cc, etc.), and that is a welcome addition. I’m not a fan of the mirror tracks in general, so this means I’ll be able to avoid them in my get-togethers if I choose. Good deal.

You can also choose to have teams or no teams, and then there are a variety of choices for items. For example, you can choose to race with all items, no items, shells only, mushrooms only, etc. However, there does not seem to be a way to fully customize which items can or can not be used. I’ve heard that the game allows you to turn blue shells off, but I did not see a way to do that. If any of you know, please leave a comment below. The other options are for round time (I’m assuming this is for battle mode) and you can choose whether or not to have computer-controller characters race with you. I chose not to, at least for this time.

The Mario Kart 8 options for friend races.After that, we were able to select our courses. And thankfully, friend matches allow you to choose from all of the courses! You’re not forced into just three choices like you are in the random races.

Cup #1

The races began, and it quickly became clear that Ash and Josh are significantly better at the game than I am. I would occasionally get a 2nd place here or there, but I finished in last place most of the time. I definitely need a lot more practice, and I need to learn these tracks and their shortcuts. These were the results of the first cup (four races):

  1. Ash – 12 pts.
  2. Josh – 11 pts.
  3. Jeff – 5 pts.
Cup #2

We started another cup with the three of us again. But after the first race, Meli joined in too! The fact that people can join mid-cup is a big improvement over Mario Kart Wii. On Wii, if someone wanted to join in and just missed the start, they’d have to wait for the entire four races to complete before they could join. That would often take 15-20 minutes, so I’m glad to see this change. It also means I won’t have to wait around for people at the beginning of each cup, since they can join in whenever they arrive.

Anyway, I beat Meli for 3rd place in the first race with her, but even that limited success didn’t last long. I was soon back to getting last place most of the time. Even when I was having a decent race, like being in 2nd place in Moo Moo Meadows heading into the final corner, I’d get hit with a shell and finish last. It was not my night. I did end the second cup tied with Meli for third place though. Here are the results of the second cup:

  1. Ash – 19 pts.
  2. Josh – 11 pts.
  3. Jeff – 5 pts.
  4. Meli – 5 pts.
A glowing Waluigi finishes in last place (Mario Kart 8).Cup #3

Ash won the third cup as well:

  1. Ash – 18 pts.
  2. Josh – 12 pts.
  3. Meli – 8 pts.
  4. Jeff – 6 pts.
Cup #4

In our fourth and final cup, we finished off with N64 Rainbow Road. I still hate how they turned the longest track into one of the shortest, though (by only making it one lap). I did get 2nd place on this final track though, and that was about my only bright spot for the night. Here are the results of the last cup:

  1. Ash – 20 pts.
  2. Josh – 10 pts.
  3. Meli – 8 pts.
  4. Jeff – 6 pts.

Waluigi races on N64 Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 (MK8) on Wii U.It was fun, so thanks to everyone who came. The next get-together will probably be on a weekend sometime, so hopefully more people can come. In the meantime, I need some practice. See you all next time!

Mario Kart 8 – Retro Tracks

I’ve recently completed the 50cc grand prix cups of Mario Kart 8, and I’m going to share my thoughts on the retro tracks included in the game. Keep in mind that I haven’t played Mario Kart DS or Mario Kart 7 on 3DS, so I still haven’t formed much of an opinion on those tracks yet since I’ve only played them one time so far. But let’s start with a list of the retro tracks in the game:

Shell Cup:

  • Wii – Moo Moo Meadows
  • GBA – Mario Circuit
  • DS – Cheep Cheep Beach
  • N64 – Toad’s Turnpike

Banana Cup:

  • GCN – Dry Dry Desert
  • SNES – Donut Plains 3
  • N64 – Royal Raceway
  • 3DS – DK Jungle

Leaf Cup:

  • DS – Wario Stadium
  • GCN – Sherbet Land
  • 3DS – Music Park
  • N64 – Yoshi Valley

Lightning Cup:

  • DS – Tick-Tock Clock
  • 3DS – Piranha Plant Slide
  • Wii – Grumble Volcano
  • N64 – Rainbow Road

There are some good things and some bad things about this list.

What I Don’t Like: 

No love for SNES. Why is there only one SNES track?! The original Super Mario Kart gets almost no love from Nintendo here. Especially when there are…

Four N64 tracks, three from 3DS. Including four N64 tracks is mind-boggling, especially when Super Mario Kart (SNES) and Super Circuit (GBA) are so under-represented. And Mario Kart 7 (3DS) is the most recent release, so why should it have so many tracks? Many players are still playing these tracks on 3DS! If anything, 3DS should be the system with only one track in Mario Kart 8, and everything else should have at least two.

The Wii tracks. Moo Moo Meadows and Grumble Volcano aren’t awful tracks or anything. But there are so many better tracks in Mario Kart Wii that would have made better returns. Unfortunately, a lot of the best Wii tracks were already used in Mario Kart 7, such as Koopa Cape, Coconut Mall, and Maple Treeway. And I can understand them not wanting to use those in consecutive games. But I still would have preferred Wario’s Gold Mine or DK Summit over Moo Moo Meadows and Grumble Volcano.

What I do Like:

Donut Plains 3. Even though there’s only one track from Super Mario Kart, it’s one of my favorites. I love the graphical overhaul it got, while it still retains elements of the SNES track such as the broken bridges and the Monty Moles that pop up out at you. I’m really glad to see this track again.

Donut Plains 3 - Mario Kart 8N64 Rainbow Road. Mario Kart 64 wasn’t my favorite Mario Kart game, although some of that was because it didn’t have Koopa Troopa in it for some reason. But it’s hard to argue that it had an epic version of Rainbow Road, and I’m quite glad to see it back again with an impressive makeover. However, I do have one complaint about it. The N64 track was incredibly long, so instead of having three laps in MK8, you only race one lap! It’s divided by checkpoints so that it shows as three laps, but it’s really just one full circuit.

N64 Rainbow Road - Mario Kart 8There are two other things I’d like to point out about Mario Kart 8. After completing a track in the grand prix mode, the default option isn’t to continue to the next race. Instead, the default is to view a highlight reel. Why? Do they think watching replays is more important than racing?

Also, one thing I’ve noticed about the Blooper power-ups, which spray ink on players’ screens. In Mario Kart Wii, it wasn’t much of a hidrance to see through/around the ink. But in Mario Kart 8, the ink blots are a bit more concentrated and the opaque part is larger on-screen. They’re a bit more of a problem in this game.

mk8-inkI’ll be playing much more Mario Kart 8 in the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned for more.

Mario Kart 8 Impressions

Mario Kart 8 came out for Wii U today, and it has been my most anticipated game in years (so it was easily a day-one purchase for me). So far I’ve spent about an hour and a half with the game, completing the first four grand prix cups (all the new courses, not the retro tracks yet). I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing Mario Kart Wii since 2008, so my comparisons will mainly be based on Mario Kart Wii–although I am familiar with all of the console Mario Kart games (just not the portable ones, except for Super Circuit on GBA). So here are my first impressions, and some things I’ve noticed in my first 90 minutes of the game.

mk8impCoins are back. The original Super Mario Kart had coins laid out around the tracks, and collecting them would increase your top speed (until you reached maximum speed with 10 coins). The coins returned in Mario Kart 7 on 3DS, and they’re back for this game as well. I don’t particularly care about them one way or the other, but it does add a small strategic element as you try to make sure you have the maximum number of coins at all times. Also note that you can’t collect more than ten coins–so you can’t stockpile reserves like you could in Super Mario Kart.

Also, there’s no longer a choice between automatic and manual for drifting. So now anyone can get the boost by drifting around corners, not just those who chose manual like in Mario Kart Wii. I think this is a good change.

Customization. Mario Kart 8 provides some options for customizing your ride. Choose your car or bike frame, tires, and glider. I started out as Koopa Troopa and I chose a sport bike, monster tires, and a super glider.

mk8-bikeThere’s no map on the main screen. I couldn’t help but notice there’s no mini-map on the main screen! You can see the map on the Wii U gamepad screen of course, but you can’t exactly take the time to look down at the gamepad when you’re in the middle of a fierce race where one tiny mistake could cost you a win! Every previous Mario Kart game has had this feature, at least as an option. So this is a big disappointment to me. On the bright side, this is my only significant negative thing about my first 90 minutes.

No wheelies. When using bikes, you can’t use a wheelie for a speed boost like you could in Mario Kart Wii. This is a bit of a disappointment, but not a major problem. At first, I also thought you couldn’t do mid-air tricks (stunts) either. But fortunately, you can…you just have to press the ZR button instead of using the control pad like you did on Wii.

I like the new courses. I’ve raced on all 16 of the new courses, and none of them seem to be stinkers. Some are better than others of course, but overall my first impressions of the new courses are positive. Some of them are also quite graphically impressive. The tracks that particularly come to mind are the haunted Twisted Mansion, the neon-filled disco themed Electrodome, and the new Bowser’s Castle. Of course, Rainbow Road is no slouch, either.

Electrodome - Mario Kart 8Anti-gravity mode is pretty cool. Some courses have anti-gravity segments, where your cars and bikes can defy gravity, and running into things gives you a speed boost. It might take a while to master the mechanics of running into things on purpose, but it’s a nice addition that brings something new and different to the series.

As for the new power-ups, well I haven’t really tried them yet! I only played the 50cc cups so far, and those don’t provide much of a challenge to Mario Kart veterans like me. So being in 1st place most of the time mainly just got me banana peels and green shells, along with an occasional red shell or mushroom. My opinions on the new power-ups will have to wait for another time. Ditto for the retro tracks, Mario Kart TV, and online play. I’m enjoying the game so far, but there will be much more to come. I’m sure I’ll be playing this game a lot this summer.

Twisted Mansion - Mario Kart 8

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