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Mario Kart: PA Tourney! Check bottom of OP for details.
Sterica
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
From now until the end of July, buying Mario Kart 8 and registering it with Club Nintendo will get a free digital copy of a Wii U game. The Mario Kart 8 copy can be disc or eshop: it doesn't matter which.
North America options:
UK options:
Wow, way to go, NoA!
I refuse to explain what Mario Kart to anyone. There's a decent chance the series is older than YOU, the person reading this thread. Yes, that should make the rest of us feel very, very old. But seriously: google it if you have no idea what I'm talking about.
If you feeling nostalgic, then here is my disgustingly biased synopsis of each game in the series.
Super Mario Kart
1992
SNES (Available on Wii/Wii U Virtual Console)
The game that kicked off a subgenre of racing games. Dazzle at those Mode 7 graphics! The original may be hard for some people to transition to, as it's more racer than throw-shit-at-people. You typically get one item per lap, and item blocks do not regenerate, and this means some neat stuff like hidden item blocks that are off the beaten path but may give you an edge...so long as you get to it first. Some people really prefer this to all others, but it really depends on what you're looking for in a Mario Kart game. Only goes to two-players, though.
Play It? I feel like everyone should give this one a spin. Holds up decently well.
Mario Kart 64
1996/1997
N64 (Available on Wii Virtual Console)
Mario Kart 64 changed things. First, the game is in glorious 3D (with sprites for racers/items) which made for larger and more complex tracks. Items are now in the regenerating boxes that have been the standard ever since, and they are liberally peppered throughout the track instead of just at the start. It also introduced "holding" items, giving you a free item spot and allowing one to use shells and bananas as a shield. Also introduced the infamous mini-boost from turns, giving us sparks in a variety of colors. TThe game's battle mode seems to be held in higher regard than actual racing, due to the well-crafted arenas and items. Block Fort for life!
Play It? Mario Kart 64 defined a lot of the standards for the series, and I think that alone merits a play.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
2001
GBA (Available on 3DS Virtual Console ONLY as part of the Ambassador program)
Super Circuit is like a weird fusion of the first two games: you got the Mode 7 style and features like coins, but you also have the more frequent items. A lot of people consider this to be a hidden gem of the series, with solid track design and a feel that satisfies die-hards of the first game. It's also the first game to feature "Retro" cups with tracks from older games (in this case they're all from Super Mario Kart), effectively doubling the track selection. Has four-player versus, but good luck finding three other people with copies of this AND link cables.
Play It? If you don't mind single-player Mario Kart, it's a weird blend that works.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
2003
Gamecube (Disc can be played on Wii)
Double Dash!! changed a lot of things to the series, but it also established the standards set by 64. You pick TWO racers now (the only game in the series to let you do this), and each can hold an item for use. However, unlike 64 you cannot "hold" an item behind you and a character can lose items if you take a hard hit. This is also where the Blue Shell become the devil incarnate, gaining the ability to fly and blowing up on impact. This is also the first game to feature Kart Selection with their own stats, and is unique for being the only game in the series to have character-specific items (Mario/Luigi have fireballs, Peach/Daisy have the heart, etc). The game also featured "co-op" play, allowing two players to one kart, with one driving and the other using items and both working together for mini-boosts.
Play It? My favorite in the series so far. I love the feel and item balance here, and it's not terribly difficult to get a copy even a decade later.
Mario Kart DS
2005
Nintendo DS (Cart can be played on 3DS)
This game got a lot of praise for excellent track design, balanced items, and adding the much-awaited feature of online play. Formally adds the retro cups with a collection of tracks from every previous title in the series, and continues with selecting both characters and karts for stats. The game is rather infamous for "snaking," where mini-boosts could be used even on straight paths to gain a ton of speed. This effectively shattered the players into pro and anti snaking camps, and it made online a bit harder to get into since one game could feature people snaking and the other would have people clueless about the technique.
Play It? Considered one of the best in the series, I recommend it. However, online multiplayer will be going away soon.
Mario Kart Wii
2008
Wii (Disc can be played on Wii U)
Wii continued the tradition of building on the previous entries, this adds 12 players to the races as opposed to the traditional eight, and allows players to perform simple tricks while in the air to gain a boost. Motorcycles are an option alongside karts, and they trade mini-boost power for the ability to pop a wheelie for boosted speed at the cost of steering. This proved to be fairly unbalanced, but at least snaking was formally squashed in this version with revamped mini-boost controls. Wii also had its own online version, making improvements over what the DS offered. Also introduced alternate motion controls to steer the kart, a feature that would continue to not be used by anyone in games after this.
Play It? Pretty dang bad. Twelve racers fucked with how players got items, so it meant a lot of lightning bolts, blue shells, and then horrible new items like the POW block that also affected every racer. Basically you got hit with a storm of unavoidable bullshit. An awful mess that is best forgotten.
Mario Kart 7
2011
3DS
Does not have Waluigi in the roster, and thus is the worst in the series Going to numbered sequels for the first ever just...because, I like to think of 7 as unfucking all the bullshit heaped on Mario Kart from the Wii version. Bikes are gone, and the gimmick now is that karts can go underwater or sprout a parachute and glide through the air. This opened some alternate paths in courses, and overall was a solid entry if not revolutionary compared to others. Oh, and you can steer with gyroscope controls (no you won't). Noteworthy for having really good online play, which is still available! Play it!
Play It? WHAT DID I JUST SAY?
GP Series
2005, 2007, 2013
Arcades
Because I know one of you will bring it up to be a smartass: yes, there have been Mario Kart arcade titles, but they are not part of the main series. They have actually all gotten releases outside of Japan, but it's likely none of you have played these considering the arcade attendance of places like North America. They have mechanics, items, and characters unique to the series, including Pac-Man as a racer since Namco helped develop the games. If you pass by a local arcade one day, then maybe duck inside and see if they have one of these playing.
Number eight in the series, and the first to be in sweet high definition. This entry will run at a hot 60fps at 720p (30fps in split-screen multiplayer) and feature all the standard modes you love and hate. This also includes a slick online mode that will hopefully live up to the high bar Mario Kart 7 set, but no details just yet.
New Characters
Items this time are different. You cannot hold an item behind you or deploy it to free up an item spot, which means you cannot grab an item while something like the triple red shells are active. You still get the protection from triple shells and such, but you have to use them up to get a new item.
New Items
Returning Items
Retro Tracks
SNES: 1 Track
N64: 4 Tracks
GBA: 1 Track
GCN: 2 Tracks
DS: 3 Tracks
Wii: 2 Tracks
3DS: 3 Tracks
Nuts and Bolts
So Mario Kart 8 is numbered for good reason, as it really builds on 7's air/land/sea stuff and throws anti-gravity into the mix. So there are plenty of opportunities for you to get a lot of air and glide for a short period, and likewise there are underwater sections in several tracks (and it seems like retro courses have been modified even more than in 7 to allow for this). The anti-gravity segments you've probably seen: going upside, sideways and all over. At first blush this seems like a gimmicky thing that doesn't really add much to the game. However, there are subtle mechanics at play that really change things up. Besides the BIG OBVIOUS anti-gravity set pieces on each track, there are subtle, optional areas where anti-gravity gives you more options. Sometimes you can ride on a wall to avoid a player with dangerous orbitals or maybe go underwater for extra coins. In other words, anti-gravity has had a major impact on track design, and people who had played it are really digging it.
There's smaller, but still relevant, things like bumping into another player during anti-gravity to earn a speed boost. Older features like tricks, mini-turbos, slipstream, coins and so on have been included to allow for maximum speed. Kart customization is back, and previews are saying it's bigger than ever with more pieces than 7. There's also the return of bikes, which are faster on turns but slower than karts on straightaways. Kart customization is back, with about 52 parts divvied up over three areas of your kart: body, wheels, and glider. These offer flexibility in how your kart/bike performs and some look rather nice.
The gamepad is more or less used like the second screen in 7 or DS, and you can use the gyroscope for steering if gimmicky controls turn your crank. I imagine pro controller and wiimote + nunchuck are compatible, and you can PROBABLY slap a wiimote in the Wii Wheel and play that way if you are just that dedicated for motion controls. Like Wii and 7, I'm sure you'll get a golden wheel slapped on your account if you suffer through enough matches with the motion controls. Oh, and no off-screen player for local versus. It's just four player split-screen. Don't ask me why they couldn't do something Sega did no problem with Sonic All-Star Racing.
Multiplayer
We have a tournament! Check this for more details.
North America options:
UK options:
Wow, way to go, NoA!
WELCOME TO
I refuse to explain what Mario Kart to anyone. There's a decent chance the series is older than YOU, the person reading this thread. Yes, that should make the rest of us feel very, very old. But seriously: google it if you have no idea what I'm talking about.
If you feeling nostalgic, then here is my disgustingly biased synopsis of each game in the series.
Super Mario Kart
1992
SNES (Available on Wii/Wii U Virtual Console)
The game that kicked off a subgenre of racing games. Dazzle at those Mode 7 graphics! The original may be hard for some people to transition to, as it's more racer than throw-shit-at-people. You typically get one item per lap, and item blocks do not regenerate, and this means some neat stuff like hidden item blocks that are off the beaten path but may give you an edge...so long as you get to it first. Some people really prefer this to all others, but it really depends on what you're looking for in a Mario Kart game. Only goes to two-players, though.
Play It? I feel like everyone should give this one a spin. Holds up decently well.
Mario Kart 64
1996/1997
N64 (Available on Wii Virtual Console)
Mario Kart 64 changed things. First, the game is in glorious 3D (with sprites for racers/items) which made for larger and more complex tracks. Items are now in the regenerating boxes that have been the standard ever since, and they are liberally peppered throughout the track instead of just at the start. It also introduced "holding" items, giving you a free item spot and allowing one to use shells and bananas as a shield. Also introduced the infamous mini-boost from turns, giving us sparks in a variety of colors. TThe game's battle mode seems to be held in higher regard than actual racing, due to the well-crafted arenas and items. Block Fort for life!
Play It? Mario Kart 64 defined a lot of the standards for the series, and I think that alone merits a play.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
2001
GBA (Available on 3DS Virtual Console ONLY as part of the Ambassador program)
Super Circuit is like a weird fusion of the first two games: you got the Mode 7 style and features like coins, but you also have the more frequent items. A lot of people consider this to be a hidden gem of the series, with solid track design and a feel that satisfies die-hards of the first game. It's also the first game to feature "Retro" cups with tracks from older games (in this case they're all from Super Mario Kart), effectively doubling the track selection. Has four-player versus, but good luck finding three other people with copies of this AND link cables.
Play It? If you don't mind single-player Mario Kart, it's a weird blend that works.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
2003
Gamecube (Disc can be played on Wii)
Double Dash!! changed a lot of things to the series, but it also established the standards set by 64. You pick TWO racers now (the only game in the series to let you do this), and each can hold an item for use. However, unlike 64 you cannot "hold" an item behind you and a character can lose items if you take a hard hit. This is also where the Blue Shell become the devil incarnate, gaining the ability to fly and blowing up on impact. This is also the first game to feature Kart Selection with their own stats, and is unique for being the only game in the series to have character-specific items (Mario/Luigi have fireballs, Peach/Daisy have the heart, etc). The game also featured "co-op" play, allowing two players to one kart, with one driving and the other using items and both working together for mini-boosts.
Play It? My favorite in the series so far. I love the feel and item balance here, and it's not terribly difficult to get a copy even a decade later.
Mario Kart DS
2005
Nintendo DS (Cart can be played on 3DS)
This game got a lot of praise for excellent track design, balanced items, and adding the much-awaited feature of online play. Formally adds the retro cups with a collection of tracks from every previous title in the series, and continues with selecting both characters and karts for stats. The game is rather infamous for "snaking," where mini-boosts could be used even on straight paths to gain a ton of speed. This effectively shattered the players into pro and anti snaking camps, and it made online a bit harder to get into since one game could feature people snaking and the other would have people clueless about the technique.
Play It? Considered one of the best in the series, I recommend it. However, online multiplayer will be going away soon.
Mario Kart Wii
2008
Wii (Disc can be played on Wii U)
Wii continued the tradition of building on the previous entries, this adds 12 players to the races as opposed to the traditional eight, and allows players to perform simple tricks while in the air to gain a boost. Motorcycles are an option alongside karts, and they trade mini-boost power for the ability to pop a wheelie for boosted speed at the cost of steering. This proved to be fairly unbalanced, but at least snaking was formally squashed in this version with revamped mini-boost controls. Wii also had its own online version, making improvements over what the DS offered. Also introduced alternate motion controls to steer the kart, a feature that would continue to not be used by anyone in games after this.
Play It? Pretty dang bad. Twelve racers fucked with how players got items, so it meant a lot of lightning bolts, blue shells, and then horrible new items like the POW block that also affected every racer. Basically you got hit with a storm of unavoidable bullshit. An awful mess that is best forgotten.
Mario Kart 7
2011
3DS
Does not have Waluigi in the roster, and thus is the worst in the series Going to numbered sequels for the first ever just...because, I like to think of 7 as unfucking all the bullshit heaped on Mario Kart from the Wii version. Bikes are gone, and the gimmick now is that karts can go underwater or sprout a parachute and glide through the air. This opened some alternate paths in courses, and overall was a solid entry if not revolutionary compared to others. Oh, and you can steer with gyroscope controls (no you won't). Noteworthy for having really good online play, which is still available! Play it!
Play It? WHAT DID I JUST SAY?
GP Series
2005, 2007, 2013
Arcades
Because I know one of you will bring it up to be a smartass: yes, there have been Mario Kart arcade titles, but they are not part of the main series. They have actually all gotten releases outside of Japan, but it's likely none of you have played these considering the arcade attendance of places like North America. They have mechanics, items, and characters unique to the series, including Pac-Man as a racer since Namco helped develop the games. If you pass by a local arcade one day, then maybe duck inside and see if they have one of these playing.
Number eight in the series, and the first to be in sweet high definition. This entry will run at a hot 60fps at 720p (30fps in split-screen multiplayer) and feature all the standard modes you love and hate. This also includes a slick online mode that will hopefully live up to the high bar Mario Kart 7 set, but no details just yet.
New Characters
- The Kooplings (Seriously, all of them!)
- Baby Rosalina (...)
- Pink Gold Peach (oh, fuck off)
Items this time are different. You cannot hold an item behind you or deploy it to free up an item spot, which means you cannot grab an item while something like the triple red shells are active. You still get the protection from triple shells and such, but you have to use them up to get a new item.
New Items
- Boomerang Flower - Allows you to fire a boomerang three times. It goes out a moderate distance and then heads back towards you, hitting anyone during the trip.
- Piranha Plant - Temporarily places a potted piranha plant in front of you kart, which intermittently lunges forward and bites. It will automatically home in on players within range of it, and each lunge will give you a small boost of speed regardless of whether or not the plant bit anything.
- Crazy Eight - Gives you eight orbiting items. Looks like it can be anything from Starman to Coins.
- Super Horn - Fires a soundwave in a modest radius around your kart, knocking out any nearby drivers and destroying any incoming shells or other item. Yes, even the blue shell.
Returning Items
- Fake Item Block
- Coin
- Green Shell (and Triple)
- Red Shell (and Triple)
- Mushroom (and Triple, which orbit your kart)
- Golden Mushroom
- Banana (and Triple, which orbit kart instead of trailing)
- Lightning
- Starman
- Fire Flower
- Bullet Bill
- Bob-omb
- Blooper
- and yes, the Spiny "Blue" Shell
Retro Tracks
- Moo Moo Meadows (Wii)
- Mario Circuit (GBA)
- Cheap Cheap Beach (DS)
- Toad's Turnpike (N64)
- Dry Dry Desert (GCN)
- Donut Plains 3 (SNES)
- Royal Raceway (N64)
- DK Jungle (3DS)
- Wario Stadium (DS)
- Sherbet Land (GCN)
- Music Park (3DS)
- Yoshi Valley (N64)
- Tick Tock Clock (DS)
- Pirahna Plant Slide (3DS)
- Grumble Volcano (Wii)
- Rainbow Road (N64)
SNES: 1 Track
N64: 4 Tracks
GBA: 1 Track
GCN: 2 Tracks
DS: 3 Tracks
Wii: 2 Tracks
3DS: 3 Tracks
Nuts and Bolts
So Mario Kart 8 is numbered for good reason, as it really builds on 7's air/land/sea stuff and throws anti-gravity into the mix. So there are plenty of opportunities for you to get a lot of air and glide for a short period, and likewise there are underwater sections in several tracks (and it seems like retro courses have been modified even more than in 7 to allow for this). The anti-gravity segments you've probably seen: going upside, sideways and all over. At first blush this seems like a gimmicky thing that doesn't really add much to the game. However, there are subtle mechanics at play that really change things up. Besides the BIG OBVIOUS anti-gravity set pieces on each track, there are subtle, optional areas where anti-gravity gives you more options. Sometimes you can ride on a wall to avoid a player with dangerous orbitals or maybe go underwater for extra coins. In other words, anti-gravity has had a major impact on track design, and people who had played it are really digging it.
There's smaller, but still relevant, things like bumping into another player during anti-gravity to earn a speed boost. Older features like tricks, mini-turbos, slipstream, coins and so on have been included to allow for maximum speed. Kart customization is back, and previews are saying it's bigger than ever with more pieces than 7. There's also the return of bikes, which are faster on turns but slower than karts on straightaways. Kart customization is back, with about 52 parts divvied up over three areas of your kart: body, wheels, and glider. These offer flexibility in how your kart/bike performs and some look rather nice.
The gamepad is more or less used like the second screen in 7 or DS, and you can use the gyroscope for steering if gimmicky controls turn your crank. I imagine pro controller and wiimote + nunchuck are compatible, and you can PROBABLY slap a wiimote in the Wii Wheel and play that way if you are just that dedicated for motion controls. Like Wii and 7, I'm sure you'll get a golden wheel slapped on your account if you suffer through enough matches with the motion controls. Oh, and no off-screen player for local versus. It's just four player split-screen. Don't ask me why they couldn't do something Sega did no problem with Sonic All-Star Racing.
Multiplayer
We have a tournament! Check this for more details.
Sterica on
+8
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
I've literally never played any of the others. I have a Gamecube lying around; maybe I should go find a cheap copy of Double Dash somewhere.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
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Add me!
* Mario Kart 7 is arguably the best game in the series.
* MK64 is still one of the most fun to play for the fact that it solidified the Mario Kart standards that we know and love, and to this day still holds up well and looks pretty great to boot.
* I also still stand by my thoughts that the DS game is terrible, but that's mostly because the D pad makes the game very difficult to play for me. Also, Rob should be in more Mario Karts.
* Mario Kart Wii is terrible and will give you cancer. Super item spamming rubber banding cancer.
* Mario Kart SNES is still a blast to play and looks great with it's mode 7 craziness.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
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Add me!
It was...weird. It looked really nice, but it felt off from Nintendo-developed Mario Karts. Even the bad ones like Wii.
Also Mario Kart DS is the best one.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
It was a paragon of an online system that just works.
Also I think Mario Kart 64 had the best battle arenas. I wish they would re-add Double Decker to one of these newer ones
I didn't get a chance to play it though.
I was (futilely) hoping for an F-Zero AX machine so I could try and unlock the extra racers in GX the easy way.
Everyone needs to play Super Circuit. It's like the original Super Mario Kart on steroids. It's like the Super Mario Kart 2 we never got. And it includes every track from the SNES original! I sincerely hope this one hits the Wii U Virtual Console.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Any who, I'm excited for 8 and Double Dash was the best.
3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
I don't think there's even an arcade left in my whole city.
I'm not sure i agree with your other points, but the battle mode certainly was awful in DD. All four maps were just wide open expanses. It was the lamest followup to the n64, which had great battle mode maps.
Nintendo ID: Pastalonius
Smite\LoL:Gremlidin \ WoW & Overwatch & Hots: Gremlidin#1734
3ds: 3282-2248-0453
I think it was possible to link 4 Gamecubes together and do 16 players at once, but we only had 2 Gamecubes and there was rarely more than 8 of us wanting to play at the same time anyways.
Oh, and Double Dash has earned forever my hatred for removing the hop mechanic.
It was actually possible to dodge blue shells in Double Dash. If you were close enough to the edge of the map, and hit a speed boost/snaked at just the right moment, it would clip outside of the track and fly off into the sunset. It was nice to get a chance to beat the system. I agree the rubber banding in Wii completely ruined it, but playing with 4 people on the same team was still fun, or playing online with a friend and having one person run interference while the other tried to win.
As for the new game, I've never been fond of the coin mechanic, what's the appeal for those that like it?
3clipse: The key to any successful marriage is a good mid-game transition.
I'm pretty sure it's Rainbow Road from Mario Kart 64 with a major face lift.
I actually liked that aspect of MK7's Rainbow Road. :P
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
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Add me!
Nintendo ID: Pastalonius
Smite\LoL:Gremlidin \ WoW & Overwatch & Hots: Gremlidin#1734
3ds: 3282-2248-0453
Clearly:
I can't remember the last time I was this hyped for a new Mario Kart. Actually, I can. It was for Mario Kart 64.
Wooden Spoon on Steam
3DS: 1005-8709-0277
IIRC, in the original game every AI character was given one item to use repeatedly as often as they wanted (and they didn't take your question blocks as a result). This meant that nobody wanted their "rival" (the character pre-selected to be the one competing for first place) to be Mario, because he could use invincibility stars all the time.
Of course this isn't quite the same as the way it works in Double Dash, but y'know.
Hm, I thought we'd seen a lot of it, unless that's just the remake of the 64 Rainbow Road.
Hey by the way.
Is everyone familiar with the .webm format?
Sort of a cross between gif and video, but with a smaller file size than gif and higher quality, including 60 FPS?
If you've got a modern web browser you should be able to see these and be blown away.
http://a.pomf.se/klatyq.webm
http://a.pomf.se/ithkrx.webm
http://a.pomf.se/hcbzwq.webm
http://a.pomf.se/tjexrq.webm
http://a.pomf.se/zpyfrt.webm
The AI characters in the SNES original also had special items that the player couldn't use. For instance, Bowser could throw fireballs.
That first one is clearly a remake of 64's.
And the third one. You can even hear the music.
I was hanging out with a few friends recently and I said that (while also saying MK64 was my least favorite because of the controller) and they all told me I was very wrong.
Steam: abunchofdaftpunk | PSN: noautomobilesgo | Lastfm: sjchszeppelin | Backloggery: colincummings | 3DS FC: 1392-6019-0219 |
DK jr wore a respectable Racing shirt and everybody shut up when you had to race on Rainbow Road.
I always loved the first Mario Kart, because its so brutal.