Topic: The Mario Kart Thread

[AquaTeamV3]

I understand that the backseat position felt cool and it felt like you could influence some stuff, but it was ultimately completely useless as a Mario Kart mode, man. It's just not fun to play that way. If you were constantly doing stuff, then yes. But any game that has you wait for anything to happen while the other player plays happily while you do nothing most of the time, is just not a good one.

Thing is, I never really viewed it that way.  I personally enjoy doing tactical stuff, so the backseat position kind of fit me like a glove.  Really, in the crazy world of Mario Kart you're never really sitting there and doing nothing.  You're either watching for karts to punch/steal from, being aware of collected items, and watching the road so that you can correct a mistake if/when the driver makes one.  "Constantly doing stuff" doesn't exactly have to constitute of something that's more 'action-packed', as the backseat driver carries an equal importance to the driver, it's just a different style of play altogether.  Quick reaction and a sharp eye both go along way in either position, and one can't really function without the other.  I personally had fun being the backseat driver, and certainly wouldn't call it a useless mode.  If it ever comes back it'd be neat as an optional mode or something.  More options are never a bad thing when it comes to games, I'd say.

And I liked that gimmick, but I thought Rainbow Road in Super Circuit was needlessly hard compared to other games, not to mention a bit underwhelming when compared to 64's version. By the way, I just played the game just now. Just for curiosity. And amazingly... I think it feels like the most responsive of Mario Karts to me. It's probably because I spent so many years with it, but I haven't played it in a long, looooong time. But it feels like the best out of all the gameplays.

Yeah, I loved the way the karts 'felt' in SC, even moreso than 64.  Also, SC has the unique distinction of being the only game where Red Shells have an effect when tossed backwards.  It would just lie there motionless until someone got into the vicinity of it, in which case it would lock-on to the person who "woke it up" and hit them.  It was a neat concept, and it kinda stinks that they just up and scrapped it like that.

On the other hand, the coin-collecting never really sat well with me.  With so many carts in close proximity, you were bound to bump into people quite a bit.  Considering the fact that you lost a coin every time someone bumped you, and you automatically spun out after losing all of them...yeah.  That got annoying really quickly.  Thankfully you could turn them off in VS mode, and there were plenty of courses where you could collect a bundle of them so you could unlock the SNES courses.

[Bueno Excelente]

Thing is, I never really viewed it that way.  I personally enjoy doing tactical stuff, so the backseat position kind of fit me like a glove.  Really, in the crazy world of Mario Kart you're never really sitting there and doing nothing.  You're either watching for karts to punch/steal from, being aware of collected items, and watching the road so that you can correct a mistake if/when the driver makes one.  "Constantly doing stuff" doesn't exactly have to constitute of something that's more 'action-packed', as the backseat driver carries an equal importance to the driver, it's just a different style of play altogether.  Quick reaction and a sharp eye both go along way in either position, and one can't really function without the other.  I personally had fun being the backseat driver, and certainly wouldn't call it a useless mode.  If it ever comes back it'd be neat as an optional mode or something.  More options are never a bad thing when it comes to games, I'd say.

Yeah, I loved the way the karts 'felt' in SC, even moreso than 64.  Also, SC has the unique distinction of being the only game where Red Shells have an effect when tossed backwards.  It would just lie there motionless until someone got into the vicinity of it, in which case it would lock-on to the person who "woke it up" and hit them.  It was a neat concept, and it kinda stinks that they just up and scrapped it like that.

On the other hand, the coin-collecting never really sat well with me.  With so many carts in close proximity, you were bound to bump into people quite a bit.  Considering the fact that you lost a coin every time someone bumped you, and you automatically spun out after losing all of them...yeah.  That got annoying really quickly.  Thankfully you could turn them off in VS mode, and there were plenty of courses where you could collect a bundle of them so you could unlock the SNES courses.

No, it doesn't carry an equal importance to the driver. It's simply the item guy, as I said. You can't look back or aim, so no extra functionality other than that leaning thing. And all you do is take out the fun mechanic of the race from the driver. The item-throwing mechanic. You literally do less than you'd do in Mario Galaxy if you picked the optional helper. A game does not need someone extra to be "aware of items" or "watch out for driver mistakes to correct". This isn't Colin McRae, it's Mario Kart. Those things are what the driver should be doing in the first place. If you like it, then sure, I got nothing against it. But it's a useless mechanic from a second player's point of view. A Mario Kart game doesn't require those incredibly detailed things. You just race and have fun.

I actually liked the coin mechanic. Brought something extra to the game, and made it more interesting. The wins still counted as such, and the points hardly seemed to matter at the end. The Red Shell mechanics were quite improved as well, yeah. Pity that none of the games does that anymore. I kinda hate the fact that the Red Shell is kinda flawless at gunning down someone else. There should be some kind of lock-on mechanic for that, or something.

[Protoman Blues]

The handling in SC was pretty flawless from what I remember. The coin thing was a throwback to SMK on the SNES, which was a fun concept and a mode I think could be brought back for a new Mario Kart game, as collecting coins added an interesting element to the game. In essence, the only game I thought had bad handling was Double Dash. MKDS's handling is very good, and so is Mario Kart Wii.

As for the Double Dash mechanic, if they had an optional mode for that kind of co-op gameplay, and just improve it in ways myself and others have mentioned in the thread, I think it could be fun, as long as it's an optional mode like the coin thing I just mentioned.

[Hypershell]

I haven't had a problem with handling in any particular Mario Kart game, but SNES and Super Circuit are in a class of their own.  The other four, I can, and do, jump between without issues.  But the ol' Mode-7 stuff takes a bit of getting used to if you've been away for too long.

Still worth it, though.

[VixyNyan]

The new name for the 3DS game.

[Phi]

Yeah, i heard about the new name. I wonder why it's numbered this time as opposed to the other games.

Super Mario 3D is now called "Super Mario 3D Land" apparently.

Posted on: July 28, 2011, 07:00:24 PM

[xnamkcor]

Yeah, i heard about the new name. I wonder why it's numbered this time as opposed to the other games.

Super Mario 3D is now called "Super Mario 3D Land" apparently.

Posted on: July 28, 2011, 07:00:24 PM

So you kno which one it is?
So you know how awesomely large the series is.
As a huge joke to people who know MKSC was just a renamed port of SMK.

[Phi]

So you kno which one it is?
So you know how awesomely large the series is.
As a huge joke to people who know MKSC was just a renamed port of SMK.

But why start here specifically?

I can only imagine the possibility of this game evolving the series significantly, starting with the new "glide" mechanics. Perhaps that's why they chose to use a number here.

[Hypershell]

So you kno which one it is?
So you know how awesomely large the series is.
As a huge joke to people who know MKSC was just a renamed port of SMK.

Actually the "port" part was unlockable.

[xnamkcor]

Actually the "port" part was unlockable.

Your truth has no place in my failed attempt at hyperbole.

[VixyNyan]

The extra (20) tracks was transferred from the SNES game (giving you a total of 40), and in the Japan version, they did have a SFC (SNES) tag.
Other than that, the game was just as "original" as the rest.
Also Time Attack~

[Hypershell]

Also Time Attack~

A Bowser girl, are ya?  Can't say I blame you.

I gotta say, I utterly despise the concept of a ranking system in Mario Kart (that is, the letter/star grade independent of your score).  MKWii just ruined it for me.  It takes a fair amount of sweat and blood to nab a perfect score in 150cc, and when the game STILL denies you even a one-star rank at that point, I feel one is perfectly justified in sharking infinite Star Men/Bullet Bills for some CPU abuse.

[VixyNyan]

A Bowser girl, are ya?

I like to play as Peach more tho, but Bowser has the Max Speed, and that's important for faster times.
It also shows in Super Mario Kart on SNES how important Max Speed is.

[xnamkcor]

I like to play as Peach more tho, but Bowser has the Max Speed, and that's important for faster times.
It also shows in Super Mario Kart on SNES how important Max Speed is.

Bowser's my guy on SMK. I remember calling up Nintendo to ask what the blue lap/race time means. They didn't seem to know. I think I found out eventually, but I forget now. Koopa Beach 1 was my best track.

[Hypershell]

Daisy's my #1 character for the games she appears in.  Yoshi is 2nd, and Bowser 3rd.

Bowser's awesome, and I can see how he'd be the best for time trials, but for actual races with items running rampant, low acceleration can really screw you.

[Protoman Blues]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88OsV_NI_rE[/youtube]

So as I've been watching this trailer over and over again, I've been looking at the item box. Some things caught my interest..

-No CLOUD AIDS in sight thus far. Bravo, Nintendo. BRAVO!
-The Blue Shell has no wings. Have they reverted back to the MK64 Spike Shell? Oh man, do I hope so.
-Fire Flower. Fire. Flower. It kinda makes you wonder why this wasn't a weapon long ago.
-No Golden Mushroom.
-Brown Leaf. I'm guessing this is the glider option, but who knows.

Anyway, color me excited.

[Police Girl]

The music near the end sounds like a Remix of the last part of the MK64 Theme. If this is anything like MK64 then Instant-Buy.

Well, it was already instant buy, but possibly being similar to MK64 makes me want it more.

[Hypershell]

-The Blue Shell has no wings. Have they reverted back to the MK64 Spike Shell? Oh man, do I hope so.
-Fire Flower. Fire. Flower. It kinda makes you wonder why this wasn't a weapon long ago.

F*@#! YEAH!!!

-Brown Leaf. I'm guessing this is the glider option, but who knows.

My impression was that the glider was situational, like the propeller underwater.  Note that Daisy uses it while she has Mushrooms in her item box at 0:26.
I dunno, I think a kart with a raccoon tail to spin-attack other racers would be pretty darn awesome.  But we'll see.

I found it funny that having gone with "plumber, reptile, princess" for the video, they shafted Peach in favor of Daisy.  Maybe they're trying to tell Miyamoto something?
Whatever, I'm not complaining.

[Protoman Blues]

F*@#! YEAH!!!
My impression was that the glider was situational, like the propeller underwater.  Note that Daisy uses it while she has Mushrooms in her item box at 0:26.
I dunno, I think a kart with a raccoon tail to spin-attack other racers would be pretty darn awesome.  But we'll see.

I found it funny that having gone with "plumber, reptile, princess" for the video, they shafted Peach in favor of Daisy.  Maybe they're trying to tell Miyamoto something?
Whatever, I'm not complaining.

[tornado fang] YEAH IS RIGHT!

And you're probably right. Hmmmm, I wonder what the Leaf does then?

o`O RACCOON TAIL?

[DarkWaltz]

Well the leaf did give you the raccoon suit.

Also, I hope the blue shell isn't as spammed in this as it was in MKWii.

[Protoman Blues]

I hope it's back to being the MK64 Spike Shell, which did not fly but instead went along the ground with the chance to hit everyone.

[AquaTeamV3]

Only thing that could make this better would be Super Circuit Red Shells.  You know, the ones that act like stationary homing missiles when you toss them backward? 

[Bueno Excelente]

Only thing that could make this better would be Super Circuit Red Shells.  You know, the ones that act like stationary homing missiles when you toss them backward? 

Why'd they remove that? That was brilliant.

Also, am I the only one who'd love to see some kinda vehicle-stealing mechanic mid-track? To steal some poor NPC's wheels or propelling item, of course, and then let go when it runs out in a few seconds.

[Protoman Blues]

Why'd they remove that? That was brilliant.

Also, am I the only one who'd love to see some kinda vehicle-stealing mechanic mid-track? To steal some poor NPC's wheels or propelling item, of course, and then let go when it runs out in a few seconds.

That'd be pretty cool. Hmmmm, but what would do that as a Mario Item? Maybe a pipe!

[Bueno Excelente]

That'd be pretty cool. Hmmmm, but what would do that as a Mario Item? Maybe a pipe!

Pipes, Piantas throwing your kart forward into either shortcuts or the water, that boot thing, launch stars, skateable koopa shells like in Mario 64... It could even be Mario using the fire flower as a fire propelling way to move the kart forward if you use the item backwards.

Not only that, why not have actual Koopa Troopas walk around the stage and if you run into them, you kick their shells forward like an item? Or hell, have item blocks around too, instead of just items. Imagine drifting close to a row of them could earn you a few coins/items.