The Mario Kart Retrospective. Part Eight - Mario Kart 8

This is probably my least played modern Mario Kart overall, but I do respect Nintendo's decision to not only make every Mario Kart from scratch, but to ensure each entry is distinctively different from the last. Even if it means that while 7 was far more balanced in the right direction (in terms of how frantic the racing was) than Wii, it wasn't as fun to me as that game. The track designs were still excellent, and the hang gliders became very welcome the more you played the game. I still think they have far more strategic possibilities in 7 than 8, too, such as through the cheeky shortcut you can take in SNES Mario Circuit 2.

Stu_the_great wrote:

Drunkalilly wrote:

I think rum hit it on the head when he mentioned a lack personality. I enjoyed Mario kart 7 and got a fair bit of play time from it. That being said, it just felt too similar to Wii, and overexposure of Miis and inclusion of Wuhu tracks just made it feel pretty unmario. And also, for me, Mario kart is always better on a sofa with mates playing split screen.

Buska sums it up nicely for me here. At the time I played and completed MK7, I felt hugely overexposed to the series. The gliding lost its appeal pretty much straight away, and the underwater bits can just go straight to Hell. I'm hoping to revisit this some day to see if my opinions have changed.

Agreed about the lack of personality, while I still hold it in high regard, it was obvious (and confirmed by Nintendo themselves) that it was rushed out in time for the holiday season to save 3DS, but also unlike Mario Kart Wii it felt a bit pedestrian. Great track designs, but the menus were dull and fun features removed from its online.

Bumpity bump.

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Thought I'd return to this (excellent) thread to ask the question: now that Mario Kart 8 has been out for almost a year, added a 200cc mode, added an extra sixteen tracks and added an extra six characters (as well as loads and loads of vehicles), where does this rank in your own list of the Mario Kart games?

For me, it's the undisputed best. I called it "a bawhair fae perfection" in a vote thread a while ago, and it truly is; if they sorted out that battle mode, I'd say it's at least the equal of Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and Animal Crossing - in being a true Nintendo classic.

Spoiler:

If we're quoting ourselves from the voting thread, I said:

Balladeer wrote:

"The best Mario Kart. The best racing game. Heck, the best local multiplayer experience. And the DLC is only making it better. A decent Battle Mode away from perfection." (A bawhair-proportioned battle mode, perhaps? - Ed.)

Yeah, I "Ed"-ed myself. But I completely agree with Cappa, and I don't even play online much. An absolute blinder.

The only real challenger to the crown, for me, is the original. Its novelty and, yes, a massive and rose-tinted nostalgia factor, push it upwards. The memories of trying to shave fractions of seconds off my Rainbow Road time are fine ones. That said - in my classic verbose, up-own-bottom way - you can't beat a bit of MK8. The DLC (Pack 2 > Pack 1, BTW) makes it so... although I suppose it plays pretty well, too.

I'm going to have to say No it's not the best. Additional content packs might be great but there additional not the core game, so I'm judging it on the core game / free updates like 200cc.

It might be still great but to me is missing that je ne sais quoi that others in the series have, mainly as it does nothing new.

My List:

If it ain't broke though eh, mas.

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Not sure where I'd place it overall but it's definitely up there with my favourites.

Cappa's list is correct, I can confirm.