Topic: Mario Kart World

@HalfAWorldAway hey look, the one thousandth comment!

@HalfAWorldAway
If you just ignore the open world, isn't the game like any other Mario Kart?

@rallydefault No because the tracks are designed around the open world connectivity, the racer count is adjusted to it, hence the itemisation is as well, and so are the track layouts and width of roads and so everything is impacted by it.

As Omni says, everything is affected by the open world, the experience of getting better at each track as you learn the turns and shortcuts is gone, also win gold is 100cc the game automatically gives gold in 50cc.

My point earlier also applies to Echoes of wisdom, you can solve puzzles with many of the echoes instead of that one item that is specific, remember getting the hookshot in a Link to the past and that suddenly opens a new portion of the world, that tight experience and sense of achievement and progress is gone

Maybe all games are getting dumbed down, maybe players don't have the patience to figure things out anymore, maybe developers have lost the magic at the big N.

@HalfAWorldAway I believe getting good in 150cc in the old games also automatically applied to 100cc and 50cc, though I could be wrong. Personally, I quite like Mario Kart World. It's not perfect, but it has a lot that I love. It's very subjective. I think the exploration of just driving through the open world is a cool experience, but if you don't like that, then... Ignore it!

@HalfAWorldAway
How is the experience of learning the tracks gone? You can run the tracks just like all the older games.

@rallydefault I think they mean that you can no longer learn the tracks via online racing in the same manner you could in 8, Wii, etc. due to so frequently being forced to race the boring intermissions and then getting 1 measily lap around the actual track. For example, I learned all 96 tracks in 8 Deluxe inside and out by simply playing online races over and over again.

I think I actually dislike World even more now than I did over the Summer after I first got my Switch 2. The game is just crud on so many levels.. It is missing that special sauce 8 had in spades. I've barely played the game since September. I keep waiting for some big updates that will lure me back to the game, but alas, still nothing.. Nintendo has really lost their way with this new generation thus far. I think they need new leadership. I really miss Iwata and Reggie now. 😒

I am 110% with you friend. I could not agree more with everything you wrote!

Bananza and MKW have me more worried about the future of Nintendo than anything else has in the history of the company, and I’ve been along for the ride since the Game Boy. Because they show a fundamental shift in design philosophy and their concept of what “fun” is and I think it’s practically the opposite of what I used to love. That said they did bounce back from the Wii for me for a while, so maybe by the time I’m retired they’ll find their way again

Vio yes its that old guard that Isn't there anymore that maybe wasn't shy in saying when things weren't right. After Reggie left you could sense things changing,

Can anyone truly say Mario Kart World is a better experience than Mario Kart 8?

@OmnitronVariant

Gameboy was the first Nintendo i owned, when i was about 11 years old there was a kid a year younger than me in our street that rented out his NES for 1 pound every day , he was saving up to buy Mario Bros 3, thats when i first got to play the SMB since those days great game after great game, these days though it seems the end product has lost its magic.

I've not played Mario Kart World so can't comment on its quality, but to me Nintendo has the same magic it had when I was a kid playing snes. Recent games like Bananza, Zelda Echoes of Wisdom, Mario Wonder, and Peach Showtime have that amazing combination of creativity, (mostly) polish, and just being a joy to play that I always hope for from Nintendo's main franchises. It sounds like some of your gripes are more indicative of your personal preferences and less of a design philosophy change by Nintendo.

That said, Nintendo has had plenty of misses throughout the decades and perhaps Mario Kart World is one of those given the somewhat mixed response to it. But I'm definitely not worried about Nintendo even if one generally-iterative sub-franchise doesn't have a masterpiece this gen. Switch 1 had so many masterpieces that it will inevitably be hard to follow up on them and some experiments will end up better than others. But I do think the fact that they experimented with Mario Kart World rather than doing the safe route of 'MK8D but fancier' is generally positive even though the game ended up being something I wasn't personally interested in enough to buy.

@vio
What are you talking about? The online system gives the options of tracks well over 50% of the time now.

@HalfAWorldAway
Well, take it or leave it, but I'm part of the "old guard" too. I'm 40. I grew up with Nintendo and had all the old systems. I just beat Capcom's (excellent) Tail Spin for the millionth on my original GameBoy a couple days ago lol

Games in general have ALL changed across the board, but Nintendo's design philosophy hasn't really changed all that much, especially when held up against pretty much any other company.

And frankly, the stuff you and @OmnitronVariant are saying about World aren't even true... makes me wonder if you've even put a decent amount of time into the game.

For me, World is the better game. The tracks themselves are still just as good (some better, some worse... that's how all Mario Karts go) as all the others. @OmnitronVariant is talking like the avenues are double-wide or something in the actual tracks, which is totally false. They feel the same to me, and have way more shortcut opportunities than any of the tracks in 8 have. When you put in the time to actually learn how to do the new wall rides and jump tricks, this game has a higher skill ceiling than anything 8 can offer. If you're invested enough to see that (which it's fine if you're not, we're just talking about video games lol), go on Youtube and look at Shortcat's 20-minute video detailing all the shortcuts in Whistlestop Summit. Seriously, go take a look at it and tell me this game doesn't allow for more skill than 8.

And I love the open world. I like the challenges, I like how they fleshed out a little nook in Mario's universe - it's cool to see. I don't know why people keep turning their noses up at it. It's like you've all forgotten how to just enjoy games - everything needs to be packed to the brim with exactly what you want, 100%, or else the game is terrible.

As part of the old guard, that's what is most sad to me.

(P.S. - @OmnitronVariant, Bananza is AMAZING)

@rallydefault Nice way to dismiss our criticism. No I don’t want games to be just the same with only things I like. But the core design philosophy of current Nintendo is one of spectacle over depth and mechanical finesse. Bananza and MKW are vapid experiences from my POV. I know a lot of people like that these days, but I don’t

@vio i'll leave you alone on the sauce thing, but mentioning reggie in any capacity here is like that dunkey joke of reggie making every video game despite just being a president.

@OmnitronVariant could you please expand on what you mean? because i can't see any world where bananza is "dull". and dunking on mechanics feel silly when if anything both games provide more to allow you to get better and faster than previous equivalents.

@vio @HalfAWorldAway I get wanting to have discussion about games, and looking at the pros and cons. But genuinely, if you cannot stand Mario Kart World, you can just.... Stop interacting with it. Don't play it, stay out of forums full of racers, don't watch YT videos on it..... It is not that difficult to just not click when you see something about this game — and as an added bonus, those of us who are neutral/positive about it can actually enjoy it more instead of repeatedly being told "open world bad"

@OmnitronVariant
Dude, anything that isn’t your opinion is “dismissive” to you.

You need to step back and look at the big picture. More people than not really like Bananza. It’s a great game. You’re in the vast minority on that one.

MK World is more split, but if you hop off the internet for a sec (good advice for all of us from time to time), I would wager most people enjoy it. It’s a fun game, and it’s gonna keep getting better.

New games, old games - doesn’t matter. Some are fun, some aren’t, etc.

@squiddu-real Say what you want about Reggie, but he was the charismatic leader Nintendo needed. He was also the man who convinced the big wigs in Japan to include Wii Sports as a pack in title. Now we're being charged 10 bucks for frickin' Welcome Tour! The Iwata/Reggie era Nintendo was about delivering value to the customers. Modern Nintendo has sadly become about nickle and diming us. Hell, remember Nintendo Selects? Now games like Odyssey and BotW are still full price 8-9 years after release.

@CaleBoi25 I already stated I am not currently playing it nor do I watch YouTube videos of it. However I am not going to stay out forums "full of racers"(whatever that means). I have not attacked anyone for liking the game, merely stated my opinions and disappointment with it. If anything I would suggest you stay off of forums if you're not willing to read negative opinions you don't agree with. Anyone who's been on online for more than a week knows this is how the internet works. There's an old saying, but I have to censor it here unfortunately. It's "Opinions are like [censored], everyone's got one."