I think the visuals only standout because they did such a fantastic job with 8's main tracks visually. Mario Kart 8 hasn't aged at all. Of course, they also needed to port 8 to have the time to make real battle maps as well so...you win some you lose some. If 8 had followed the graphical trajectory of the previous games for a first HD Mario Kart, people wouldn't have even noticed though.
That being said my immediate reaction to Ninja Hideaway was "well this sure looks like it got more attention than some of the others here". I dunno if that reflects this version or Tour itself though.
Paris Promenade - Relatively simple, but that last lap is an ingenious way to liven things up. It has a lot going on visually & it has the most scenic/lovely lighting of the bunch.
Toad Circuit - Probably the weakest of the bunch. Still fun, but a very simple no frills track.
Shroom Ridge - Not that interesting thematically, but the more I play it the more fun I have. It's like a slightly trickier take on Toad's Turnpike, which I like.
Coconut Mall - Fun track with nice verticality & some neat gimmicks.
Tokyo Blur - While I suppose it's pretty simple overall, the fact that each lap is just a bit different is enough to elevate it, IMO. Probably rate it just above Paris Promenade if for no other reason than I find Tokyo a more thematically interesting subject.
Choco Mountain - Has enough going on to be interesting, but probably a bit lower on my ranking just because I like proper race track or urban courses more than "off road" types.
Sky Garden - Looks lovely, but doesn't have much going on.
Ninja Hideaway - Absolutely killer theme & it has a ton going on. Like others have said, it's probably my favorite track of the bunch.
@RR529
I still wonder why Mario Kart 8 still get huge success with "minimalist" efforts while Modnation Racers on PS3 / PS VITA with way better features (Detailed character customization, vehicle builder, track builder) to sell the game but peoples already forget if that game was exist. Is Nintendo still refuse the idea to step up Mario Kart with detailed character customization, vehicle customization and track builder while those ideas was a brilliant idea from other game company with their efforts to compete with Mario Kart games?
Or Are Nintendo fan still biased / refused to adapted with the changes ?
@Anti-Matter Nintendo offers lot of customizations with Mario Kart Tour. I guess we'll see what they do with MK9. It is annoying that Nintendo has ignored updating Mario kart for so long, though.
I still wonder why Mario Kart 8 still get huge success with "minimalist" efforts while Modnation Racers on PS3 / PS VITA with way better features (Detailed character customization, vehicle builder, track builder) to sell the game but peoples already forget if that game was exist.
Well obviously because Mario Kart had decades to become popular, while Modnation Racers was a single video game that I'm not sure had any follow up. Also being the go to game bundled with Switch helped Mario Kart 8 a ton.
Though the key thing with this recent DLC is that its literally as many tracks as the initial game, for less than half the price. You get what you pay for?
When people say these tracks are lacking compared to the main game what tracks are they comparing them to? I've seen people say stuff like they lack anti-grav mechanics or that they're largely unchanged. But that was also the case for some other courses. Baby Park, Music Park, Rainbow Road (SNES), Moo Moo Meadows. There were plenty of "basic" courses in the original game
I guess we're assuming there isn't a "difficulty progression" with the cups here but even so. Compare this first two cups in this DLC to Shell and Bannana cup (the first two "remade track" courses so probably the most comparable). Are these tracks more or less interesting than those tracks? I mean for me Cheep Cheep Beach and SNES Donut Plains 3 are pretty high up there for my favourite Mario Kart tracks generally. But overall.... you'd have to say this DLC is pretty comparable
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An opinion is only respectable if it can be defended. Respect people, not opinions
They did definitely feel less like the more transformed courses for a lot of the retro courses before and more like courses obviously taken from a different source and put into this game. That's not a negative entirely but I did feel like how they used both anti-gravity and 7's gimmicks in even retro courses had unending potential that I'd have preferred more of.
...but again, same amount of courses for less than half the price. I feel like that's gonna be where I'm at. It's not a continuation of 8's high points, its a nice bonus at a good price, which is plenty for a game that we all assumed would get nothing.
I feel like the response to the new tracks has actually been good if you ignore some of the more petty complaints. It does feel as if people can't cope if someone isn't exactly how they wanted it or feel the need to complain about anything.
Take Nintendo Life's review for example. Normally, I think they are fair even if I don't agree with them, but I think making such a big deal about graphics when most people won't notice a difference isn't a great thing to do. Even worse, their complaints that it was too safe is ridiculous. I asked them what thus meant and it essentially meant they wanted stuff like anti-gravity added. The fact that the courses play perfectly well without out anti-gravity didn't matter. They wanted Nintendo to force a feature that wasn't needed. I'm sure if they did add anti-grav, NL would probably end up complaining that the anti-gravity sections felt forced and unnecessary.
Still quite surprised that most people's favourite track is one from MK Tour. Didn't expect it before the DLC was released. I also voted for Ninja Hideaway. Probably one of my favourite tracks in the entire game.
Nobody's talking about the soundtrack?
I think it's as good as the one from the base tracks.
Except the one for Paris Promenade, with its stereotypical accordion music. I don't know a single French person who listens to valse musette, and French people I know quite a lot.
What will Nintendo add with a future update? Shy Guys on the side of the track, sipping wine, holding a baguette and wearing a beret? 🇫🇷
🤣
Since January 2021 owner of my first real Nintendo "home" console.
@Anti-Matter As shown by modern gaming in general, customization is a double edged sword. Modnation Racers was fortunately released before microtransactions in console games became common (first game released in May 2010 and sequel released in February 2012) so people can look back on those games as having amazing customization for no extra cost. If Sony made a new Modnation Racers in the PS5 era, it would for certain have microtransactions to the extent of something like Chocobo GP or Gran Turismo 7.
Mario Kart showcases this well too as Mario Kart Tour easily has the most customization in the entire franchise but it's a mobile game heavily focused on microtransactions. I dread when the Switch is replaced with a successor because it'll likely be the point where Nintendo enters the PS4/XB1 era trend of most games having microtransactions, heavy focus on live service, etc.
I've heard some people complaining about the escalators in Coconut Mall and I just don't get it. Yeah, they do maybe look a little bit out of place when compared to everything else, but here's the thing: I even found the old escalators on the Wii version hard to read. I have good vision, but at a distance, it could be really hard to see which direction was correct. I could imagine that this track could have been difficult for people with poor vision, as it would be very hard to determine which direction was correct. I think this is simply an accessibility change for the Booster Course version more than anything.
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@StarPoint I've also seen people say Coconut Mall no longer looks like a mall. It seems people really are willing to say anything to find something to complain about.
Hello, does anyone know how to play the DLC courses online? I'd assumed they'd just be incorporated with the other circuits but I haven't found any yet.
@skywake, most of it is hyperbole about how "worse" the graphics are. They see that the tracks have been upgraded from the Tour models (instead of being rebuilt from scratch to graphically match everything else native to 8D) and see it as (yet another) sign that Nintendo is becoming complacent & lazy with their success to make a buck. I've even seen some who act like the slightly lower graphical quality is so jarring that it makes the DLC "unplayable", lol.
Granted, there are some complaints about changes to the mechanics of certain courses to make them a bit more casual (the arrows on the escalators & stationary cars in Coconut Mall, though the former was changed back on the 3DS. Traffic only going one way on Shroom Ridge. Cutting out a part of Sky Garden's track making it shorter than the GBA/DS versions), which are a bit more understandable, but overall it's just people complaining to complain.
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I love every single one of the new courses. Toad Circuit might be simple, but it's meant to be and still looks so inviting because the art style of Mario Kart 8 is just fantastic. If anyone was expecting anything different from Toad Circuit then I'll have to break a lifelong commitment not to mention the 'entitled' word. And it plays better than the 3DS version. Love the giant toad blimps dominating the sky.
Shroom Ridge is so much more fun to race round than Toad's Turnpike.
Choco Mountain is my least favourite I think, just cos it is so bland to look at, but it still plays great.
My favourite is Paris Promenade. I love the music, clichéd or not, and it's just a beautiful Nintendofication of a city I got to know a little bit once upon a time.
This dlc has been a joy to play and I can't wait for the next pack. My only disappointment with it at all is that it's not physical.
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