Topic: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

@Grumblevolcano Same, also got hit with a few drops in Coconut Mall, Mushroom Gorge, and Waluigi Pinball which all got a bit of a facelift with the update.

@TowaHerschel7 Have been able to see Blue Shells on the minimap just fine

@Grumblevolcano @Snatcher Also not sure if Nintendo intentionally changed Ninja Hideaway, but the Shyguy Ninja no longer leave substitute banana's behind when they vanish. 🤔

@PikaPhantom Which modes? Because I can confirm they don't in offline multiplayer versus.

@Kermit1 What do you think of the new courses? 🤔

@TowaHerschel7 Singleplayer

@TowaHerschel7 Haven't experienced the second but the spiny shell came up as always on online single player.

When did online become so brutal in this game? Really loving the new tracks, went to try them online and jeez! It was tougher than splatooning

@KAIRU @chapuH Maybe I need to redownload the game then? 🤔

I just replayed waves 1 and 2 and it’s almost ridiculous how much better the tracks of wave 3 are in comparison. It’s like day and night. Only the second part of wave 2 is somewhat comparable in quality. I wonder if the negative backlash after wave 1 has something to do with it, or wether it’s just coincidence? 🤔

@TowaHerschel7 I'm playing online now, and the spiny shell is still on the mini map.

@Sunsy Are you up for playing Mario Kart with @ChameleonBros and I? We're planning on playing at around 9:20 PM EDT, so around a half hour from now. Or you can write me on Discord when you're ready.

Every time I see baby park online everybody picks it. Why do they do that I hate baby park!
Is it really that popular? It’s just a loop, there is no skill, it’s boring and the item spam is annoying.

@MarioLover92 @ChameleonBros Was fun racing with you two tonight!

@Sunsy Likewise! It's been fun, even if we didn't get a whole lot of wave 3 this time. Looking forward to our next set of races!

@WaffleBoat I think Baby Park's been a popular choice because of how super chaotic it gets with all the items thrown around. But yeah, I'm not a fan of that track, either. Many of the other tracks in the game are way more exciting for me.

Having no nostalgia for most of Mario Kart history (played loads of the original, the N64 and quite of bit of the GBA version) I have to say that I think the 3DS Rainbow Road is exceptionally good.

A lot of the booster pass courses are blander than the best of the base game - be that in concept, design or graphical execution - but there were weak courses in the base Mario Kart 8 also (the desert and the farm for a start) and the best courses in the booster pass are comparable to the best in the original game.

@KAIRU Really? I loathe 200cc and wish it had never been added to the gsme. I get a decent amount of 200cc online. What's your VR? You may need to get it higher.

Like MarioLover92 said above, a lot of people are picking it for the chaos factor. I think that's the main draw. I never pick it either.

After coming to the conclusion Tour Berlin Byways is definitely Special Cup tier difficulty and hence the Moon Cup is essentially like "Special Cup 1" of the Booster Course Pass, I'm getting the feeling wave 4 is probably going to be Mushroom/Flower focused like wave 1. So like:

Fruit Cup

• Tour Los Angeles Laps
• GCN Daisy Cruiser
• [new Yoshi course given the fruit icon is the kind of fruit Yoshi eats in Super Mario World]
• DS Luigi's Mansion

Boomerang Cup

• Tour Amsterdam Drift
• GBA Riverside Park
• GCN Waluigi Stadium
• Wii DK's Snowboard Cross

@Grumblevolcano I've actually chatted with a friend of mine on Discord, and they were actually thinking the same thing. Where for 2023's first wave, they would have Mushroom/Flower Cup tier courses once more. It kind of makes sense now that you think about it, since it would be a brand new year. I'd love to see Daisy Cruiser get remastered as well... it's one of my favorites from Double Dash. I love your idea that Yoshi could have a brand new course, as well. Perhaps a course that's based on Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island? Those two are some of my favorite games of all time.

The Booster Course Pass to me is much better than the base game's tracks, at half the count. Wave 3 and the Custom Items update have put the BCP over the top, and it's going to be incredible once we have all waves in the game and whatever surprises come with them. They really didn't miss with Wave 3, but my weakest tracks would be Maple Treeway and Boo Lake. My initial favorite of the wave was Berlin Byways. Now, I would say every track aside from aforementioned weakest tracks would be in the mix. Shroom Ridge was my favorite track in the entire game before Wave 3, and now multiple tracks may be ahead of it. This update is one of the best updates a Nintendo game has received. Moon Cup is in the GOAT Cup conversation.

I'm more excited for a potential DS Luigi's Mansion return now after really enjoying Boo Lake, but I still don't think anymore DS tracks should be added unless Nintendo has Airship Fortress planned for the pass. I do agree with your take on how Nintendo's approaching each wave with difficulty in mind, so maybe it'll return in Wave 5...Everything else you're predicting though, sign me up.