Ah, the Blue Shell. As is to be expected, Mario Kart's very own rage-inducing spiky ball of doom, destruction, and relationship breakdowns has claimed yet another victim and, this time, it's even ruined a world record speedrun attempt.
Speedrunner Skilloz_ was aiming for a 200cc Star Cup world record in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, streaming his efforts on Twitch for all to see while barreling down the snowy hills of Mount Wario. The run was going well - really well, in fact - until some pesky CPU decided to lob a Blue Shell at our poor star. He notices the blue shell on the minimap, even daring to say "I think we can outrun it", before getting blasted to smithereens right on the finish line. As always.
You can see the action unfold for yourself below; Skilloz_ explains that the Blue Shell could probably have been avoided if he had managed to pull off a proper boost towards the end. Where's that heavenly Super Horn when you need one, huh? (Skip to around the 24:25 mark).
You'll be pleased to know that, despite the hiccup at the end, the run was still a personal best for Skilloz_, leaving him just a single second behind the world record he was going for. We're sure he'll smash it in no time.
Feel free to share your utter disgust at the Blue Shell in the comments below. It makes us angry just thinking about it.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 34
Yes, the Tyson Hesse you see at the end is that Tyson Hesse. He was the creator of Boxer Hockey before being involved into Sonic shenanigans.
weve all been there! the spiky shell of doom!
You run into problems like this when speedrunning a game with rng elements.
My record is going from 1st to last with 2 blue shells, 2 red shells then kicked off a bridge. About 30 seconds without being able to do anything.
GP world record, not the default time trail world record.
I still think Nintendo should put the blue shell back to how it worked in 64, at least there it went along the ground and could potentially hit everyone.
The current blue shell however is only given to drivers at the back of the pack and is basically useless to them as it doesn't help them move up the ranks at all. All the modern blue shell does is let the person in second win!
this is so sad, Alexa play Rainbow Road 64
@TheLightSpirit reading this made me want to smash my cellphone on the floor.
Personally I hate this forced handcap on newer Mario Kart where last placed racers get good itens and first place is stuck with single Green Shells or a Banana Peel. That's more reason why MK64 was my favorite
HA! It's nice to know that that damn shell ruins other people's games as much as it does mine
Why they need to do Snes Mario kart online no blue shells to worry about.com lol.
At least we can all agree that no incarnation of the Blue Shell (and/or especially its usage by the A.I.) will be worse than the one seen in Mario Kart Wii.
To all fellow MKW players who unlocked Dry Bowser, I feel your pain.
For me, the blue shell makes the game less fun. It should be an option in pvp for people who don’t play games much. MK8!is incredible but the blue shell will make me turn off the game and play something else. Even if I’m so far ahead it doesn’t matter, it’s just plain annoying.
@BulkSlash Actually the current blue shell does do something for me when I'm at the back.. it makes me feel better for a few seconds that the poor idiot at the front is going to suffer as much as me at the back.
Yet another reason I don’t buy mario party kart anymore. Skill of driving is punished severely vs random item use. Go back to the 90s/early 00s and you had to be skilled in both.
Second is best!
Best game ever. People who gripe the blue shell can go suck a lemon.
@WOLF13 Can't you turn it off in vs mode settings or run a no items tournament in MK8? I remember setting it to rarely showing up in MKWii.
Whoever came up with the Blue Shell is the most devious genius in Nintendo history.
@Riderkicker
Yeah I was saying it shouldn’t be in the single player game. If people want it in pvp that’s fine. It is helpful for small kids or people who don’t play games.
@BulkSlash
Yeah the modern blue shell is bad game design.
Loool... Poor gui... Anyway I like blue shells.
Can we get a rip in the chat
@BulkSlash Yeah I agree regarding the blue shell mechanics not being fantastic. Not a big fan of items that seem to be there more for griefing than offering any real benefit to the person that used it. Sure it may mix up the results but there’s a good chance it won’t progress the user up the ladder.
If I’m ever down enough to get the blue shell I’d generally be hoping for a star, lightening bolt, bullet bill, golden mushroom or even red shells over the blue since they’ll better assist me climb the ladder.
I have a love-hate relationship with the blue shell, but without the ability to turn it off in Grand Prix mode, I simply cannot be bothered trying to unlock Gold Mario. I've had so many cheap losses in the fourth track (where else?).
He took it rather well. I thought he'd be throwing a tantrum like most immature players I've seen over the years who can't deal with an built-in mechanic. LoL 😂
So what's the deal here with speed running mario kart... Those cups take like 10 minutes to complete - after something like this happens, why didn't he just try it again?
I'm going to have to start documenting my gaming, he was slow as hell doing that
@BulkSlash current blue shell does move along the ground though, I constantly am hit by it when I’m not in first... also you can get it further ahead, I’ve gotten it as high as in third place, odds are just much lower.
Wow NintendoLife giving me ads for knockoff consoles with thousands of ROMs included.
@gcunit Couldn’t have put it better myself. Those who hate the blue shell are merely wimps 😈
@Rhaoulos That’s highly unusual, two blue shells in less than 30 seconds?!
Gave up on the Switch MK due to the ‘random’ items. I dearly wished devs would follow the Diddy Kong Racing model of power-ups, which required some strategy, skill and were completely fair.
That's the problem with taking Mario Kart seriously. It's a multiplayer game through and through, it goes out of it's way to try to prevent people from being too successful at it.
Mario kart needs more kart, less Mario. Personally hate the game being my 4 year old daughter can beat all of us at it, just because of the AI handicap. She's literally set the controller down, left the room, and comes in ahead of me and her brothers.
I love this game.
Just like Naomi Smalls with Manila on Rupaul All Stars!
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