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@Misima I've probably steered us far too offtopic, so I'll try to be brief and then let things return to the topic of the small World update. But I'm sorry that something you have been so invested in, emotionally and financially, has ceased to bring you the happiness it once did. Nintendo is just a corporation that happens to employ plenty of creatives whom I admire and respect deeply. But it's still just a corporation, and when enough of those creatives leave, or retire, or change direction such that I myself feel no connection to their work, I'll feel no loss in going to a completely different ecosystem, or just replaying old favourites like MK64, or maybe even taking up a new hobby. Brand loyalty has no reason to hold sway over anyone, and if the Nintendo whose output you once enjoyed no longer exists for you, I hope you can find enjoyment elsewhere. I'm not sure whether it was a throwaway comment, but I do hope that if you are depressed, you can find some joy somewhere. It doesn't have to be Nintendo. I had hobbies and interests 10, 15, 20 years ago that were then an all-consuming passion, but are now just happy memories, and that's fine by me. I hope you have more days of feeling lucky than unlucky with regards to the time when you're alive. All the best.

@Misima And I wholly respect your statement that you think it's bad. It isn't to your taste, and I'm glad you still have older games in the series you do enjoy. My issue isn't with someone disliking anything – there are countless things I dislike! – but with the rise of rhetoric, on the internet and off it, in gaming and in just about every sphere, centred around presenting opinion as incontrovertible fact. Ultimately, what frustrates me is not the overwhelming negativity towards Mario Kart World itself, but the way that the negativity is largely presented: objectively, not subjectively. I interpreted your first comment in that way, and I may have misinterpreted it; for that, I apologize. I just want to see, and engage with, more people who distinguish between "This is bad" and "I don't like this". Although I've never made any effort to use it myself, I find the philosophy behind E-Prime, a sort of manufactured attempt to reframe our thinking by reworking our use of language (namely, restricting use of forms of to be), a breath of fresh air in a world of aggressive assertion of fact.

Anyway, I actually don't disagree with your claims about the increased randomness and rubberbanding and the like in World. Like you, I could win fairly consistently in MK64 (at least, against the CPUs!), but winning all the time in World is not realistic. It's also not what I'm looking for in the game. I have so much fun just engaging with the world, the mechanics, the music. I love chilling in Free Roam, I have a great time being unceremoniously thrashed online, and I even laugh to myself every time I invariably get a Blue Shell immediately before the end of a single-player Knockout Tour and one of those damned baby characters zips past me. I don't play Mario Kart because I'm looking for competitive racing, but you do. Both of those are okay. It's okay for you to prefer MK64 because you feel rewarded for the skill and effort you invest into each race; it's okay for me to prefer World precisely because it's silly, chaotic and less competitive, such that I feel joy when I win and still laugh when I lose.

Sorry for the long ramble. As I said, I respect your right to your opinion, and am glad you elaborated on it so I can understand it better. My primary concern was with your initial comment, which reminded me of a world where opinion is fact. Perhaps that wasn't your intention, so I apologize for my misreading if so.

EDIT: A little addendum to say that I don't feel World is devoid of skill. I have 90 hours in it now, and even though, as I admitted, I still see losses a great deal, I remain confident that I have improved over the course of those 90 hours, and I am seeing more successes than I was 10 months ago. Some of the skills are very different from in past games, though: for example, making split-second decisions on how to tackle any given section of a track based on the situation around me is something that I didn't feel was as present in past games. I find using items strategically, especially in online Knockout Tour, is another skill that has come to the fore with this title. I came into the game with an MK8D mindset, and whenever I return to that game, I do need to adjust how I play to improve my lot.

I regret being naive enough to care enough to watch this live, but really I only have myself to blame, as I know Level-5's track record by now. Still, the original Fantasy Life remains both my favourite and my most-played game on the 3DS (and there was no shortage of competitors) and I greatly enjoyed Fantasy Life i as well (though it was doomed to live in the shadow of the first game, as far as I was concerned). It'll be interesting to see what the pricing is on the mobile port, though I won't be picking it up. I really do hope Decapolice just ends up releasing at some point – I'm happy to wait until it's ready – and that the final result doesn't bear the scars of its years of development hell. What little we've seen of it over the years has had me really keen.

@Misima There's no problem with that, and personally, MK64 was my introduction to the series and I still occasionally boot it up on NSO for a joyful hit of nostalgia. I don't take any umbrage with preferring one game in a much-loved series over another. Personal preference is, well, personal. I for one liked and still like Skyward Sword more than Ocarina of Time, to stray from Mario Kart. I'm ready to be crucified, but it's my preference. And there's the point.

It's one thing for the Internet to rise up against Mario Kart World with notions of it being "objectively bad" or whatever unverifiable claims are thrown at it on a given day. It's another thing for someone to just enjoy a different game in the series more. Your first comment felt to me a reflection of the former, which I can't support. Your reply to me felt a reflection of the latter, which I respect.

@Picola-Wicola I wouldn't be offended at being called a buzzkill at any rate, but thank you for the words of welcome. Perhaps I'm just having a cynical week/month/year, and perhaps a tin foil hat floated onto my head, but as I mentioned, despite not being a previous commenter, I've read this site for a long time and have some degree of familiarity with how several of the authors write. And the article just struck me as overly refined (not in a good way) and artificial. Just for one example, Alana making note of the system whereby having lower stamina results in combat being more difficult. Neverway no doubt has much to offer, but my take was that the article felt sponsored by the publisher. I won't deny that such an allegation does make me a buzzkill, though.

@Misima Rumour has it they're waiting for an upstream patch from Gamer Central that would reduce the number of people complaining ad nauseam about how awful Mario Kart World is.

On the one hand, I love Castlevania. On the other hand, my Honours thesis was on Joan of Arc (well, technically, it was on a medieval author who wrote about her), so I would really struggle to fight her. I have no feelings either way about fighting any given saint, as I don't have a vested interest in religion nor an axe to grind with it, but Joan of Arc really is someone I don't think I could harm, game or not.

Long-time listener, first-time caller.

First of all, and without wanting this to sound like an attack: was this a sponsored post? I've read a lot (a LOT) of articles on this site, and many by Alana, whose writing style I generally quite like. But there was something uncanny about the wording, phrasing and emphasis placed on individual gameplay mechanics that really aren't anything unique, to the point where I really felt like this article was if not written by, then at the very least approved by, the publisher's marketing and publicity team. The note at the bottom about a certain "Tinsley PR setting up a meeting" was the final red flag once I got to the end, as by my recollection, most articles where devs are interviewed simply thank the devs alone, not a PR firm as well.

Anyway, as for the game itself, I can't say it'll be my cup of tea, though I'm glad games that try to tackle real-world issues with gravitas do exist for those who seek them. Personally, I'm an escapist first and foremost, and although many of my favourite games have their moments of misery and misfortune, I for one struggle to get into games when they start in such a negative place right at the beginning, and particularly so when this one is designed to reflect on how so many of our lives are at present. That's just me, and again, I'm glad that artistic games like this are being created for those who will enjoy them.

One final note, though not a unique take: that art is phenomenal.