Mario Kart 8 Discussion

My husband and I played a good amount last night. This is, for both of us, our first experience playing a Wii U that isn't an in-store demo of something. For my entire Mario Kart career, I've always played with a GC controller (never really played any of the pre-GC Karts much except for a bit on Wii emulator, and don't have any of the handheld versions), so in the beginning, I was playing around with the different control options to see what worked best for me; I ended up settling for wiimote+nunchuck for being the most controller-like. Using the gamepad itself isn't too bad either (especially since it's not nearly as the in-store demo versions which have theft-protection stuff weighing it down), but a bit too big for my hands to be comfortable without a lot of practice.

The game itself is pretty fantastic so far. We haven't unlocked all the levels/characters/etc. yet, but it's been fun playing along. A lot of the new level designs are very spiffy. I think my favourite so far is the Wario Mountain one, where it's technically 3 laps, but really one giant long map, which is super awesome. The various cart customization options are cool, but a bit too complicated for me to really delve into. Once I get comfortable with the levels, I'll probably try out a bunch of kart options in a row to see what I like best.
 
If you see a Mii named Wrong Turn then that is me.

He looks like Doshin The Giant's angry dwarf cousin and spams the "So unfair!" message. Even when he wins.

You'd think it would be unlikely that Beach members would bump into one another on online random match up, but I think I actually ended up racing against gamercal yesterday lol. So you never kNoOoW...
 
lol bacon

I got the game on Friday and absolutely love it in terms of visual/audio presentation. I really don't think another Mario Kart game can even be compared in those departments. And I also love a ton of the courses. Even the bad or mediocre ones are quite good and if nothing else, are great to look at and hear the music that's so good in the game. I'm getting a little used to the items and their pretty wonky distribution tbh and I need to get more used to using inside drifting bikes but I'm really liking it so far.

dmaster out.
 
Do you guys know if wheelies are gone? I played the demo at GameStop, and couldn't wheelie with the d-pad, nor with a jerk of the controller's anterior.
 
Wheelies were removed intentionally because bikes were overpowered in Mario Kart Wii. Bikes will do a wheelie when boosting via a mushroom and a couple of other speed boosting items but it's just for looks and has no actual effect.
 
Blah said:
Wheelies were removed intentionally because bikes were overpowered in Mario Kart Wii. Bikes will do a wheelie when boosting via a mushroom and a couple of other speed boosting items but it's just for looks and has no actual effect.
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It seems that Bikes actually get better boosts than Karts do from Mushrooms and Boost Pads. A lightweight on a Bike was out-speeding me (DK with high speed stats) earlier today when we both hit a boost pad. So it seems while they have lower max speed, they have higher boosts.
 
If there is enough interest, we'll start a 'PokéBeach Mario Kart Tournament' that could be held every week or even every day! Let me know who all would be interested! I for one would participate every time! :D
 
Nooo I loved wheelies. My left thumb is going to be so bored now. :'( Also, did the drifting mechanics change? I felt very awkward while drifting in the demo.
 
Prince Dedenne said:
If there is enough interest, we'll start a 'PokéBeach Mario Kart Tournament' that could be held every week or even every day! Let me know who all would be interested! I for one would participate every time! :D
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Saturday/Sunday Tournaments would be cool. So yeah, Daily, but with a main focus on the weekends. =p

That or someone would have to set tournaments up at specific times.
 
I would love to participate in tournaments even if I would be shit in them (because, for as much as I love this game, I've never really been able to get super good at it), though with time zones I probably wouldn't be able to take place anyway. :<

Regardless, been having a tonne of fun so far. Hubby and I have all races and characters unlocked, though I think we're still working to get all the kart upgrades (seems like we still get a pop-up for more coins collected). We recently got the cat car, which I just love (yes, I know it's the same as the regular kart, shush), even more than my previous favourite which was the bug-fish kart. All of the courses are super beautiful and well-made, and the music is great, too. There's not a single new course that I dislike, and the remade old ones are all pretty great (with the exception of the stupid SNES Donut Plains one where I can still never remember where the turns are). All in all, a very nice purchase, and I foresee lots more fun with it, and more practice too. >_>
 
dmaster said:
I'm getting a little used to the items and their pretty wonky distribution tbh and...
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Yeah, I've noticed this too. A couple of times I've recieved a Star when in 2nd place, although this might just be a gimmick of the level (I think it's happened twice but exclusively on Rainbow Road). My other thought is that the game distributes items according to distance from the lead player rather than placement, so it's possible to get a Star when in second place if the leader is light years ahead of you. That's complete speculation though.

Question: What exactly do the coins do, other than unlock kart parts? Do they offer a small increase in max speed?
 
Yeah, each coin you get gives you a little bit of a max speed increase, to a max of 10 coins. When you start a new race, you start with a number of coins based on your placement in the previous round, with more coins given to those who finish worse.
 
Yeah you want to make sure you max your coins as soon as possible. They don't seem too good until you fall behind a light-weight as a heavy in speed since you don't have 10.

Oh, which reminds me, don't waste your Coin items when you're maxed. Hold on to them in case you get hit by a shell or something. Two extra coins means you only really "lose" one. Feel free to use them before you get another item box, but otherwise keep them just in case.

And supposedly picking one up gives you like the slightest boost ever? You can see the "speed lines" on the screen, but I don't notice any extra boost, lol.
 
I've noticed the lines but also never actually felt a boost myself. It might be more symbolic (as in, they show the speed lines as a symbol for the coins helping you with a higher max speed) or it might just be a really, really low boost.
 
Yeah it's probably just a visualization of the max speed increase, now that you mention it. People keep using the word boost as an interchangeable for speed boost and max speed boost. It makes things confusing when they say, "it gives a boost!" =X


On a (partially) different topic, losing to the pack is one of the most angering things that can happen in this game. Getting knocked around early-game in the older titles was a pain, but the over-powered items you get in the back made up for it. Now, those can only get you so far since you can go from being 1st with ten coins to 12th with zero because they thought it'd be funny to hit you with a Red Shell... And a Green Shell... And a Lightning Bolt right after knocking you off the side in your recovering animation. That complete loss of coins really just says, "Hey bud, sorry that the opponents don't even know how to drift, but you lost to them. Maybe next time???"
 
Yeah, I was very careful not to use the word "boost" in my initial explanation because that makes it seem like something it's not.

Also, yeah, there have been a good number of times where I've gotten shafted by people hit with 5 items in as many seconds (or less!) and had an impossible time coming back. I know I'm not the best racer, so I try not to let it bother me (I'd be just as likely to end up in 6th because of my own mistakes as much as being hit by a slew of items and screwed out of my placing, so I try and take those losses philosophically), but hubby's a perfectionist and it really pisses him off. :p
 
I really wish Nintendo let you send friend requests to people straight from the game -- or at least show people's NNID's. Was just in a room for like two hours with the same people. Would have loved to add them. Two of them in particular. Unfortunately one was named Silver, and the other Mike. So... You can't really "track down" a Silver or Mike online.

They made Triple Mushrooms REALLY common. Personally, I prefer it that way. Some have been getting annoyed with it because it feels less special, but it certainly feels more skillful than Triple Red or even Green Shells (what with the bigger size and higher bounce limit). It becomes a game of choosing to hold on to them for last second, taking shortcuts, or holding on to them for a recovery.




Edit: I'm sure you guys have seen these somewhere by now, but these .gifs, man.

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HomelyCluelessBat.gif


ibhFXhuCN07FyG.gif


It started on Gaf where someone posted a video with the description, "Luigi isn't going to put up with Waluigi's **** anymore" and it just exploded and I love it.
 
bacon said:
dmaster said:
I'm getting a little used to the items and their pretty wonky distribution tbh and...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've noticed this too. A couple of times I've recieved a Star when in 2nd place, although this might just be a gimmick of the level (I think it's happened twice but exclusively on Rainbow Road). My other thought is that the game distributes items according to distance from the lead player rather than placement, so it's possible to get a Star when in second place if the leader is light years ahead of you. That's complete speculation though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, see, a lot of people have noticed it being based more on the distance thing rather than the place you're in. But here's my inherent problem with that. I've gotten Crazy 8/Star in 2nd, Blue Shell in 3rd (lol), etc. but I've never really been able to advance my position that much. I've also gotten single Green Shell in 11th/12th and Coin in 6th and above so frequently, it's not even funny. And triple Greens/Reds are fairly common in 2nd/3rd if opponents are close behind you and I get single coins when I'm in 1st a lot of the time and even if I get a defense item, that can't stop three potential weapons other people have.

And the pack issue is a _huge_ issue with the game that's kind of tied to the items and such. First 30 seconds or so, you better hope to escape the shitake mushrooms (pun intended) that go on and get out to a comfortable lead when everyone gets the first couple items. Huge drafts and item wombo combos are so frequent that if you're left in the dust, it's really impossible to come back and even place high unless you're playing against bad people. But if you escape the pack, you have a very high chance of placing high assuming you have a decent amount of skill which is nice I guess. But still, the items you get far back should not be so bad and people shouldn't be able to get out to huge leads every race.

I tried out some Frantic mode yesterday and it really did feel like the old Mario Kart games of old where you get a power item when you deserve it. Blue Shells actually come up a fair amount more but they're nerfed overall, so the damage isn't as severe. And Stars/Lightning/Bullets also come up more allowing you to at least get back in the pack. Also the Horn and Triple Bananas seem to come up a fair amount more when you're in 1st but since you can't hold two items, it doesn't mean you're able to front run all the time. You're still not guaranteed to do good and item wombo combo is obviously still there, but if you get screwed early, you're not _totally_ out of it. And it's also a lot more unpredictable making it more fun as a couple people can't just front run the race. I can't tell which one I like more as I'm growing fond of normal after playing it a lot today.

That being said, hot damn does this game look and sound great lol.

dmaster out.
 
Yeah, agreed with the pack problem. I think for me it's more down to the fact that I suck, but the 2,500+ players seem to bank on getting an early lead. When they don't get that, they tend to get mediocre rankings. It's partly items and partly the coin system, in that the early lead gets first pickings of the coins and that collisions happen way more often at the back of the pack so it's harder to collect them.

So I think the early lead thing reeeally stacks in favour for fast vehicles and heavy characters. Bad acceleration doesn't seem like an issue as boosts are everywhere in this game.
 
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