Mario Kart 7

Well new things are the gliding sections which are really good, the underwater sections which are slower paced but you feel more floatier. Theirs the customization. The levels, IMO are some of the best, because they feel unique compared to the ones before them, the Retro levels now have underwater and glider sections added in sometimes. Online works great, and if you have friends playing then you can join their match which is good. Other than that, to me, its a better version of Mario Kart Wii that you can take on the go. And overall it just feels much better to play than MKWii.

But people still complain about the characters. I like them though so I'm fine with it.
 
FMGBASKFH said:
I finally played Mario Kart 7, after MONTHS of wait. I have to say that I am utterly disappointed. It's not a bad game, but come on, it's FAR from being the best.

It feels... empty. There aren't many things to do.
[...]
it had the Mission Mode, etc. Mario Kart 7 has none of that.
Click to expand...

I can kind of see your point, if you lack WiFI, there isn't too much to do. I'm a bit confused as to why they decided to remove offline VS, sometimes you just want to play one track without having to play three others in the process.

Missions in MKDS were somewhat fun and added some replay value to the game, so I'm a little disappointed that wasn't implemented again.

I have to admit, I prefer MKDS's elimination style of Balloon Battle to Mario Kart 7's, so I spent a bit more time playing Balloon Battle on MKDS than MK7.

But other than that... As far as replay value goes there wasn't that big of a difference, in my opinion.

FMGBASKFH said:
Mario Kart DS had different methods of unlocking characters and cars, You just have to beat every single cup in 150cc to unlock all the characters and grab coins to unlock kart parts and that's it. There's nothing else you can do.
Click to expand...

From what the wiki tells me (Had to look up the wiki because it's been awhile since I played MKDS) unlocking characters and karts are pretty much the same (Beat ___ Cup to unlock) when compared to Mario Kart 7, the only difference I see is that to unlock kart parts in Mario Kart 7 you need to earn coins, so I'm not sure where you were going with that.

FMGBASKFH said:
The music is boring and fails to be catchy
Click to expand...

Honestly, in my opinion the music has never been Mario Kart's strong suit, I'll like maybe... one or two tracks from each game.

In comparison, I'd say that they're about even in catchy tunes.

FMGBASKFH said:
the tracks aren't hard or entertaining enough (Rosalina's Ice World and Bowser's Castle SUCK)
Click to expand...

The track's difficulty really depends on how well you know the map/how good your kart combination is. You'll probably have an easier time navigating through Neo Bowser City if you have decent knowledge of the map/your kart has good handling.

So what exactly makes you dislike Rosalina's Ice World and Bowser's Castle?
 
Gardevoir said:
"Mario Kart 64" That game to me personally felt like a N64 version of MKSC.
Click to expand...
excuse me, but i think you mean MKSC to you felt a GBA version of MK64.
Super Circuit came after 64.
 
SupahMario25 said:
I think ive faced him, but then again ive faced alot of japanese people

and has anyone seen a person called Callum , yeah hes pretty hard to beat
Click to expand...
I smell a self lover :smug:
 
It appears that I overestimated that Japanese player's appearance frequency. I haven't seen him at all today.
 
Monkey D. Luffy said:
Well new things are the gliding sections which are really good, the underwater sections which are slower paced but you feel more floatier. Theirs the customization. The levels, IMO are some of the best, because they feel unique compared to the ones before them, the Retro levels now have underwater and glider sections added in sometimes. Online works great, and if you have friends playing then you can join their match which is good. Other than that, to me, its a better version of Mario Kart Wii that you can take on the go. And overall it just feels much better to play than MKWii.

But people still complain about the characters. I like them though so I'm fine with it.
Click to expand...

thanks for the insight, Sounds like its improved since I last played a MK game, will probably try eventually.

Honestly, in my opinion the music has never been Mario Kart's strong suit, I'll like maybe... one or two tracks from each game.

In comparison, I'd say that they're about even in catchy tunes.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is true, can't really remember a whole lot of good tracks from the games I played, maybe around two per game.

Can't remember much at all from SMK, but it was really the lowest of the Mario Karts so thats not too big of a surprise.
 
Mario Kart 7 felt so disappointing and unimpressive at time. I even wrote a whole, detailed review on it but, nah, you wouldn't be interested.
 
Well, if you could hire out 3DS games then it's be much easier but you can't. Check a bunch of reviews and get it if you like what you see.
 
Well, even though I dislike the roster and the method of unlocking stuff, Mario Kart 7 is still a great game. I can't make the great courses or debug it like that (except for the Maka Wuhu thing). It's really impressive.
 
Lately, I've been starting to think that the Roller tires are being underrated. I know that they're very slow and have the weakest weight, but some combos can't have the best possible acceleration without them; you won't get up to 4.75 acceleration for the Koopa Clown with any other wheels. And of course, they offer the best handling abilities.

I'm only saying this, because I haven't seen very many Roller users on Wi-Fi.
 
I love the Roller wheels. I use them a lot when I race on WiFi in combination with the B-Dasher and Monster Glider.
 
Mariomario64 said:
who are you
Click to expand...

Why does it matter...

Ok so I see some people instantly bash someone who has a different opinions from theirs... I'll say it again, I think Mario Kart 7 is a good game, but it's far from being the best. Sit down and let people think differently because your opinion is not a fact. My opinion is as valid as yours and deserves to be respected.

To the one who said people consider Mario Kart 64 good only because a classic: no. It's not because it's a classic. It's because it actually brought something new to the series. It was the first one in 3D (even though the characters were just sprites), added the option to play with 3 more people, and it felt fresh overall. Mario Kart 7, aside from the underwater and gliding features, which are only minor features, brings nothing new to the table at all. Yes, Mario Kart Wii didn't bring anything new either (aside from motorcycles and wheelies), but at least it gave you a more challenging time unlocking characters, karts and stuff. I'm not an online player, I dislike racing people around the world (not because I'm bad, because I truly believe there are no bad players, only players who are better), so the game didn't actually give me a true challenge and fun time. I'll repeat this again, it feels empty, there aren't many things to do, it's not as fun as the other Mario Karts and I'm still disappointed. I'll calmly wait for the next Mario Kart to see if the series reivindicate.

@apocalypseArisen Music is very important for me when it comes to gaming. It adds the necessary atmosphere. Luigi Circuit in both Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash are catchy and build that "fun" environment those races are supposed to have. Rainbow Road always gives you that ethereal feeling. There are many good tunes in the series, but Mario Kart 7's music is just boring overall.

I think the tracks I mentioned are not challenging enough to be in the Special Cup, and, again, the music is sleep-inducing. You didn't feel the "danger" you feel in your typical Bowser Castle, or that... May it call it Christmas-y feeling a snow track tends to give you. Also, you didn't have to do many things to clear those tracks; they weren't hard at all...

And no, Ornithologist Mario, I do want to know your opinion about the game. Just ignore anyone who bashes it; I'll listen.
 
I felt that Mario Kart 7's had a pretty good soundtrack. If only because of all the MK64 tributes put in.

Also I personally love the new Bowser's Castle. It's my favorite track other then the new Rainbow Road. So I look forward to both those tracks when I play Special Cup everytime. Though yeah, my least favorite track in the game is Rosalina's Ice World. That I kinda agree was sort of meh but I'm not saying it was an entirely bad track. And when the worst track in a game is only meh that's a compliment to the overall selection.

I can understand and respect your criticisms though. But IMO I still enjoy MK7 for what it is. No Mario Kart game is truly perfect, but this one and MK64 are my personal favorites.
 
What does tend to bug me nowadays is why people would choose the Slick and Gold Tires over the Monster and Red Monster. I know that the Slicks don't hinder acceleration as heavily as the Monster and Red Monster, but those wheels have bad handling AND bad off-road, while the Monster and Red Monster actually offer good off-road to counter their bad handling.

On a similar note, the Gold Tires really aren't anything to write home about, since they're basically inferior to the Slicks. At least the Gold Standard kart body has some uses, even if it's not all that impressive.
 
Ornithologist Mario said:
Mario Kart 7 felt so disappointing and unimpressive at time. I even wrote a whole, detailed review on it but, nah, you wouldn't be interested.
Click to expand...
I thought this was going to be a real disappointment for 1 hour until I played and it was really good.

Pros:
Great Range of Karts
Stunning new courses
Good New Items
Online GP
Online is once again good (apart from the minor item lag)
Most Addictive Mario Kart yet
Coins returning
7X ghost races (My brother loves them)
No more teams for battle mode

Cons:
Bad Character choices (Honey Queen and Metal Mario got in over Waluigi and Bowser jr.?)
Item Lag in online
No single VS mode
CPUs can't obtain the Lucky 7 (Apart from battle mode)
 
Frankly, having team battles does make things less chaotic. However, it is a downer that you can now be damaged by your own teammates.

Now I don't do online battles, considering that in Mario Kart Wii, I couldn't even get to the 7000 BR mark.
 
I don't give a crap about online yet I still like Mario Kart 7
 
FMGBASKFH said:
And no, Ornithologist Mario, I do want to know your opinion about the game. Just ignore anyone who bashes it; I'll listen.
Click to expand...

Okay, here it goes. It's going to be a long one.

My Analysis and Opinion for Mario Kart 7
by LeftyGreenMario

Mario Kart is an enjoyable series. I've always liked Mario Kart for its zany gameplay that is much different than the usual racing games. In fact, it has influenced other racing games. However, no racing game has been as successful or popular as Mario Kart.

Like almost any series, there is a jump or a dip in perfomace of the games. Mario Kart is no different. Here, we have the latest Mario Kart game, Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS. Although there are many opinions on this, I'll give a review on this game on my own one. Now, this review might seem long. I'm trying to include every detail in this game so I can show my opinion on it. I don't want people to think that this is a rant especially about being a snobbish female user disecting every last detail. Rather, I want to point out the flaws that can be fixed. No game is perfect. The only mode I have not played extensively is online mode, but I'll draw some opinions that people complain about.

Parts and Coins
Mario Kart 7 introduced some brand-new concepts. The most honorable one, in my opinion, is that the player can select his or her kart body part, wheels, or gliders. I can call it "customization", but only two parts of the kart will be visisble most of the time. On the good side, this is the first time the Mario Kart series had introduced such a thing, which is wonderful, but on the bad side, it is rather limited in terms of customization. In the later games, Nintendo should add more body, wheel, and glider parts, or they should add more customization of the details of each part, or they can add more options such as a customizable engine. If they decide to ditch the option, then shame on them. The parts can use a bit more variety in terms of stats as well, especially the gliders. Bascially, all the gliders are categorized into three parts: fast, hard-to-turn gliders; slow, easier-to-turn gliders, and gliders that are somewhere in between. That is rather limited. Also, the gliders that are hard (or tedious) to recieve (Beast Glider and the Gold Glider) have the same stats as the Super Glider, which is a disappointment. I think there should be more gliders and stats that differ as much as the bodies and wheels do. However, again, the addition of changeable parts is a great addition.

Also, there are characterisitcs that are hidden in normal gameplay. Why Nintendo did this, it's a mystery. Don't they want to let their players know what kart performs best underwater or in the air? Isn't that part of the customization process, letting players pick what they think is best for them?

Speaking of the tedious-to-obtain things, what Nintendo did wrong was the coin system. Now, the coins themselves aren't too bad, but the sheer amount the player has to collect is horrendous. Players collect coins in every race, basically. However, the coin cap is a measly 10 coins. Coins do increase the kart's speed, but the top speed should max at 10 coins, not how 10 coins is the cap and collecting anymore does not count to the total. Instead, it should be like in Diddy Kong Racing. In that game, players can collect 15 bananas (which function similar to coins), but their top speed maxes at 10 bananas. However, the extra five bananas is counted.

Now, how is the ten coin cap a problem? Well, since players can get ten coins per race maximum, and since there are four races per cup, players can get a total of 40 coins. Let's look in relative terms of how much that is. Every time players collect a certain amount of coins, a part is unlocked at random. (The random unlocking is lazy, by the way. Nintendo should provide a shop where players can buy parts they choose from their accumulated coins (like in Diddy Kong Racing DS.) This way, players don't have to get parts they dislike.)

Anyway, I mentioned previously that the 10 coins per race is bad. Here is why: at the beginning, players can unlock their first part with 50 coins. Then, it is 100 coins. It doesn't sound bad, consdering the max of 40 coins per cup, but later, the interval increases. When the player has unlocked most of the non-golden parts, he or she has to collect 500 conis to unlock a new part, which means that 50 races must be played. In perspective, there are 8 cups, each with 4 races, which makes a total of only 32 races. Now, racing all the cups again sounds rather boring, but this is one of the only ways to get a certain part. The Beast Glider, the last non-Golden part players can unlock, requires a whopping 5,000 coins to obtain, which means there are 500 races played before it is unlocked. Compared to 500 races, all the races in the game is rather measly.

Now, the Golden parts require a disgustingly high amount of coins to unlock. Once the player receives the Beast Glider, finally earning 5,000 coins, the next part is the Golden Glider, which requires DOUBLE the amount. Then, there are the Golden Wheels, which require another 5,000 coins to receive. However, these wheels can be received rather easily by beating the cups in 150cc. No, the real part that requires a grueling long time to unlock is the Gold Standard. This part requires a grotesque 20,000 coins. Obtaining the Beast Glider requires a substantial amount of time, but the Gold Standard requires FOUR times that amount. The fact that all these parts are not even very redeeming adds only injury to the completionist.

Now there is an alternate way, fortunately, to get the Gold Standard. It is by earning a Vs Rating of 10,000. It still requires some time, since every player starts at 1,000 VR, but this method is faster. Now, I'm not too big on online play, so I don't know how much effort this takes to receive 10,000 VR.

Gameplay
Like in most Mario games, the gameplay is the most redeeming quality. There may be no backgrounds and stories, but at least this gives Nintendo to focus on making the actual game. I think I even prefer a lack of story in the Mario Kart series. I can just say they are racing for fun.

Items are the reason Mario Kart is unique. Basically, they can let players win or lose the race. If the players are last, they get stronger items. The items get less and less powerful once players rise in position. I won't go into detail about the items, but I will offer some changes to the items and my reaction to them.

Bananas are much stronger compared to Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. However, this is probably because that fake item boxes are absent. I haven't missed the fake item box that much since they fail to block incoming red shells. Red Shells have been stronger mostly, since they can fly in the air and hit players. I find that an unnecessary and rather annoying feature. Stars increase the player's acceleration greatly, which is actually rather inconvenient since there is a higher chance of overshooting. The mechanics have also changed how a player gets hit by a star. I'm not sure how it happens, but sometimes, the opponents get pushed aside rather getting knocked aside as usual. Lightning Bolts, which attack all players on the screen, have not changed since Mario Kart DS, but I still do not understand why the last player regrows since in practice and theory, this does not benefit the Lightning Bolt user much.

Spiny Shells have recieved a drastic change. They lose their wings, but they still explode in impact. I really like this Spiny Shell much more since it now attacks all players that get in its path, but it is still painfully ubiquitous as in the previous 3 games. What I dislike is the fact that Spiny Shells cannot be dragged behind the user, which hinders its usefulness somewhat. Also, this Spiny Shell flies through walls, making tracking its path a little less predictable. Why the Spiny Shell hovers, I have no idea. It should act like Red Shells that go after first place, and it should be destroyed by walls and pits.

There are new additions in the game, but my least favorite is the Fire Flower. The impact of a fire ball hitting a player is weaker than a Banana slip, but since the user can hurl it mulitple times, the user can spam it on a player. The computers get it too often,and their apparent precision makes it even more painful. Another new addition is the Lucky 7, which I do not like either. It gives players too much items to abuse. In Battle Mode, especially in shells-only matches, where players with the Lucky 7 get 7 spinning red shells, is overkill.

Now, it might be all bad for Mario Kart 7, but no, it isn't. Again, the game returns almost all parts of its gameplay that Mario Karters are familiar. The drifting mechanic is returned from Mario Kart Wii, which is something I respect, because I know snaking from Mario Kart DS. My stance is against snaking. Snaking does not do any good to my fingers or the control pad. I am very glad that snaking has been at least greatly reduced in effectiveness.

For some reason, the timer that records the player's time during a Grand Prix race is absent (same goes for multiplayer VS mode). I believe this is just sheer laziness. It is a quite small irk, I admit, but when Nintendo fails to include the small things, laziness shows. As the saying goes, a small hole can sink a large ship.

Mario Kart 7 is a very enjoyable game. Despite all these complaints I have, the game does not lack any major glitches that affect the quality of the game (the Maka Wuhu glitch does not count as a glitch that makes the game unplayable), which is respectable, since the debugging process is very tedious and difficult. However, it has some flaws that I cannot leave out. It's still very fun, but there is a significant amount of frustration involved.

CPU Programming
This is my least favorite part of the game by far. Each character has three AI opponents that are set to give headaches to whoever the players may main. For me, I'm a Mario user, but Metal Mario and Bowser are recurring every match. Peach is another pain in the tootsies for me, but at least she does not recur every single darn match. Now, this type of setup is lazy, lacks variety, sometimes doesn't make any sense, and it gives the player who mains a certain character an evolving hatred for the opponents. Before, I was neutral to Peach. Now, she makes me very mad and frustated, to the point that I strongly dislike her. Metal Mario and Bowser don't seem to give me as much pain as Peach, however. Further proof is that players who main Toad have a hatred for Koopa Troopa, Peach, or Rosalina; players who main Yoshi seem to share a common dislike for Toad. While it's not set in stone (I have a very strong dislike for Yoshi), I still dislike this system of set AI. It is Super Mario Kart's haunt (another game with set AI), I guess.

My biggest frustation is the AI's performace in 150cc and Mirror Mode. Rubberbanding is just an unfair, artificial difficulty to the game. Not to mention, it is lazy as well. Mario Kart 7, while it is kilometers better than Mario Kart 64's AI, is quite bad. In 150cc, the AI is directly behind the player most of the time. It is as if the AI is simply waiting for the player to make a mistake. What makes it worse is that the AI is faster than the human player overall in 150cc and Mirror. In straights and the beginning of the course, the AI zooms ahead most of the time. That might also be the case in Mario Kart Double Dash!!, but the AI in that game are very stupid and they go into lapses where the human player can speed past them. In Mario Kart 7's case, in Maka Wuhu, the first place AI stays ahead of the course 90% of time in many instances for me.

The AI has also taken advantages of shortcuts for perhaps the first time in a Mario Kart game. While this might be seen as a positive for smarter AI, I view it as a bad thing. Since the AI is already cheap, their potential to use shortcuts adds salt to the wound.

Overall, the AI is not too difficult. In the 50cc, everything is relatively easy. In 100cc, the computer players move a bit faster than the human player, but they are still bearable. In 150cc and Mirror Mode, the AI can be very infuriating. Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Double Dash's 150cc and Mirror computers seem much tamer than these rubber-banding cheaters. Fortunately, it is very easy to obtain three stars (the highest driver ranking) in this game: stay ahead and get first place in all three races. Players can still gain three stars if they fall off the course 3 times (which loses plenty of time in a race), as long as they get first and stay first as much as they can. In Mario Kart Wii, it is more complicated and difficult with a hidden point system that factors how many times tricks are performed, walls are bumped, kart goes off-road, Lakitu has to fish the player, etc.

At least the AI won't ragequit or purposely abuse a star just to get the human player.

Graphics and Sound
Like all Mario Kart games, the graphics in this game are not incredible, but graphics are not the whole of the game. I am not going to majorly rate on the game based on how smooth the models appear. For models, the Mario characters still have blocks with painted fingers, not an improvement since Mario Kart Double Dash!!, an old game. The characters in this game have better mouths, which is better than Mario Kart Wii's textured mouths.

The biggest problem is the resizing of characters on the karts. No, I am not talking about Honey Queen or Wiggler. I am talking about the princesses. If a player has already unlocked the Pipe Frame (a go-kart part), the player can notice that the dresses of Peach, Rosalina, and Daisy are incredible tiny in proportion to their bodies. I have not seen anybody else point that out. While Mario Kart 7's models are definitely an improvement from Mario Kart DS's curious lack of legs, is can definitely use some work for a Mario Kart game. The characters are never out of their kart. I bet if they were, Peach, Rosalina, and Daisy will not look very attaractive with their tiny feet and dresses. Bowser also has the same tiny feet symptom.

While the models are an improvement overall (despite lack of propotion of the body), the models seem to downgrade once non-playable characters are included. The opponents' models, both human and CPU, are much more jagged and generally worse-looking than the player's animating model. While it is mostly a minor issue, I wish there can be some more consistency on the models.

The sounds in this game is a disappointment. Most sounds are recycled from Mario Kart Wii (2007) and Mario Kart Double Dash!! (2003). I do not know why Nintendo has to recycle voice clips from an 8-year old game when a more recent game (Mario Kart Wii) has a huge bank of it. Not only that, some of the recycled clips are noticeably shortened (one of Mario's cannon voice clips, one of Donkey Kong's noise when he gets a player, and one of Daisy's winning voice clips have noticeable cuts in their voices, which makes the voice sound unnatural and rather ugly.) Nintendo can do a more subtle job than that, and does cutting a voice by a few millisecond save plenty of space?

The 3D is in the game, but the effect is subtle. I think it is too subtle, but I'm not a big fan of 3D in the first place anyway.

The frame rate in this game is fluid and wonderful, a good point. I wish they would focus more on the models themselves, though.

(continued)
 
I need to continue this review. It's too long for one post.

(continued)
Music
The music is rather forgettable for the most part (as expected in a Mario Kart game), but Rock Rock Mountain, Rainbow Road, Rosalina's Ice World, Toad Circuit, and Neo Bowser City, in my opinion, have good songs. It is a nice touch that Nintendo added a new stream channel of music whenever a player gets a comfortable lead, but this occurs only in 100cc and higher.

Features
Single Player
The features are basically the same from any Mario, but there is a disappointing amount of features. The addition of a mulitplyer Grand Prix is a plus, but there is a curious lack of a mode most of us expected to return: single player VS mode. This is what drives Features rating for the most part. VS mode is a staple since Mario Kart DS. People had loved that mode since they can select their favorite courses without having to drive the entire cup. Also, there are customizable rules that the player can change, such as speed and difficulty of the AI, and what items appear. Single player VS mode, a mode I have been playing for the most part in Mario Kart DS and Wii, is gone. This is very disappointing, since I am now relegated to pick cups. I understand why Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has no single-player VS mode: it's an OLD game. Mario Kart 7 is eight years later, when technology has been further developed. There is no excuse for a lack of VS mode other than laziness, which is an invalid excuse anyway.

What makes me infuriated is that Nintendo is dreadfully behind when it comes to online and they do not even bother to solve this issue. Also, they have a negligence to fix the Maha Wuhu issue. According to them, people who own future versions of Mario Kart 7 with the fixed Maha Wuhu will be at a disadvantage. This is based on the assumption that new cartridges have to be released to patch this problem. However, this is nonsense because Nintendo can use the 3DS's online capability to force players to download a patch before playing online. This way, all players have this patch when they go online. Nintendo won't have to worry about players with the new versions being put at a disadvantage, because players that don't have the patch will not play the game unless they download the patch via update. If the 3DS can update with new features, why can't it update the games with new features? Honestly, Nintendo is generations behind when it comes to patching and online downloading and it bugs me.

The gyroscope control has been introduced in Mario Kart 7. Honestly, I can live without it, but it does make races feel more alive.

Time Trials has not been changed. I don't care about Time Trials, but I guess it's good that players can share their records with other people.

Battle Mode
I enjoyed Battle Mode as much as Mario Kart Wii. People seem to criticize the point system, which is something I personally like (because I can kill Wario 7 times in one match!). Survival mode does not work well online, but that is not an excuse NOT to include it. Hey, I liked it too in Mario Kart DS. Good additions to battle mode include the removal of the lightning bolt and spiny shell. Those were unnecessary and annoying in Mario Kart Wii. I don't miss these two items a single bit in Battle Mode. Also, I liked the fact that players can choose which items that are the only ones that appear (green/red shells, bob-ombs, mushrooms, or bananas). Otherwise, the options is typical of a battle mode from Mario Kart DS and Wii.

What Battle Mode seriously lacks is the maps. There are only 3 new maps added and 3 retro maps returned. None of the Retro maps are good in my opinion. First, the GBA Battle Course is simply a smaller version of the SNES Battle Course in the Wii. I would appreciate it if the layout was more varied. Second, Big Donut is too Big and the item boxes are too far apart, making for a very boring map. Third, Palm Shore has too much item boxes congested in the middle, making the match too chaotic.

The new maps, well, I enjoyed. The Wuhu Village map is too big, though with too much buildings, and it bothers me that Nintendo is trying to merge the Wii "Whatever" series with Mario. The Ice map lacks traction, a minor annoyance, but it's not bad. The item boxes are spaced more evenly than Palm Shore's Map, making it less chaotic. The Honeybee Map is structured like Twilight House, and I liked that map as well, with its many rooms. The room-transporting vent in the middle is a nice touch, but it can be abused. However, most of my experience is with battling AI opponents, so people might have differing opinions on how each map actually works.

Also, Coin Runners has been downgraded from Mario Kart Wii. Again, I don't know why Nintendo decided to cap out the coin count at 10 instead of letting the player go more. Coin Runners with the AI is much more boring than Balloon Battle.

Roster
The roster is not impressive. Familiar characters are curiously missing (Waluigi, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., and Toadette). While I like Metal Mario actually, there are much better characters to add or return in the games. Honey Queen is probably the most random and shocking addition to the game. Shy Guy, Lakitu, and Wiggler are good additions to the game, but they're all generic enemies.

Wario and Daisy are strangely unlockable. In Wario's case, my blame goes all on Koopa Troopa, who I think was a bad return. I think there are better lightweights suited to this game than Koopa Troopa, like Toadette anyway. On another note, I don't understand why people hate ALL the babies. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi especially DO NOT deserve this hate, and I believe that they are viable additions to the Mario Kart roster (better additions than Honey Queen, Metal Mario, and Koopa Troopa anyway.)

Miis are playable in this game. I do not even like Miis in the first place, and I think they should stay out of the Mario series, especially with that horrendous voice that is easily comparable to Yoshi's bad voice. Miis are a pointless addition in this game, in my opinion. It's too bad they exist in the 3DS.

The method for unlocking characters is also uninspired. Players have to beat the 150cc cups to unlock them. That is it. It is better than playing Time Trials to unlock characters in Mario Kart Wii, but why can't there be more methods?

Courses
Many, too many of the courses serve more as eye-candy than good courses. Music Park, Rainbow Road, and Rock Rock Mountain are some of the best, though, and it feels original and inspired. The others, not so much. Too many of them feel like just turns, turns, jump, turns, fly, turns, swim, etc. Neo Bowser City could be a much better, memorable course, but it is just a bunch of turns and puddles to avoid. The courses in appearance are great, even beautiful at times. However, they are better as scenery than race courses. I liked the tracks consisting of one huge map instead of three laps. Still, they don't have to be Wuhu Island from the Wii games, of all things. Maka Wuhu has this notorious glitch abused by human players where the player falls in a certain area of the map and respawns much farther ahead in the map. This is one reason people can consider online play to be very unenjoyable.

The Retro selection of tracks is good, but not great. For the third time in a row, Nintendo decides to return an SNES Mario Circuit and a GBA Bowser's Castle. Seriously? There are more type of tracks in the SNES and GBA games, which is even more disappointing. They even returned Waluigi Pinball (a great track, by the way) in a game where Waluigi is absent, which is just as strange that Baby Park is returned in Mario Kart DS with no Baby Mario or Baby Luigi.

Multiplayer
The local multiplayer is much better than Mario Kart DS's fun, but horrendously limited multiplayer. I am talking about single-card play. While it's a shame that non-card users HAVE to use Shy Guy and their kart is always the Standard, which, compared to older DS games such as Diddy Kong Racing DS and Mario Party DS, is even more shameful, the selection of courses is much wider. So, actually, single-card play has more options than the DS version, but Nintendo needs to limit less. Having only one character to use compared to two older games that had the capability for single-card download play players to use all characters is no excuse.

The multi-card multiplayer actually has some annoying limits. For one thing, it plays TOO much like online. In online, there is a time limit for players choosing their characters and kart combination. Same goes for multiplayer. In online, it makes sense because it helps the game to flow. In local play, it is hardly necessary because the players can haste a stalling partner. The time limit even appears after one race/battle is completed, which, again, is supposed to make the game flow. While it's a relatively minor issue, what if the players want to take a break after a race/battle? The time limit dooms them to play the whole thing. The pause screen does not actually stop the game, again, another rather idiotic idea to include in local play because players cannot stop their game without quitting the whole thing mid-match if there is an interruption or there is a break. When players choose a course, there is a list of chosen courses and a randomizer. This is unnecessary because the players can TALK to each other and decide what course to choose. Also, there is a time limit of 5 minutes per race, another wholly unnecessary addition. All of this makes sense in online play since most people playing online have no idea what is happening on the other side of the screen, but local play is the opposite. Therefore, these "online" play features do not enhance the quality of local play and they reduce the enjoyability. Nintendo seems to fail to recognize that in local play, players can actively communicate to each other, an amazing ability absent in online play.

However, mulitplayer has VS mode and Grand Prix. In Mario Kart Wii, players were forced to play alone to unlock features, which was (and is) a major complaint I can make for that game. VS mode is actually fun, but it is relatively annoying to choose a course due to the random pick (it even does the whole animation when all players select the SAME course). In VS mode, what I do appreciate is the options players can modify, such as item appearances. While it is very similar to Battle Mode's options, it is great in racing as well. Also, another plus is that coins are counted in (racing) multiplayer. Curiously, though, in local multiplayer, the AI's difficulty cannot be adjusted. I do not understand why players have to play 4 races each time instead of adjusting how much races are in a match.

Some features that Nintendo included to "enhance" flow is unnecessary and unenjoyable even in Online play. There are cases I have heard where merely driving backwards a bit due a mistake can cause the player to be disconnected. As a person who enjoys driving backwards and fooling around while exploring the course, I am insulted. I know other users that enjoy doing this as well and they can be insulted. The only purpose it seems to do is to discourage players from having fun.

Despite all the complaints I have with this, it is still very enjoyable with friends or siblings, surprisingly, despite the limits.

In a nutshell
Gameplay: 7.4/10 (solid Mario Kart gameplay with the addition of kart customization, but item abuse, cheap CPU, and coins, drive it down)
Multiplayer:6.5/10 (more features than the DS one, but the addition of online-like time limits lowers this score. Also, slightly more improvement in single-card play, but it can still be much better)
Features: 4.5/10 (It's not the features themselves that constitutes a low score. It's the curious lack of familiar ones.)
Courses: 7.5/10 (Some good courses, but too many uninspired courses)
Roster: 4.9/10 (Cheap and random additions, such as Metal Mario and Honey Queen, respectively, with the removal of old favorites. Also, some veterans that were usually default are not default in this game.)
Difficulty: 5/10 (Based on not how hard, but how enjoyable the difficulties are. Easier cc's are usually boring, but 150cc and Mirror Mode can be hair-pulling. Triple stars are easy to obtain. The methods for unlocking the last parts involve a grueling amount of time and/or coins and the parts aren't even great)
Graphics: 7.8/10 (Fluid frame rate and better models than Mario Kart Double Dash, but some characters are out of proportion (in the feet area, noticeable in the Pipe Frame) and the NPC models are actually more blocky and worse-looking than the player ones. Some courses have great use of models, but this doesn't define how good or bad a course is.)
Sound: 6.5/10 (Not very impressive, as usual, but the real reason for the low score is the recycled noises from a 2003 Gamecube game called Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and how some of the voices show clipping where the character's voice is noticeably sped up or cut out from the original clip, a sign of carelessness. Some voices are used from Mario Kart Wii, but Mario Kart Wii is a great game to recycle voices due to its huge library of sound clips.)

Overall: 6.7/10
I am a die-hard Mario fan, so it is surprising, even to me, that I give this game a stunningly low score for a Mario Kart game. Maybe I am too harsh on the grading. I think there was a hype to this game that set it up for disappointment. I truly want to appreciate the great things about this game, though, but most of the good things are the continuing winning formula each Mario Kart uses. This game included a wonderful option to customize karts. While I accept that it is a first attempt, I want to push Nintendo even farther next time. I welcome change, but not enough to drastically alter the concept. The kart customization is one of the changes I accept 100% to make a series feel fresher. I think I know why fans complain about continuity and change (other than the fact that there is always going to be somebody who dislikes something no matter how popular). They want change, but not enough of it is implemented, or too much is introduced that it radically alters the gameplay. Pokemon is an example of too little change and Mario Party 9 is an example of a bit too much change. Fans want each game to feel different, but with their nostalgic feelings remaining. If a game is too much like the previous, it is boring for those that played the previous game. If a game is too little like the previous, the golden past feelings is simply not there. We want a balance.

Now, how does this relate to Mario Kart 7? Now, I previously mentioned that the addition of a kart customability feature is wonderful. Why? Because it adds something new and exciting while retaining the feel of Mario Kart. If Nintendo decides to enhance this feature even more in the future games, then Mario Kart 7 can be considered a very influential game. There is no reason to ditch the option to customize. This, however, is probably one of the best parts of Mario Kart 7. The ability to glide and drive underwater is another great idea, but again, I want Nintendo to develop it even deeper. Maybe in the next game, they can do a underwater trench course or a course where gliding accounts for the majority of it. These features they add opens a window of opportunity for a newer-feeling, more-inspired Mario Kart.

These features are probably the best parts in Mario Kart 7. However, what bugs me is that almost every time Nintendo wants to add something, they think they need to remove something. Or, they add something great in concept, but execute poorly or inadequately. I understand they want to add characters like Honey Queen to give attention to them and as a surprise, but it resulted in a bad surprise since they removed favorites such as Waluigi. They add items such as the Lucky 7 but remove others such as the Fake Item Box (although I never found it game-breaking.) They add new battle courses, but they limit it to three. The water and glider segments are rather short. The amount of gliders is dismal. VS mode is available only in multiplayer. Local play contains more choices, but is limited by time limit. (Returning) characters receive new voices while the many other voices are recycled from a 2003 game. The sound effects have been reused since the aforementioned 2003 game.

The bottom line is that while Mario Kart 7 is a solid game to start with, the curious negligence Nintendo had showed when it comes to including certain characters and modes while excluding other modes or just a simple lack of modes has made this game not quite as enjoyable as the previous Mario Karts. I understand that they have to rush some aspects of the game, but the lack of a VS is no excuse. The lack of other simple things, such as a timer in Grand Prix and VS mode simply reveals laziness and a rushed feeling. The problem with this game is that it feels a bit rushed. I understand why they would rush this game but it's their responsibility to do their best at it. I know they have the capability to do better. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, once said, "A bad game is bad forever. A delyaed game is eventually good." Not that Mario Kart 7 is a terrible game, but I wonder if Nintendo can apply exceptions.

End
 
LGM: You left out how it is possible to customize your vehicle during Battle Mode. Mario Kart 7 is the first game to do so (I don't count Mario Kart Double Dash because it isn't possible to play with CPU opponents in Battle Mode).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back