There it is folks. The sequel to the second best selling game of all time (excluding all bundled sales, Mario Kart Wii should be second to only Pokemon Red/Blue/Green). This game is by many considered the main reason for buying their 3DS's and has received a great reception by critics, as shown by their 85/100 score on Metacritic. It is also often credited as the savior of the Nintendo 3DS following the massive hardware and software sales after release, and rightfully so; finally there was some actual value available for the system apart from the mandatory 3D Mario and certain ports from previous Nintendo systems.
One may wonder though: Were we blinded by the shitty softwares surrounding this title? I don't know, but I do know that this game filled several hours of my life with joy. Here are some of the main reasons to why I love this game more than any other recent title:
1. The blue shells are overpowered
Do you remember the 'good' old days when a blue shell's striking power was equal to red shells? Mario Kart 64 comes to mind at first, but if you think about it the blue shell in pretty much any Mario Kart title did not actually take away that much more time than a red one. And you did mostly skyrocket, making you land on the very same spot where your launch just took place. Mario Kart 7 is a different story though. Not only do you have to wait ridiculously long until you're even able to accelerate, but sometimes the explosion makes you go backwards! Or even push you sideways causing you to fall from the entire track, thus making you LOSE SIX COINS IN THE PROCESS!!! I mean, what better way is there to punish all the arrogant 'pros' who keeps destroying all the fun for us normal gamers?
2. It has the best possible character roster
I remember back when I played Mario Kart Double Dash!! and thought to myself "What the fuck is this shit???" after I unlocked Petey Piranha and King Boo. Well, as it turns out Nintendo eventually learned from their mistakes and got rid off all the unnecessary characters. Let's go through the unlockable ones one by one:
Daisy - While you may think that she definitely should have been there without the annoying process of unlocking her, Nintendo wanted to make sure that the Super Mario Kart characters were the only characters from start, which is an excellent nostalgia factor for all of us who remember playing the original title back in 1992.
Wario - Same as Daisy. New characters are supposed to be unlocked.
Rosalina - Why add this character when there's already two princesses in the game? To make more females buy it, of course. And I'm sure all of them are still happy over Nintendo's decision to this day.
Metal Mario - One of Nintendo's most famous characters finally made his return after his debut in Super Smash Bros (seriously, why did they wait this long???). Nintendo sure know how to pick 'em.
Shy Guy - Remember being that annoying friend who kept bringing your DS to your friend's house eight years ago to play an awesome game that you never owned? Well guess what: Your favorite character just got promoted!
Honey Queen - Same as Rosalina.
Wiggler - There is another one of those famous Nintendo characters who finally makes his debut in kart kacing. A long overdue debut indeed for such an awesome character.
Lakitu - This is actually the only poor character on this list in my opinion. Oh well, we all make mistakes.
Mii - Because we are all interested in how you look in real life when we play Mario Kart.
Waluigi - Thank GOD Nintendo didn't include this annoying placeholder.
3. The game is called "Mario Kart 7"
Ever since... well... ever, Mario Kart titles has always included their console's name in one way or another:
Super Mario Kart
Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart Wii
(The other two doesn't count because they are horrible)
So, why wouldn't they keep this tradition alive? Well, firstly so that their consumers won't get even more confused following the 3DS =/= DS disaster, but then there's the most important part: People Must Not Be Reminded of the 3D! The title "Mario Kart 3DS" would obviously remind people of how sick the system's 3D feature would make them, which wouldn't make any sense since this is supposed to be a system seller.
4. They removed lots of unnecessary features from Mario Kart DS
Remember the Mission mode where you could go for three stars and defeat bosses? Remember the single player Versus mode (I mean come on, it's called versus for a reason)? Remember Baloon Battle and Shine Runners where the winners had to be the last man standing, leaving us normal gamers watching while the 'pros' finished the game without you? Remember customizing your own emblems (and all the penises people used to draw online, as a result)? Remember Boo??? Well, it's your lucky day. Because they're all gone!!
5. Vehicle customization practically doesn't matter
Because no matter what vehicle you choose, that won't make you a better driver. After all, the CPU will catch up to you no matter how you drive (apart from certain shortcuts). Luckily, the items ultimately decides the winner, so you don't need to be 'pro' at customizing vehicles to win races and brag about it later.
6. There is no snaking ability
Most people praise the fact that snaking was deleted in the latest handheld Mario Kart title, and that is fully understandable: Only 'pro' gamers knew how to use them. Most people are not 'pros', so obviously this was a welcomed change for the great majority. I will not miss being outrunned by all the 'pro' gamers and their bullshit techniques. Now the most tactical/lucky item users are the winners rather than the most experienced players, allowing all of us to have fun on the road!
7. The game is nostalgic
- Low amount of characters/character models
- Only two new items
- Old soundtracks being reinvented on several occasions
- Easily accessible shortcuts (Mario Kart 64, anyone?)
- The coins are from Super Mario Kart, the idea of gliding comes from Diddy Kong Racing's planes and under-water travelling is taken directly from the aging title "Super Mario Bros" (because Fuck Logic!)
These are all nostalgic factors that reminds us of how awesome games used to be.
I could go on, but seven points should be enough to make my point clear: Mario Kart 7 is one of (if not the) greatest racing games in history. No doubt.
