Board 8 > Is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe the best kart racing video game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I haven't picked up a kart racer since MK Wii, curious if 8 is as good as its reputation. CTR was my fav as a kid. Apologies if I'm missing off your personal fav!

It's great but the item balance (like MK8) is off. Way too many mushrooms show up in the item boxes.

Snowboard Kids 2

I've been saying DKR for decades

but now the amount of content available with MK8 it's pretty hard not to hand it to 'em

votes ctr

Ashethan posted...

Snowboard Kids 2

This

I entered the topic to specifically say this

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/7/AASP7CAAD82J.jpg

If Blur counts, does that mean Split/Second counts too? Though it might just be Double Dash.

yakuza kart

Which of these games has the best item balance?

Clicked on this topic to say Sonic Transformed but didn't expect Kirby Air Ride in the poll

Hmmmmmm

Thinking on it, it may well actually be one of the worst ones on this list when it comes to actual skill-based racing determining placements. (It has the usual kart racer problem of everyone but first place being hugely affected by luck, only greatly exacerbated by first place also being free to constantly be topped off on coins.) It trounces the competition on content, polish and general appeal though so it'll always be king at parties, which is where most of these types of games will see most of their playtime I imagine.

It probably is even if not a personal favorite

Depends on what you value in a Kart racer. If you're just looking to have a big crazy party with friends, you probably can't beat all MK8 offers. If you want something more balanced and skill-based, you'll probably want to look elsewhere.

All Star Racing Transformed is objectively the best and the fact it didn't do well enough for Nintendo to learn anything other than "gliders but it controls the same for 3 seconds" is an honest shame.

Game is legit great

Huh, I remember MKWii feeling a bit too hectic sometimes with the increased number of racers and some wacky item additions. Has it kept going further since then? Lol.

And I wonder, does MK8's volume of content really eclipse all the rest? I know CTR at least has a campaign mode, and its remake adds a bunch of courses from other games.

With all the DLC, MK8 has, what, over 100 courses? It's a lot of content.

For me it's Crash Team Racing

MK8, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed and Hot Wheels Unleashed are up there as well

No, it's Mario Kart: Double Dash

Yeah, it's not even that close. Enjoyed many of the ones mentioned in this topic, like Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing, but nowhere near as much as Mario Kart 8. And it just keeps getting better.

Really wish they would make a playlist of just the DLC tracks online though. Been playing this game almost a decade now since the Wii U version, and I'm just tired of most of the old tracks.

It's not a sentimental favorite by any means but I think it pretty obviously plays better than stuff like MK64 or DKR

Bomberman Kart DX

There are 3 Mario Karts that are still worth playing (all the others are outdated for various reasons).

DS has the best gameplay, and the courses are still excellent.

Super has unique arcade-like racing, which still holds up and has fans of that style.

8 Deluxe has great online and the most massive course selection.

I still lean toward DS as the best just because gameplay is the biggest factor for me, but the other 2 are certainly valid choices as well as the best.

props to DS for having Mission Mode that I had a blast with

it's not DKR Adventure Mode but it was fun

Yes, easily, though I do wish that more games had followed Diddy Kong Racings Adventure-style format. Also, Mario Kart 64, really? Its cleanly the worst of the post-3D Mario Karts. Thats the power of nostalgia I guess.

LightningStrikes posted...

Also, Mario Kart 64, really?

I figured nostalgia would take it a step further than other past MKs on this board >_> My fav personally is DS.

Snake5555555555 posted...

If Blur counts, does that mean Split/Second counts too?

TBF I didn't know what Blur was, I just looked up best kart racers to fill the poll out when I was making it. It seemed to fit the spirit of the genre, so sure why not Split/Second too.

And apologies for missing Snowboard Kids 2!

Grimlyn posted...

props to DS for having Mission Mode that I had a blast with

Yeah this. For all of MK8's content it doesn't have any kind of mission or adventure or campaign mode, right? Seems a shame.

I've had more fun with CTR, both the original and the remaster. But I can see why 8 Deluxe is king

MK64 the best (it's outvoting the "some other MK" option so it's weird to question its inclusion just because you don't like it, if there was another MK to include, it's 64)

MKDS no thanks

It was more at the people voting for it than its inclusion! Though of course having its own poll option would introduce bias towards it.

MK64 the worst other than Super Circuit.

Appropriate bias

Canonical Mario Kart ranking:

8 Deluxe
DS
Double Dash
7
Wii
Super
64
Super Circuit

The middle three are kind of interchangeable.

64 is great, I think people play the single player and think because the AI is dumb its bad but the game itself is loads of fun with friends even today

think the remade 64 tracks are still really popular in 8

I just don't enjoy the driving in 64 as much as in some of the others. I'm one of those filthy people who liked the snaking in DS >_>

CTR for sure.

Specifically Nitro-Fueled.

shane15 posted...

It's great but the item balance (like MK8) is off. Way too many mushrooms show up in the item boxes.

FYI (and others mentioning a lack of balance) there is now a custom item mode where you can choose which items show up (if any at all!). Probably can't control the frequency of each though.

...so which game is the best in terms of balance/skill, I wonder?

My personal bias would suggest Mario Kart Wii, but if I try to use any objective criteria, it's gotta be MK8D, especially with the extra booster pass courses. MK Wii had several glitched courses and the Thundercloud item was awful, especially in two player races.

Honorable Mention to MK DS for having the best single player with mission mode (this could have also gone to MK Wii if their mission mode courses weren't locked to no-longer-available online).

My personal favourite was Wii. Gonna be honest i can't remember much about the item balance in all the games but it was absolute chaos in that game and i loved it.