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Why is Mario Kart Wii so damn different?

Chone

Chone

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 11, 2006
1,222
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I've been playing some MK Wii at a friend's house constantly and I really thought it was going to be a souped up version of Mario Kart DS (IGN's review left me that impression at the very least) instead, there's no more powerslide (there is but it's very different from previous entries, it takes too long to charge up the miniturbo and it's not as tight for cornering), karts move too slow (even on 150cc) and handle very ackward, items are WAAAAAAY too powerful (easy to shift from the 12th to 1st position in the last lap in a split second, no kidding and then when you enable that option to make powerful items appear less frequently... you only get mushrooms).

The driving physics are not as tight as previous entries (especially MK DS), I couldn't drive like I did in MK DS, even on the tracks from the DS version, no matter what kart/character I tried, it just seemed... sloppy. The bikes had a nice feel but karts should be the focus of the game.

Does any other Mario Kart fan feel like MK Wii has sloppier game mechanics? I might need some more time with this game (I've played about 20 races so far) but I just didn't like it at all. I played with the nunchuck + wiimote scheme (the more traditional scheme).

Please avoid the flames, I'm just speaking my mind... I couldn't get into MK Wii at all despite the fact that I still play MK DS at least once every week if not daily.
 
Did you give it a try with the wheel? That was a fair bit better for me... I agree about the items, but for me it seems like far more control over things than previous versions, that said i've only played N64 (a while ago now!) and DS.

Also, did you try automatic? I really didn't get on with manual, I can do it ok, its just not as fun imo.
 
I'd give the wheel a try, maybe it's just using that but I found this game more fun to play through than the others. But that could be down to the number of tracks, the (for nintendo) awesome online and the unlockables.

IMO Automatic makes it much too easy. That said I only play bike, I don't know if automatic is easier for karts.

I agree on the weapons though. It seems like they wanted to throw hardcore and casuals (as much as I hate them terms) together. It's good for balancing as newer players do get a chance to win, but the better racer will 9/10 always win. At least in the thousands of games I've played. If you're similarly skilled to your opponents it can go either way.
But Mario Kart has never been a skill racer. You'll be needing F-Zero for that.
 
Agreed. I would give the wheel a try. It is a bit tricky to get used to but it does give you the feeling you are playing the original one. The levels are pretty similar, the first time i played i was hooked!
 
I thought the controls were pretty good. Kind of in-between DS and Double Dash. The wheel works surprisingly well, but ultimately my preference is the GC controller option. Maybe because I played way too much Double Dash with friends.

The removal of manual power side = no snaking, the Downfall of MKDS. They were too powerful in DS. My favorite is (surprise surprise) the way Double Dash handled it, but I can deal with the way Wii does it.

Mario Kart has always been about giving the little guy a chance at victory with items, so I don't have a problem with them being too powerful (it's frustrating against the CPU maybe, but not other people).

However, they fracked up the 4-player split screen. Some of the items are missing and the framerate is terrible. It just doesn't play right.
 
I still like the DS version the best, but this one is great. It took me a while to get used to how it's balanced and then I really started to enjoy it.

Since they added bikes and turbo boost jumps, they had to make some adjustments to how it plays. You just need more play time, it's that simple.

I personally use the nuncuck for steering and manual, I couldn't get used to the wheel. Maybe if it were 1:1.

Bah! Snaking took 'skill.' ;)
 
I love it...... There's not too much to love on the Wii so I'm not going to begrudge the system one of its most fun games :D
 
For me personally (and I've played all of the iterations), the original is still my favourite. Despite the lack of cornering boost, sliding round the corners using the L/R on the snes pad still feels the great. I still think it handles best, which is why I still play it the most.
 
I'm glad they got rid of the DS snaking. The N64 version had the best powerslide dynamics of all the Mario Karts, though.

Try playing with the GameCube controller on manual. For me, that's the only serious way to go for Mario Kart Wii. Using the Wheel is really fun, though. I use automatic on some courses if I'm playing against the computer, however.
 
Antares said:
I'm glad they got rid of the DS snaking. The N64 version had the best powerslide dynamics of all the Mario Karts, though.

Try playing with the GameCube controller on manual. For me, that's the only serious way to go for Mario Kart Wii. Using the Wheel is really fun, though. I use automatic on some courses if I'm playing against the computer, however.
Click to expand...

I loved the original, and 64, those were the only two games in the series I've owned. Wii, is great fun, I've only played with the wheel, but lately I've been on a Smash Bros Brawl kick. Of course I do that wrong to and play with the Wiimote/Nunchuck controls.

Of course, I've never claimed to be a "serious" gamer. With 2 kids, + another next week and a hellacious TV addiction, serious gaming is on hiatus until the kids go to college.
 
Love the wii version. Didn't like the DS version much though, granted it is great fun to have a bit of mario kart on the move, but it seemed to me that you had to snake to be any good, which i never liked the idea of, and furthermore made my hands uncomfortable after a very short while.

Also, I was brought up on CTR not mario kart, so I still prefer the PSP CTR than mario Kart ds anyway:eek::eek::eek:
 
JackAxe said:
CTR... VOMITS... Well, we can't all have good taste. :p
Click to expand...

haha I knew I was going to sound really weird when I said that:eek::eek: But its true! Loved mario Kart wii, thought that double dash was great fun, but nothing can really compare to the fact that I played CTR extensively as a child (coz i couldn't afford an N64).

I suppose that I have been totally brainwashed by naughty dog, however I suspect that my preference for CTR is due to the fact that it allows a great deal of nostalgia.

Out of interest though, why d'you guys dislike it so much, I thought it played really nicely and thought the addition of a adventure mode was particularly nice.
 
EVIL!!! :p

I haven't played CTR for some time, OK a really long time, but like many other kart clones, it came off as just that. My recollection of any details from this game have long since faded. I just recall not liking it as much as MK 64, nor my favorite at that time, the SNES version.

The DS version is my personal favorite now days. Playing that game online with my friends and locally was a huge blast. It motivated me to unlock the entire game, so that I could host up more tracks and choose from more vehicles.
 
JackAxe said:
EVIL!!! :p

Playing that game online with my friends and locally was a huge blast. It motivated me to unlock the entire game, so that I could host up more tracks and choose from more vehicles.
Click to expand...


Absolutly, playing with friends on this game is amazing.... so much fun.

It was only ruined for me by the whole snaking thing when playing strangers, which took the fun out of it for me.

3 of us could be battling it out, while captain knob head is on the other side of the track in his own world snaking till the finish line.

Thats not fun
 
Have you folk even tried snaking? If anything I think it's a nice bit of gameplay, rewarding players who have mastered it (it's not that hard to do) and making it a little more 'hardcore' than the Wii version. Which really doesn't reward skillful playing at all.
 
I have nothing against snaking, as it required actual skill. I can't get why it was an issues, when the entire outcome of any race could be determined by luck, which was always greater for the guy in last place. :)

I only played this game with friends, so all good memories. Even with the luck factors, the game was still balanced well enough that one could recover from items like shell-ageddon.
 
It needed to appeal to the masses - simple as that - and so the hardcore elements of snaking etc. just weren't Nintendo's priority :eek:
 
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