Top 5x2 Hopes for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Tracks

With Nintendo announcing that new tracks will be coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe starting in March, Keybug and I thought it could be interesting to develop a list of tracks that we'd like to see in this run of DLC. Both of us came up with five tracks separately, which is why you'll see some tracks twice. The only rule we had was that they had to be from the games listed in the announcement (not that it was a severe limitation, neither of us have much experience with the Arcade games). For convenience, we've also listed what game the track originally came from in brackets ("(7)" for example means the track came from Mario Kart 7). With that said:

Keybug's #5: Wuhu Loop (7)

For my list, I tried to focus on what the new mechanics in Mario Kart 8 could bring to these older tracks. An outlier in this would probably be Wuhu Loop (also known as Wuhu Island Loop), as there's not much that can be done with it when it comes to Anti Gravity. This circuit is, after all, a loop you're meant to jog in Wii Fit, and Mii's can't walk on the roof. One of the big things to help this track would probably be fixing its broken shortcut, but that should be a given. If you want to practice for the track, though, play Wii Fit. Get some exercise in.

Keybug's #4: Maple Treeway (Wii)

Maple Treeway is just an iconic track to drive through, and there isn't much to improve on it. Sure, you could add anti-gravity to sections of the race, but that may ruin the track's simplicity. The only thing Mario Kart 8 can bring to this track is the HD visuals and audio, which I'd be absolutely ok with. So why fix what isn't broken?

Keybug's #3: Waluigi Pinball (DS)

 
The chaos that could come from anti-gravity in this track. Some say that Waluigi is a chaotic character by nature, and the speed you could get from anti-gravity in the main table and the ball track after the launch could give this a feeling similar to Baby Park. With the added speed, the pinballs themselves could also be given a speed boost, encouraging players to keep the momentum going or be crushed by the giant metal pinballs.

Keybug's #2: Kalimari Desert (64)

 
One of the ways Mario Kart Tour expands its tracklist is by remixing the tracks already in the game, adding new paths and obstacles. Kalimari Desert was always a track that could benefit from such a design, thanks to the train tracks being drivable but risky thanks to the train riding on them. Some people believe that the Tour original tracks could include some of the remixed versions as randomly selected layouts, like Excitebike Arena in Mario Kart 8. If that's true, something similar could work for Kalimari Desert. If that's not possible, making the train track a challenging but very rewarding shortcut, along with adding boosts on top of the train if you manage to land on it with the glider, could also help give this N64 classic some modern touch-ups.

Keybug's #1: Koopa Cape (Wii)

Koopa Cape is a beloved track from Mario Kart Wii and one where you could do one of a few things to bring it up to Mario Kart 8's features. For example, anti-Gravity along the track would be easy, a section in the pipe would be a great fit to keep the speed going, and one along the river could make that high-speed section even more intense. In Mario Kart 7, they cut the pipe in half and filled it with water, including a glider section right before the river. A mix of any or all of these would be interesting to see, but even if they play it safe and keep it close to what it was in Wii, there's still a lot of enjoyment to be found in it.
 
Blaster's #5. Bowser's Castle (Wii)

 
I'll admit there is a lot of bias with my list. While I have played most Mario Kart games (the only exceptions being Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mario Kart Tour). Nostalgia, and me focusing more on courses already well made, rather than thinking about how new mechanics can be incorporated, is what made up my list. While Mario Kart 8's Bowser's castle does come close to dethroning this beast, there's something so satisfying about the half-pipe section with Mecha Bowser shooting fireballs at you, something thrilling about narrowly missing the fireballs as you go from one jump to the next that makes this track so memorable for me. Considering that 8 Deluxe already has three Rainbow Roads (something I would love to expand on, but more on that later), nothing is stopping them from adding in more Bowser's Castle tracks. Plus, it would be more engaging than remaking SNES and GBA Castle tracks.
 
Blaster's #4. DK Mountain/ DK Snowboard Cross (Double Dash/ Wii)

 
"But wouldn't these conflict with Mount Wario?" No, just because something is set on a mountain doesn't mean it'll clash with Mount Wario. While both these tracks are great already, I think Anti Gravity could add a lot to both. In the case of DK Mountain, it may help bring back its lost charm from Mario Kart Wii because while the weight in 8 is even heavier than Double Dash, the speed from Anti Gravity could help with the air time especially on the initial Alpine section of the mountain. On the other hand, it could also lead to some sabotaging, as both Mountain and Snowboard Cross are known for Mushroom based shortcuts over pits; getting an Anti-Grav speed boost right before they make the jump could throw opponents off, giving you the advantage.

Blaster's #3. Maple Treeway (Wii)

 
This is a track I'm torn on because if the theory of these tracks being ported from Mario Kart Tour is true, then this could be a very disappointing track. I love the look of Maple Treeway, both the Wii and 7 versions of the track look great for the hardware, and there's something so relaxing about driving around a tree in Autumn. It has the potential to look gorgeous on the Switch, especially if Wild Woods is anything to go by. However, from what we've seen of Wave 1, the tracks look like a downgrade compared to the details of the first 48 tracks. Perhaps these are still Work in Progress textures, but I could be setting myself up for disappointment if it's indicative of what's to come. Hopefully, we see a return of the rope bridge, and I find it more entertaining than a glider section.

Blaster's #2. Rainbow Road (Wii/ 7)

 
I can't choose between these two. It was pretty hard to narrow it down to five tracks (Sorry, Wuhu Mountain Loop and Airship Fortress), but trying to pick out of these two was impossible for me. I love both tracks for different reasons. They're excellent tracks, just like a good Rainbow Road should be. The deceptively hard turns on the Wii version, driving on and around planets in 7, the beautiful music for both of them, there's very little separating these two in terms of quality, and seeing what can be done for them in 8 Deluxe just makes me more excited for these new DLC packs.

Blaster's #1. Waluigi Pinball (DS)

 

Predictable? Yes. Many people rank this track high on their lists of great Mario Kart tracks, and it's easy to see why. A Kart racing game, to me at least, is at its best when the tracks you can drive on go as far as they can on stylization, letting you move in and around things you never thought would be possible to drive on. For example, a road made entirely of light, a castle flooded with lava, through a giant Maple Tree, and in this case, inside a massive pinball table. Though I think this concept could be improved with a more chaotic pinball table, it doesn't change the fact that this is still a fun track to drive through, and the music used is without a doubt one of the best track themes in Mario Kart. Though I hear people calling the song used in the announcement trailer a remix of Coconut Mall, I struggle to hear it as, at best, it sounds like a cleaner version of the Wii song. Still, if the Mario Kart Band is off the table because of Covid, I would gladly take the Smash Bros remix of Waluigi Pinball. 

 
I want to quickly mention Wario Colosseum from Double Dash, as it's an honourable "sixth spot" that we both came up with, and once, we don't hear many people talk about it. While it's not a track that I've personally played, it looks like a fun track to drive through, and its potential in Anti-grav mode could make it even better. Time will tell if any of these do make it into the game, though.

Super Mario Maker 2: When the be all end all 2D Mario game turns out to not be the be all end all 2D Mario game

Apologies for the random week-long absence. The Tech Games Fest 2019 took more out of me then I thought it would, and the planned review, Persona Q2, needs a bit more work before it's ready. In the meantime though, there is a quick thing that could get it's time in the spotlight, and one that did get a good amount of play at TGF (though not while attendees were around), Super Mario Maker 2, the switch release of Super Mario Maker with more building tools, along with other new features (for better or for worse).

Super Mario Odyssey: Time to go off the rails

Before anyone asks, I'll come back to Gumball, its just that I've been more focused on Odyssey. Sorry.

This year's been a pretty good year for platformers, hasn't it, and it was tied off with the tease that was Super Mario Odyssey. A return to the style Super Mario 64 helped pioneer, featuring a world adventure (am I the only one who's going to say that it ripped of Sonic Unleashed in that area?), and sporting an earworm of a song that got people excited from the moment it was announced. But, now that its released, while it has gotten an overwhelming amount of praise, its also gotten the "oh its been praised to much, everyone's lying" treatment too. So what do I think of it then? Forewarn, spoilers ahead.

Starting with the story, its a very, very, very slight variation on the usual Mario story, in that Bowser wants to marry Peach, and enlisted the help of five rabbits (one of whom could seriously go for either a diet or a new wardrobe because that dress does not look good on her), to plan the wedding by stealing priceless artifacts and treasures from many kingdoms all over the planet, so its up to Mario and newcomer Cappy (who's trying to save his sister Tiara who Bowser also kidnapped, remember, this is the Mario series, almost every time there's a problem, its because Bowser kidnapped someone or stole something, or a combination of the two). With a goal in place, and a ship to captain, it is up to Mario to crash Bowser's party. This honestly, for me at least, is the weakest part of the game. I don't know, I guess I was just hoping for something more. It does what it needs to do, and there are moments in the story that are great to see (seriously, who gave Bowser a dragon?!). The story gets you from kingdom to kingdom, but there's a part of me who wants more then just "it'll do".

Especially when the rest of the game seems to go above and beyond to entertain. Throughout the entire game I was enjoying every single moment, and like many, I had a smile on my face. It was fun to go through each of the kingdoms, and none of them (so far, I'm still going through post game), have overstayed their welcome. Thinking back, the two times I got genuinely annoyed with the game was a moment in Tostarena, where I couldn't get the Jexi to spawn at the ruins (until I went back to the village and there it was) and the Seaside Kingdom boss, because I wasn't a fan of the enemy you had to Capture in order to fight it. Granted, that was 5 moons out of the over 400 I have now, not even 1% of the moons in the game. That being said, I've heard horror stories about some specific moons, so it is likely that number will change. On the subject of the Power Moons though, they are everywhere in this game. On the one hand, their over abundance does make it easy to say to yourself "just one more moon", but on the other hand, I would have personally preferred less Power Moons, but all of them would have been more rewarding then just "ground pound here, go here to see it floating there to tease you, catch the bird, get to this female Goomba" and so on. To compare it to Super Mario 64, while there are far, far, FAR less Power Stars in that game (even the version I own, SM64 DS with 150 power stars), all the stars in it feel more rewarding to get. It is however a case of "to each their own".

To go into the presentation. I almost cannot fault it. At all. I've looked hard trying to find something, anything I have a genuine issue with, but almost nothing. Visually the game looks amazing, in every sense of the word. The kingdoms look gorgeous and so distinct from one another that they all stand out. From the rolling hills of Tostarena, to the giant skyscrapers of New Donk City, to the crystal clear waters of Bubblaine. Heck, even Bowser's Kingdom looks distinct from many of his other castles, going for a traditional Japanese theme to the aesthetics which looks and sounds amazing. The music itself is an absolute delight to listen to, and is up there as one of the best soundtracks I've heard this year alongside Sonic Mania and Splatoon 2. I love this soundtrack that much. While I don't like some of the individual songs, what ones I like, I love. Jump Up Superstar, the Sand Kingdom ruins, Lake Lamode's serenity, the Jazz of New Donk City, I could go on here with examples of how good this soundtrack is. The only fault I have with the presentation is that some of the Mario enemies feel a bit out of place in some of the kingdoms, but even then that's me reaching hard for something to say against the presentation.

I'm genuinely surprised this came out this year, considering as the system launched with Breath of the Wild, this could have easily waited until next year as it is another game of that caliber. It's such an adrenaline rush for the franchise because, while realistically, not much is different in aesthetics. A lot of these have been seen before in Mario in generic forms, the level of charm here is a delight and helps me ignore the fact that I'm in another desert themed level, or another beach, or another Bowser's Kingdom, as different as they may be to predecessors. While to many, it doesn't have the charm of Super Mario 64 (because that charm is just nostalgia), to me its not something to knock the game down for, because its not Odyssey's fault that people have been playing Mario games for decades. If you were on the fence about getting a Switch, this should be enough of a push to get it. From one platformer to another, I'll next be going to Sonic Forces, and no it won't be a video... let's just say Marcus hasn't seen the reports on the game I've been giving to him privately as a reason to go get the game.

Super Mario 3D Land and 3D World: When Mario plays it safe

The 3DS and WiiU were a weird console pair, weren't they? Bad launches, the WiiU can only be described as a financial disaster thanks to its strong but badly paced out library, and some of the company's biggest IP's either didn't show up as any form of single console exclusive (No joke, there is no Zelda title that is exclusive to the WiiU), or kind of showed up feeling a little "half assed" by Nintendo's standards. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival comes to mind as one of those, and some people said that about Super Mario 3D World thanks to the 3DS title, Super Mario 3D Land. Well, as someone who's played both, I have to both agree, and disagree. Why? Well, read on to find out.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Yes, I own a Switch now

And unlike last time, I'm reviewing this as someone who owns the game and the system.

Ports, many people hate them, many see them as a waste of development time. Me? Well it depends on the state of the port but overall, my stance on the matter is "They're done by backup teams with a small time frame, meant to help fill out a library. I would rather have ports of good games then shovel ware". After having this for close to two weeks, and playing with my fellow volunteers at the Tech Games Fest this year, I think it'll be good to tackle this, and give it an update seeing as when I last reviewed Mario Kart 8, I didn't experience most of the DLC. Also, your eyes don't decieve you, this is a review of a Mario Game on its own, though technically Mario Kart Wii got their first... also reviewed around the same time... should I just do Mario Karts around this time and make it a trend?

Mario Kart Wii: Blue shells. Blue Shells, everywhere

"Ok, this is random, even for you. What gives?" I am going somewhere with this, just trust me. This requires a bit of prep work, and for that, we need to go back a bit, to one of the first Wii games I got actually, back in 2008. "Welcome to Mario Kart" Wii.

Super Mario Maker: "We give up, make your own"

So to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Brothers on the NES, we got what can be described as a dev kit. Actually it was a dev kit until the team decided to merge it with the plans for a sequel to Mario Paint. To be fair, to those who hate it, it could be worse. There could be no mention of an anniversary, let alone a game, and trust me when I say that there are a lot of games that get that treatment. So now that the game has been out for a while, let's see what the community can do.

Mario And Sonic at the Olympic Games: Wasted potential

Mario and Sonic, Nintendo and SEGA, the figure heads of the first major Console War. Bare in mind kids, this was in the time when there was actually a difference between hardware and devices weren't trying to see who could be the first outdated "not a PC". With such a legacy, to say that it was a big deal when it was confirmed that, for the first time ever, they were going to be in the same game is an understatement. People joke when they say that the day Sonic was confirmed for Super Smash Brothers Brawl was "the day the internet almost died", but it wouldn't be too far off... However that wasn't the first game. That title goes to... a Wii and DS collection of sport themed party games... oh joy... Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games...

Super Mario Galaxy & Super Mario Galaxy 2: From a castle, to an island, to space?

 He wasn't kidding when he said "Once in a lifetime"...

Mario Jumpman Mario. Appearing (in some form) in over 265 games at time of writing (including ports, remakes, compilations, but not virtual console and cameos), its hard to imagine a console generation without a Mario game, as Colonel Roy Campbell also spoke of: he's an icon that barely anyone in this world wouldn't recognize. 17 on that list were for the Wii, but there are two that people still talk about, still praise. Super Mario Galaxy and its direct sequel: Super Mario Galaxy 2. Regarded as two of the best games for the Nintendo Wii by many, but for me, its time to analyze, to critique them. This is my review of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Mario Karts 7 and 8: Time to burn rubber again... and again...

With every new Nintendo console, we are guaranteed a new Mario Kart at some point. From its debut on the SNES, Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's safe console sellers with every iteration managing to push units. While I said I was going to do just Mario Kart 8 (even though I still lack a Wii U, thank you to EB games Swanston Street for having the full version available to play), if you're familiar with the Mario Kart iterations, you'll see why I'm grouping Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS in this review as well. Time to hit the track.

First Impressions: Mario Party 10

Before I get into the impression, call this irony but considering the reason for it... At the time of writing this, Hellfire comms, in association with other Youtubers, is currently hosting a marathon of Sonic games with all the money generated going to Child's Play. If you have a spare couple of hours, watch the streams (or the recordings if you're like me and am sleeping when they're on) and donate. The commentators are a joy to watch and the games are fun to see. Hell, it might even give you enough of a excuse to play Sonic games. The website for the "Sonic-a-thon" is here (http://hfc-marathons.co.uk/) or you can view the stream directly on Twitch. I do believe the streams are being recorded and going onto Youtube so there is that option as well. With that said, onward with Mario Party 10.

Do you hate your friendship with someone? Then Mario Party has you covered because, chances are, your friendship won't be the same after you play it, if it exists afterwards. Don't let your eyes deceive you, this game will test your patience with its randomness. So why is it still being made? The only answer I can give is money. So how does this new installment look in comparison to the last 9 console games and the 3 games on Nintendo's portable consoles?

So what did the Nintendo Treehouse show off... Not much actually. Most of the presentation was focused on the new mode for the game "Bowser Party", another way to punish your friends for being your friends. Its another 4v1 game, 4 players are in a car... train... thing to get through a game board (like in Mario Party 9) with the 5th player (who uses the Game Pad), who controls Bowser, chasing the kart. If Bowser catches up with said kart, the players in the kart have to survive a "Bowser Mini game". In the mini game, Bowser uses the game pad in some form to try and cut the health of the other 4 players. If a player runs out of health in the mini game, then that player is out and it goes back to board. Players can receive more health in the game board and Bowser can get more dice to roll (default of 4) to increase his chances of catching up to the kart. If all the players in the kart run out of health, Bowser wins, if the kart gets to the end of the stage, the other 4 players win. Half of the game board wasn't allowed to be shown so I can't talk about the game board, but it looks like the board that was shown was a "World 1" from the New Super Mario Bros series esque design.

Rides were also shown off, but not how you actually play them in the boards. they're just mini games to get more mini stars from Mario Party 9 so there isn't that much to talk about. There's also supposed to be a traditional Mario Party mode where its 4 players moving around the board individually,with the standards including Bowser spaces, chance time ect. This moment wasn't shown off so I can't talk about it.

For a 20 minute presentation, not much was shown off so I'm going to stop it there, the game is going to have a 2015 release so its expected to have a lack of information. As I said at the start, give the Sonic-a-thon a look and donate if you can, its going to a good cause. The final impression: Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.