How Would YOU Do Mario Kart?

[Fawful Fan]

Note: This topic is not about the upcoming Mario Kart for the Nintendo 3DS.  It's a discussion on how YOU would handle an entry in the series.

Ever since I first played the SNES original I've fallen in love with the Mario Kart series.  That doesn't mean, however, I wouldn't change a few things if I was in charge of developing the latest game.  So if you had the power, what would YOU do differently?

I'll start with the roster.  One thing I'd try to do is have everyone in the so-called 'Big Eight' have one partner, one rival, and one rival's partner.  I'd also make sure there is only one version of each character; this means no baby characters or playable skeletons of other characters.  It's not that I have anything against those characters, but the Mario series has no many lovable faces that it just seems like such a waste to have any one character take more than one slot.  I'd also not include generic drones and random bosses and instead focus actual characters that are more 'significant' in the Mario series as a whole.  The only exception I'd make to this would be the Koopa Troopa (and his partner) since he's appeared so often he's almost become a character in himself (as in, the Mario Kart Koopa Troopa).  Also, one thing I enjoy about Mario Kart is that it's not just a celebration of the Marioverse, but also a celebration of the extended Marioverse.  So I'd include more characters from the Wario and DK series.  Without further ado, here's my list:

LIGHT
Toad
Toadette
Little Yoshi
Koopa Troopa
Koopa Paratroopa
Kamek
Kammy
Diddy Kong
Dixie Kong
Spitz

MEDIUM
Mario
Luigi
Peach
Daisy
Yoshi
Boshi
Bowser Jr.
Professor E. Gadd
Captain Syrup
Mona

HEAVY
Bowser
King Boo
Rosalina
Wario
Waluigi
Dribble
Donkey Kong
Kiddy Kong
Krunch
K. Rool (preferably in a racer outfit)

You probably noticed the lack of Birdo.  I just don't understand why Birdo is often paired as Yoshi's partner; as far as I recall I don't think Birdo is even described as a dinosaur in any official media!  I'd much rather see Little Yoshi from Tetris Attack paired with the dino rather than a random Super Mario Bros. 2 boss.  I was also considering putting in the Shroobs as rivals to the Toads, but I wasn't sure if they would be 'significant' enough.  And in a way the Koopa Troopas could be considered their rivals.  Well, enough blabbering from me.  What would YOU change about Mario Kart, from characters, items, tracks, or anything in particular?

[Deezer]

I just don't understand why Birdo is often paired as Yoshi's partner; as far as I recall I don't think Birdo is even described as a dinosaur in any official media!

Here's what GameCube's Mario Superstar Baseball says about Birdo: "A dinosaur that spits eggs from her huge mouth. Birdo is very particular when it comes to fashion, though her reliance on the color pink is a bit limiting. Her bow and ring are her pride and joy. Birdo's mouth has massive suction that can even catch a ball by sucking it in."

EDIT: Interestingly, Brawl's Japanese trophy description says "dinosaur(?)" with the question mark.

Source: http://themushroomkingdom.net/birdo.shtml

[Fawful Fan]

Oh wow, thanks Deezer!  The more you know, I guess.

[Fawful Fan]

You know what else I'd like to see?  User-generated content.  It'd be nice to create your own karts and bikes (with limitations, of course, to ensure that the game stays fair) as well as custom-made tracks.

[Weegee]

It'd be nice to create your own karts and bikes

Great idea. Penismobile, here I come!

[Ultima Shadow]

One thing I've always wanted to see in Mario Kart is an Adventure mode, akin to that of Diddy Kong Racing, or even Super Smash Bros Brawl. It probably wouldn't fit with the mindless fun of arcade racing so much, and Mario Kart doesn't need it, but it would be nice. The closest thing we have at the moment is Mission Mode, and that's fine, but maybe a small storyline to play through, unlocking more tracks and characters, battling and racing along the way, could add something new to the series.

[Alisbet]

I would like to create an ultimate Mario Kart game that challenges you to go through every Mario Kart track ever conceived from SNES to Wii (and 3ds probably). All of the tracks come at random order so that you never know what might come next. That would be cool.

[The Chef]

I want Mario Kart to have one of two things:

1. Boats.

2. Customizable karts. Meaning, you decide on the body, engine, tires, brakes, suspension, etc.

[Fawful Fan]

I would like to create an ultimate Mario Kart game that challenges you to go through every Mario Kart track ever conceived from SNES to Wii (and 3ds probably). All of the tracks come at random order so that you never know what might come next. That would be cool.

Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to have ALL the tracks in Mario Kart history in one game.  Probably accessible via DLC.

[penguinwizard]

SNES version's tracks and music (prettier-looking versions of the tracks without having Wii's style, remastered orchestrated music like the kind used in Smash Bros. Brawl) with N64's handling and mini-turbos (or better yet, an option to switch between SNES and N64 handling modes, with separate time trials for both). While I like SNES's momentum-based turning now, it took me a while to get used to it, and so I prefer the tighter control of the N64 version.

It wouldn't hurt to include a longer version of Rainbow Road. Keep the look and music of the SNES Rainbow Road, and the no-rails thing, but PLEASE make the track longer.

[Ultima Shadow]

It wouldn't hurt to include a longer version of Rainbow Road. Keep the look and music of the SNES Rainbow Road, and the no-rails thing, but PLEASE make the track longer.

This, and even if it's not based off of the SNES Rainbow Road, I miss the days where Rainbow Road was more than just a tricky track, but a battle with endurance and all of that. A mix between the Rainbow Roads of SNES, N64 and maybe a bit of DS/Wii would be good.

[Weegee]

Recent Rainbow Roads have relied too heavily on snazzy graphics and automated sequences. As such, I agree with Ultima.

[Glitchy]

As long as they keep making Mario Kart games I doubt that we'll ever see "every single track ever made" in a Mario Kart game. But if they ever do they should make it so that for example, if they made it for the 3DS, it has all of the handheld tracks, and vice versa for the console version so it makes sense.

I don't think it should get advanced to the point where you can tune karts like Forza, but they should add more stats and make it more realistic. For example, every character should have a different weight in their weight class. Like, if Bowser is 10 stars, they might put Wario at 8 and DK at 7. Plus, that stat combines with the weight of the kart. I think they did this with DD, I don't really remember. And they shouldn't try extremely hard to make it balanced. I know this isn't SSB, but that game is the farthest from balanced and that's what makes it fun because every character is different.

And when it comes to handling I'm probably going to go with Mario Kart DS. I know it's like the N64 tight handling but I'd say its better tweaked if there is an actual/much of a difference. The SNES handling isn't bad but it probably won't work for a 3D game. SC handling was probably the worst. And for mini-turbos, I doubt we'll see MKDS's again...and I don't really care honestly because snaking sucks the fun out of Mario Kart. I know I'm going to get shot for saying this but really, think about it. I used to do it myself. Okay, so you win one race, but then you're finger hurts insanely bad from moving it so much. It's stupid.
And penguinwizard said something about orchestra music...honestly that doesn't fit with Mario Kart...AT ALL. Unless they make it realistic-er and not as cartoony, which I doubt they will.

[penguinwizard]

And penguinwizard said something about orchestra music...honestly that doesn't fit with Mario Kart...AT ALL. Unless they make it realistic-er and not as cartoony, which I doubt they will.

Okay then, whatever you call Smash Bros. Brawl's music (remixes?). The Brawl version of Mario Circuit would work well in Mario Kart and you know it.

There's a careful balance that needs to be struck regarding visuals. Mario Kart 64 was too far in the realistic direction, Mario Kart for GameCube was too far in the cartoony bubbly direction.

*looks at Fawful's roster* I wholeheartedly support Spitz as part of the cast even though I don't think Warioware characters fit in the Mario universe.

[Ultima Shadow]

I think we'd need to be careful of character bloat; you wouldn't want too many characters.

The original eight (Mario, Luigi, DK, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Wario, Bowser) need to stay. That much is certain.
Your second-tier-ish characters (Daisy, Waluigi, Koopa Troopa, Diddy Kong) ought to be in as well.
No babies, excluding Bowser Junior. If you must, have the Baby Mario Bros sharing a kart, but having Baby Daisy WHEN SHE DIDN'T EVEN EXIST is nothing short of stupid.
Not too many common enemies, maybe a couple of bosses. King Boo and Birdo would do fine. Kamek would be win but we can't expect it. Dry Bowser is dumb. As is Petey.
Wouldn't want too many characters from other game series. Funky Kong is awesome but mightn't fit too well, though he'd be nice for rounding out the roster.
Rosalina. This much is certain.

That leaves us with 19 characters, add on the Mii and that's 20. That's more than enough for a good racing game and it doesn't overdo itself. You could probably change around a couple of the ones on the outer (King Boo, Kamek, Funky Kong, the babies, Rosalina, maybe the Mii) but after that many characters it just gets a bit stupid.

And, just as an afterthought, couldn't you see costumes, like in Sonic Adventure 2, being used? Maybe they could change to suit the kart the racer is driving, or whatever, but having some of the more terrible characters as suits of others could be useful for cutting down on the more moronic decisions made in-game.

[Toad]

I would do away with the baby characters and Petey. If I absolutely had to put in a baby character, only Baby Yoshi would make the cut. Since, you know, he's the only one that truly matters. I like the idea of having costumes/color changes. I want to see more of that in Mario Kart: give us more Smash Bros-like options. Music frequency, item frequency, which stages appear when you hit random.. things like that.

I agree that the original 8 (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser, DK, Wario) should be in, as well as the secondary set(Waluigi, Toadette, Daisy, Koopa Troopa, Diddy Kong, and perhaps Magikoopa/Kamek..) Any characters that are just bones and tendons will be considered, as well as the undead. Characters with no hands (Mostly the Goomba family) would likely not be in since they would just raise questions about driving skill..

Course creator is an option I'm almost surprised they haven't done yet. I say almost because, while it would be fun, the series has done just fine thus far without one.

[Turtlekid1]

"Dear Strong Bad Goomba, how do you type drive with boxing gloves no hands?"

[Fawful Fan]

You know what's frustrating in single player Mario Kart?  When you're about to cross the finish line and get a gold trophy, but then something happens and you lose it all.  You have to start the grand prix all over again to unlock the character, tracks, vehicle, or whatever.  I think Mario Kart could benefit from a Super Smash Bros. system where you gain coins for just playing the game.  The better you perform, the more coins you get, and you can use those coins in a shop on the main menu to unlock goodies.  So even if something bad happens at the end of a grand prix, it won't all feel like a complete waste.

[The Chef]

"Dear Strong Bad Goomba, how do you type drive with boxing gloves no hands?"

He can bat with no hands in Mario Superstar Baseball/Mario Super Sluggers, so I''m fairly certain driving wouldn't be out of the question.

[Toad]

So even when something bad happens at the end of a grand prix, it won't be a complete waste.

Fixed!

Anyway, I like that idea. I was going to address it (and had an idea of my own for it) but that sounds like a good idea. it would be a great way to re-incoporate coins into the game. They've been used 3 times: in SMK, MKSC, and MKDS. They boost your speed in SMK and MKSC, but are only used for collection missions in MKDS.

Also: I would change the ranking system at the end of the race. Let's put it back the way it was in SMK. First place gets 9 points, second gets 6, third gets 3, fourth gets one. Finish fifth or below and you don't deserve points (play better, you loser. :p   ) Side note: I would also change the number of characters in a GP back to 8. Any thing higher honestly feels like too much because then you're getting zapped,shelled or POW'd too often.

[jdaster64]

Pretty much everything Toad just said.  And on the topic of POW Blocks, why not replace them with something that doesn't so specifically target higher-placed characters (I mean, there's already the Lightning Bolt's priority system, Bloopers, and Spiny Shells).  What about a Dice Block or such, where it attacks a random driver (presumably excepting the user) based on the number showing?

Also, in the spirit of Smash Brothers, ITEM. SWITCH.  At least for VS/Battle, at any rate.  How a POW Block is considered "Strategic" or triple-bananas "Aggressive" I'll never know.  Granted, I like triple-bananas as much as the next guy whilst attempting to preserve my loosely held first position (albeit futilely, seeing as POW Blocks, Thunder Bolts, et al. destroy them), but getting them all the time in fourth place is a bit ridiculous.

[Kimimaru]

This, and even if it's not based off of the SNES Rainbow Road, I miss the days where Rainbow Road was more than just a tricky track, but a battle with endurance and all of that. A mix between the Rainbow Roads of SNES, N64 and maybe a bit of DS/Wii would be good.

I like the new Rainbow Roads a lot more. They have more variety and such. Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road is my least favorite; it's not tricky at all and just has a bunch of unnecessarily long turns and loops.

And for mini-turbos, I doubt we'll see MKDS's again...and I don't really care honestly because snaking sucks the fun out of Mario Kart. I know I'm going to get shot for saying this but really, think about it. I used to do it myself. Okay, so you win one race, but then you're finger hurts insanely bad from moving it so much. It's stupid.

Mini-turbos add the skill in Mario Kart just as wavedashing adds the skill in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Snaking actually takes skill and balances out Mario Kart. Without it, you get Mario Kart Wii, in which karts are basically obsolete to bikes, certain character-bike/kart combo can win basically every match, and other character-bike/kart combos can't win any matches at all. The game becomes less based on skill and more based on which combo you chose. I also dislike the fact that the "Item" stat was removed from karts and bikes in Mario Kart Wii because then everyone gets similar items in similar places. Additionally, the worst karts, which would normally have a high "Item" stat in Mario Kart DS, are be pointless to choose.

[Toad]

(albeit futilely, seeing as POW Blocks, Thunder Bolts, et al. destroy them)

Speaking of losing items, I think only items that you are trailing behind you should be lost when you fall off the track or are hit by a powerful weapon/course hazard. Items in the reserve box at the top of the screen should still be there after any of the aforementioned attacks. I don't want to lose that Star I was saving for the middle of the second lap just because some yayhoo in fifth or below wanted to use Lightning right before I went over the jump (not only causing me to spin out and lose the Star, but fall into the water/lava below because I wasn't moving fast enough..)

[Weegee]

wavedashing adds the skill in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Snaking actually takes skill and balances out Mario Kart.

...So says the only guy on this forum who's capable of doing them.

[CrossEyed7]

Bring back two-person karts as an option.

[Glitchy]

Bring back two-person karts as an option.

TROLL -insert image here I don't have-

That's....not going to happen as an option. It changes too much when there's 2 peoples per kart.

[Fawful Fan]

Seeing how the demo for the upcoming Mario Kart on the 3DS has coins, it gives me hope that the development team might consider the idea of using a Super Smash Bros.-type currency system to unlock hidden goodies.

[billy chilly]

Oh man, I'm hoping coins affect your speed like they did in SMK and Super Circuit.  Actually, why not have it both ways?  You bank any coins you have at the end of the race, but the more you have during the race, the faster you go?  That'd be awesome.

I think double-karts would be awesome to have back... as a separate multiplayer mode. 

I go back and forth on how many racers should be on the field in a grand prix.  Earlier courses aren't really designed for a larger group, but it's fun to have more karts on the field... until they item spam.  But with coins, and presumably a limited number of items (ala SMK)/better regulation of super-powerful items, we can cut down on item spam.  Also a large group of racers for grand prix also lends itself well to large online multiplayer races, which would be awesome.  With a field of 12, and if one of the online modes is a Double Dash mode, you could have 24 people all racing together online!  I think that'd be pretty sweet.

[BP]

Double karts were only really cool because characters had special items, so you could be tactical about which items you had access to. That being said, I'd love special items to return, and I'd enjoy a double mode.

This inspires me to create a thread, I think I will do that now