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TMK Stuff => Game Blog => Topic started by: Super-Jesse on April 10, 2008, 09:07:41 PM

Title: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: Super-Jesse on April 10, 2008, 09:07:41 PM
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthemushroomkingdom.net%2Fimages%2Fss%2Fss_smk_t.gif&hash=f4d9c1915bb7144c5e470ccd326e17a8)

We all have fond memories of Super Mario Kart (http://themushroomkingdom.net/games/smk). While some features (like CPU-only special weapons) are best left in the past, there are plenty of things missing from current entries that take away some of the magic. CVG has listed their top 10 missed features from Super Mario Kart (http://themushroomkingdom.net/games/smk), and I would agree with most of them. I personally miss coins and lives, as it added an extra level of difficulty. What about you? Read their choices and let me know what you'd add/remove!

Link: computerandvideogames.com (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=186509)
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: missingno on April 10, 2008, 09:32:31 PM
I really miss the feather.
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: Super-Jesse on April 10, 2008, 09:39:32 PM
I really miss the feather.

The feather was full of win.
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: missingno on April 10, 2008, 10:37:30 PM
I agree. I also would like to see the coins return too. I really don't care about the floor blocks, because either way you drive through and you get an item, it doesn't make much of a difference, although the floor blocks are more nostalgic.
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: CrossEyed7 on April 11, 2008, 11:10:10 AM
I think the floating blocks are a lot better than the floor blocks, but I definitely miss coins and feathers. I don't like lives, though. I've always thought having lives in a racing game detracts a lot from the realism, and really, not having the lives system makes it harder to get a perfect score, since you have to accept the points, or lack thereof, that you got on your first try, instead of getting to retry to be in the top four.

SMK's CPU special items certainly added an interesting flavor to the game, if a rather unfair one. I'd rather see DD's special items come back, whether or not they're character exclusive. Baby Park on MKDS just wasn't as fun without the giant bananas and Bowser shells.
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: penguinwizard on April 11, 2008, 02:52:32 PM
...sorry, I was entrangled by the awexome news that there's going to be a Strong Bad game on WiiWare.

Okay, back to topic.

Do not miss the no-fullscreen-in-single-player-mode. Sure, it was cool seeing the track layout and racer positions at a glance, plus it's entertaining to see Yoshi's tongue sticking out or Bowser with mouth wide open lasting about ten seconds. I don't recall it being too helpful, though. And once I saw Mario Kart 64 where everything was bigger and it was full-screen... yeah, I want fullscreen.

Coins... I never knew what they did back in Super Mario Kart until I was told. And it's a cool idea to help reward people with the skill of driving over them. But again, since I thought they were useless beforehand, I don't miss coins too much. We've got items (which seem more accurate in later titles) to compensate.

Accumulative speed is cool. But I never noticed because I never got used to power slides (very "slippery" compared to Mario Kart 64), so I always went off track.

Feather is a cool item that I do miss. I don't remember using it much, but it sure is helpful to create your own shortcuts by jumping over sections of track.

Computer superpowers... that I'm glad to see gone. Always irritated me that I couldn't do the same powers the other racers did. I wanted to lay eggs, darn it. I've always accused the racers in the Mario Kart series as cheating (although in Mario Kart 64 during my prime I found they were the stupidest racers on earth, I consistently got 1st on every track), but it's a big no-no for your opponents to do stuff that you can't.

Number 7 is just plain confusing. I think what it's trying to say (how on earth could they screw this up) is that in Super Mario Kart, each track is 5 laps instead of 3 laps. So yeah, when coming back to SMK, I was surprised at how much longer it took to get through the tracks. And I believe what they say later is that due to extra laps, getting hit by a red shell won't kill your chances of winning because by that time there will be a huge gap between 1st and 4th place.

Disappearing barricades... hey, I liked those. Yeah, gave the ghost tracks unpredictability, if a wall's there then it's a saving grace if you bump into it, but if it's not there then off the cliff you go. Great compromise between the traditional tracks and the once-intimidating Rainbow Road.
Title: Re: 10 Missed Mario Kart Features
Post by: Bag of Magic Food on April 11, 2008, 05:34:20 PM
Yeah, I don't think the article was saying they WANT all those things back, just pointing out that they haven't come back.