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Author Topic: 1UP.com's Top Five Mario Kart Tracks  (Read 8542 times)

Super-Jesse

  • Unstoppable News Machine
« on: April 21, 2008, 07:49:29 PM »


While I may not always agree with 1UP.com, I can't argue with these choices. They have picked their five favorite Mario Kart tracks of all time, and spread the love to almost each iteration. Oddly enough, no tracks from Mario Kart: Super Circuit or Mario Kart DS appear. Check out their choices and let me know how you feel about them!

Link: 1up.com
<Kojinka> When I saw this thread back on top, I was afraid this was gonna be another pointless bump by a new member, but when I saw Super-Jesse's username, my fears were laid to rest.

ShadowBrain

  • Ridiculously relevant
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2008, 07:55:23 PM »
Peach Beach was a little too small for my taste and I don't think I really like anything from the original (there was a Battle Mode in that?!). Still, Wario's Stadium is good, even if some recent revisions of it have been tough competitors (don't recall Toad's Turnpike too much... there's been so many other iterations of it since).
"Mario is your oyster." ~The Chef

Suffix

  • Steamed
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2008, 07:56:06 PM »
Toad's Turnpike? While the vehicles and such were exciting, the shape of the course itself was boring, especially in comparison to the modern, complex tracks we find on newer Karts such as MKDS. Where's the Airship, I ask? Ah, and I'll add that the cars on Toad's Turnpike can make for some seriously painful, accidental Vs. losses from which not even the most skilled will recover.

I wasn't that fond of Peach Beach, either, but it made for a nice, somewhat easy course.

« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2008, 08:49:40 PM »
the original (there was a Battle Mode in that?!)
Come on, Brian.

It doesn't look good to complain about new-school but be that ignorant about old-school.

Battle Mode virtually defined SMK.

-Lizard Dude

missingno

  • ▄█ 'M ▓▒
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2008, 09:27:07 PM »
I remember I used to demolish everyone in sight with the jump over the wall trick in Wario Stadium.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2008, 09:49:01 PM by missingno »
Ditto used Machop!

CrossEyed7

  • i can make this whatever i want; you're not my dad
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2008, 09:30:16 PM »
Peach Beach was all right, I guess, but there's a serious lack of Wario Colosseum and Airship Fortress on that list.
"Oh man, I wish being a part of a Mario fan community was the most embarrassing thing about my life." - Super-Jesse

missingno

  • ▄█ 'M ▓▒
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2008, 09:48:49 PM »
I didn't like Peach Beach myself.

I really liked Yoshi Valley in MK64, myself.
Ditto used Machop!

Chupperson Weird

  • Not interested.
« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2008, 11:39:23 PM »
Where's Cheese Land and Ribbon Road?
That was a joke.

« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2008, 03:19:23 PM »
Where's Cheese Land and Ribbon Road?

They're one of the many people ignorant of MK:SC's tracks. Toad's Turnpike is alright, it's one of my favorite courses, but being so dang hard in Mirror Mode makes it (IMO) one of the hardest tracks ever. (With the original Rainbow Road in second).

ShadowBrain

  • Ridiculously relevant
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2008, 10:24:48 PM »
Come on, Brian.

It doesn't look good to complain about new-school but be that ignorant about old-school.
That's because I own new-school and not old-school, Liserd Dude.
"Mario is your oyster." ~The Chef

« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2008, 02:11:27 AM »
Haven't played anything beyond Mario Kart 64, so half of it I don't recognize (and I don't remember any battle courses from Super Mario Kart because I never got the chance to play it with friends).

That said, Toad's Turnpike is definitely memorable. Driving on the mirror track was one of my favorite pasttimes. Yeah, hard as heck, but also exhilirating because it's the ultimate test of skill. Maybe it was a precursor to "Burnout" for me. But I agree the track's pretty straightforward. All you really have to look forward to is weaving in and out of traffic. Why can't I skid to the right and cut off a car, or jump down a steep incline and hope I don't hit a bus along the way... or have one section of road dealing with crossing traffic (kind of like Kalimari Desert but with multiple trains).

Wario Stadium, yes. As I believe the second-longest track in Mario Kart 64 (when you don't take shortcuts), and containing that famous jump where a lightning bolt timed just right will screw over opponents, it's a favorite. Also, in hindsight it does have some tall sections and rough turns. What annoys me is that the shortcut is so well known that you can hardly find any videos anymore of people playing the track the normal way. What's the frickin' point of playing Wario's Stadium if you're going to use the shortcut? That's even in a tournament video on YouTube, they allowed shortcuts just because everyone agreed to it. Well, the stadium's no fun that way...

Yoshi's Valley, heck yeah. I initially sided with it because of Yoshi in the title, but it's also a confusing track at first, and pretty fun once you realize you can take multiple paths. Of course, that means you'll soon find the optimal route and use that exclusively, but it's still a blast.

Rainbow Road... I do appreciate it since it's the last track in each game, the longest (save for the first game perhaps), and usually the hardest. In the first game it at least had that intimidation factor. No walls anywhere. But in the later games there were walls and it was all cutesy... candy-coated vomit-inducing fluff. Ok, not quite, but it had happy music and just seemed to lose that special quality that made me fall in love with it in the first game.

I'd vote to include Royal Raceway and maybe Donut Plains 2 (it's all peaceful and then the moles mess you up)... maybe Kalimari Desert too, we just always seem to remember that train. But I don't understand why sometimes the train would be shorter than normal.
You didn't say wot wot.

« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2008, 02:25:07 AM »
The train is shorter when multiple humans are in the race.

I could never decide whether they did it for framerate reasons or gameplay reasons.

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