Kart Racers - Designing Fun for Everyone ~ Design Doc 

"The Sonic & SEGA & All-Star & Racing & Transform & Knuckle" That joke never died, i guess

I appreciate the acknowledgment of Snowboard Kids and Sonic & All-stars Racing Transformed. Those games definitely deserve it. Especially Sonic

I feel like good track design is the same as good level design in general. Consistent theming that alters mechanics. Just look at Mount Wario in Mario Kart 8. In every lap there’s like, 3 different mechanics. They squeezed out every bit of potential that the theme of “Snowy Mountain” had for a Mario Kart track. Also, I never liked how they removed the wiggle boost mechanic ever since Wii. Yeah, it needed a nerf to prevent a serpentine meta, but now every turn is just that much more safe. Risk vs reward mechanics should be added, not removed!

Never talked about Modnation Racers yet included the music at the end. thats pretty petty right there. One of the best kart racers with solid mechanics, a funny and engaging story, a robust online multiplayer mode, and home to some of the best user generated content out there. Some UGC tracks in that game have reached legendary status for what they offer and the fact that it has this UGC element is what makes it the ultimate kart racer in my opinion.

Transformed's comeback items is exactly why i enjoy the game. I don't like the idea of being at the line in Mario cart, getting hit by an item, and going from first to 3rd in a 4 person race when the finish was only 5 feet away. The wasp in Transformed reward player skill for being able to weave through them, and it doesn't have the MK8 problem where instead of getting actually defensive items to defend against RC cars/red shells, the leader gets stuck with coin pickups

Was waiting to see if Modnation Racers would get a mention glad it got a nod in the music :D

"Items let kids play kart games with their parents" This truly brings a tear to my eye

Something to note about the racing line idea is how it's subverted in Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity sections. During these sections, the wheels of a player's kart will flip on their sides as they drive, meaning that if they collide with a glowing spinning bumper on the rack they get a speed boost. However, this also applies when they collide with another player, meaning that players can forgo their racing line in favour of driving a crowd of other players and using each other as speed boosts. It's just a subtle thing that completely changes the way an experienced player thinks about the race.

12:04 "Comeback mechanics exist to let kids play with their parents" You clearly had cooler parents than I did. Stars and Chain-Chomps meant that my Dad didn't ALWAYS finish 12th.

I'd like to mention LEGO Racers. In Racers 1 the items were using the Diddy Kong Racing system but I thought it was way more engaging and fun. And their course design was great too! Racers 2 switched the items to a classic system and it worked well, although with less charm. Where Racers 2 buried its competitors however was with its overworld. All of the courses were part of a specific biome you could explore at will, meet characters there or just look for shortcuts. Both games were great in their own way and I still love them.

CTR best kart racer ever. Mario Kart series is still great, but they're all so stiff in comparison to CTR, and o swear the Newer ones are only getting more stiff with each iteration.

Comback mechanics are really tricky for kart racers. I do feel that the presence of coins for those it's present in helps act as a counterweight to the item handicapping. The frontrunner gets to coins first, so they get a coin advantage even when they're at an item disadvantage. As far as the items themselves go... I dislike blue shells and target-all items, but some extra thought into what roles players in certain positions need is important. A good goal is to aim to keep the distance between first and last relatively narrow. I think item handicapping based on the distance away from first and other players would be the best strategy. For the pack leader, they should get defensive items to fend off attacks from those behind them. Bananas, green shells, etc (which is how Mario Kart works.) However, attacking items, shells etc. are useless if 1st place is too far away. I think it would be appropriate to give those in close proximity to first attack items, but those a bit further away speed boost items to help close the gap. If a player is in a tight pack, giving them multi-shells would make sense, as they need tools to deal with the chaos around them. And if a player is really far behind, give them some OP items like the star. The Blue shell really has no place in Mario Kart though... as really, how does ruining the day of the pack leader help the guy that's in last? That's really just chaos for the sake of chaos.

Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour has in my opinion one of the greatest track designs ever but nobody seems to notice it

Odd to talk about DKR and not the thing that makes it so memorable; being a collect-a-thon with a Hub World ala Mario 64. You had to go out of your way (and in many cases still win) to get Silver Coins and Keys, but the trade-off was that the AI usually didn't go the optimal route which allowed an experienced player to catch up.

in Motor Toon Grand Prix,instead of picking random item boxes,you have to collect coins to buy your still randomized items. from that you can make your race plan easier

Modnation Racers deserves more love. It's almost unfortunate that it has such easy and robust track, character, and kart making tools. The game mechanics were sublime and addictive. It really was one of the best kart racers of all time. It only suffered from lack of bankable characters to sell it even though it sold more than a million copies. LBP Karting came out after and performed pretty bad both critically and financially. Which is probably why Sony hasn't greenlit a Modnation Racers sequel. :( #MNR2

11:07 I guess that's why I liked Diddy Kong Racing so much. Not too random, but if you know what you're doing, you win.

Don’t forget the best one of them all Crazy Frog Racer

Racers could use some level of experience customization. Like Smash Bros has the option "all the items, player chaos and more" but also "Final Destination, no items, ...". One for playing with your younger brothers, the other for high level friends.

I find the criticism of Mario Kart Wii really interesting. Most veteran players prefer Mario Kart Wii's item mechanics to Mario Kart 8. In Mario Kart 8, it's almost impossible to hold a front-run because items are awarded based on your distance from first place, not your position. So a player in second who is wildly behind first place can receive a bullet bill, and, considering only two bullet bills can be in play at any given time in MK8, those in the back are less likely to receive these good items and too often find themselves getting single or triple green and red shells, when really they need a big boost. In MK8, skill plays far less of a factor than in MKWii because of this. Despite blue shells being common and mid-pack items being more hectic in MKWii, it was very possible to hold a front-run throughout the entire race if you were skilled enough and it was much more possible for veteran players to use items to their advantage since they could hold items more viably. For example, someone in 10th place could receive a bullet bill but be very close to 5th place. They could hold this bullet bill in the knowledge that only one bullet bill can ever be in play and use it at the optimal time. It's a much more viable strategy to rely on item management (a skill in and of itself) in MKWii so long as you understand how items work in the game. In MK8, this strategy isn't viable and everything is a lot more random. From a veteran or more serious standpoint, Mario Kart Wii had a much higher skill cap than Mario Kart 8 does, and so a very large competitive community developed around it that even received sponsorship for tournaments. From a casual standpoint though, Mario Kart Wii feels a lot more random since most casual players don't have an in-depth understanding of the item and driving mechanics in the game, so I can understand why many people prefer Mario Kart 8 over Mario Kart Wii. If you want a game that rewards skilled play more (awareness, driving lines, and item management) you're best off playing MKWii, or ultimately MKDS. MK8 is far far more suited to casual play.

This was a good video, despite some points I disagree with. I'm kind of astonished you didn't go into detail about the Swarm powerup from Transformed, or even CTR's powerup system in general. In Transformed, the Swarm would attack first place. However, instead of just being some near-undodgable Blue Shell, the player always had the opportunity to dodge and weave through the Swarm. Depending on placement and circumstance, the player could struggle quite a bit. Maybe they can weave through all of it, but at the cost of having to slow down. Maybe the player could hold onto a Glove powerup and use that as an extra hit point against a Swarm. The strategy behind it, I think, made it far more well designed than the Blue Shell. CTR had a unique powerup system because of the Wumpa Fruit system you talked about. If you were able to collect 10, your powerups would also become "juiced up." While the CPU never used powerups like the Warp Orb or N.Tropy's Clock, multiplayer matches could potentially see tons of those. But again, there are multiple defensive options. Potions, TNT/Nitro Crates, and backwards Bowling Bombs could block most projectile attacks. But there was also the Bubble Shield. If you had juiced up powerups, the Bubble Shield could remain active until you either fired it, or it got hit by something. So do you ditch it, or do you save it for a potential Warp Orb or N.Tropy Clock? Powerups in CTR could even be used to activate a couple of shortcuts, like the one in Tiger Temple. A Bowling Bomb, Homing Missile, Bubble Shield, or a forward-thrown Potion could open up a wall, allowing you to cut a huge turn. Then there's the boosting/drifting systems in both games. Other comments already went into enough detail, but to simply summarize... CTR basically gave you full control of your kart. When drifting, you controlled your boost. When going off ramps, you controlled your speed and hangtime. Boost reserves could be built up depending on how much boost you could chain and how you were chaining it. A player who knew how to control their boost would defeat a player who didn't by MILES. Any time. Transformed can initially be a bit deceptive, but there are AT LEAST 6 levels of boost. Knowing how to time your drifting, knowing where to perform stunts (you can actually pull off stunts in some pretty tight areas), and knowing what order to do things in when drift-boosting, hitting boost pads, and using boost powerups, can make or break a race. And this is not even getting into Risk Boosts when using planes. Just look up some professional run of a Time Trial in Transformed. It's actually incredible what can be pulled off in that game. (Now, there are some balancing issues when it comes to the Boost stat, but that's for another discussion entirely.) I love MK8D. I play it just as religiously as I do CTR and Transformed. And I won't deny that game has its fair share of advanced mechanics. But from my personal point of view, I find MK8D to be rather limited and held back compared to the likes of CTR or Transformed. Maybe that makes it more accessible to all players, and therefore "better" and "more fun." However, I find that's awfully subjective. If I'm playing a casual game with friends, sure, I'd like to play something like MK8D. But when I'm playing with randoms, or players who are more equal to my skill level, I VASTLY prefer CTR or Transformed. They feel much more competitive and less restrictive in design, and to me, that makes them more fun. :)

If you wanna see crazy mini turbos watch mario kart double dash. You can preform something called and a tech and preform constant mini turbos in a straight line and also boost parallel to a wall while touching it

I actually liked snaking in MKDS, I thought it was easily the best drift system I've ever seen.

sad you didn't talk about sonic riders zero gravity, i dunno if it's just the fact that there's a button to press literally every second in that game but i fuckin love it

What about chocobo racing? That is really underrated. It let's you choose a skill giving you flexibility, items upgrade and good courses.

As I mentioned in the other kart racing video, Blur probably has one of the best item sets and mechanics ever to grace a kart racer.

I was about remark how there's no love for Modnation, until I heard at least the main theme being played. ;u; Still, Modnation should definitely be mentioned for, instead of having a variety of items at your disposal, sticking to three main weapons: Missiles, Lightning, and Sound Barriers, that can pretty much turn the race around, even if you're in last place. Missiles go from single shot green shells, to three-missile homers, to a BARRAGE of twelve missiles that can destroy the entire competition. Lightning can go from a single straight-ward shock, to a homing bolt that can affect up to three racers in close proximity of the first target, to an entire storm that can stun the entire race. Lastly the sound barrier, that starts as a small AOE that can affect everyone around you in a close radius, to a Sonic Missile Launcher that shoots three missile shots that can dispose of whoever it hits in AOE range of the three bombs, then the ultimate Sound Wave that sends out a wave of shock that races down the track, and decimates everyone in front of you. The best thing about it is that you can counter ALL these attacks if you have BOOST which you collect through drifting, jumping, and tricks. Boost can either be used as a straightforward nitrous turbo to shoot you to the other racers, or as a powerful shield to defend you against any attack! Sad Modnation didn't get far in terms of advancement of gameplay, but it's the most memorable kart racer if you knew about it.

1) Mario Party is very skill based 2) You're making the assumption that all kart racers HAVE to be fun family experiences. Hardcore competitive games have a place in gaming. And i would never play it, but i think it would be a fun idea, and very entertaining to watch other people play.

2:57 i guess they never miss! huh?

*listening to video* “Eminem’s Kart Racer” WHAT!? Oh... he means the candy.

Craps on 'Diddy Kong Racing' - while using 80% of the video's musical background. Arguments are fair though. The game excels as an Adventure Mode game primarily, along an acceptable battle mode. This type of gameplay and progression - with collectibles, bosses & overworld - is rarely seen in today's kart racers.

I swear Mario Kart 8 is more broken when it comes to items than Mario Kart Wii! Maybe they removed some of the bull shit items like the lightning cloud, but it's almost every other race where I get blue shelled and then comboed by a barrage of red shells during the last turn of the race, taking me from winning, to maybe 6th in a matter of seconds. Heck, even with normal items turned on I've seen 2nd place players get bullet bill! I know "that's Mario Kart", but I don't remember that happening as frequently in any other entry in the franchise. I've even recently replayed double dash and there would be maybe 1 or 2 blue shells per cup on the hardest difficulty, instead of per race.

It's unfortunate, IMO Mario Kart goes too far on items and low skill ceiling gameplay to the point it makes it pretty boring for an experienced player. But CTR, specifically Nitro Fueled, goes too far in the other direction. I love that skill is a much more prominent factor, but the lack of big catch-up items like warp orbs and clocks in the online mode makes it extremely hard to catch up wih a sufficiently skilled player in 1st. It's like how you described Diddy Kong Racing, everyone behind is stuck fighting each other while 1st builds up a massive lead. The only thing that can stop 1st is them screwing up. And this is even worse in tracks with blue fire boosts, since a skilled player in 1st can keep it going to build a lead even faster.

I think SASRT did a better job with the comeback ítems than MK8 since you can actually avoid them if you are skilfull enough. I just enjoy SASRT than the Mario Kart games in general and i think this game deserved even more.

Yeah, he's right. Mario Kart Wii was Hell. Too much confusion and not enough time to breath before you were smashed up by frequent attacks over and over again. And the CPU players knew this all too well.

My recent playing of Mario Kart has shown me the blue shell isn't so bad, especially since it now has a countermeasure in the super horn. The lightning bolt however can fuck right off and die in a fire. Seriously, it's way WAY more frustrating to get hit by. It slows you down even ore a ramp, so you can get dropped off track, it slows you down, making you easy to knock around or flatten, and what's probably the worst part for me is that it removes ALL of your items, your active one, your reserve one, even ones you don't have yet because it doesn't let the roulette finish. Fuck the lightning bolt.

sonic all stars racing transformed was such a great game and I can't believe sumo digital messed up the new one

Your videos are pure gold :)

Was on a different tab for a second at the beginning and had to double take when I thought Eminem had his own Kart Racer

Double dash is one of the best Mario karts.

ModNation music at the end had me fucking jammin

Aw, no mention of Lego Racer, Speed Freaks / Punks or Modnation. Most people already know about Mario Kart but the video talks about that franchise the most. Also no mention on kart design; character design and their balance, which are another pretty important part of a good kart game.

tranformed has bees, that slow down the racer up in front

The original snowboard kids is my favorite kart racer. I just wish it had more courses because the sequel ruined tricks and the overall game feel.

I like everything mentioned in the video...

I'm missing Lego Racers 1 and Jak X here. LR laid a very solid foundation for more tactical item use, although in practice it falls down to green-green-green for experienced players, and Jak X merges that potential with what we know from Mario Kart. In Lego Racers, there are 5 kinds of Lego stones on the tracks: Red, green, blue, yellow, and white ones. You can collect up to 3 white ones to upgrade your current weapon, whereas the coloured ones are the weapons you equip. Red is offensive, starting with a little cannon ball and ending with homing missiles. Blue is a shield, which becomes stronger with every white stone. Yellow is a "trap" weapon fired backwards, like an oil puddle up to a curse reversing your controls. Finally, green is a turbo boost, multiplying your speed for a short time, up to a small warp jump across a quarter of the track. Collecting white stones is a bit risky, as firing your weapon early consumes all collected stones, and as enemies can always steal them from you. Anyway, you can also swap out weapons while still equipped. E.g. if you have a red stone and drive into a green one, then you get a green stone and your red one replaces the green spot on the track until collected. Hit an enemy and you can steal equipped white stones from them. In a way, quite comparable to Diddy Kong Racing's weapon system, i.e. very deterministic and similar pickups. Jak X did a number of things to change and improve on this: - You can equip two weapons at once: A red one firing backwards and a yellow one firing forwards. - Those items are, you guessed it, equipped via red and yellow pickups on the track. - The weapon you get is per-colour randomised Mario-Kart-style, with weak and extremely powerful variants becoming more or less likely depending on your rank. - There are one red and two yellow weapons which are a more to less direct threat to the leader. - Damaging other players charges you up. Full charge switches your weapons with a much more powerful variant. - Drifting and blue tokens charge fuel, which you can use to turbo-boost at a later point in time. - Green tokens heal your vehicle. If it breaks, you not only lose time, but also your charges and weapons. I always though that this system made Jak X very strategic and just the right kind of chaotic. It hits the very sweet spot between Lego Racers and Jak X.

2:57 I guess they never miss, huh?

What are your thoughts on Lego Racer 1 & 2?

I think that mario kart 7 and 8 are much more luck based because i get hit by a million things at the finish line and then my grand prix gives me lower than a 3 star or i lose lots of vr in an online match. Mario kart wii I would say has the best items other than the TC and its the least random

Ugh, no mention of ModNation Racers in a video series that was published in 2018+? That heavily sucks. It's easily one of the best kart racing games ever made, may'be even the best in hindsight. Would like to see a reboot with that game (assuming it's left out in the others) and Team Sonic Racing included. Video is still fairly good, though. EDIT: Omg, it's only worse that you played a BGM from MNR at during the closing of this video D:

You need to play more all star racing transformed

biggest problem with sonic ASRT, the items do fuck-all. I was in a race once and hit the same kart in front of me with 3 items, and it didn't slow down, they span out 3 times and it had no effect.

"Fun for everyone. " Yes, that's exactly what Iwata said. Rip

Crash Team Racing is the best kart racing game of all time, change my mind.

Watching this while playing Mario kart 8

Overlooked kart racers Nascar Rumble Blur Beach Buggy Racing Chocobo Racing Sonic Riders

If you look at the steam reviews it's clear that the Garfield racer is the best game of all time.

Love your videos

I wish you covered the flipside on how not allowing for much comeback mechanics makes players fight tooth and nail for skill in Transformed. What's the music at the end?

this is a great video

But if Diddy Kong Racing fails at those 3 requirements.... why is it still fun? I LOVE that game, even if I could just play the kart tracks per say, so.... why?

South Park Rally is so good though, how dare you suggest otherwise.

I also liked how in CTR, getting 10 Wumpa Fruit gave you an upgraded item, too. It gave more incentive to target Wumpa Fruit and really changed how the track played out the later in the race it was. Going from TNT that can be shaken off to Nitro crates that blow up on contact is a small change that impacts the gameplay in big ways.

There's one aspect of item design that you didn't bring up - skill (rather than item) based countering, such as how in Double-dash and DS a correctly timed mini-turbo could dodge the blue shell.

Did you imply Garfield Kart Racing™ was bad?

Great video, I love Kart racers. I don't know if you'll read this, but there's a point about this games I want to discuss: how the damage by items is reflected in your character. I think Mario Kart is vastly superior in this point. Ever since 64 if you got hit by a shell, you'll be knocked... In motion. Sure, you stop totally, but that's less than a second. Banana peel? Just slide in motion. Now let's see another games... The one that comes to my mind is mod Nation Racers. Great game, but.... Missile? Black screen, reset position, full stop. Land mine? Black screen, reset position, full stop. It breaks the inmersion and the game just feel... Weird. Well, just my opinion.

Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed remains my go-to kart racer. It's just so fast, frantic and rewarding. It's a kart racer designed to feel like an arcade racer. It's just a shame folks don't give it much of a chance because "WHY IS SONIC IN A CAR?". You'd think people would look past that and see what's under the hood.

I disagree with what you said about Mario Kart Wii’s item system. It’s easy to dodge some of these items like the Pow block, by shaking you Wii wheel, or the red shell, by holding a defensive item behind you. The game is also very shortcut heavy, (with tracks like N64 Mario Raceway and Mushroom Gorge), so getting an item like a mushroom in a bottom spot can really bring your race back.

Rip modnation...

I would argue that Mario Kart 8 had a worse item distribution than Mario Kart Wii, due to the fact that they're distributed according to distance and not position. (and the fact that you couldn't trail your items to chain another one and the prevalence of the coin in 1st place.) So strong items being awarded to 2nd through 4th were not a rare occurrence if 1st was far enough which emptied the stock of power items for the players at the back. 2nd place being able to pick up triple red shells while you can only one item to defend yourself with was absolutely atrocious and was one on the reasons I stopped that game alltogether.

Sneaky! I was thinking, "I wonder if he'll reference ModNation Racers", and the song at the end got me.

Great video. I think it's also interesting to talk about Sonic riders and how that game changed some of the basics ideas of a kart race to be something unique. I disagree that mario kart has a better items than Sonic and all star racing transformed because a skillful player in SASRT can avoid any items making the system fair and competitive.

I feel like you didn't go into CTR's (Crash Team Racing) boosting mechanics deeply enough. Boosting while drifting requires timing, which rewards skilled play and creates a higher skill cap. It adds a level of decision making into CTR's driving because each boost compromises control, and to stay drifting long to reach the third boost (which also gives a bigger boost), it requires good positioning and possible compromise from the earlier two boosts (better timing gives a better boost, so the player might need to use the first two boosts earlier in order to even reach the third boost). The timing mechanic isn't even the best part of the boosting. The best part is the fact that good drifts build up a reserve of boost (which can only be built up if the player is using a boost that has either been built from a boostpad, landing a high enough jump or from the starting boost). If the player is skilled enough, they can build enough boost to last several seconds of normal driving. Being able to build up boost, knowing when and how to build up boost, and knowing when to use the boost creates a nice little meta game in being able to keep and use boost. Being able to keep top speed by boosting after hitting a boost pad keeps the speed from the boostpad, (which is higher than normally attainable) but only keeps the boost from the boostpad if you drop below top speed. This system is further improved by the loose kart mechanics. In CTR you are able to gain boost from any jump that sends you high enough, you gain and lose momentum with hills, and can take shortcuts and cut across grass that would normally only be possible by using items. CTR's loose courses with it's loose mechanics can create interesting paths through courses because there are so many little ways to create speed or cut corners. This is why I like CTR over other kart racers like Mario Kart. Boosting is as simple as drifting in Mario Kart, while in CTR it requires and rewards more skill. Due to the boosting mechanic, every time you take a turn in CTR it will be different because different levels of boosting will create different speeds, but in Mario Kart, every turn will be taken the same (relatively) because they will be coming at the same speed since boosts from drifts disappear. You can't cut across grass in Mario Kart without having an item even if you use the boost from a drift, making the path making more rigid. The drift arc is much more stiff than in CTR, because in CTR, the angle in which you enter a drift has a much greater affect on the angle of a drift(though brake drifting is cool). And there are no CC options in CTR because skilled players can find ways to make speed while still giving unskilled players the ability to go slower with higher control, unlike in Mario Kart where the CC is low, making it unbearable slow for the skilled players, or setting it to a high CC, making it unwieldy for unskilled players. Mario Kart is too rigid, creating low skill cap and limited depth because the gameplay is too deterministic. While I find CTR to have really dynamic gameplay with a lot of depth to it's mechanics, which creates varied gameplay with a lot of decision making and interesting ways to drive around the different courses, creating high skill cap that is incredibly fun because of how much is packed into it. I know there are optimisation and high skilled tech in Mario Kart, but these kind of optimisations come with any game, they aren't developed as intentional core mechanics, making them marginally affect gameplay. As well as me not going into a lot of CTR's high skill tech that would be comparable to the high skill tech in mario Kart that I didn't mention. Edit - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GMHYrCZBmk0.html Just found this interview. It seems like they intended to make the drift system as deep as it was. They also wanted the game to be more just trying not to fall of the track, and the challenge coming from optimising the path through the track. It seems they wanted to make CTR more vertically involved by adding the hang time boost meter, as well as giving life to a lot of CTR's advanced techniques: Mid air power drifting, Projectiling, cresting, speed ghost and froggy. (they all involve jumping or vertical movement).

What you said about Crash Team Racing is so true, glad you mentioned it. In my opinion, is the only kart racing game that gives to the pros something fun and not luck based. Is just an amazing game.

Considering the modnation music at the end, I'm surprised you didn't bring it up since it does the diddy kong racing item level up system better. For those unaware, modnation racers also has an item system where there's only 4 items but they can be leveled up to level 3, and the leveled up versions are SIGNIFICANTLY better. For example a level 1 rocket is just a straight shot, a level 2 rocket fires 3 homing rockets at the guy in front of you, and a level 3 rocket fires like 20 homing rockets at everyone in front of you. This isn't even mentioning how every single weapon and weapon level can also be used as a mine if you're in the lead

That snowboard kids music at the beginning... I hear you.

would have loved to have seen some coverage of the original lego racers game. That game was the jam.

Can i comment that sonic transformed, to me, feels significantly better than mario kart in almost every sense? Emphasis on transformed, that new one doesn't look like it will be anywhere near as good.

"items dont turn it into a marioparty factory of randomness" ...have you played mkwii? edit: 11:28 i really need to watch the whole video before commenting, hecc

I think another factor you could have taken into account is the effect of hitstun after getting hit by an item. Mario karts like 64 and every entry after DS have really high stun after getting hit, whereas double dash has by far the lowest in the series (seriously, look at how little damage items do in that game, it's insane). Personally, I think because of the low hitstun, Double dash has the most satisfying item system, where items do with enough damage to where you can feel it, but not so much to where you'll lose seven spots because of one red shell at the line.

It's been 6 months and I'm still not over *_*IMPLICIT LOVE INTEREST BEEP BOOP_** from the Pokémon Rivals video. It becomes relevant in pretty much every movie.

9:57 Wrong. Sonic Transformed brings in the Swarm item to replace the Blue shell, and to much greater effect. Instead of being a random "Screw you" to first place that they have to be lucky to avoid, it's an item that both the thrower and the defender(s) have to have skill for. If the thrower uses it when the defender is in a tight chamber, it's incredibly difficult to avoid. Also, while it doesn't always have a guaranteed way to avoid damage, the defender can minimize the amount of times they get hit by maneuvering carefully. Even if they avoid it all, they still have to go out of their way and slow down to do so. The blue shell, on the other hand, is near unavoidable and can take away a skilled person's incentive to even bother playing, when they suddenly drop five places right before the finish line. That just isn't fair, and you can't argue that it is.

I feel like you misunderstood Diddy Kong Racing. The reason its good is because of its drifting and control, which was not seen in the video. It has no mini turbo yes, but your speed increases when you're drifting. Ideally, you want to be drifting all the time, giving the game a high skill ceiling. This doesn't lend itself to a casual experience. You are the one who said that tending to casual players = good design. Where tending to competitive players can also = good design. Same with comeback mechanics. I think DKR was designed to never rely on random outcomes - it literally has no RNG in the gameplay. Why knock the game that doesn't have any comeback items? I get the drawbacks for casual players, but not all racers need them. Also, the reason it has 4 level themes was because of the adventure mode... each area had those themes, which I know you know. But you just withheld. Its just another option for a kart racing experience. I think not having comeback mechanics works for 2-4 players but not 12 players like modern racers have however. But if anyone wants a DKR game with comeback items with more interesting tracks, Mickey Speedway USA uses the same engine and was partly developed by Rare.

It's been so long since I've played MKWii as a casual game so I can't really comment on that, but the game really shines in a more advanced setting. Tight lines with inside drifting bikes, knowing how and when to wheelie, plus techniques like low tricking and spindrifting really set it apart from other kart racers in that its mechanics allow for a much more competitive environment. Not to mention all the amazing shortcuts (intentional and unintentional) that range from easy to still risky for a veteran and you get a really special game that I still play regularly online via custom servers.

I loved diddy kong racing more than any other cart racer. The mechanics of mario kart when you go zero g or fly are barely different. With diddy kong, it truly feels like another challenge. Also, the bosses and story are amazing, and the levels are not as chaotic so developing a strategy feels more consistent.

I think as 1st place you should always have the chance (through high skill) to keep that place. There should always be a way to avoid the blue shell, it should be hard to do. But always possible. Like you need a specific Item to block the blue shell. That of course would also depend on luck, but what if you could hold multiple items at a time... hmm maybe that would be too much since then players would stock up on items until the final round and then total chaos... idk My friends and I would always play CTR 7 Lap Races. It was alot of fun but there wasn't really anything happening until like the final two rounds. If you could stock up on items maybe those rounds would be more meaningful. I think though if you had one blue shell already stocked the chance of getting another one is like 1% Wonder if any kart racer does something similar to this

I love a good kart racer. The combination of wacky fun and arcade style racing makes it a competitive but casual experience that feels just right for everyone.

I caught my son watching this video saying that Diddy Kong racing wasn't perfect in every way. I won't be having this blasphemy in my house

I think Chocobo racing should have been included here. Everyone always forgets about it. It was pretty good.

11:37 one thing to note: the Mage Mushroom is a less powerful star. While it does have a big hitbox it loses to the star in most other aspects and actually makes you more vulnerable to others' stars or Bullet Bills due to its size. I also think the POW Block is pretty interesting: When on a straight line, it barely has an impact on you aside from losing your items, which is usually more benefitial to leading players, and if used correctly it can be timed so it hits certain players when they're in the middle of a turn, messing up their lines

Okay, I have to make a counter-argument here. As someone who has played Mario Kart with the fastest engine class and items turned off, the game doesn’t become boring. In fact, I’d say the game is significantly improved without the items, because now the racing is based purely on skill. Plus, playing Mario Kart 8 on 200 CC feels like playing a classic SEGA racing game, which is awesome! I don’t care what anyone says, but the items in the Mario Kart franchise are bullshit and should be removed permanently.

Funny, I actually thought Super Circuit had a lot of memorable tracks. Cheep Cheep Island, Lakeside Park, Cheese Land, Sky Garden, I could go on.

Really great video man, makes me really miss the days where I grinded CTR all day long.

I don't remember if it was said here, but one of the big reasons that people hate the blue shell, is that it is not only a random fuck you, it doesn't even help the person who uses it. You're basically giving 2nd place the lead. Which is why you rarely hear bad talk about items like lightning, which outside of team battles, solely helps the person who used it, slows down first, but keeps the rest of the pack where they are, unless they fell into a pit. And games have figured out since before Mario Kart 64, with Wipeout 2097. Wipeout's Quake not only feels and looks amazing to activate, but it slows down everyone in front of you, allowing it to be an effective comeback mechanic, while not solely screwing first place.

I thought this would be a deconstruction of Garfield Kart and why it is objectively the best game ever made. Disliked.

Awesome video! I find it interesting how you saved "the best for last", leaving the most iconic aspect of kart racers as the last visited topic. It was very interesting to see the footage of track design and be instantly reminded of those tracks in the games shown. It was an instant and powerful proof of what you just said about good design making tracks memorable. And lastly, a remark about MKWii: I think it's too chaotic because of the great increase in racers. 4 more players, and you have 150% of the usual chaos that items bring. It could not be exactly 150% if it was balanced out by design of how items show up, but I vouch for the ones that feel this wasn't a thing done very well. :P

I like that you showed off Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed. That game is very underrated

My favorite kart racer is SRB2 Kart, which is built off of a Sonic fangame called Sonic Robo Blast 2, which was made in the Doom engine. Yes, really. This game's history is weird. My favorite design aspect of the game is the blue shell replacement: The self-propelled bomb. The SPB actually slows down as it gets closer to you, going below your top speed around when it enters the bottom of your screen. As long as you stay at your top speed, it won't be able to hit you. If you slow down for a bit, even by drifting, the SPB will probably hit. However, by drifting well (knowing when to do it, releasing at the right time), the mini-turbo will barely save you from getting hit, allowing you to complete an entire lap with the SPB following you. Hell, someone made a mod that spices up time attack mode by throwing an SPB on your tail from the starting line. So getting targeted by an SPB is never a death sentence, but you can't make any mistakes or you WILL get hit. If you get the lightning shield item, it can be detonated to actually remove an SPB (I think it's equivalent to a Mario Kart item that also destroys blue shells?), meaning if you last long enough to get one from an item box, you can basically be rewarded for outrunning the SPB until that point. The presence of an SPB also means it's risky to pass the frontrunner, because the SPB will quickly turn to chase you instead. If you're confident in your ability to outrun it, you can take 1st and try your luck, or you can play it safe and try to hit the frontrunner with another item (like the red or green shell equivalents, or just running them over with invincibility) so they spin out and get hit by the SPB, allowing you to safely take 1st if they fail to dodge. It can be an interesting strategic decision, and opting to just take 1st and deal with the SPB becomes an easier decision when you're on the final lap. Would absolutely recommend SRB2 Kart. It being open source and in a well-understood engine means there's a LOT of really cool mods for it. Like Juicebox, which rebalances the game to make races a lot tighter, and catching up from setbacks a lot easier. There's even a lot of gamemode mods, like Frontrun, which changes the win condition to holding 1st long enough to deplete your own timer, king of the hill style. Plus there's dozens of character mods you can add to your server if you wanna play as just about any popular character.

In my opinion, Dragon Driftway is inspired by Dragon Road from Sonic Unleashed.

4:40 crash nitro kart did the subtle vehicle gravity transformations in 2003....!