Should you be Aggressive or Defensive in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? 

Nice video buddy

shortcat woke up today and couldn't decide between violence and peace

"I'm ready to cause some chaos" followed with a picture of Bowser rolling in on a scooter is the funniest mental image ever.

Bowser looks like an adult riding a kids bike AMazing

18:57 I think this is the first time I've ever seen shortcat happy to see the pirana plant item lol. Love the "Fuck it we ball" eenrgy of Attacking shortcat, really cool to see how down to the wire it was too! Thanks for the video :)

Truly the best stat: the attack stat

16:35 and 18:17, Shortcat's split personalities working together

The cartoony "bonk" sound effect you use whenever you get bumped is so funny every single time

20:27 “Im gonna throw this were no one can get hit by it” *proceeds to get hit by it*

You've gotten better at talking to the audience and playing! Congrats

On thr dk summit race, i think i know what the problem was with the shortcut. I usually use a higher speed combo like the bowser one and it happens to me a lot. Your speed is really high with the combo that you completely skip the second ramp or (if you take it the safe way) you hit the small bit of wall and completely mess it up. Hope this helps :)

This is my new favorite video yet!!!

That slow-mo lore shot of bowser attacking his own child is crazy 😭

Their goes your item there goes your race *not even 2 seconds later* Green shell: *HELO*

Shortcat, your vids have a blend of calmness, genuinely useful information, and internet funnyman that tickles my brain in just the right way. Thank you for being you

13:56 I would argue that triple redding first on madrid drive wasn't the correct play, depending on your definitions/interpretations. I would assume that defensive = "item strategy which always minimises the chance of you getting hit", and aggressive = "item strategy which always maximises the chance of opponents getting hit". By keeping the reds, you keep a triple defensive item, which you likely wouldn't match in your next item box pull since you were in second. This maximises your defensive capabilities, especially considering first posed no threat to you (and you had no blue shell defence), so there was no potential net defensive gain by hitting first (eg throwing a boomerang to destroy triple shells would be a net defensive gain, since it minimises your overall chance of being hit by something (This also helps differentiate from a pacifist strategy, as tossing items to chain and taking out large threats now become reasonable)). Of course throwing the shells is absolutely the reasonable play given both first's position, and the low risk since no one else would have items because of the shock; which I think highlights that in ideal item strategy, both offensive and defensive (though mainly defensive realistically) can be ideal based on your current game environment. (btw this isnt a critique at all i loved the video, just an interesting thought)

20:10 “But this makes sense … fire under water” lol

17:25 "Not going out of my way to back green shells and drop bananas where it would probably hit someone." *Just dropped a banana at the item box and proceeds to back green shell."

I know it’s probably more optimal to play aggressive in lower positions and defensive when in the lead but I always have this itch to play very aggressively even in 1st as I like setting traps for 2nd with bananas, back spamming or trailing people with shells and I have access to the double item boxes to chain with. Backspam is something I practically had to get good with since I’m an inward main in lobbies with Yoshi’s everywhere so I gotta take advantage of the rear view mirror, all hail inward rear view making it easy to back spam

i think the best thing about your videos is that you know so much about the game and you present the information very well, and without a "holier than thou" tone so it doesn't feel like you're talking down to a viewer for not knowing certain things

I love the audible click of the controller

You know its a good day when shortcat uploads

20:27 "so we're gonna throw this where no one can get hit by it." Proceeds to run into own banana

You were talking about grey areas with what considered aggressive and defensive. My personal definition is aggression is using items to gain positions, defense is using items to maintain your current position. Boomeranging the guy with triple greens before they trail you? Defensive. Triple redding first place? Aggressive.

You should have done a third where you play "normal", which is a mix of both defence and offence depending on the situation :)

Love that you discuss the more technical aspects of the game. Definitely improved a bunch from watching, thank you for all you do!

24:30 I miss when the Koopalings were widely accepted as Bowser's children, but Nintendo decided to retcon that and make Bowser Jr., who's not even a Koopaling, be Bowser's only child. As for their ages, I don't know if it was ever determined beyond Larry being the youngest and Ludwig being the oldest, but if we base it on Super Mario Bros. 3 going from youngest to oldest, which does keep Larry as the youngest and Ludwig as the oldest, then Iggy would indeed be the 4th oldest. And the 4th youngest too, as there are 7 Koopalings. 28:07 Peak commentary. I only have one thing to add. " Fiyah in the watah... *WHY?!?* "

Good races! When I was a kid, it was all about constant attacking with items! I always threw items away. As a more experienced Mario Karter, I have learned you need a mix of both, but I usually tend to play a bit more on the defensive side. You just have to know when to protect and when to be a little more aggressive when it comes down to the wire.

Your videos just keep getting better and better!

Been waiting for a video where you are aggressive and attack more! Good stuff!

I just recently got mario kart and after finding this channel I immediately subscribed, I love your content!

The best path to victory I've found is to only play with people worse than myself. To quote Principal Skinner, "up yours, children!".

Before watching the video- I’m assuming the final results are gonna be smth like “it’s completely situational, you can’t stick to one playstyle and always expect to win” I’ll come back after I finish the vid

Always happy to see a new Shortcat vid, and I've only really played Mario Kart DS back in the day

every shortcat mk8 vid that comes out im always revved to see them, really enjoying them, keep it up :D

always so fun to watch shortcat be an absolutely menace on the racecourse

Not only is this cat short, but it's also now contemplating between chaos and order.

19:08 Shortcat: Go Go Go *hits Funky Kong with Pirana Plant* this doesn't feel right, I'm so sorry 19:25 Shortcat: I'm so sorry Funky Kong Shortcat apologizing for attacking Funky Kong while he was attacking Shortcat almost every race prior to that

YES I WAS WAITING FOR THIS I've always wanted to watch a video where you constantly just attack everyone the moment you get an item

These informative videos are one of the reasons why I'm subbed to you, Shortcat.

Of course another great video. I thought this challenge was creative and really interesting and entertaining. Keep it up!!

Can't wait for the Shortcat short explaining what happened at 9:59 (tbh I just need more shortcat content in my life)

I love as shortcat slowly goes from loving to hating attacking

30:51 I didn’t know that what my day was missing was Shortcat singing a High School Musical song while playing as a gorilla on a tiny scooter, but my day is now complete

Odd theming quirk of Bowser and DK this helped me pick up on; Going aggressive, with the giant hostile turtle man, that has defensive super armor in almost every game iteration he has And going defensive, with the very ready to throw hands, aggressive monkey, who often times never has a shield ready

Love your vids shortcat, even if you uploaded a video with no set theme we would still find it entertaining!! Keep up the grind💪

I naturally use items for attack, but I've been more defensive since watching your videos. Knowing what strategy to use has improved my win/loss ratio. Thanks budd!

I love shortcat vids!😊

by far the best mario kart 8 deluxe content creators ever, your content is always so fun to watch as you explain everything so well!

Always love a new shortcat video

omg I've been waiting for you to upload i love shortcat

Shorcat you made me love Mario kart and you taught me a lot

always worth the wait

This video was awesome thank you

Next, you should make a part two of this video playing how you normally would. So not just attacking or just defending but the hybrid style you would typically race with. And one where you play passively and don’t use items at all. I would love to see the final comparison of them all.

awesome video! next time you should do front running vs bagging!!!

Shortcat is back! With amazing vids! We want that funny 1v1 videos

Shortcat, now that you’ve improved so much at bagging, could you give the fastest combo another try for the memes? Love your stuff btw❤

Hey man, thanks to you i learned the 3x3 and got into cubing :))

30:50 kongs in sync and then the trick off the glider xD

From today I am only defence in MK8D❤❤❤BTW thank you so much on these videos ❤❤❤

Hear me out: Offense is the best defense! 🤷‍♂️

that mushroom at the end was insane

Da king is back baby he neva miss

Shortcat, You are just the best. 👍great video

Hi shortcat love your vids keep up the good work

Shortcat has such a positive impact in this world. Shout out to him

Dk scooty has been my main for many years as a 200cc only player. So satisfying to see how consistent it is

Amazing content as usual. I’m not a bot, I just genuinely want to share these thoughts with you.

I learned cubing from you, and now I learn mariokart from you

awesome

I think tossing those triple red shells was actually playing aggressive, not defensive. Given the position you're in, triple reds (or any revolving item besides mushrooms) is the best defense item. Chaining it into a box will almost certainly take out the person ahead of you, but the item you get will likely be worse for defense than a triple revolving. Playing defensive means playing with a lean towards keeping your items as defense rather than tossing them to attack as well as accumulating all the best defense items, so throwing away triple reds is really playing more offensive than defensive. Either way, I really love these comparison/challenge videos and would like to see more like these in the future! Keep up the great work!

you should do a challenge were you can't take shortcuts in a race

Yay Bowser and Donkey Kong on mr scooty i love it

Can you make a vid analyzing the pros and cons of each and examples of when we’d want to play each strategy? This is a great vid and I feel like a more in-depth one would be helpful for newer players or aspiring comp players :)c

Video idea: Play with friends but disable all items except the blue shell.

My favorite strategy is defending while bagging in 12th

You’re the best mk8dx youtuber

I love that you’re using the heavy weights in this one

Here’s a quirky idea: Try to win with the WII U Mario Kart 8 meta combo (Morton, Blue Falcon, Cyber Slick Tyres, Gold glider)

Shortcat literally slowing down to hit someone with a star only to miss them has got to be the funniest thing 😂

Really good vidéo! Also would it be intresting to play without the map? I don't know imo it would be a cool video

Your boomerang coming back and breaking the red at 13:35 was awesome

If you ever do a sequel/part 2 to this, maybe run Inside Drift during attack mode? The Inside Drift Bikes excel at trailing and sniping. It would make item play even *more* nasty. 😈

The vine boom shock is soooo funny 😂

Shortcat's videos are amazing

Just another goated video

sometimes attack is the best defense.

I think it’d be cool if you did a challenge where you have to use any item you get instantly. No item strategy allowed 👀

You should totally do a video on the all gold Mario combo and trying to win with it

I long to see the day of a "I chose violence" video starring Bowser Cat

I love how ShortCat sings (badly) 3 seconds of a HSM song and fears copyright

Ik it’s gonna be a good day when Shortcat posts

the "fourth oldest son" editing was so funny. quite literally lol-ed

This is about what I expected. Attacking is very much high risk, high reward, while defense is a lot more consistent at getting around a top 5 placement. Obviously nothing is a 100% rule in this game cause you can play perfectly and still get screwed, but still a good experiment and entertaining video!

honestly cant be mad he got tired of nonstop quality cubing content creation

It is always so fun to watch the yoshi hivemind getting destroyed

*WAKE UP* *NEW SHORTCAT VID* !!!!!

I love how during the whole video ShortCat is gaslighting us into thinking he's playing defensive while hitting people.

nothing makes me smile more then seeing bowser on the smallest thing ever