• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Mario Kart 7 Review Thread: First Reviews In

I dont get the love for the snes Mario Kart these days. It used to be my favourite but after Mk64 the controls are outdated. The old mode 7 controls were not very responsible and easy to control as if felt like you were controlling the camera and not the driver on the track.

For me the series goes from MK DS > MK 64 > MK SC > MK DD > MK SNES. I love the SNES levels and graphics, but they were not very varied (you had like 5-6 laps for short tracks) and controlling that game is a nightmare opposed to modern Mario Kart games. I do miss the feather weapons though! To be fair all the games have different strengths based on single player/multiplayer experience. While MK DS is the king of the hill, I dislike the battle mode since it deviates from the old SNES/MK64. The introduction of AI and teams are nice, but limiting the balloons and the score system doesn't make it as intense or fun.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I agree but I do not I do not agree. As far as I'm concerned I'm content with two things :

Rainbow road on 60hz super nintendo
Block Fort on N64

But Super Mario Kart is the only game I can play on every track or mode because it's tight, TIGHT, and racers are like pussies, better when tight.

welp I have a new quote now. "Racers are like pussies... better when tight."

A++
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
Kotaku: Should you buy Mario Kart 7? Yes
the racing in Mario Kart 7 is a blast. Online multiplayer is integrated and easy to use, the new maps are crazy and tightly designed, and while I haven't quite gotten a sense of the game's balance, the lineup and duration of each race feels perfect for on-the-go competition.
To my pleasant surprise, Mario Kart 7 does not feel lazy and doesn't feel like Nintendo is taking Kart fans for granted. It feels like a good improvement for many of the obvious back-of-the-box features like first-person racing and smart, networked multiplayer options. But what impresses me most is how this game takes a series that can sometimes feel anti-skill/pro-chaos and gives players more control. Nintendo does that by giving players more interesting decisions to make in each race, mostly involving an expanded suite of available driving techniques, including power slides, speed-boost jumps, and speed-increasing coin-collecting. Those moves, gathered from earlier Mario Kart games, supplement the game's ballyhooed kart customization to give people more agency, more of a sense that their successes and failures in a race are due to things they did than to the whims of blue-shell chaos.

Plus, the course design is crazy. In a good way. I thought driving up a sheer face of a mountain was the highlight, but then I drove this game's wild Rainbow Road. This game is a good upgrade. It's a Yes.
 

Maxrunner

Member
storafötter;33045791 said:
I dont get the love for the snes Mario Kart these days. It used to be my favourite but after Mk64 the controls are outdated. The old mode 7 controls were not very responsible and easy to control as if felt like you were controlling the camera and not the driver on the track.

For me the series goes from MK DS > MK 64 > MK SC > MK DD > MK SNES. I love the SNES levels and graphics, but they were not very varied (you had like 5-6 laps for short tracks) and controlling that game is a nightmare opposed to modern Mario Kart games. I do miss the feather weapons though! To be fair all the games have different strengths based on single player/multiplayer experience. While MK DS is the king of the hill, I dislike the battle mode since it deviates from the old SNES/MK64. The introduction of AI and teams are nice, but limiting the balloons and the score system doesn't make it as intense or fun.

Best shell phisics ever....you can even do a solar system where the sun is the opponent kart and the red shells are the planets lol
 

Maxrunner

Member
I always preffered the flat battle maps from Super Mario Kart, Battle Course 2 and 4 being my favorite.

Though the 64 one did have 4 player.


Because you can always saw where the other guy was and act accordingly, that's why the GC cake battlemode map was the best, because it was the one which resembled the older snes arenas the most....also the red shell physics in the snes were the best because of the curves they made which meant that you needed space to throw them...
 

WillyFive

Member
Super Mario Kart is a cute ride, but it really is nostalgia that makes people like it. Compared to later entries, it's next to unplayable. Bad physics and cramped track design makes it a chore to play today. If you want Mode 7 Mario Kart, Super Circuit is the way to go; it's superior to Super Mario kart in every way (it even has the old tracks as an unlockable).

Mario Kart 64 is much better, but it is seriously lacking in features and content compared to today's games.
 

Boney

Banned
Mario 64 is the worst one by a huge margin just because it controls like ass and there's no music in multiplayer. Tracks are really good though.

I don't think Mode 7 has aged particularily well and it's hard to controls. Especially SMK, F-Zero has kept up fine. And anyone saying the game is fair hasn't played the game in 20 years, because it's a god damn pain in the ass to deal with all it's nuisances.
 

Maxrunner

Member
Super Mario Kart is a cute ride, but it really is nostalgia that makes people like it. Compared to later entries, it's next to unplayable. Bad physics and cramped track design makes it a chore to play today. If you want Mode 7 Mario Kart, Super Circuit is the way to go; it's superior to Super Mario kart in every way (it even has the old tracks as an unlockable).

Mario Kart 64 is much better, but it is seriously lacking in features and content compared to today's games.


You need to play snes mario kart again, mario kart 64 is horrible phisics wise, and im talking about the shell phisics, the red ones specially...the 3 red rect curse shells means you alway get a hit which takes the fun out of it...
 

WillyFive

Member
You need to play snes mario kart again, mario kart 64 is horrible phisics wise, and im talking about the shell phisics, the red ones specially...the 3 red rect curse shells means you alway get a hit which takes the fun out of it...

You won't get a hit if you are ahead by a corner, since the shells go directly to the target and don't follow the track, unlike later games where they are guaranteed hits.

Also, MK64 is definitely better physics wise than SMK. It is true that you start moving in the opposite direction for a second before you make a turn, but at least the tracks are maneuverable with it.
 
Mario 64 is the worst one by a huge margin just because it controls like ass and there's no music in multiplayer. Tracks are really good though.

I don't think Mode 7 has aged particularily well and it's hard to controls. Especially SMK, F-Zero has kept up fine. And anyone saying the game is fair hasn't played the game in 20 years, because it's a god damn pain in the ass to deal with all it's nuisances.


Oh, SMK AI cheats like a motherfucker, but as someone else pointed out it has the best shells & is the most focused on racing in the whole series.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
I'm sad that there is only 3 N64 tracks. It was to be expected with the more and more MK games we get, but still... i have so many good memories from this game since it was my 1st Mario Kart. When i play a N64 track and the music start, it feels good man.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
my retailer just mailed my copy. Netherlands post means it will be here tomorrow most likely :)
 

Berordn

Member
There is music, it's the other player's SFX that get dropped. However, I think with a higher number of players, the music gets cut out too.

Sounds about right, Youtube seems to confirm that.

I'm sad that there is only 3 N64 tracks. It was to be expected with the more and more MK games we get, but still... i have so many good memories from this game since it was my 1st Mario Kart. When i play a N64 track and the music start, it feels good man.

It's too bad we've already gotten all the good N64 courses already. I hope they start repeating courses in the next one, I want to see Bowser's Castle used again. Or they could start including more than 16 retro courses. I doubt anyone would complain.
 
Some people have alluded to this already, but can we confirm that red shell no longer follows the track and instead curves towards opponent like SMK?

Pleasegodpleasegodpleasegod
 

meppi

Member
my retailer just mailed my copy. Netherlands post means it will be here tomorrow most likely :)

Did you use Bol by any chance?
If so, I didn't know they shipped pre-orders this quickly.

I just received my email from Shopto that it's been posted, so I'll have my copy by Thursday for sure. :)

UK->BE
 
All reviews for this game could be 5/10 as far as I care. It's Mario Kart; it's fun; I don't want it to change too much, just freshen up the formula, release it and let me play. Thanks.

I'm the same way. MK Wii often gets derided as being bad, but it's my favorite entry in the series. I get the complaints about the items and such, but I just have a ton of fun with it. I've enjoyed every game in the series, so it's a must buy.
 
Some people have alluded to this already, but can we confirm that red shell no longer follows the track and instead curves towards opponent like SMK?

Pleasegodpleasegodpleasegod

Not sure exactly what you are asking by the way you worded it but I saw video where a red shell was chasing a player who made it aorund a corner.

Basically, the red shell was following him despite it reaching a corner.

That probably doesn't help.
 

Toki767

Member
I really miss the character-themed power-ups/attacks from the SNES game. I wish they'd bring that back and let players actually use them.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
It's too bad we've already gotten all the good N64 courses already. I hope they start repeating courses in the next one, I want to see Bowser's Castle used again. Or they could start including more than 16 retro courses. I doubt anyone would complain.

I'm still waiting for the Mario Kart that will have the n64 courses Wario Stadium, Haunted House, Toadstool Highway and Royal Raceway.

Hopefully they will be in Mario Kart Wii U.
 

WillyFive

Member
I really miss the character-themed power-ups/attacks from the SNES game. I wish they'd bring that back and let players actually use them.

That would be cool. Sonic and Sega All Stars did this, and it was cool idea (although the actual attacks weren't that interesting).

Something like the Smash Ball from Brawl would also be a cool mechanic.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo

Mario Kart 7 is single-handedly worth the asking price, especially if you have friends with one too. It's the best showcase yet for the console's 3D screen, plays better than the home console versions have since N64 and makes 90% of the rest of the machine's catalogue look downright shoddy. It's full of fan-service gold, yet also attractive to those with zero gaming experience.

First things first – the game takes 3DS by the scruff of the neck and shakes it until it damn well lives up to its potential.

Apart from that… it would have been nice to have even more tracks, but if you don't enjoy the ones there are enough to happily play them again, there's A) something wrong with you and B) a good chance you just don't like Nintendo games

Mario Kart 7 is THE game the 3DS has been in dire need of. Sadly, it raises the bar so high for almost everything else, most 3DS games don't even look like they belong on the same system. Get it now.

You'll love

Best showcase yet for 3DS' 3D screen
Full of fan-service gold
Snaking has been fixed!

You'll hate

We'll always want more tracks
Should have been a launch game
Err... the cartridge sticker isn't very colourful?

Good God, if he could make love to the game he would. But yes, it is a huge contrast to the Destructoid review, but no game is immune to it.
 
I'm still waiting for the Mario Kart that will have the n64 courses Wario Stadium, Haunted House, Toadstool Highway and Royal Raceway.

Hopefully they will be in Mario Kart Wii U.

If by Haunted House you mean Banshee Boardwalk that already got a retro redo in Mario Kart DS and I liked it a lot more in that one. Now Royal Raceway, that's a track I can get behind seeing again. I just noticed all the N64 selections in this game are from the mushroom cup, how odd.
 

Boney

Banned
nintendo keeps their franchises so stale that they still abound to technical limitations of the n64 14 years later!
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
If by Haunted House you mean Banshee Boardwalk that already got a retro redo in Mario Kart DS and I liked it a lot more in that one. Now Royal Raceway, that's a track I can get behind seeing again. I just noticed all the N64 selections in this game are from the mushroom cup, how odd.

Right, i remember it now.

Well, i want the Yoshi course then!
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
Good God, if he could make love to the game he would. But yes, it is a huge contrast to the Destructoid review, but no game is immune to it.
This gamesradar review <3

I discovered Nintendo with Mario Kart on Super Nintendo. I spent perhaps 100 hours on this track, doing this trick in what remains one my most enjoyable local multiplayer experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIqPOHOrI_Q

Best Mario Kart ever means best multiplayer game ever to me :)))
 
Right, i remember it now.

Well, i want the Yoshi course then!

I always get the feeling that they are holding off the Yoshi Valley track due due the distance differences between all the routes when played online, I think it's safe to say that the more casual player is going to play it safe and go the long and wide way around the track while most others will take the far quicker routes. It could create maybe a bit too much of a divide between skill levels but that's just my random thought on it, I would like to see the track return as well since it's pretty unique, enjoyable and has the whole ? position thing where nobody knows what position they're in until they finish.
 
Basically, this is like a "7" on your grandfather's blog

I don't see what's the big deal of Sterling's review.

Man do I hate commenter that go "Great review, but such a ridiculous score!".
 
I'm the same way. MK Wii often gets derided as being bad, but it's my favorite entry in the series. I get the complaints about the items and such, but I just have a ton of fun with it. I've enjoyed every game in the series, so it's a must buy.

I had the same reaction to the Wii iteration so o/. It drove me insanely mad at times, especially on my initial playthrough when using the wheel. I couldn't help but love it though :).
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Speaking of MK64, they should give Toad its N64 voice again. I loved throwing my shells to him in this game and hearing him yell "AAAAAHHHHH!!!" every single time.
 

WillyFive

Member
Speaking of MK64, they should give Toad its N64 voice again. I loved throwing my shells to him in this game and hearing him yell "AAAAAHHHHH!!!" every single time.

Oh yeah. Felt great.

But I guess it was changed because people complained he sounded like a girl.
 
YAAAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I miss the old Toad voice. Wario, too. His 64 voice was the best.

If they re-did Wario Stadium they'd obviously fix it so none of the shortcuts worked. Utterly pointless. The glitches MAKE the track. Guaranteed you'd get reset to before the jump if you fell off it, too, which is what has happens in every Mario Kart since then, in courses that had big jumps.

Remember how they made you unable to angle your jump in DK's Jungle Parkway remake? :\ And ruined the shortcut up the hill at the end, too.
 
Speaking of MK64, they should give Toad its N64 voice again. I loved throwing my shells to him in this game and hearing him yell "AAAAAHHHHH!!!" every single time.

That was the best sound effect, because when you slammed him with a shell, he sounded like he was being blasted far away. It was much more dramatic than other guys getting hit. :p
 
Top Bottom