Support NeoGAF

[Maffis]

While the game looks pretty it was a huge dissapointment when I was gonna play it for the first time with local friends. Non-existing battle mode and the items are so few; it feels like you get shells all the time.

But the racing part is excellent, but battle-mode used to be so much fun with local multiplayer back in the day. Such a shame they butchered it.

 

[Qurupeke]

Single player is lacking. It really seems rushed. Also, there's no way to track your coins...

 

[nephilimdj]

Isn't it a family game aimed at kids? Do kids care about that stuff?

Pretty much the norm these days for a kid to play on there tablet with music on while playing games, lack of audio options here for example.
Yea kids are savvy.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

SART might have a better campaign but everything else is so far behind MK that there's no comparison.

Transformed has:

- far more well-rounded weapons in terms of balance and you can defend against 'em without items if you're good
- additional depth to its mechanics + it doesn't largely revolve around luck
- better total package of overall online functionality (albeit with inferior netcode)
- better Time Trials structure
- an actual Battle Mode
- better designed UI
- Transformed's vehicle mods >>>> MK8's kart customization
- a varied single player
- a lack of blatant rubberband A.I., though MK8 is a significant improvement on this next to previous MK's
- a better character roster. A game with Danica Patrick. Think about that.

Spoiler

- an Options menu

Sonic Racing: Transformed could definitely stand to learn a number of lessons from Mario Kart 8 too both big and small, but whoever says that it "simply cannot compare" is straight-up ignorant. The console versions do leave a lot to be desired after the excellent PC port, however.

Kinda baffled at SART still getting brought up in relation to MK8. I love the Sonic Racing games, but Mario Kart 8 fucking destroys them. I would say MK8s closest competitor is Double Dash.

Double Dash was awful by Mario Kart standards. Not nearly as bad as the first Sonic Racing, but still utterly unenjoyable. I honestly don't understand what people see in Double Dash.

 

[Zemm]

It's also incredibly frustrating to get hit and hit and hit and hit and hit right after each other because the entire grid is held up and holding offensive weapons. The relentless attacks are very annoying.

One of things I've noticed more so with MK8 is that your momentum is constantly getting stopped and it can be really jarring. I dunno, maybe there are too many weapons in the game now, but the whole idea of Mario Kart was to balance out skilled and non-skilled gamers so anyone could play a racing game. I think they've lost that focus now.

This is why Blur will never be topped. They balanced the game perfectly, combine it with all the online options and stuff surrounding that and you have a legit 10/10 karting game.

 

[Mailenstein]

Uh... Twisted Mansion?

Wow, true. Actually I just played it now. Strange how it totally doesn't feel like that for me. Guess I was expecting something mire down the retro type of course.. hmm :/.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

VHS tape?
Bro, head to Best Buy and get a new set.


Otherwise I agree with most of your complaints.

They're actually right on the money; it's super low quality. No reason they couldn't have recorded in 1080p for the credits movie etc, would have added a couple of hundred meg more to the download.
You can see the super poor quality in the demo movies during the DKCTF start screen as well.

 

[Hitokage]

Well I think some of the shortcomings of Mario Kart 8 have definitely gone with little notice just because the other aspects of the game are indeed very good. Like for example lacking singleplayer content (mission mode? They even made staff ghosts extremely easy for whatever reason), sloppy internet code (communications errors), Nintendo's usual subpar internet architecture that makes shit so hard compared to leading online games on other platforms, lack of customizing with Mario Kart TV clips, being a leader is too overpowered still (makes the game boring the moment you hit that comfortable 1st place), bullshit AI, very average character roster, butchered Mission Mode (well this is the main complain everyone has to say about the game) and no friend leaderboards.

After all the nerfs to defense and comeback ability you want to nerf it further? No racing game should be about punishing achievement. Items should be there to provide an alternative way for other racers to be a threat to you, but you should be given a way to handle it instead of being helplessly comboed into 9th place then given single green shells as your means of returning to glory.

MK8 is a great game until you play it with a bunch of other people, then the inept defense really stings. It's like so many people complained about blue shells in MKWii, easily countered with separation, that they forgot about the general bullshit that was possible otherwise. To be fair, I do get that they want the player to take advantage of all the little shortcuts in various tracks with comeback items rather than relying on them alone, and that's fine, but item distribution gets really obnoxious at times. You also have stupid stuff like banana impacts causing a full stop instead of a simple spinout like fireballs do, and while red shells do lose their targets at random, they are also better at catching you through a tight drift turn and can really fuck over people in mid-air.

 

[DeaviL]

It has the same amount of content than other racers as far as i'm concerned.
It just doesn't have a narrative to excuse itself from racing the same track 20 times,
instead you just race the same track 20 times without narrative.

Number 1 complaint that no one can refute is the lack of battle-mode stages.

 

[Hitokage]

Oh yeah, having a left-right screen split be the only option for 2 player local is pretty bad. For bikes with inside drift, you can't see the edge you're turning against.

 

[Sendou]

After all the nerfs to defense and comeback ability you want to nerf it further? No racing game should be about punishing achievement. Items should be there to provide an alternative way for other racers to be a threat to you, but you should be given a way to handle it instead of being helplessly comboed into 9th place then given single green shells as your means of returning to glory.

MK8 is a great game until you play it with a bunch of other people, then the inept defense really stings. It's like so many people complained about blue shells in MKWii, easily countered with separation, that they forgot about the general bullshit that was possible otherwise. To be fair, I do get that they want the player to take advantage of all the little shortcuts in various tracks with comeback items rather than relying on them alone, and that's fine, but item distribution gets really obnoxious at times. You also have stupid stuff like banana impacts causing a full stop instead of a simple spinout like fireballs do, and while red shells do lose their targets at random, they are also better at catching you through a tight drift turn and can really fuck over people in mid-air.

Exactly. They should nerf the 1st place further. It is too easy to keep your place once you get there and it makes the game boring like I said. It's rather easy to grow distance to 2nd. Especially the problem here is that 2nd has to deal with both directions. Both defending that position and attacking the first. That's why it's easy for 2nd to fall behind when the struggle is harder there. I don't think Mario Kart is a game where only skill matters. That's what makes it fun too. Most of the things you can defend. Inexperienced players struggle with that but the more you play the more you realize that. Lighting which is something you can't defend affects everyone. They even made Blue Shell which was traditionally hard to avoid rare and added a way to defend from it (Super Horn).

People complaining about luck in Mario Kart should just go play a racing sim. Fact is that I play Mario Kart because it's fun. Part of that is accepting that sometimes RNG screws you over. It's the way this game series has fundamentally worked always. I just can't deal with the game becoming boring. That's usually when you hit the first spot and I think the game is broken in this regard. I do welcome the changes like coin item and no ability to have two items. Also changing the three bananas was nice.

 

[Polioliolio]

One complaint I have right now is that I cant change the button layout. Either the option is not in the game or im not looking hard enough but i dont see it.

No kidding.

As far as I can tell, there's no brake button on a wiimote/nunchuk set up. WHY??? There are TWO 'Use Item' buttons on the nunchuk.. Could they not have put a brake button there?? And why the heck isn't the Down Dpad button the break button? It'd be easy to press it along with 'A'.

This is just sloppy.

 

[Tybolt]

What needs to be discussed is how brazenly the AI cheats. No, this isn't my first trip to the rodeo, but this is the first time I've been so infuriated at the single player mode.

I've seen recordings where opponents apparently spawn in behind me, I've had AI karts fly past me at 10 coins after boosting through a shortcut while in the middle of using mushrooms, and I've been dropped to 8th place from first a kart's length from the finish line by getting hit by multiple red shells at the last possible second on numerous occasions.

 

[Hitokage]

Exactly. They should nerf the 1st place further. It is too easy to keep your place once you get there and it makes the game boring like I said. It's rather easy to grow distance to 2nd. Especially the problem here is that 2nd has to deal with both directions. Both defending that position and attacking the first. That's why it's easy for 2nd to fall behind when the struggle is harder there. I don't think Mario Kart is a game where only skill matters. That's what makes it fun too. Most of the things you can defend. Inexperienced players struggle with that but the more you play the more you realize that. Lighting which is something you can't defend affects everyone. They even made Blue Shell which was traditionally hard to avoid rare and added a way to defend from it (Super Horn).

There already was a way to defend it before: the mushroom. The horn is pretty much useless against the Triple Red Shell which is now the main threat.

Also, 2nd is screwed less than MKWii just for being 2nd, but screwed more for being above the bottom ranks.

 

[Zemm]

way too many shells (are triple shells really needed?) and not enough defensive items is my main gripe with the game. I could not give a shit if first place runs off with the win, I don't care about winning in casual games like this, I just don't want to get fucked 4 times on the same corner, is that too much to ask? The game is an unbalanced mess as it is, I can't even imagine the clusterfuck the previous games must have been when people say this is the most balanced one yet.

 

[prag16]

What needs to be discussed is how brazenly the AI cheats. No, this isn't my first trip to the rodeo, but this is the first time I've been so infuriated at the single player mode.

I've seen recordings where opponents apparently spawn in behind me, I've had AI karts fly past me at 10 coins after boosting through a shortcut while in the middle of using mushrooms, and I've been dropped to 8th place from first a kart's length from the finish line by getting hit by multiple red shells at the last possible second on numerous occasions.

That last point happens all the time online too; it's not just the AI.

As for the AI, sure it cheats but in my opinion the cheating was much worse in MK64 and MK Wii. In terms of MK it comes with the territory I guess, but they seem to have toned it down.

 

[Asbear]

I hate to say it, but the game is clearly rushed. They managed to polish all the mechanics and most of the graphics, but they must've cut some content due to deadlines, hence: No battle arenas and no Mission mode (although that hasn't been in the series since MKDS)

I really, don't get why we haven't seen Mission mode since MKDS.

And I might add that I too consider MKWii to be the worst entry in the franchise ever. Horrid items, especially the stupid cloud that is painful to get if you're either far behind or far ahead of everyone else. MK8 is definitely on my top 3 despite of all it lacks.

 

[Doorman]

I hear and understand a lot of the complaints that are being thrown around, but from my perspective I don't really consider the gripes as evidence of a rush job so much as that just...isn't what the development team was putting their focus into. That combined with the fact that the series has always felt very comfortable with what it is and doesn't normally strive to hit benchmarks set by other games or other genres leads to what we have today.

A lot of effort was put into track design, there are little details strewn about all over the place (including the retro courses), and they added a new mechanic with the anti-gravity. I think they did do a good job with the new items that were added this time (aside from the boomerang occasionally taking some wonky curves that I haven't entirely figured out yet), and the core driving experience is as strong in this entry as its ever been. They know that people would spend the majority of their time in online races, so that's what the focus went to.

I think it's safe to say that another focus of theirs was MKTV, and while it's easy to sit from afar and claim that's not much of an accomplishment or feature, it is the first time they've implemented anything like it and if the "Luigi sends notice" thread of the year has shown any indication, that feature may actually have done more for selling people on the game's fun factor than any discussion of how easy it is to view time trial results or whether or not there are music options. Would it still be better for those options to be there? Absolutely, but considering how well the core experience works, I view the rest as forgivable sins.

As for mission mode, it was cool but why are there posts here talking about it like it's a major expectation for the series? It appeared in one game out of eight. Was that really so crucial to people's MKDS experience?

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

The lack of single-player content doesn't bother me, personally. Ever since Mario Kart Wii I've thought of this series almost exclusively as an online one. Once I've unlocked all the content I have no reason or desire to venture anywhere outside the online race mode. So while the criticism is warranted, in my eyes MK8 is a fantastic package.

 

[lt519]

The game still has slingshot A.I.

That's enough for me to know it's poor.

If you are having problems with the AI you just aren't good. If you are good you'll get far enough ahead a few red shells or a blue shell won't hurt you. If you get more than that, not to mention you can defend yourself, it's just unlucky but this is also common in online, it's not really the AI. It's just the core game mechanics keep races tight.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

Fact is that I play Mario Kart because it's fun. Part of that is accepting that sometimes RNG screws you over.

But that's not fun. That's just a somewhat tolerable annoyance. The game is enjoyable in spite of it, not because of it.

It's just that it's still a game where the better player wins most of time so I don't have much reason to complain more about it.

 

[Sendou]

There already was a way to defend it before: the mushroom. The horn is pretty much useless against the Triple Red Shell which is now the main threat.

Also, 2nd is screwed less than MKWii just for being 2nd, but screwed more for being above the bottom ranks.

3x red shells seems to be rather rare when you are 2nd. Didn't play MKWii.

But that's not fun. That's just a somewhat tolerable annoyance.

That's not the way I see it.

 

[prag16]

3x red shells seems to be rather rare when you are 2nd. Didn't play MKWii.

Yes, it's pretty rare. But when it DOES happen for the 2nd place guy when I'm in 1st online, the rage is palpable. It's definitely happened to me several times. Sometimes even combined with a blue shell. Hello 1st to 8th...

The AI apparently doesn't get triple reds ever. At least that's what someone on gaf said. And I don't believe I've seen it yet.

 

[Ivan 3414]

The Koopaling complaints are ridiculous. They're the same species, not variations of the same character. Why not complain about there being too many humans?

The Koopalings are three characters, three palette swaps, and a female variant, with little personality to really differentiate them. They were a waste of development time. Bowser Jr wraps all the Koopalings into one neat little character, and it would have saved development time for characters like Diddy Kong if Jr. was in.

 

[jts]

I love this game, probably have logged so many hours. Have won a GAF race too (though I suspect that'll never happen again ).

That being said, my personal complains about it:

150cc is too easy compared to GAF
GAF mode is too hard
Credits video too compressed, I agree - wonder if it's any different in the disc version?!
Battle mode NEEDS arenas or I'm barely touching it. I like to think they're saving that for DLC on purpose. Would be a nice boost.
Golden mushroom on some tracks... smh
Needs more HUD options

(this will have to do for now)
Needs more options in general... control options, etc.
Needs better tracking/logging of your shit. Coins, wins, losses, etc.
6 favorite videos only?
More replay options. Camera angles. Choose driver, etc

That being said, BUY THIS GAME FOLKS. So much fun.

 

[jts]

The Koopalings are three characters, three palette swaps, and a female variant, with little personality to really differentiate them. They were a waste of development time. Bowser Jr wraps all the Koopalings into one neat little character, and it would have saved development time for characters like Diddy Kong if Jr. was in.

God damn, now you made me think how a 2014 Diddy Kong Racing with MK8-level visuals, with online etc, would be.

*sheds a tear*

 

[Marlowe89]

But that's not fun. That's just a somewhat tolerable annoyance. The game is enjoyable in spite of it, not because of it.

That nicely balanced mixture of skill and chaos is what makes a Mario Kart a Mario Kart, and the game is absolutely enjoyable because of it.

 

[Pikma]

Really funny that you said it, but this was no rushed game, MK7 was even a more rushed job. The only thing that reaaaally bothers me from modern MKs is the lack of any timing in the actual races and the fact that when playing agains CPUs the moment you cross the finish line the race automatically ends for everyone, meaning there's no more changes in positions, which really kills it for me.

Having said that, none of the things mentioned by the op bother me.

 

[decoyplatypus]

One way of nerfing first place without resorting to super-punitive weapons would be to buff the speed boost from colliding with other drivers in zero-g. I *think* this would speed up the peloton a little and give second- and third-place racers a reason to help each other chase down the leader rather than repeatedly screw one another.

 

[Moosehole]

I'm not defending MK8 as I don't own it, (I do own a Wii U though) but in the previous MK games that I have played, (MK64 and MK7) there really wasn't any single player content worth talking about.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I view it as par for the course for MK games, which is actually a large part of the reason why I don't own 8. A career mode or something would be most welcome.

Also MK8 is anything but a rush job. They desperately needed this game out 18 months ago and it didn't happen.

 

[decoyplatypus]

I am not bothered by the dearth of 1P modes in Mario Kart 8. I would prefer more rather than less, but I haven't reached the point where I expect that sort of content in a Mario Kart game, and it matters so much less to me than course design and balance that I genuinely didn't think of it until I read the OP.

The half-assed battle mode does bother me because it reduces the game's value as a party game, and it seems like it should have been worth Nintendo's time to update three older arenas and call it a day.

I'm fine with the items in MK8, although I like the boomerang less than the tanooki tail as a new item. I wish there were another defensive item. Between dragging shells/bananas and the (rare) air horn, the game does have defensive options, but I think there's room for an item that is (1) riskier than shells/bananas but (2) more common than the air horn. Maybe a feather-like item that allowed you to jump: it would slow you down a bit, but not as bad as getting hit by a shell. Plus it might open up some shortcuts.

 

[GiantBreadbug]

This game is good and fun. Period. That's my input.

 

[ngower]

I am thoroughly enjoying the game, but can't help but feel like the AI actively tries to make you lose circumstantially. So many times I'll win the first two races in a cup with ten coins, and then the last two it just goes ape-shit on me, getting hit non-stop by just about every item to the point where I can't even drive for more than 10 seconds without getting hit by something. It's incredibly frustrating and feels more cheap than challenging.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

The Koopalings are three characters, three palette swaps, and a female variant, with little personality to really differentiate them. They were a waste of development time. Bowser Jr wraps all the Koopalings into one neat little character, and it would have saved development time for characters like Diddy Kong if Jr. was in.

Going from Koopalings to Shiddy Kong wouldn't be much of an improvement. Would much rather have Birdo back or anything from Super Mario 3D World. Funky or motherfuckin' Cranky Kong would also suffice.

 

[LeMaximilian]

Mario Kart 8: You're Spectating - Connection Error

Seriously was awesome the first few days, now it's awful. Get put into matches right as they start constantly.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Mario Kart 8: You're Spectating - Connection Error

Seriously was awesome the first few days, now it's awful. Get put into matches right as they start constantly.

Yeah, I could barely play today. Spent 40 mins out of an hour seeing the network screwing up in one way or another.

 

[bart64]

I'm with doorman, this game is focused on what matters. 32 beautifully detailed courses expertly designed, fun and creative item mechanics, great art and animation, inviting online experience. Everything else can go or come later as optional DLC.

-mission mode was pretty fun, but felt kind of forced by the end. Actual racing is a better way to learn.

-battle mode has been a disappointment since n64, and even then the racing is more fun. Karts are just a pain to maneuver in tight spaces, and there is a steep learning curve to learning the battle arenas.

-stats are cool but a little distracting and confusing to new players. The clean, quick menus feel great.

That said, of course I would prefer everything I ever liked about Mario Kart, on day one, free of cost.

 

[Spinluck]

i need to figure out how to get the boost off the line at the start. For the life of me i cant get that timing down. I always start a race in last and im lucky to even freaking get to around 6th in the race.

When it's counting down, as soon as "2" starts to fade away I press the gas.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Going from Koopalings to Shiddy Kong wouldn't be much of an improvement. Would much rather have Birdo back or anything from Super Mario 3D World. Funky or motherfuckin' Cranky Kong would also suffice.

If they didn't bother with the Koopalings we could have had Birdo, Diddy, Funky, Boo, Dry Bones and a lot more I'm forgetting.

 

[Spinluck]

I agree, SART embodies 'good practice' driving skills in its core racing mechanics and the game's challenges are configured to teach the player those. But I do think Mario Kart 8 has a lot of depth too, just on a different level. MK8 allows for more creative exploitation of the level design, often in combination with certain items. Most of SART's courses are very narrow and corridor-ish, forcing the player to nail boost-chaining, in MK8 most courses are wide instead and different routes/shortcuts present themselves depending on which item you hold, which position you're in and which car you drive. Depending on the company I'm with I might prefer MK8 over SART or vice versa.

Some of MK8s courses do have a some hidden short cuts and ways to approach them, and you can sort of cater to your vehicle in that sense. "Is it inward drifting? Is it great off road? Does it excel in boosting? OK then, I'll take that path or do this or do that." It's pretty neat, although, SART does it as well. But the courses don't have the playground freestyle feel of MK8s, and embrace a more arcade like approach.

I agree that there is some depth there, but it doesn't mean much unless you're doing time trails. To me, it just feels like MK8 hits its cap a lot quicker. I feel races amount to relying more on items than depth or skill at a certain point, and I think that's just MK8 living up to its party game aspect. If I missed a row of item boxes in SART I didn't feel like I was fucked lol.

SART had full on Looney Tune looking items, but they got that blend and functionality down just right. I'm still having a blast with MK8, and maybe my mind will change later but those are my thoughts as of now.

You just sold me on SART I'm going to buy it asap. I haven't felt like there has been a superior balanced online Kart racer since Mario Kart DS. I sold both MKWii and MK7 however 8 is closer to the DS, but questionably gimped strategic elements like separating the item preview screen of all the players instead of having it display on both screens as well as the in ability to defend your first place position more effectively.

If you can, I'd get the PC version, it is outstanding.

I'm not sure which is the best console version but I had it on PS3 and Wii U.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

Although I'm still enjoying it, I'm going to take a far more critical position. Honestly, it feels like they forgot to finish the game, which is what makes no sense to me, because I'm sure they had more than enough time. Somehow it feels even more barebones than MK7, and that game was notorious for being rushed. Before you all have breakdowns because I dared to criticize the game, please reserve judgement until after you read my entire post.

- No awards ceremony after finishing a Grand Prix
- No "congratulations" screen after the credits
- No stat tracking page, even though it's been present in every game since Mario Kart DS
- No options menu of any kind (can't even adjust volume settings or change the controls)
- A weak selection of vehicle parts; nearly half are just model swaps, and there aren't that many to begin with
- Still no character costumes or ability to change the color of your vehicle
- An objectively bad character roster padded with babies and texture swaps
- A battle mode that is so bad that I forgot it even existed until right now
- Removal of basic features such as the on-screen minimap and race timer
- Splitscreen with more than two players is nearly unplayable due to the drop in framerate
- Anybody who doesn't use the GamePad is at an immediate disadvantage
- Wonky item distribution that punishes everybody who isn't in 1st place
- Upon further inspection, the "Frantic" alternative is even worse, making the game feel like one big 4TL hacking fest
- The warning sound for Red Shells, Bullet Bills, and Stars is literally broken; it's not unheard of to get hit by something you can't even see
- It's also worth nothing that you can no longer hear bananas being thrown until after they land
- Not enough tracks given the fact that even the DS was capable of having the same amount; more if you include the battle arenas and Mission Mode
- No reward for getting three stars on every cup; not even a bloody stamp
- MKTV is extremely underwhelming because you can't crop out specific clips from each race and piece them together
- The poorly implemented highlight reel makes it almost impossible to upload footage of yourself getting hit by multiple items in a row
- No friend leaderboards for Time Trials; even MK7 allowed you to compare your times with friends
- No sequential ghost races that actually made TTing in MKW somewhat enjoyable
- You can only download 16 ghosts in total, which isn't even enough for every track
- Inability to choose your Mii in-game and being forced to edit your personal Mii instead
- Worldwide online races are still broken because of how frequently communication errors occur
- RED.FUCKING.SHELLS.

What makes the absence of the stat tracking page even more baffling is that you actually need coins to unlock things, and yet you have no way of knowing how many coins you have. I'm sick to death of Nintendo adding in new features and taking them out of future games. Is this being done so they can disguise how derivative their sequels really are? Why can't they add a proper single player mode for once? Diddy Kong Racing had an excellent adventure mode, and that game came out almost 20 years ago. I hope people can see past the shiny new graphics and acknowledge just how disappointing MK8 is in retrospect. They could have done so much more with it, and yet some people are going to dismiss these complaints as "irrelevant" or "trivial" because the gameplay isn't directly affected. By no means am I a fan of Mario Kart Wii, but at least that game felt polished. If we want the status quo to change, then we have to let our voices be heard. #freemk8

 

[TheCongressman1]

Settings & Options.

There are none. Want to change controls? Too bad. Don't like the fact that R AND L DOES NOT USE GAS OR BRAKE? Well fuck you too. Musics too loud? dmcfuckyoufuckyou.gif

The online is also incredibly barebones. I've lost hope that they can ever get this right though so the fact that we have mostly lagless matches is a miracle enough.

Not having basic options like that really gets on my nerves.

 

[eXistor]

/list

Yup good post, I agree with most of this. I still love the game; the core mechanics are great and it's gorgeous and all, but there's so many little things off about the game that they add up.

 

[Aquamarine]

Although I'm still enjoying it, I'm going to take a far more critical position. Honestly, it feels like they forgot to finish the game, which is what makes no sense to me, because I'm sure they had more than enough time. Somehow it feels even more barebones than MK7, and that game was notorious for being rushed. Before you all have breakdowns because I dared to criticize the game, please reserve judgement until after you read my entire post.

- No awards ceremony after finishing a Grand Prix
- No "congratulations" screen after the credits
- No stat tracking page, even though it's been present in every game since Mario Kart DS
- No options menu of any kind (can't even adjust volume settings or change the controls)
- A weak selection of vehicle parts; nearly half are just model swaps, and there aren't that many to begin with
- Still no character costumes or ability to change the color of your vehicle
- An objectively bad character roster padded with babies and texture swaps
- A battle mode that is so bad that I forgot it even existed until right now
- Removal of basic features such as the on-screen minimap and race timer
- Splitscreen with more than two players is nearly unplayable due to the drop in framerate
- Anybody who doesn't use the GamePad is at an immediate disadvantage
- Wonky item distribution that punishes everybody who isn't in 1st place
- Upon further inspection, the "Frantic" alternative is even worse, making the game feel like one big 4TL hacking fest
- Not enough tracks given the fact that even the DS was capable of having the same amount; more if you include the battle arenas and Mission Mode
- No reward for getting three stars on every cup; not even a bloody stamp
- MKTV is extremely underwhelming because you can't crop out specific clips from each race and piece them together
- The poorly implemented highlight reel makes it almost impossible to upload footage of yourself getting hit by multiple items in a row
- No friend leaderboards for Time Trials; even MK7 allowed you to compare your times with friends
- No sequential ghost races that actually made TTing in MKW somewhat enjoyable
- You can only download 16 ghosts in total, which isn't even enough for every track
- Inability to choose your Mii in-game and being forced to edit your personal Mii instead
- Worldwide online races are still broken because of how frequently communication errors occur

What makes the absence of the stat tracking page even more baffling is that you actually need coins to unlock things, and yet you have no way of knowing how many coins you have. I'm sick to death of Nintendo adding in new features and taking them out of future games. Is this being done so they can disguise how derivative their sequels really are? Why can't they add a proper single player mode for once? Diddy Kong Racing had an excellent adventure mode, and that game came out almost 20 years ago. I hope people can see past the shiny new graphics and acknowledge just how disappointing MK8 is in retrospect. They could have done so much more with it, and yet some people are going to dismiss these complaints as "irrelevant" or "trivial" because the gameplay isn't directly affected.

I agree that Mario Kart 8 should be iterative, building on the features of its predecessors and creating something even bigger and greater, but clearly Nintendo doesn't.

I feel like the secret to Nintendo's design philosophy that is keeping Mario Kart 8 absolutely barebones is logistics.

Mario Kart 8 NEEDED to be out by May 30th. But Nintendo didn't want to invest a significant amount of staff in the game's development.

What's the solution to those two dilemmas? Never greenlight potential content and optimise the barebones experience with the staff you do have.

Sure, some of the choices are downright bizarre (do we REALLY need so many baby characters / Koopalings instead of more interesting Mario characters), but most of them do seem to come from a conscious decision to slash and burn every non-essential thing to minimise development costs.

That's where I have to fault Nintendo management.

 

[Jinfash]

People keep bringing up patches/DLCs as defense for lack of content, but realistically speaking, what are the chances of Nintendo improving features, modes, menus, and UI rather than push out easily monetized content?

 

[Nocturnowl]

People keep bringing up patches/DLCs as defense for lack of content, but realistically speaking, what are the chances of Nintendo improving features, modes, menus, and UI rather than push out easily monetized content?

Not sure but Pikmin 3 paints a more positive outlook, the game got extra missions including some with new areas built from the ground up quite a few months after its release and got that random new stylus control option just last week.
Though with MK i'm more willing to bet they don't do much at all outside of a few character and kart parts.

 

[Prototype]

Although I'm still enjoying it, I'm going to take a far more critical position. Honestly, it feels like they forgot to finish the game, which is what makes no sense to me, because I'm sure they had more than enough time. Somehow it feels even more barebones than MK7, and that game was notorious for being rushed. Before you all have breakdowns because I dared to criticize the game, please reserve judgement until after you read my entire post.

- No awards ceremony after finishing a Grand Prix
- No "congratulations" screen after the credits
- No stat tracking page, even though it's been present in every game since Mario Kart DS
- No options menu of any kind (can't even adjust volume settings or change the controls)
- A weak selection of vehicle parts; nearly half are just model swaps, and there aren't that many to begin with
- Still no character costumes or ability to change the color of your vehicle
- An objectively bad character roster padded with babies and texture swaps
- A battle mode that is so bad that I forgot it even existed until right now
- Removal of basic features such as the on-screen minimap and race timer
- Splitscreen with more than two players is nearly unplayable due to the drop in framerate
- Anybody who doesn't use the GamePad is at an immediate disadvantage
- Wonky item distribution that punishes everybody who isn't in 1st place
- Upon further inspection, the "Frantic" alternative is even worse, making the game feel like one big 4TL hacking fest
- The warning sound for Red Shells, Bullet Bills, and Stars is literally broken; it's not unheard of to get hit by something you can't even see
- It's also worth nothing that you can no longer hear bananas being thrown until after they land
- Not enough tracks given the fact that even the DS was capable of having the same amount; more if you include the battle arenas and Mission Mode
- No reward for getting three stars on every cup; not even a bloody stamp
- MKTV is extremely underwhelming because you can't crop out specific clips from each race and piece them together
- The poorly implemented highlight reel makes it almost impossible to upload footage of yourself getting hit by multiple items in a row
- No friend leaderboards for Time Trials; even MK7 allowed you to compare your times with friends
- No sequential ghost races that actually made TTing in MKW somewhat enjoyable
- You can only download 16 ghosts in total, which isn't even enough for every track
- Inability to choose your Mii in-game and being forced to edit your personal Mii instead
- Worldwide online races are still broken because of how frequently communication errors occur
- RED.FUCKING.SHELLS.

What makes the absence of the stat tracking page even more baffling is that you actually need coins to unlock things, and yet you have no way of knowing how many coins you have. I'm sick to death of Nintendo adding in new features and taking them out of future games. Is this being done so they can disguise how derivative their sequels really are? Why can't they add a proper single player mode for once? Diddy Kong Racing had an excellent adventure mode, and that game came out almost 20 years ago. I hope people can see past the shiny new graphics and acknowledge just how disappointing MK8 is in retrospect. They could have done so much more with it, and yet some people are going to dismiss these complaints as "irrelevant" or "trivial" because the gameplay isn't directly affected. By no means am I a fan of Mario Kart Wii, but at least that game felt polished. If we want the status quo to change, then we have to let our voices be heard. #freemk8

this is a great post. I'm gonna edit it into the OP.

 

[clav]

AI cheats are so flagrant in 150cc. Infuriating. I feel like one of these days I will break the GamePad in half. Hulk smash. I now have a Wonderbook because the GamePad folds in two.

Just seems like a passive aggressive way of making fun of the players. Why couldn't they have fixed this ever? It's Mario Kart 8. Freaking 8. Not 3 or 2. The eighth game.

 

[John Harker]

Played 4 player battle mode for the first time yesterday. Surprisingly a lot of fun! Glad they tried and mixed it up a bit, some solid improvements. Makes things feel more dynamic and cat-n-mouse.

I wouldn't knock a DLC featuring Arenas for the people that want it tho.

 

[Hitokage]

That's not the way I see it.

The fundamental flaw in your reasoning is that each race occurs in a finite span. Being comboed in the final lap leaves you little to no room to make up for lost time. That's not fun or even a challenge to overcome, it's pure masochism.

Also, separation isn't easy to obtain in MK8 if other people in the room aren't bad, but it may be easy to sustain given what hell everyone else has to go through. After all, getting hit randomly whenever you just get into a position to make strides is trademark MK8, as are mushrooms and stars not doing shit to help you advance outside select situations.