First post gets it again. Except for the fact that I hated Sonic All-Stars.
MK8 takes the crown from MK7.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
So has Mario Kart 8 dethroned Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed?
- Thread starter Chezzymann
- Start date
First post gets it again. Except for the fact that I hated Sonic All-Stars.
MK8 takes the crown from MK7.
Well Sonic does run a rock solid 60fps... On PC.
I like the cut of your jib, young man!
MK8 is a lot of fun man, moreso than even MKDS. I wasn't shocked to see it one of the top games being streamed on twitch earlier today too. Its a really good game. Its the track design that does it. Its just really fucking fun to play even when you are losing. They finally got that problem solved, because in other MK's that wasnt always true.
Res doesn't really matter but framerate make all the difference in a Kart game where most of the fun comes from how the control feels.
When I played SASRT on PS3, I thought that game has nothing on MK(other than some awesome level designs), it wasn't until some friends got me to buy the game on PC to play with them that I thought it was better than any MK game I played before... Framerate really can be the make or break for an arcade racer.
I've yet to play MK8, but it does look absolutely amazing.
Pretty much everything, really. I'd say all of these are great tracks even if you stripped them down to their bare layout.
PirateKing
Junior Member
The item selection in MK8 doesn't even compare to Transform. The gameplay in Transform is so much better than MK8 it's not even comparable.
CTR is still king.
CTR is still king.
MarcoZombieCannon
Member
You know this is way too soon for this. Wait until the hype dies down some. I have a feeling it will be about 50/50 at that point.
Granted I've only played around with MK8 for a day today, I still put Sonic above it. Mario Kart 8, while being pretty damn good, isn't as satisfying to play as ASRT is for me. All the Sega fanservice, the music, the tracks, the mix of cars planes and boats, and the Outrun 2-esque handling are what makes me like ASRT as much as I do.
But if my little cousins are gonna come over or something, Mario Kart is gonna get broken out since it's so much easier to get into.
Quick edit: the only track I'd say is bland in ASRT is the Outrun track. It being the same track for all 3 laps really hurts it, IMO. There was so much potential there...
Granted I've only played around with MK8 for a day today, I still put Sonic above it. Mario Kart 8, while being pretty damn good, isn't as satisfying to play as ASRT is for me. All the Sega fanservice, the music, the tracks, the mix of cars planes and boats, and the Outrun 2-esque handling are what makes me like ASRT as much as I do.
But if my little cousins are gonna come over or something, Mario Kart is gonna get broken out since it's so much easier to get into.
Quick edit: the only track I'd say is bland in ASRT is the Outrun track. It being the same track for all 3 laps really hurts it, IMO. There was so much potential there...
Oh my god no way in hell. I could possibly understand item selection even though I disagree, but the gameplay in 8 shits on Transform from way above. And CTR has been lapped by MarioKarts and Sonic Transform several times over in the 2 gens since its launch. Yall got jokes in here.
Professor Beef
Banned
I would disagree with this. I played the Wii U version at a friends house and loved it. Then again, I'm one of the people who can't see framerates.
I personally think it's just a matter of what kind of gameplay you prefer. They are quite different gameplay wise. I've invested a ton of time into playing Mario Kart 8 today and it just keeps frustrating me. I definitely prefer Sonic Racing Transformed. I'll never get tired of drifting in Racing Transformed, it just feels amazing and the sense of speed alongside of the awesome drifting.
biglittleps
Member
Yep, for me too. CTR has the best Battle mode and Single player for me as far as I'm concerned which MK8 lacks. Still, me and my friends play CTR battle mode in PS2 and PC regularly. Hope sony brings back Crash and his team racing in PS4 then I'm so happy and going to enjoy a lot with friends in battle.
StevePharma
Member
As someone who plays single player 80% of the time Sonic was the best bang for my buck (triple dip PS3/Vita/PC, platinumed the Vita version). MK8 is absolutely wonderful in MP but single player is hella boring against CPU and there's no real incentive to play it. Very monotonous.
Sonic was such a breath of fresh air. I'm a really big fan of the orginal MK's (besides Double Dash, the only one I disliked), CTR, DKR (still one of the best SP-kart racer experiences), hell I even have South Park Rally haha.
Mario Kart 8 is a solid game, but feels too barren a package for me. Sonic offered more variety, or at least it felt like it did. Thankfully MK8 will occupy my WiiU for a while because of a healthy MP-community on GAF and from my personal friends.
- The fact that you can't chat during a MP race is disappointing to me (or am I doing something wrong?).
- Battle arenas pls. If Nintendo puts them in later as DLC then maybe it's a little redeemed (but need to be free because the original package is pretty barren)
- It's really hard for me to choose between the tunes/remixes of Richard Jacques in Sonic and Mario Big Band, both are extremely competent soundscapes. In the end I enjoyed Sonic's more because I can still hum the classic remixes from memory. Haven't had that yet with MK8 but the game is still fresh so that might come in time. The fact that MK8's soundscape is dynamic is a huge plus though on their part.
- Sense of speed felt nicer in Sonic to me, however the drifting is very good in both titles. I like the Outrun style drifts in Sonic a little more because you can chain-link them into different corners
- I was sad there was no ceremony at the end of Grand Prix in MK8. At least MK64 had a giant Cheep Cheep throwing up your cup
Sonic was such a breath of fresh air. I'm a really big fan of the orginal MK's (besides Double Dash, the only one I disliked), CTR, DKR (still one of the best SP-kart racer experiences), hell I even have South Park Rally haha.
Mario Kart 8 is a solid game, but feels too barren a package for me. Sonic offered more variety, or at least it felt like it did. Thankfully MK8 will occupy my WiiU for a while because of a healthy MP-community on GAF and from my personal friends.
I definitely think this is a big part of it. I like ASRT in large part because of the ways it's different from Mario Kart, and I'd wager Mario Kart fans would feel the opposite.
I'm surprised by the posts in this thread. Sonic got really hyped on NeoGAF and I never understood it. I thought it was just a boring racer that lacked the well known characters and charm of the Mario universe. Played both Transformed and it's predecessor for a while but never got into it and then quit it. Nobody ever wanted to play it in multiplayer either, MKWii was still the way to go.
Well I guess we'll settle for different taste I guess
Before MK8 came out, I think the true king of kart racing is Mario Kart DS. Trumps everything before and after it.
biglittleps
Member
MK is popular more for their characters than Gameplay variety. Sonic All stars brought new experience but lacked characters and did not get more polish but it was a very good game.
MisterGrey3000
Member
I love me some CTR, but MK8 stomps all over it and throws it in the gutter.
God I wish SONY still had the Crash IP. I'd buy a PS4 for a "next gen" CTR in a heart beat.
linko9
Member
I absolutely loved Sonic racing transformed. Hadn't enjoyed a racing game that much since F-Zero GX. Hooked me for a good week straight, in which I put in over 60 hours (I was on vacation...). Just a great feeling racer, well balanced items that didn't make things too luck-based, great tracks, the trick system felt great; all around amazing, which I really didn't expect.
Ended up getting MK on launch day, though I'd planned not to. It honestly hasn't hooked me at all. The racing feels good, and doing some of the time trials can be fun, but the item situation and rubber-banding are annoying as always. More importantly, there's just not that much to do as far as single-player content. That was something that Sonic did really, really well. MK just hasn't hooked me; I can't play for more than an hour at a time before I get bored and feel compelled to do something else.
Just my personal experience.
Ended up getting MK on launch day, though I'd planned not to. It honestly hasn't hooked me at all. The racing feels good, and doing some of the time trials can be fun, but the item situation and rubber-banding are annoying as always. More importantly, there's just not that much to do as far as single-player content. That was something that Sonic did really, really well. MK just hasn't hooked me; I can't play for more than an hour at a time before I get bored and feel compelled to do something else.
Just my personal experience.
biglittleps
Member
I love me some CTR, but MK stomps all over it and throws it in the gutter.
Does MK8 really have Single player and battle mode like CTR which is the king in my view and best in those modes for now?
iconoclast
Member
Nah. Mario Kart 8 is probably the best game in the series (it's a close call between this and DS), but Transformed is still the best kart racer in existence simply because it has more demanding mechanics (making it more fun to play). Transformed's 'world tour' mode is also excellent and something that MK desperately needs.
Both games are great, though.
Both games are great, though.
MarcoZombieCannon
Member
Something about the single player stuff I liked in Sonic Racing was that you could actually play it in multiplayer. Me and a buddy spent almost a week just going through the world tour mode and having a blast.
-tetsuo-
Unlimited Capacity
What? No, not even close. Sonic is also far more mechanically interesting and harder to play. I like 8 quite a bit and will probably play it more because it is easier at this point to play online and my friends have it but SASRT is the better game.
biglittleps
Member
Yep, I agree. MK8 has race ways but it lacks Single Player and Battle mode content in this.
broncobuster
Banned
It's unfortunate how the poor the console versions of SASRT ran. It is really a different, far better experience on PC when it's 60fps. Sonic Generations had the same struggle.
I agree with those who said SASRT is an arcade racer more than a kart racer. Different flavours. The first SASR was more Mario Kart and quite good; better than some Mario Karts but not the best ones.
I think it was too chaotic with transforming stages and items for which you didn't really know what they are doing. MK is much better structured in that area.
Concerning gameplay, I don't really see an issue with Mario Kart. They all play well, controls are spot on.
Beelzebubs
Member
I liked it, and dat soundtrack!
MisterGrey3000
Member
I'm not a big fan of kart racer battle modes so I can't really say.
In terms of single player, CTR is a bit more interesting. So it definitely beats it there, but not by much tbh.
I've found the single player to be pretty fun in MK8, especially the time trial staff ghost races.
A lot of Transformed's strengths feel like they're on account of bells and whistles. In fact, I feel like the game's predecessor did better in some areas, particularly the items which are complete shit in Transformed and the All-Star items which feel completely useless.
The game looks and plays good but it really fell apart for me when I tried to play multiplayer with my friend. We found it to be on a whole different level of chaotic than Mario Kart as the AI was practically immune to doing any mistakes what so ever. Drive slightly off the course, they wipe the floor with you, and they also exploit most of the available shortcuts. The game is alright as a regular arcade racer in single player but my time in multiplayer was honestly a miserable experience if it's light hearted competitive playing I'm looking for. It doesn't help that the tracks in Transformed are sometimes complete clusterfucks. It's cool that the tracks shift occasionally shift per lap but the speed associated and the designs do a terrible job telegraphing it. The Burning Rangers track in particular is a complete mess.
So yeah, if it had any "throne" I'd say MK8 dethroned it and then some. The game is still relatively chaotic when I go online but it's infinitely more fun and tailored for the experience, and playing with KartGAF these last few days have been a blast. It's more polished, it feels like it maintains more balance than previous MK games and the track design is also more memorable. Like the Mario Kart heritage it stems from it relies on every nook and cranny being one of general import, everything counts and the items all find a use during specific situations (well, except for the coin). Transformed has a lot of nice varying worlds but the visual design is all it has to really invest me.
The game looks and plays good but it really fell apart for me when I tried to play multiplayer with my friend. We found it to be on a whole different level of chaotic than Mario Kart as the AI was practically immune to doing any mistakes what so ever. Drive slightly off the course, they wipe the floor with you, and they also exploit most of the available shortcuts. The game is alright as a regular arcade racer in single player but my time in multiplayer was honestly a miserable experience if it's light hearted competitive playing I'm looking for. It doesn't help that the tracks in Transformed are sometimes complete clusterfucks. It's cool that the tracks shift occasionally shift per lap but the speed associated and the designs do a terrible job telegraphing it. The Burning Rangers track in particular is a complete mess.
So yeah, if it had any "throne" I'd say MK8 dethroned it and then some. The game is still relatively chaotic when I go online but it's infinitely more fun and tailored for the experience, and playing with KartGAF these last few days have been a blast. It's more polished, it feels like it maintains more balance than previous MK games and the track design is also more memorable. Like the Mario Kart heritage it stems from it relies on every nook and cranny being one of general import, everything counts and the items all find a use during specific situations (well, except for the coin). Transformed has a lot of nice varying worlds but the visual design is all it has to really invest me.
pillowtalk
Member
Should only ask this question to the people who played the PC version of sonic. I tried both console and pc versions and the performance made a huge difference in terms of enjoyment for me.
MarcoZombieCannon
Member
I admit my first experience with Racing Transformed was in 4-player on 360. That... was not a fun experience. So much nicer on PC. Solid 60fps at all times no matter what gets thrown at it.
I disagree. Played it on Xbox 360 at a friend and have it on my PC. Still think it's rather boring and lacks the accessibility and spot-on gameplay of a Mario Kart.
Then again, I also have no issue with playing Mario Kart at 30 fps. Is just as much fun to me...
kobashi100
Banned
without a doubt!
Sonic All Star is a good game but I so think some people went bit crazy over it. I never thought it was better then MK 7.
The mechanics in MK are just tighter and more refined. Nobody creates that cart magic like Nintendo do.
The one think Sonic All Star does better is single player modes.
Sonic All Star is a good game but I so think some people went bit crazy over it. I never thought it was better then MK 7.
The mechanics in MK are just tighter and more refined. Nobody creates that cart magic like Nintendo do.
The one think Sonic All Star does better is single player modes.
SART PC > MK8 > SART Console.
Will go into deeper explanation when not on my phone. I'll probably return my copy of MK8 tomorrow. It's a very solid game and I can't fault it for much outside item balance but I just don't find it fun. Again this thread is pretty early, we're only three days into MK8.
Will go into deeper explanation when not on my phone. I'll probably return my copy of MK8 tomorrow. It's a very solid game and I can't fault it for much outside item balance but I just don't find it fun. Again this thread is pretty early, we're only three days into MK8.
Single play is really great. If you're looking for mission modes and such of course there's none, but single player racing with different kart configurations and characters makes SP grand prix worth playing repeatedly. And multiplayer grand prix (which was only for SP before) really adds fun and crazy to GP mode.
Battle mode is really underrated in MK8. Playing with a lot of players makes it a mayhem (and the ghost revenge is quite fun in my experience).
Professor Beef
Banned
Well yes, the soundtrack is amazing. There's no disputing that.
Super Stardust
Member
sonic all stars never had the throne, its a good game but its no mario kart.
Funny thing is Sonic and MK8 are very similar in that once you are in first place, if you have skill and don't make any mistakes, you will likely finish first. Blue shell is less common, can hit more than just the lead player, coins have an impact in speed and 1st place is more likely to have the most coins. Star is pretty nerfed in terms of speed, a bullet bill will never finish first like it could in MKWii.
All in all, it means that initial boost at the start of the race is critical. At least in my experience, if I jump out to an early lead and don't do something dumb, chances are I'm gonna win.
People who like Sonic will surely like MK8 more than MKWii for these reasons. It's much more skill based and balanced. Drifting whenever possible is critical, hitting trick button on every jump is critical. It's nonstop drift-boost-trick bliss pretty much.
Three red shells is the most powerful item in the game I would say.
All in all, it means that initial boost at the start of the race is critical. At least in my experience, if I jump out to an early lead and don't do something dumb, chances are I'm gonna win.
People who like Sonic will surely like MK8 more than MKWii for these reasons. It's much more skill based and balanced. Drifting whenever possible is critical, hitting trick button on every jump is critical. It's nonstop drift-boost-trick bliss pretty much.
Three red shells is the most powerful item in the game I would say.
Visualante2
Member
I need to spend some time with it but visually it is rather stunning even compared to the PC version. I was never fond of how the drifting works in Sonic.
KojiKnight
Member
12 player GAF tournament mode says Sonic Racing is terrible. Seriously spent hours on it yesterday, and plan on hours of it every day for the next few days at the very least.
Yeah, I used to preach about how good SASTR was, but having played MK8 for 14 hours since I picked up it 48 hours ago I can say that MK8 is a better game.
SASTR is awesome because of the amount of content there is (for single player, MK definitely needs to work on this) and for the transforming levels, but it's a much more difficult game to get people into. As awesome as it is that tracks transform, it forces people to play a track a few times before they have an idea where they are supposed to go. This problem doesn't exist in MK8 even on tracks that are only one lap or on tracks that do have slight alterations per lap.
I had over a dozen people come in and out of my house on Friday and Saturday and they could all get into it with minor MK experience, something that just didn't happen with SASTR.
BTW, CTR is okay, didn't age well. Just played it like 2 weeks ago. I get the impression "you just had to be there."
I think Sonic is more interesting from a mechanics perspective, the way the tracks transform and the inclusion of drift switching make it a way more 'active' experience than MK8. That and there's more meat to the game from a SP perspective. MK8 is definitely a strong contender though.
DKR was always better than MK64.