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You are here: Home / Commentary / On Why I Loathe Mario Kart Wii

On Why I Loathe Mario Kart Wii

October 10, 2009 by Nat 8 Comments

mariokartsummarySailing along in first place and leading by almost half a leap on the group. The finish line is in site. Maybe a game distance of 20 feet. Blue shell. Red shell. Red shell. Green. Green. Red. Red. Hello 9th place. What just happened?

Poor balancing, that’s what.

I’ve never completed Mario Kart Wii. I don’t have the patience to do so. It has the most playtime of any of our Wii games at home (over 200 hours), but it’s not a game to play for serious players. It is a fun game, but it has this wonderful knack for not rewarding skill.

I don’t mind the powerups. I do mind that there is no counters for some or even a remote chance for others. Do the powerups add any strategy to the game? Not one bit. Some people may argue that, but it’s just too random. To random for this gamer to enjoy. I’ll stick with my DS and SNES versions.

As a side note, does anyone else’s Wii put slight scratch marks around the outer edge of their games–especially ones they play a lot? We’ve gone through one Excite Truck disk and our Mario Kart copy has been giving read errors lately.

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Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: I took a knife and I uh...you know those Do Not Remove labels on matresses? I cut one of them off!, Mario Kart Wii

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Duncan says

    October 11, 2009 at 2:52 am

    I am beginning to understand this. I can race well and still finish 5th because some random sequence of events knocks me out 2 inches from the finish line. Argh! Mostly, I want to smack the designer that came up with the Blue Shell. Might try the multi-player with strategic items only, see if that helps.

    However, the wife likes to play with me, and as long as the game is enjoyed in a non-competitive group it seems to be fun.

    Unlocking all the characters and karts is going to be a bitch though.

    Reply
  2. Tony says

    October 16, 2009 at 10:33 am

    I once launched a blue shell while comfortably in second place, but before it came down I had regained the lead and the blue shell comes crashing down on me, mere feet from the finish line.

    And yet, I continually go back.

    Yes, the next Mario game needs some items that counter some of the bigger powerups. Or bring back Double-Dash with the ability to hold two items!

    Reply
    • Nat says

      October 17, 2009 at 12:35 am

      I have been there! Knocked out by your own lead shell.

      Reply
  3. Jonah says

    May 9, 2010 at 11:46 pm

    Yes, my Wii is putting scratches on my disks. But it ironically only occurs with Mario Kart Wii. I have gone through two copies of it now and both won’t play anymore. I just got one copy less than a week ago and it is already garbage!! How the @$&! do you contact Nintendo to replace them anyway? It’s like contacting “the government” for a UFO sighting.

    Reply
  4. Cameron says

    November 22, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    one time i was about to cross the finish line and then this random bs appeared out of nowwhere! i got hit by a blue shell, zapped by lightning, flattened by a mega mushroom and then for tops i got hit by a bullet bill. hello 12th place…

    Reply
    • Tony says

      November 27, 2010 at 11:22 pm

      First place is not a good place to be in a Mario Kart race!

      Reply
  5. Aaran says

    December 31, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    Once on moonview highway, I was in a 1st place lead. Then I get Blue shelled. Then shocked. Then Blue-shelled AGAIN. Then Red shelled. 3rd place. Then ran over by a car! 4th place. Hit by a bullet bill. 6th place. Blue-shelled again! 9th place. And finally…hit by a bomb car! 11th place. I hate Mario Kart Wii. Its not fun anymore. :'(

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Split/Second Is Not A $60 Game says:
    May 18, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    […] it. However, don’t read into that wrong. It is a fun game. It is a frustrating game. Think Mario Kart Wii frustrating. I’ve not seen rubber-band AI this bad since well into the early ’90s. That was the […]

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