Rating the changes: Mario Kart 8 vs Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

[Alolan_Apples]

Last Friday, Nintendo has released a smaller version of their latest console - the Nintendo Switch Lite. Although I already have a regular Nintendo Switch, I appear to like the mini-model released this year, so I got one. The first game I played on it is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, one of the earliest Nintendo Switch titles, and the second game I got for the Switch. Usually, I play one game at a time, and when I’m currently playing a game, I tend to focus about the game more than anything. Since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a remake or a port of Mario Kart 8 (A Wii U game), I shall rate the changes using the change rating system.

Stuff that changed:

The changes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe did to Mario Kart 8 were mostly positive. If Mario Kart 8 was the best Mario Kart game as of 2016, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would be an even better game. Here are the eight changes to rate, but there’s no deluxe system added to this system.

• Battle Arenas: The biggest WTF moment in Mario Kart 8 other than adding coins as a power-up is the lack of battle arenas in the Wii U version. Nintendo even had a reason why they chose battle tracks instead of battle arenas. Thankfully, the Switch port replaced these battle tracks with proper battle arenas. We got four new ones and four returning ones. We even have the Shine Thief game.
  • Score: +3
  • Significance: 3
• New Characters: Another major flaw with MK8 is the roster. While it’s not the worst Mario Kart game when it comes to the roster, the problem is that many Mario Kart veterans (such as Birdo, Diddy Kong, and Bowser Jr) were absent while they had filler characters (such as Pink Gold Peach and Baby Rosalina). What was worse is the lack of MK veterans. For MK8 Deluxe, what Nintendo did right was that they added Bowser Jr, King Boo, Golden Mario (a Metal Mario alternate form), Breath of the Wild Link (a Link alternate form), and the Inklings. What they also did right was not adding back Honey Queen, more filler characters (like if Rosalina had a southern version as a separate character), or any weird Mario character that’s not suited for Mario Kart (like the other kongs in DK64).
  • Score: +2
  • Significance: 2
• New items and fixed item distribution: While I didn’t care about the new items added, the fixing of the item distribution was absolutely necessary. Now if you’re in first place, you don’t get mushrooms, but you can get triple shells or triple bananas (and Bob-ombs too). In almost every Mario Kart game, item distribution has always been biased against the first place racer, as their focus is defense. Prior to MK8, people took advantage of sandbagging, where they underperform to get a better item. Because of this, Nintendo changed it to base on distance, not position. This made MK8 much harder. Fortunately, they fixed the item distribution to make it easier to defend yourself in first place as those in lower positions aren’t being punished for not doing well.
  • Score: +3
  • Significance: 3
• Double Items: Another convenience that improved MK8 on the Switch is the use of double items. Mario Kart Double Dash may be the first Mario Kart with double item boxes, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the first Mario Kart with double item boxes for single-racer cars. In case if I get coins as one of the power-ups, I at least can have one power-up that isn’t coins. The only downside is that it may have made blue shells and lightning more common, but at least I can defend myself better.
  • Score: +3
  • Significance: 2
• Smart Steering and Auto Accelerate: Another change Nintendo made was the introduction to two new options: Smart Steering and Auto Accelerate. To prevent going off tracks in 200cc (or lower in tracks like Wii U’s Rainbow Road), you can turn on Smart Steering. If you don’t want any hand cramps, you can turn on Auto Accelerate. The downside to all these is that you can’t take shortcuts while you let the game play itself, but they are optional, which is good if you don’t like handholding in games. In addition, if you choose not to turn on Smart Steering, you are given a trade-off, with a more powerful boost after power drifting for too long.
  • Score: +2
  • Significance: 2
• Everything is available at the beginning: Except for kart parts, golden kart, and Golden Mario, that is, but every playable character is available at the start, and every cup is unlocked by default. In MK8, if you haven’t purchased any DLC yet, the only cups available at the start were the Mushroom Cup and Shell Cup. There’s more if you purchased DLC. But in MK8 Deluxe, all 12 cups are available at the beginning. Also, you have every character available at the start, including the new Splatoon characters. Although this takes away the reward for playing the game, having everything at the start is a good idea. No DLC, no cash grabs, and no waiting for a character to be unlocked.
  • Score: +3
  • Significance: 3
• 200cc Support: In MK8, if you bought both DLC packs, you will unlock a new mode, which is 200cc. At launch, the system is very broken, as AI racers jump off very easily. But in MK8 Deluxe, 200cc is fixed, as AI racers can drive better, and you have 200cc Time Trials too. 200cc wasn’t good for Mario Kart on the Wii U, but it’s good for the Mario Kart on the Switch.
  • Score: +1
  • Significance: 2
• Stamps and Uploading YouTube videos: The last change to rate is the removal of the Miiverse features. Although Miiverse faced its ultimate demise in September, you no longer earn stamps for playing some tracks or players in MK8. And there’s no way you can upload videos onto YouTube directly from the game.
  • Score: 0
  • Significance: 1
• Final Score: +2.125

Stuff that stayed the same:

While the changes made MK8 Deluxe better than MK8, there are still a couple of flaws that have yet to be fixed, which includes new problems to MK8 and problems that have persisted for a long time. I do not call for the removal of blue shells and/or lightning item, but there are some things that need to be fixed. And there are some similarities that are best if left alone.

• Track Listing: The tracks and the cups they go into have been the same in both games. And so is the order. Nintendo did this one right. Score: +2
• Retro Tracks: When they were translated into Mario Kart 8, they not just had an HD remake, but the entire tracks were transformed. Some changes (like Yoshi Valley’s barrel cannon instead of long route) were excellent, but other changes (like Rainbow Road being cut down to one lap instead of 3) were terrible. Dry Dry Desert, I found it disappointing that you don’t get eaten if you get to the center of the quicksand. Sherbet Land, I found it disappointing that the Freezies don’t freeze your kart if you hit them. They should’ve reinstated the old hazards or Rainbow Road’s three laps when remaking MK8 for the Switch, as well as de-resolutionizing your karts if you hit the electric walls in Mute City and Big Blue. Score: -2
• Coins as Power-up: Although the double item mechanic made this less of a frustration, my biggest complaint about MK8 was this. There’s no way you can defend yourself using coins, and you can’t use coins to attack others or boost forwards. When I played MK8, they frustrated me horribly, and I was like they need to remove it. Did they do it? No. Score: -2
• Filler Characters: Adding new characters or returning characters was the right step forward. But one problem is the filler characters. The characters that should’ve been removed are Pink Gold Peach, Baby Rosalina, Tanuki Mario, and Cat Peach. Dry Bowser is cool, but he would be better off as a variant of Bowser like how they did Breath of the Wild Link in MK8 Deluxe. Instead of Pink Gold Peach, there should be Birdo. Instead of Baby Rosalina, there should be Diddy Kong. Instead of Tanuki Mario, there should be Ganondorf (Twilight Princess). Instead of Cat Peach, there should be Zelda (Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild). Baby Daisy is fine, and so is Metal Mario. Score: -2
• Colored Toads: I like the idea of introducing multiple colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy, but they didn’t give Toad colored variations. Even in MK8 Deluxe, you still have the red Toad. But Nintendo can salvage this problem in an update rather than a new game. Score: -2
• Golden Kart: To unlock the frame, you still have to get at least one star in every cup in the Grand Prix up to 150cc mirrored. To unlock the tires, you must beat all the 150cc staff ghosts. To unlock the glider, you must collect a lot of coins in total. The requirements of unlocking it and the fact that we have a golden kart is one of the similarities that I have a positive view for. Score: +2
• Additional Cups, Tracks, and Characters: After the release of the Zelda and Animal Crossing packs, I was hoping they can add more. I was hoping for a Pokémon one and a Kirby one, but they weren’t added to the Wii U Version. By the time the Switch Version came out, there still wasn’t any. Score: -1
• Restarting a Cup: Most racing games allowed you to restart a race (or an entire circuit), but no Mario Kart has allowed that. They may have given us Smart Steering and Auto Acceleration, but not the ability to restart an entire cup. If we want to restart a cup, we should be allowed to restart it without quitting and re-entering. Score: -2
• Final Score: -0.875

The final verdict proves that MK8 was a major improvement to MK8, but some of the flaws with MK8 or any Mario Kart game still remain intact.

 

[Emolga59]

Don't hate but I like Baby Rosalina, she's the best baby because of her voice and trick animations.