The Watching Artist wrote:Pedz wrote:Jezo wrote:Hyperion wrote:Jezo wrote:Hyperion wrote:Jezo wrote:Hyperion wrote:The Watching Artist wrote:Deluxe
True dat
But Deluxe is way way better than vanilla 8. If anything, you'd say Mario Kart went wrong at 8, surely?
Lol no
You think vanilla 8 is better than Deluxe?
I think 8 is better than 8 Deluxe, yes
why
For me, the double items make it worse, it's just a complete clusterfuck.
My comment was partly in jest because I don't have it. But firstly I still think it's disappointing that it's just a GOTY type release. Not adding new tracks was a serious bummer for me. But I also agree with Pedz from my, admittedly limited experience, that double items has maybe a negative effect. I've seen some amazing things happen but I think when a person can be in last place with half a lap to go. Get a bullet bill and something else like a star or lightning and win by practically auto pilotting to the line something is a bit wrong. I felt it was wonderully balanced before. Ok it could still be strawberry floating annoying seeing people in front get better gooseberry fool then you but deep down you know your the one getting an advantage somewhen else. It looks like you spend even less time racing and more time dealing with items. Sure there is skill in using them but its still too dominant for my liking.
I also really like the customisation things. It brings a whole new element of personality to the series and frees you from being a slave to character stats. What to be a fat cheating banana split but struggle to turn him? Go for a more mobile but slower option. Want to be the cute baby but get smashed about a lot? Pick heavy tires and karts to counter it. It isn't rocket science.
Toads Turnpike is strawberry floating gooseberry fool fullstop.
Technically speaking though, as with all racing games, there's always going to be an optimal path for each course, and in Mario Kart's case also, an optimal combination of character and kart. Without items/power-ups/fluctuation, racing games are rather deterministic in their design. When it comes to balance and what's fair, I 100% agree on the items are gooseberry fool front. It's not fun for me to be cucked of my win because other players weren't good enough to keep up with me, only for those same players to then get lucky and get enough items to overwhelm me entirely beyond the restraints of the game. 2nd place can get 3 red shells you know? 3. There's only 1 player ahead and they felt 3 red shells was a fair option for 2nd place to have. Having said that though, I think item distribution isn't only dependent on placement, but also on distance between the players. I've seen people in 2nd or 3rd get bullet bills after being so far ahead in 1st.
But anyway, as people have said before, this isn't a fighting game, it's a racing game, where the end goal is set regardless of player interaction. Your goal isn't to defeat your opponent as such, but to reach this set goal post as fast as possible. So the game in its purest form is essentially just time trial. If you assume every player knows the optimal combination and path for every course then only a random factor will actually mix it up to make it even remotely challenging or entertaining. I think Mario Kart is a fun game, but it is not fun from a competitive perspective.
As for Deluxe being a GOTY edition, it actually does improve on the original a lot. Unlike Wii where every character was unique thanks to hidden stats, even with hidden stats, a lot of characters in 8/DX are actually exactly the same gameplay wise. They come under different weight classes where each character in the same class has the exact same stats. You can imagine it like a character in a fighting game just having multiple skins. Same character, but looks different. In vanilla 8, there were 7 weight classes, and with DLC, 9 weight classes. For example, Bowser, Wario, Morton and Dry Bowser all have the exact same stats and play the same. However, in DX, there are 16 weight classes, Dry Bowser and Wario are now in their own weight class below Bowser and Morton. Looking at it like a fighting game, DX basically adds 7 more characters to the game from the original+DLC. Aside from stats though, the characters do have different models, so even though Wario and Dry Bowser are the same, Dry Bowser will hit his head more on ceilings, etc. As you already said, DX adds double items, but it also adds pink drifts. I feel these do actually compliment the game and make it better but that's just me.
And yes, Toad's Turnpike is strawberry floating gooseberry fool.