Mario Kart 8 (Wii-U)

[Mystwalker]

Dolphin Shoals, Shy Guy Falls and Bone Dry Dunes are probably the three tracks I have the most difficulty with though. There's always one little niggly part of the tracks that I can't quite master - like taking the higher route after gliding in Shy Guy Falls and landing straight in some grass... and I don't think I've ever successfully attempted to reach the higher route after the glider section in Bone Dry Dunes.

 

I don't know if you watch the Top 10 Time Trials run for each course as a reference, but I learned from there that the upper route after the glider on SGF is not very worth it because of going into the grass like you mentioned. Try the following: go below that route, as close to the ceiling as possible, then swerve to your left just before landing. You should line up with the road without much trouble!

 

As for Bone Dry Dunes, yeah, it's very hard to get there. Only times I seem to manage to get there is by tricking off the highest point in the blue ramp from the Anti-Grav section and then hold down to keep the glider up as much as possible. You'll barely make it. Can't seem to do it with combos that have low air speed though.

[Indigo Rush]

I don't really think Mount Wario is any more impressive than an of the other tracks, but I fail to see what's so offensive about it. I think it's a pretty bangin' track on its own merits, honestly. 

[TrueBlue]

Add me to the list that has a bit of trouble with Bone Dry Dunes. For some reason I always get hit by the piranha plant before the first gravity section.

 

Mount Wario, Dolphin Shoals (dat jazz), Sunshine Airport, Cloudtop Cruise , Toad Harbour and Bowser's Castle are among my faves.

[Gabz Girl]

Mount Wario is a great stage, I mean I love how it progresses from the top of the mountain all the way down to the bottom. Music is pretty rad too! It's just...I've never really been good at it. XD; Maybe I need to play it more often.

[JezMM]

Have to say the new Bowser's Castle is one of my fave Bowser Castles in the series.  The opening view and that super steep ascent through those low hanging alcoves in the first gravity section are so gloriously intimidatingly designed.

 

 

I do wish they're drop it always being the penultimate track though for a change.  It's prolly just coz I was raised on Mario Kart 64, but it's kinda boring when you know what sort of thing to expect from the final two tracks in every single game.  I don't care hugely for Cloudtop Cruise or Bone Dry Ruins, I personally think this is probably the weakest final cup in the franchise for me.

[DarkRula]

Wait. What? Drop two series staple tracks, but keep the rest?

What kind of wizardry is this?

We all know that the lack of circuit tracks is going to make a comeback in Mario Kart 9 [in which that most likely won't be its final name].

We'll be getting a Mario Circuit, a Luigi Circuit, a Baby, DK, Rosalina, Shy Guy, Yoshi <breathes>, and Waluigi Circuit. The last few games have been littered with them, that seeing hardly any here was a surprise.

 

Favourites for this game are shaping up to be Sunshine Airport, Toad Harbour, Bowser's Castle, and the new Rainbow Road. No idea why people hate the new one for. It's just as good to race on as any of the others [and also seems to have a Double Dash vibe].

[jords]

Wait. What? Drop two series staple tracks, but keep the rest?

What kind of wizardry is this?

We all know that the lack of circuit tracks is going to make a comeback in Mario Kart 9 [in which that most likely won't be its final name].

We'll be getting a Mario Circuit, a Luigi Circuit, a Baby, DK, Rosalina, Shy Guy, Yoshi <breathes>, and Waluigi Circuit. The last few games have been littered with them, that seeing hardly any here was a surprise.

 

Favourites for this game are shaping up to be Sunshine Airport, Toad Harbour, Bowser's Castle, and the new Rainbow Road. No idea why people hate the new one for. It's just as good to race on as any of the others [and also seems to have a Double Dash vibe].

Rainbow road is good but its disappointing as everyone expected a crazy hard level design that every casuals would avoid because they'll be falling off every ten second.

With anti gravity some crazy stuff could of been made for this track but no its just another track in Mario kart 8. Its level design is too simple to be a rainbow road course.

[DarkRula]

Yeah, I get that a lot more could have been done with it. The anti-grav could have given us something like a wilder DS Rainbow Road, with loops, corkscrews, and maybe an even wilder coaster ride than any other track. But... then I get the feeling they scrapped all that due to not knowing how everyone was going to react to the anti-grav in the first place.

[Doctor MK]

I'm actually a huge fan of the new Rainbow Road. Yes, it's by no means as elaborate as something like Mario Kart Wii or Mario Kart 7, and there's a lot of missed opportunities in terms of anti-gravity stuff... but that doesn't automatically make it a bad track. I find the more simple and streamlined approach works well and draws me back to playing on it more often, rather than groaning at the thought of having another 3 minutes of falling off edges and difficult level design. The theme of the track is excellent - I love how it's the MKTV space station and the Blooper spaceship is all kinds of brilliant - and the music is excellent, as with every piece of music in the game. And there is some depth to be exploited for those willing to seek it out... like that shortcut. You know the one I mean. Plus, it's still no walk in the park - get caught up in a load of racers or item carnage and you could quite easily go spinning off the edge to your doom.

 

Rainbow Road 64 is still probably the better Rainbow Road of the two in the game, but I don't think the new one deserves as much stick as it gets. It's still a good track - just not as crazily designed as people hyped it up to be. But I know I'm probably in the minority on that one.

[TearForFear]

I wish I could "hack" the game so I can explore every nook and cranny of the courses.

 

I'm pretty sure Nintendo hid something in the unreachable places of (to name a few) Sunshine Airport, Bowser Castle (the left path blocked by a grating right at the start is suspicious) or even the city below Rainbow Road 64

[jords]

For this game, rainbow road 64 is one of my least favorite. Every time I play it its like you can't stay in first the whole time because the blue shell is eventually gonna com and catching back up seems harder to do for some reason. Oh wait I know, its because its so short. Probably the shortest in the game. Its a nice looking course but I barely play it.

Lol the music can't even do a full loop before getting into the final lap.

[Doctor MK]

Again, Rainbow Road 64 is a track I really like because it's very easy to pick up and play. Having it as a single lap with a 2 minute-ish duration makes it a nice simple track to pick when you just fancy a quick race that isn't a basic course like Mario Circuit GBA or Donut Plains 3. The music is god-tier, the atmosphere is incredible, and I just love how exciting it feels to race on.

 

I do totally get what you say though about it being difficult to catch up on such a short single-lap track. Unless you're blessed with a Star or a Bullet Bill, you're probably not getting anywhere fast. But I can forgive that, because it sounds so good and it looks so pretty.

 

And it has a steam train in it. I'm a sucker for anything with a steam train in it.

[Brad]

Mount Wario used to be a favourite track of mine. But like they say, you can have too much of a good thing and Felix has made me play the track that many times I can hardly stand it any more. My favourite tracks now are Sunshine Airport, Rainbow Road 64, Cloudtop Cruise and Electrodome off the top of my head, but honestly this MK has the best line up of tracks to date I reckon. 

 

I always find Dolphin Shoals, Toad's Turnpike, Dry Dry Desert and Royal Raceway awful though.

[Jolt_TH]

My favourite courses have to be, ohh damn, im with Jez MM on Mario Kart Stadium, but I also do love Mario Circuit, Sunshine Airport, Mount Wario, Toad Harbour, Bowser's Castle, Rainbow Road, Wario Stadium, Royal Raceway, Yoshi Valley and N84, Rainbow Road. infact I pretty much love all the tracks there isnt one I really dislike at all.

[JezMM]

The thing is, playing Mount Wario over and over again has made me really good at it, and since my friends and I have also played it so much it means our races on it are always SUPER tight and unpredictable, lol.  Almost all our most intense races have been on that course.

[Conando]

I feel like this game is fucking with me. The whole time in the tournament today, the RNG kept giving me single and triple mushrooms in 8-6th place, and everyone around me was getting actually useful items like shells.

[jords]

Wanted to put thoughts into the tracks. I don't want to compare retro tracks to new tracks because the new tracks will 

obviously be better than most retro tracks. 

 

I'm gonna list it on how much I play some of the tracks so if I like it, it would be most on me being so good at it and how 

it looks.

I'll do Retro some other time.

 

New tracks: From least to favorite.

 

16. Bones Dry Dunes.

The track being so full of brown already makes it more uninteresting and feels a bit too dead. The toads on the boat is a nice touch though. I think this track would of looked better if it was sunny instead of a sunset setting being all dark and brown isn't really good for me. The beginning of the stage is decent but it feels like it gets more difficult the more I go into the track, the sand in this place is so slippery, Its hard to make out a good drift on a tight turn, especially the cave section right before the starting lap. and the way the top wooden part in there also feels slippery for some odd reason because even when drifting on it still makes me slid right into the wall so taking that path is still no good, well sometimes if I manage to get through it quickly because it has powers up there. And also its probably the least new track I 

have played.

 

15.  Shy guy Falls.

I really like the driving up and down a water, it's a very good idea but in this track, driving up and down a water fall is so short, and I think this should of been the tracks main course, They should of gone with a way Bigger water fall with branching paths and stuff. Either way the level design is decent, I guess my favorite part is driving up the water fall trying to get those boost pads. The AI seems to be really good at this level most of the time, so I cant be like "I'm for sure winning this race" like I do with some tracks. The music is alright but not that exciting.

 

14. Water Park

So in terms of skill, I'm pretty good at this stage, nice and easy. The music is boring to listen to. When I'm in first place It's the time where I really listen to the music and just cruise through the track and it helps that you get an extra beat when in first place but this place doesn't do it for me for the music. But I can't say its a good looking track but  not that exciting, but at least its a good stage that I can easily do. Well it's a mushroom cup track so it had to be easy lol but easy boring levels are never good. You need easy fun levels like Boos haunted Mansion or Sweet Sweet Canyon. So this stage goes in the Easy boring type tracks. At least it looks good.

 

13. Rainbow Road

I expected A lot from this stage, Crazy super hard level designs, and since its going to be HD and stuff you'd think they would go all out with this stage, bring in some crazy stuff that galaxy had. The space station was cool though but being in the space station was the worse part of the stage lol. The way we enter the conveyor belts is so shitty its hard to avoid the red part of the belt. They shouldn't put the ramps onto the green belts because every time I perform a trick I go off into the wall or the red belt and it always slow me down. For the good part though its a decent designed track and the music is nice to listen to and making those tight turns is always satisfying. I like it but expected more. At least its better than Mario kart 7's Rainbow Road, Long and boring. Mario Kart Wii still remains my favorite Rainbow road track.

 

12. Mario Circuit

I like the track and feels like a really good circuit level, I like pulling the drifts in it and the music is nice and it 

looks so beautiful especially being upside down. But then again its just a simple track and not much goes on in this track so most of the time I'm just cruising and through the level until its done.

 

 

11. Toad Harbour.

 

Hello City escape! This track is great, it really makes you feel like your in the city with all those toads cheering for you and the many details around in the track, like the lady liberty actually being Princess Peach. Nice touch on that and the track design is nice and not to complicated. The music is alright though, its nice to listen to but for a racing game? it's okay, feels like I'm walking around a mall or beach or something, not a Mario kart game. 

 

10. Mario Kart Stadium.

Another really good simple track that's good for newcomers that can get the feeling of drifting and anti-gravity. It beats by having just another Circuit because it doesn't feel like another Circuit level so that's a plus. Even though I don't mind circuit levels but in Mario kart Wii, it had too much lol. The Music is fantastic! A really good opening to your first track and fits the theme of the track and so its a joy to listen to makes it more better. My favorite part would be the Anti gravity section only because I love the view going up the stage and watching the fireworks and then flying off back to the starting line while the crowd cheers for you.

 

9. Cloud top Cruise.

This sky level is so fun I enjoy pulling of the tricks and tight turns in this stage because there is quite a few, 

especially in the beginning of this stage. The level design is nice and not too difficult for me, I usually do very good in this stage and leave the AI in the dust. One thing for sure is that its a bit too short. I feel like more stuff could of been added to some parts like maybe some more sections being on  the airship part and more twist and turns when inside the thunder storm part. The music is very nice and I love listening to it and the galaxy theme coming in is nice to hear. It fits with the theme.

 

8.Dolphin Shoals.

This is weird but this track I feel like its one of my weakest tracks due to being in sand and im not that good at it and stuff but I love playing on the stage though. It's also weird how I didn't like the music when I first heard it but the more I listen to it the more I love it. I'm not sure if its the AI being sooo good at this stage but they always seem to being able to dominate this stage every time I play it. I do pretty good at racing through but they always seem to fly pass me at times and it seems difficult trying to catch up to them. Other stages I like I can catch up just by doing good with my drifts and landing tricks but this stage they seem to be doing better and forcing me to rely on items. Either way the track designs feels right to me but the AI sometimes just makes it not fun since they are so perfect at it most of the time.

 

7. Thwomp Ruins.

I like the track design in this track, it has some fair tight turns and decent amount of obstacles like the rolling stones and thwomps. The rolling stones comes in the second lap and end up knocking down platforms that has a flying section in it but usually whoever is in first place, they would  be too far ahead to wait for the stones to activate the flying section so its a nice touch for those behind to gain closer a bit because the flying section is the fastest way. Not by a lot though. The music is good and I do enjoy listening to it. But whenever your in first and the extra beat comes in, it feels kinda off with the music. But it doesn't mess with the song that much though. Overall, great track, great music and great detail within the stage.

 

6. Boos Haunted Mansion.

This Stage has to be one of my favorite of Boo tracks. It has a nice feeling of actually being inside a haunted house but in a goofy way because the Boos are not even scary lol. I kinda wish the Boos were more active for being obstacles but making the house being so creepy was really good like driving down a wall that has a face and it looks like your going down its mouth and the wavy walls. The music is memorable, I love listening to it, it has that creepy tone to it and the extra beat that comes in makes it even better for this music,I simply love it. The track design is really nice and I come first most of the time if the items are nice to me and I cant get bored of this track.

 

5. Sweet Sweet Canyon

Its sugar rush! This track is so much fun, its so.....Sweet! The music fits in with the stage and it really makes you wanna dive into the pool of orange soda. But seriously the track design is super good and works well. I don't really have a favorite part, but the whole stage is great, I enjoy every turn and they put a lot of detail into them, It's nice to see some gingerbread houses and some gingerbread toads cheering me on lol. 

 

4. Sunshine Airport.

Such a beautiful track with great track design and really fitting music. At first I wasn't into the music but racing in it makes you love it more. The music is so "Airport like" lol. The planes flying around is a very nice touch makes it feel like things are happening around the stage and has that feeling where I'm like "Whoa!" when getting close to a plane because you can hear the loud sounds of a plane when it fly's over you and its so close. The track plays well and its a nice setting and I enjoy playing through it each time. 

 

3. Electrodrome.

Time to party! The feeling I get in this stage is wonderful, it has that feeling that i'm racing while going through a concert and its so awesome how you can hear the shy guy singing while passing the crowd, speaking of the crowd, its my favourite part of the tracks because once you go pass them you can hear them clapping with the music and see them dancing to it and also get a taste of Shy guy singing. Well kinda, he just shouts from time to time, I would guess he's trying to hype up the crowd I guess but I love hearing it anyways and the track design works so well. It's pretty color and a joy to watch with all the colors going by. The music is so dang catchy! Its one of those stages were I have to race at least 5 times during my play sessions lol. (Not really but you should know what I mean.)

 

2. Mount Wario.

Huh, A single Lap course being one Favorites? Well because in Mario Kart 7, the two wuhu tracks and Rainbow road were so boring and not as enjoyable as the other stages but Mount wario did a perfect Single lap course making each section something different. Also mention the starting line is on a flying helicopter which is amazing! It's that feeling that I got in the Mario and sonic winter games on Wii U when doing the dream event when you change into different gear like skis or snowboard. This track had great level design too, the item placements were good and not too far apart and the turns were fair although the section right before the last section is not too bad but the placement of the trees always bothered me and I sometimes hit them, but its not bad though. The music is fantastic and done well because it changes when entering a new section. And the whole racing down a mountain is such a great way to do a single lap course only makes me want more possible single lap courses to be in the game.

 

1. Bowser's Castle

Yup Bowser's Castle is a winner and my favorite track in the game overall. The track design is fantastic and works well with a few obstacles like the fire balls and the spike ball. Bowser punching the roads is a nice touch and satisfying to pull off after he makes the waves on the roads, lol I could pull off at least 10 tricks on that one part its funny watching the characters do tricks so fast. The details in this track is so good, the front of the castle has a lot of detail with cannons firing and the spot lights shining at the sky and the part were the gates open up makes you feel like shits about to go down because this track is pretty difficult to, I had to make sure I don't slip up and stay away from the other AI so they don't mess me up but most of the time I'm way ahead in first place doing so good. The music is perfect, I love how it sounds a lot like the theme when facing Bowser in 3D world in his Pimp mobile so it's nice to get some of that into this game and with fantastic detail, music and Track design, it has to be my favorite track in Mario Kart 8. 

 

Short version:

16. Bones dry dunes: 

15. Shy guy falls:

14. Water Park: 

13. Rainbow Road. 

12. Mario Circuit. 

11. Toad Harbour

10. Mario Kart Stadium. 

9. Cloud top Cruise: 

8.Dolphin Shoals: 

7. Thwomp Ruins: 

6. Boos Haunted Mansion

5. Sweet Sweet Canyon

4. Sunshine Airport

3. Electrodrome

2. Mount Wario

1. Bowser's Castle

[Mr Useful]

I feel like this game is fucking with me. The whole time in the tournament today, the RNG kept giving me single and triple mushrooms in 8-6th place, and everyone around me was getting actually useful items like shells.

I think it may be a game problem since I've seen the problem happen multiple times when playing with friends. 6-8th might be some sort of bad zone where the game doesn't think you need the offensive items to hit enemies yet and the mobility boosting items that aren't mushrooms to catch up yet so it just keeps on giving you mushrooms.

[Dantemustdie00]

At first, I thought Rainbow Road would be a lot tougher than it looked.

 

But after you know the shortcut to drop from one track to the next, the track is nothing.

Not like N64 Rainbow Road is no better, that track is still kinda boring too even with how pretty it looks.

[Willsy]

I think I like Mario Kart Stadium, Mount Wario, Toad Harbour, Electrodome, Cloudtop Cruise, Yoshi Valley, and N64 Rainbow Road. Say what you want about Mount Wario, I still want to go on a double date with it and Felix.

For some reason I dislike Donut Plains and both desert tracks. The earlier because I find it boring and I personally don't like the music, and the later two for the same reasons really.

[StaticMania]

At first, I thought Rainbow Road would be a lot tougher than it looked.

 

But after you know the shortcut to drop from one track to the next, the track is nothing.

Not like N64 Rainbow Road is no better, that track is still kinda boring too even with how pretty it looks.

You mean even with the added changes and mechanics on the track? What exactly makes it boring now, since its not as long as it use to be...or as easy I guess.

[Mystwalker]

The first half of the track is exciting with the Chain Chomps making the road bounce and hard to drive. After that... there's not much going on but a few turns and straights, until the glider kicks in at the end for a nice finale.

 

Really wish there was an option to run 2 laps on this course. It would be a true test of endurance IMO.

[JezMM]

So, thinking about the item balancing.  I think the system should go much deeper than it is.  Here's the things I think it should take into account when deciding on an item:

 

 

For people at the front of the pack:

 

1. Does the player have 10 coins?  If yes, strongly decrease the chance of getting a coin item.

2. Is the player in 1st repeatedly getting green shells and bananas, and has blocked incoming items 3 times in a row?  Gradually start to increase the chance of getting a coin a little each time an incoming attack is blocked.

 

 

For people towards the back of the pack:

 

1. Do the majority of other players have items at the moment?  If so, slightly increased chance of lightning bolt.

2. Is the player going off-course frequently?  If so, slightly increased chance of a bullet bill.

3. Is there a shortcut coming up that requires use of a boost?  If so, slightly increased chance of mushrooms.

4. Are the leading racers all fairly neck and neck?  If so, slightly increased chance of a blue shell.

5. Are there many stray items on the track in the upcoming area?  If so, slightly increased chance of a Potted Piranha Plant.

6. Are there many stray items or natural hazards on the track in the upcoming area from the majority your opponents' perspective?  If so, slightly increased chance of a Blooper.

 

There should also be some things that just never happen, even in a 1 on 1 race.  The person at the back of the pack should literally have a 0% chance of getting any kind of banana or single green shells.  Bob-ombs, single mushrooms, and triple green shells should be 0% in races with a full 12 people, with chances increasing slightly the less people there are in a race (unless of course, in a small amount of racers you're clearly unmatched and the other racer(s) has/have a big lead, in which case you'll get the kind of items you'd get in last place on a 12 racer game).

 

 

I admit I have no ideas for balancing items in the middle of the pack, which is where all the real chaos happens.  They just need to add a small recovery time for that, or at least make it so if you've been hit by a red shell in the last few seconds and aren't in 1st, the next red shell thrown from behind you will target a different person unless thrown at point blank range.

[StaticMania]

In terms of the balance for Item distribution, they just need to make it less random. The random factor applies to the items you "Should" be getting when in the approprate position in the race.

 

Like the only items 1st place should be getting are Single Banana, Single Green Shell, less commonly...Triple Banana, rarely...Triple Shell, Coins, and occasionally a Super Horn. All defensive items and a item that goes with the coin gimmick.

 

2nd place can get Triple Red, Triple Banana, and even Lightning(like in Kart 64)...the only one that makes sense is the triple banana. 4th place or lower somehow still have the high possibility of getting coins, single Greens, single Reds, or even single mushrooms(Triple Mushrooms for 7th and below)

 

The item distribution is whacked out, its a lot worse than even Mario Kart 64 because there's a lot more items to get and you can't even get what should be the most common items for your placement sometimes.

 

The first half of the track is exciting with the Chain Chomps making the road bounce and hard to drive. After that... there's not much going on but a few turns and straights, until the glider kicks in at the end for a nice finale.

 

Really wish there was an option to run 2 laps on this course. It would be a true test of endurance IMO.

I don't think a 4 minute race would be that much of an endurance test...I mean even with 3 laps rounding off at 6 minutes would be more of an endurance test.

[JezMM]

I think Rainbow Road should have 2 laps - it'd make it a LITTLE longer than most MK8 courses, but still within boundaries.  We don't really need a long endurance test race, I'm just disappointed that what was originall the longest track in the game is now the shortest.