Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Game'scover

About the Game

Game: Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Genre: Kart racing game
Consoles: WiiU(Mario Kart8), Nintendo Switch(Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Published: Nintendo
Developers: Nintendo
Released: April 2017

Super Mario kart is a racing kart game developed by Nintendo's inside developers and was also published by themselves, originally in 2014 and it's Deluxe version three years later in 2017. Super Mario kart was originally developed in 1992 and had the iconic hero of Super mario and his friends racing their vechicles around a variety of maps. Each time, the game kept improving on its formula and removing ideas that weren't well received. Needless to say the game was a phenomenom and became a Nintendo classic. With the rise of it's success throughout the years, the game became a big name that other games it's genre are consider 'Mario Kart clones' even though mechanically they play different. Games such as Sonic Team Racing, Crash Nitro racing were heavily critisized for simply placing iconic mascots into a racing game. The series had plenty of games out since 1992 with the latest one being an Android/Ios game(2019), Mario kart home(2020)(not a mario kart technically) and Mario kart 8 Deluxe for the console of Switch(2017). The release of Mario Kart 8 was succesfull as the game sold over 50 million copies which made it one of the best selling games ever and the best game of the Mario Kart series. In 2022 (as of the writting of this), there have been rumors for Mario kart 9 but these are just rumors as Ninteno are yet to make a statement and they recently revealed that plenty of DLC maps(12 new cups of 4 maps each) will be comming in Mario Kart 8 with the first two sets of Cups becomming available a few months after the initial announcement.

The Deluxe version is only available for Nintendo Switch and its the Upgraded version of Mario Kart 8. All the features of the previous entry is the same and also has new additions. The games biggest change other than the graphical surface were the inclusion of Battle modes that came with new rules and battle modes. Upgraded versions of Ballon Battle and Bob-omb made their inclusion alongside new maps. Plenty of new heroes and car customizations were also included such as the Inklings, King Boo and others. Deluxe increased the ammount of battle items a player can carry from 1 to 2 and also brought back some old classic power ups in various game modes. The deluxe version also included all of the WiiU's DLC maps and customizations as standard races to be found from day 1 without extra charge, and supported all the amiibos including new ones who werent compatible in the past such as the previously mentioned Inklings who became available in Deluxe. Moreover, the last 'new' feature of Deluxe is that the game has an optional Smart steering mechanism which makes it easier for young people to enjoy as they ll most likely never fell of the map or drive on grass. Last but not least a few changes that can be found in Deluxe come from the console it self. First things first Switch allows the player to enjoy the game both on Tv and on the go. Furthermore the Tv mode allows the players to experience the game in 1080p rezolution. Lastly the switch allows of up to 8 players to play together localy.

Story Mode

The game does not have a story mode so this part can be skipped.

Gameplay

Basic Gameplay

The game can be played in Solo Or as a team(when playing custom games) where the player can control one hero. Once the hero is selected the player can customize their vechicle in terms of Body, wheels and gliders. The vechicle customization affect the status of the player. It affects the speed, the acceleration, the weight,the handling and the traction. The same can also be said about the character selection as Mario weights significally less that Bowser. When customizing the car the player is given the option to enable or dissable the smart steering feature. The vechicles can move forward by holding down the button focussed on Accelerating. Not holding it will result in the car standing still. During the starting countdown of the race, if the player perfect times tapping and holding the acceleration button, they will gain a Starting Speed Boost. The fastest boost will be given if the button, was held around the counter of 2. In order to Drift the player will have to press the appropriate button in this case the R button. Pressing and holding it down with the prefered direction cause the car to drift. While drifting, the car's wheels will begin to spark into three colors, that indicate the speed boost the player will receive from their drift. Yellow,blue and purple in that order, indicate the amount of boost the driver will gain weaker to stronger. Driving in a straight line or behind a racer might build momentum to the player that will help him further accelerate.

The goal of the game is to claim the number one spot when racing through the maps. All the maps consist of boost pads and coins. Boosts pads are self explanatory as they give the player a boost when driving above them. Coins act very similar to the wumpa fruits in Crash and Rings in Sonic, where the more the player collects the faster the vechicle will move however, the moment a player is hit by an enemy or drop of the map they will lose three of them. The maps also offer some high jumps, where the player can gain boost by doing air tricks. Tricks can be done with the drift button and a direction. Driving of the main road into a grass field will slower the car down, but using a power up such as mushrooms or star can help them get a shortcut. Furthermore certain maps have a few locations where the player will spin and gain speed. The last thing that can be douns in the maps are power ups.

Power Ups

Game'wisps
Power ups are items in the game that that re used to sabotage other or give the player a helping hand. The players can collect the by driving towards a rainbow box with a question mark(?). Once the item box is gathered, the power up will be displayed on top left of the screen. The player can use the item by pressing the L button. In order to shoot an item towards a preferred direction simply combine the L button with a direction of back or front. The option to look behind, whether is to aim or simply to see if anyone aproaches the player can be achieved with either Y or X. Furthermore, there are Double boxes in the maps that will grant the player two powerups instead of one. Last but not least certain maps have their own powerups such as fruits(in Animal crossing map, airport). Items found in the ground (mainly due to the lightning ability) can still be used if the driver drives onto them. There is a total of 19 power ups available in Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
These Power ups Are:

Mushroom (1 Or 3): The Mushroom power up when used will boost to the player's speed. In lower places three mushrooms may become available than just 1.
Golden Mushroom: The Golden Mushroom can be constantly used for a limited time to gain them boost.
Green Shell(1-3): The player can shoot the green shell to the front or back. The green shell doesnt lock on a target and can recoshet from walls which can cause a self hit. Green Shells can also be used to defend againts red shells and fire balls. When 3 are picked, they souround the player causing him a shield.
Red Shell(1-3): The player can shoot the red shell to the front or back. The red shell once thrown will lock on the target and will most likely hit its goal. It won't lock on when thrown backwards. When in possession of three, they ll suround the player and keep ammunition for three hits.
Banana (1-3): The player can throw the banana backwards or front. The banana will cause anyone who hits it to lose their balance. A banana can be used defensively by holding it on the back. When three they create a shield for the player.
Boo: Boo AKA the Ghost, makes the player imvisible from enemy projectiles and also steals a random item from a random player.
Blue Shell: The Blue shell will race in the track, hitting every target on its path until it reaches the 1st player (based on when was thrown(If the 1st player becomes 2nd before the shell hits them will still have it hit them)) and explodes them.
Bullet: The player turns into a bullet which will drive on it's own hitting targets, collecting coins/powerups and generally help the player to make a come back.
Coin: The player gets +1 on their coins unless they re already in possession of 10.
Bomb: A projectile that can be thrown towards the front or back. Once thrown a timer will start and the bomb will detonate causing an enormous AoE. Racers caught in the explosion will be stopped.
Red Horn: The red horn is the ultimate defense weapon. Once used, it will create an AoE around the player knocking off enemies or upcomming projectiles. It can also make the blue shell go away.
8 (Magic 8): The magic 8 gives the player 8 different powerups.
Star: The star makes the user temporarily invincible and increases their speed. Any vehicle hit on the way will be knocked over.
Lightning: Strikes all opponents with lightning, causing them to lose their items. It also temporarily shrinks them, reducing their speed. A shrinked enemy can be stomped by bigger enemies further reducing their speed.
Blooper: Blooper will spay all the drivers ahead of its user. A sprayed opponent has ink on their screen making it harder to drive. It will clean instantly when on a boost pad or a mushroom is used.
Fire Flower: Allows its user to shoot fireballs.
Boomerang Flower: Grants its user a boomerang that can be shot up to three times hitting enemies on it's path. Throwing the boomerang on another powerup will remove the item from the path (except bombs)
Piranha plant: Attaches on the driver and provides momentum when used. Enemy racers nearby will receive a painfull bite .
Feather: Available only in battle mode. It allows the user to launch themselves in the air and last longer whilst airborne. Landing on an opponent will steal a balloon.

Gamemodes

These game modes are only available in story mode :

Single Race

Single race has the racers racing in a certain map to claim the top spot.

Grand Prix

It's a combination of 4 races. Each time the player finishes one, they earn points that will sum up for an end result. The game has 12 cups when purchased but in 2022 they re adding another set of 12.

Vs. Race

This gamemode allows the user to customize the rules of the race/cup. This allows the player to play free for all or team race. Furthermore they can set the difficulty, the items that can be obtained and whether or not its mirror mod. Important factor is that the race maps can be chosen radomly or individually and the number of races can be from 1 all the way to all 48.

Battle Mode

Battle mode has its own unique sets of games. These are:

Shine Thief: A star spawns in the map and the racers try to keep it in their control. Hitting the player in possesion of the star will cause them to lose it or steal it.
Balloon Battle: All drivers are given a number of balloons to their possession. When they re being hit they lose 1. Lossing all the ballons will eliminate the driver and the driver who s the last man standing wins
Renegade Roundup: This is a game of cops and robbers. The cops try to catch all the robbers by biting them with the piranha plant. The robbers try to avoid being caught and free any captured teammate.
Coin Runner: A timer is set and the teams compete on who will have the most ammount of coins at the end of the game.
Bob-omb blast: The gammode is similar to balloon battle but the only obtainable items are Bombs.
Random Battle: The game will radomly select any of the above modes on its own.

Online Mode

Allows the player to join other players online and race each other. The players gain points when playing indicating their skills levels.

Multiplayer

The game offers both Online and Local multiplayer. In local multiplayer, the player can have up to 8 people joinning them. They then have to choose whether or not they want to play Single mode or Team mode (in Vs Mode). In single mode the game follows the rules of 12 cars who ever comes first gets the most points. If a tournament was also selected the game will keep adding to each individual's score and declare the winner at the end of the fourth race. In team mode, the players race as a team who can be up to 6 vs 6. At the end of each race, each player is rewarded with points which would be added as a singular score. In tournament mode all scores will constantly be added and at the end of the fourth race, the team that gathered most of the points will be the winners.

Heroes and customizatiosn

The game has a decent roaster that sums up to 42 heroes. Most of the heroes are characters from many of the super Mario series. The game also have other Nintendo heroes such as the Inklings (male/Female), Link from the Legend of Zelda series, three heroes from Animal crossing and the switch owners Mii heroes. Each hero has alternative costume colors that can be chosen when selecting the hero. Furthermore the game has a decent ammount of car customizations. There's a decent ammount of bodies for both cars and motorbikes. Each car has a different identity stickers based on the character. To elaborate playing Yoshi places a yoshi egg in the sticker place where as playing as Link places the tri-force. Furthermore there is a large variety of wheels and gliders that can be chosen. Important to state: is that not everything is unlocked in terms of vechicles. Each time the player races online or single the ammount of coins collected will unlock a certain item.

Music and Level

Link's emote
First things first the music of the game similar to every Mario game is really good. There's not much things to say other than the fact that each track has it's own unique OST that is really good and sets the mood. The sound effects during a race are also good, as they re not loud and their sound are distinctive. Maps from other franchises such as the Hyrule castle (from Zelda) or the animal crossing maps give a different vibe with their own easter eggs. For example racing in Hyrule replaces the coins with Rupees and each time a box is collected the radomizing song will be replaced with Legend of Zelda's chest item reveal.
The maps on the other hand are really beautiful. Each of the map has unique designs with plenty of areas to jump and gain boost from. There are elements that the player can interact with in order for the map to sabotage the players. Each map aslo has a few areas that can trigger a bigger leap or a shortcut for the player to make a comeback. Each map is fun to race on even with all of their hazards, cliffs and loops. Furthermore their designs can help people to skips areas with the help of powerups allowing them to make comebacks or even cool skips. Last but not least it is important to state that the game includes original maps and also maps from older titles from 1992-2022, Maps from Mario kart 7, Mario kart Ds, Mario kart SNES and others. As of now the game has a total of 48 maps (12 Cups of 4 levels each), 2 more cups(8 levels) added as DLC and 10 more(again each with their own set of 4s) that will be releasing over time. The maps are attached to the cups, but during online racing a randomizer will be suggesting 4 at a time or a brand new random.

Amiibo

The player can scan their Amiibos to unlock certain items. Certain Amiibo's not all, unlock different Mii costumes that can be equiped on the player's Mii. Amiibo's of Kirby, Sonic Link etc will grant special skins, whereas Amiibo's of Cloud or Joker will not unlock anything.

Final Thoughts

Overall Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is propably one of the best racing kart games which unfortunately for some is only available on the Nintendo Switch. It took the iconic Mario heroes and place them in a familiar concept. The cars handle very well and all of the maps are beautiful. The Ai difficulty is very good. Easy, is a nice difficulty where the player will be ahead of the AI BUT the difference won't be like Crash's where the player is atleast a round ahead. The Ai will always be near the player. Hard is also a very good difficulty where the players wil always fight for the top 3 with the Ai. Expert, is an actual challenge for the player. The customization options are very good as they can change the outfit of the car and their status. The game is very fun, but playing online or with friends is far more superior than playing with the Ai alone.