Mario Kart 3DS

[angel]

Even with ramps, Kalimari is a dreadful track. Kudos to Retro for making it less dreadful, but it's just proof you can't polish a turd. Easily the worst track in the game.

That said, it's balanced out by the quality elsewhere. Even the fairly basic Toad Circuit is probably the best opening track yet.

Again, seriously? There are lots of nocicably worse ones to me, some really long uneventful ones without meaningful shorcuts..the Wuhu island ones, I think a Mario Circuit where you climb a tower, the boring ice level...Kalimari just has a nice atmosphere and it's fun.

[joffocakes]

I really love the Wuhu island ones! Koopa City is one of my favourite new tracks for all its nice curves.

[Stanley]

That'd only work if it hadn't been fired.

Yeah but you'll take out the front runners with you if you're lucky.

[scottcr]

Again, seriously? There are lots of nocicably worse ones to me, some really long uneventful ones without meaningful shorcuts..the Wuhu island ones, I think a Mario Circuit where you climb a tower, the boring ice level...Kalimari just has a nice atmosphere and it's fun.

The Wuhu island courses are excellent! Great music and loads and loads of cheeky and annoying short-cuts.

The only track on this I'm not keen on is Rosalina's icey one - mainly because I'm rubbish at the half pipes at the beginning

[McCoy]

In fairness, the N64 choices aren't great and I really don't like the changes made to Koopa Beach which somehow have made it worse than the N64 version.

If I had to pick four N64 tracks I would have gone with:

Wario Stadium

Royal Raceway

Browser Castle

Yoshi Valley (which would be great online since you wouldn't have any idea of your position until the end).

[angel]

The amount of stuff that could go wrong on Yoshi Valley...oh man, that woulda been a riot.

[matt!]

My 3DS wheel arrived today. Really great fit and build quality, it even provides bigger L and R triggers.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mario-Kart-Wheel-Nintendo-3DS/dp/B006CDLRK6/ £9.99

[SozzlyJoe]

My 3DS wheel arrived today. Really great fit and build quality, it even provides bigger L and R triggers.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mario-Kart-Wheel-Nintendo-3DS/dp/B006CDLRK6/ £9.99

Dude, I'm glad you like it and all, but... no.

[Chooch]

I hate the Luigi mansion track so much. Hate hate hate.

But my least favourite section of any race is on alpine pass, after the first glider section you start to go uphill while swinging right to another glider boost. It's just feels so slow.

I love the SNES tracksand Peteys Pipeway as well.

[matt!]

Dude, I'm glad you like it and all, but... no.

Of course I'd prefer to use my 3DS without it, but the corners of the console dig into the palms of my hands and I get pins and needles and/or cramps when playing for any more than few races.

This grip (and the cheap Chinese one I was using before it) totally remove the pain issues, letting me concentrate on racing.

Regarding the SNES tracks, I'd pay handsomely for DLC that added all SNES tracks.

[Lyrical Donut]

I like the game loads but im struggling with the circle pad, im missing the way the gamecube pad locks into fully left or right. When im holding L to keep hold of a shell, im not able to steer fully in a direction without looking at the pad.

Have you tried using X for holding weapons instead?

I'm also disappointed with Kalamari Desert, it's lame for racing and even worse for TT. God knows why they included it when we could've had Yoshi's Circuit from DD or Peach Circuit from SS.

[Space Gibbon]

I've only just realised you can press jump to get some kind of boost thing when on a ramp that leads to a glider section. But I have a question. The first time I did the shortcut by the lighthouse on Wuhu Island Loop I managed it with ease, but now whenever I try it I fall to the ground before reaching the road again (sometimes falling into the sea). Am I missing something obvious? I've tried using different gliders (can't even tell how they differ) and trying to make the vehicle lighter but nothing works.

[Super Craig]

Did you know you can tilt the kart up and down when using the glider?

[JesB]

Eighthours - could that race on Mario Raceway have been any closer?!

[Avuncular]

I've only just realised you can press jump to get some kind of boost thing when on a ramp that leads to a glider section. But I have a question. The first time I did the shortcut by the lighthouse on Wuhu Island Loop I managed it with ease, but now whenever I try it I fall to the ground before reaching the road again (sometimes falling into the sea). Am I missing something obvious? I've tried using different gliders (can't even tell how they differ) and trying to make the vehicle lighter but nothing works.

You can do the boost thing on anything that makes you leave the ground: ramps, tree roots, logs etc

[Space Gibbon]

Did you know you can tilt the kart up and down when using the glider?

Yeah, but tilting up just seems to slow me down without increasing altitude much.

[matt!]

I've only just realised you can press jump to get some kind of boost thing when on a ramp that leads to a glider section. But I have a question. The first time I did the shortcut by the lighthouse on Wuhu Island Loop I managed it with ease, but now whenever I try it I fall to the ground before reaching the road again (sometimes falling into the sea). Am I missing something obvious? I've tried using different gliders (can't even tell how they differ) and trying to make the vehicle lighter but nothing works.

It could be lots of things...

You can get mini boost by hoping when you get air.

You can get another type of boost by hoping off a blue glider jump pad.

Kart combos weigh differently, if you're using a heavier car you'll travel less far when jumping.

Character, kart and wheels all affect weight.

Gliders make little difference (most do zero, some increase accel and decrease weight by minor amounts)

You may need a mushroom and a hop to do a certain jump with a certain combo.

There's a maximum height on some jumps (I suspect to prevent you seeing holes in the levels) so you may be limited from going higher.

Finally, you could try calibrating your circle pad: System Settings/Other Settings/Page 3/Circle Pad

[matt!]

OK, here are some more impressions on the 3DS wheel.

The most important part of the design for me are the bits that stick out at the bottom, the "horns" as I will call them. These "horns" actually give the last three fingers (other than your index finger and thumb) on each hand something to hold on to, and prevent the corners of the device sticking into your palms. It totally removes the palm pain, as well as the possibility of getting pins and needles - at least in my situation.

The shoulder triggers are a nice bonus, and have almost as much movement as the standard triggers - definitely no more movement than the standard as they simply press the standard triggers. They are hinged towards the middle of the unit which means they feel more responsive towards where your fingers are. They have a different feel and size, which can take a small amount of getting used to.

The circumference of the unit is good. All in all the wheel a couple of cm less wide compared to the Wii wheel. The thickness of the grip itself is slightly fatter than the Wii wheel. The curve of the grip is rounded on the back side of the wheel, and flat on the front.

You put the 3DS into the wheel shoulder buttons first, and there is some soft rubber to make the unit fit perfectly just above the "horns". All in all, it's excellent. Everything you would expect from an officially licences peripheral, and up to Hori's high standards.

One last thought: I think this makes the game feels more like a home console game rather than a handheld, which is a nice side effect.

Here's a comparison photo 3DS wheel vs. Wii wheel:

[Avuncular]

Does it make any difference to using the d-pad? I can't play anything on the d-pad for any length of time because it hurts my thumb.

[Super Craig]

Yeah, but tilting up just seems to slow me down without increasing altitude much.

Try tilting down to pick up a bit of speed first.

[matt!]

Does it make any difference to using the d-pad? I can't play anything on the d-pad for any length of time because it hurts my thumb.

I've not tried the wheel grip with any d-pad games right now. It does give you a bit of extra distance though.

[Plopboy]

Have you tried using X for holding weapons instead?

I'm also disappointed with Kalamari Desert, it's lame for racing and even worse for TT. God knows why they included it when we could've had Yoshi's Circuit from DD or Peach Circuit from SS.

Oh Donut you poor misguided karter, come and have a look at the TT thread and try the beat Joffo's time of 01:42.407 on Kalamari Desert, once you get the groove of Kalimari is really good for TT. But will you be able to beat King Joffo, thread here http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=256192 also include a nice chart on all the kart stats in the first post /advert

[Eighthours]

In fairness, the N64 choices aren't great and I really don't like the changes made to Koopa Beach which somehow have made it worse than the N64 version.

If I had to pick four N64 tracks I would have gone with:

Wario Stadium

Royal Raceway

Browser Castle

Yoshi Valley (which would be great online since you wouldn't have any idea of your position until the end).

Me too. Some of the retro track choices are just weird. They always are in the Kart games, to be fair, but I can't for the life of me understand why Nintendo doesn't cherry-pick the tracks which are obviously the best and most popular ones in the series, ie. not Kalimari Desert.

Wario Stadium would be epic on the final jump as always (that this genius "lightning fucks you" mechanic hasn't been part of far more tracks in the games since is another weird decision), and I always thought that Royal Raceway was a very well designed circuit.

[joffocakes]

Isn't Wario Stadium, without the glitchy shortcut, about an hour long and dull as hell with one good big jump? I wouldn't mind a much shorter version of it. Mario Kart 7 tends to put you ahead of any jump you fall during though. All the bumps and ramps would suit Mario Kart 7's jump boosts though.

The N64 game was pretty full of dull tracks.

[Nespresso]

Isn't Wario Stadium, without the glitchy shortcut, about an hour long and dull as hell with one good big jump? I wouldn't mind a much shorter version of it. Mario Kart 7 tends to put you ahead of any jump you fall during though. All the bumps and ramps would suit Mario Kart 7's jump boosts though.

The N64 game was pretty full of dull tracks.

Maybe compared to today's standards but I absolutely enjoyed almost all of em'. It is only now that I find out that Kalhimari Desert is unloved by many but it was pretty much the only track I played when I first got the game (mainly just chasing the train, pretending to be a cowboy or something).

[McCoy]

The train, a really good idea in Kalmari Desert, seems to be a lot shorter in Mario Kart 7 which takes away some of the fun in my view as you're not as royally screwed if it passes just as you get there.

Yeah, they should have utilised the Wario Stadium lightning trick on other tracks since it was a really fun way to piss your friends off and when you can see when people have the lightning (as you can in both the 64 and the in 7) it becomes a game of chicken in that you try to get the other player to trigger it giving you enough time to stop before you fall off the jump, reverse back and then do the jump again.

[joffocakes]

Leading on from Plopboy's Time Trial thread and remarks about Kalimari Desert becomes a good track when obsessively time trialing, I've realsied that I'm not sure what it is that's actually good any more about Mario Kart.

I think all my favourite Mario Kart games are decided more on the level of active, friendly competition I've gotten involved in than the actual games themselves.

That said, it is not as satisfying to sling yourself around a hairpin at the tightest possible point in Mario Kart 7 as it is in Super Circuit.

[Lyrical Donut]

I'm also disappointed with Kalamari Desert, it's lame for racing and even worse for TT.

Who is this twat and what the fuck is he babbling on about?

That said, it is not as satisfying to sling yourself around a hairpin at the tightest possible point in Mario Kart 7 as it is in Super Circuit.

Yeah, very true, but I think I like that they've taken the time to make different set ups viable for different tracks. I think this might be the first MK that'll I'll bother setting times on all the tracks since SC.

You will be getting bodied on Mario Circuit 2 in the near future. Hold that shroom in ya chest.

[joffocakes]

Haha, my time is definitely a result of a good route, rather than a perfect run. I even crashed into a pipe (I had a red boost to kinda negate it), so it's definitely very beatable.

I don't think I've set a time in every track on any Mario Kart; I tend to have one or two tracks in a game I get utterly obsessed with. Maybe ten I have a time on, and two I'm happy with. I'm definitely more likely to commit to more tracks on a handheld game though.

It's my second most played 3DS game already (behind my eighty hours of Street Fighter).

[Vorgot]

Still clearing the 150cc, so a long way from starting to set TT times yet Definitely the best MK since the original, but I still have no clue what my fave/best combo of character/kart pieces is. I need to get Wario unlocked, as I always like playing as him, and try to build a kart round him I guess.