you can dodge the blue shell in DS with a mushroom. But the timing is strict

@@xt3100 Surprised this wasn't mentioned.

@designDoc you might want to look at dodging blue shells in DS i managed to mushroom boost to dodge one in 1st once. It might be frame perfect.

That's probably the best sponsorship transition that I've EVER seen :)

Dont even need a mushroom, you can just mini turbo out of your way if a blie shell, it's so easy in ds with right kart that is

Truuue, they're basically glorified banana peels at that point

Well if you’re focusing on trying to stay ahead and going fast you’re not gonna have much time to realize if it’s fake

Maybe they can maybe have a slightly different order of color change and the inverted question mark to make it more different but shouldn’t be that noticeable, the red should only be there for like 3cm before crashing into the fake item box.

Yeah, I liked how they looked in DS, but there's the whole bottom screen thing... ...making fake items boxes red was absolutely insane, though. You will catch any player exactly one time when they say "oh what's the red box?" and then never again. Literally just banana peels. I never feel like I'm tricking anyone or playing with them in a cool way!

​@@amberhide04Not even glorified. They're objectively worse than bananas because bananas can be used as protection against shells.

Agreed, bad catch up items are why I fell off of CTR:NF so hard. Front runners had almost nothing pulling them back with homing missiles and the blue orb being way too weak and blue fire boosting being too strong for those that know how to use it. Over half of the lobby couldn't even finish races online when I played.

In a similar vein, the chain chomp from DD was relatively strong but fake item boxes passed right through it and broke the chain early. The core fun of a kart racer is being in the pack, you need ways to catch up and rejoin the chaos, and you need ways to pull leaders back into the chaos. This is also why i love tripple red shells, if you time them to have about 1 sec between then they will each cause a spin out instead of just the first. (Absolutely brutal to experience, absolutely amazing to inflict)

@@DesignDoc Yeah, as much as I am a person who enjoys CTR more than MK normally, I don't think that game was ever made with casual races with friends in mind and I think NF only made it worse by making Blue Fire such a prominent mechanic. It makes me appreciate just how fine the balance between player skill and luck are in this series cause I don't think ANY kart racer has managed to get it as right as MK has.

I would love to see Metrics from Nintendo if people join online serves with a toggle for Blue Shell on or Blue Shell Off. would love to see the popular vote decide.

It was good in MK64 and MKSC because it aimed, I repeat, *aimed* for other racers ahead of the one who threw it. DD, DS, and Wii made it only a hindrance for first and didn't really help those much further behind. 7 and 8 improved upon that. But it's still useless for the one who threw it.

That's actually really neat

so first has an actual use for the funny exploding shell

Is that just on N64?

@@pnut3844able yes. To the best of my knowledge, MK64 was the only game in the series that did that. From Double Dash onward, the blue shell was airborne.

@@DarkSamus288I believe the blue shell is the same in Super Circuit since in that game you can also hold it behind you

Not only that, but different setups have different invincibility times.

Better in 8/Deluxe where it also reduces your traction and steering abilities honestly. It's not too bad at 150cc or slower, but at 200cc it can absolutely make you fall off corners or hit the brakes harder to stay on track.

Agreed. There's room for a weaker version of lightning. I like that it gives you time to react, causing you to suddenly change your strategy and it has great synergy with modern MK track design, giving small bumps and ramps more purpose. Would love them to bring back the POW and make lightning more rare. Either that or or give lightning a short animation before it hits like the POW would be nice.

Also it prompts interaction, as those affected by the POW lose their items. If you're holding onto your items and have to use it suboptimally because of a POW, that feels way less bad than lightning. Plus it creates an ebb and flow with big item interaction points when a POW crops up.

I feel like the player should have more control for when the pow block goes off by choosing when it shrinks/activates. Then they could use mind games and set it off early or later

It’s one of the most strategic items for the player who has it too. Use it in the right spot and you can screw over a lot of the racers ahead of you.

@@cosmicspacething3474 That's super interesting on paper but I'd need to see it in practice. The version I'm imagining, you could control it by causing it to go off between like 3 and 6 seconds.

I loved it. It caused even more chaos

Completely wrong

​@@lunarkomet🤡

Maybe they take more room up

@@augustolasta2468 Mm - If they keep the two item slot system, having some items take up both slots would be an obvious way of innovating on that.

@ArcCaravan I am really glad Tour brought them back. Hopefully that means they are at least being considered for the next console entry in the series!

@@Stephen-Fox ​Ooh, I really like that idea!

They should let every player pick a special big item before the race starts. That way we can recycle the specials idea from double dash but not making them character specific.

Hell, In Super Curcuit, you could block a Blue Shell like any other item as lone as it was aiming for you

There's also the last-second shroom technique.

Well in n64, to counter a blue shell is a another blue shell.

I mean, they are suppossed to stop first place players and avoid them from being so far away from second place. Nerfing Blue Shells further would just make the game so unbalanced.

The fact the Blue Shell doesn't help the person who gets it is the biggest issue. An item which doesn't help the user and only hurt the person in 1st is terrible. There is no benefit for the people in 4th or further getting this item as 2nd or 3rd will benefit from this as you get hit by an item for using it and the person behind you uses their mushroom, star, red shell, lightning, or anything.

The beeping sfx that plays when you're targeted is burned into my memory

It does, basically working as a proximity Mine

@@Swqnky yo, you’re right, I remember that xD

@@frogace55 thanks for the confirmation, it’s been some years since I played the game last

I missed that mechanic smh

It's the first one I played (maybe it was Wii, but likely not), and the first one I played often before my 3DS was sold off (rightfully so, was a bit surprised but understanding)

I like 7 but it brings points down for me due to it having no Vs mode at all. Like I want to play all the great stages out of order but can't and am forced to replay the repeated course pattern in grand prix to even play that game single player. :(

Only unique thing I can think of is that it is the first Mario Kart to allow you t pick your cart by the body, wheels and glider. Also the glider physics were WAY better in 7 vs 8 Deluxe

it also had the glider. and bee bee isn't in 8. mario kart 7 best game confirmed

@@funtainment777 what do you have for the bee queen

The hearts return in Tour as a special but rather than two hearts that allow you to pick up items it’s a single heart that blocks any damaging item including lightning. They also don’t last forever and disappear after a certain amount of time so you can’t just be invincible in first place the whole race. The heart can be upgraded to have two hearts just like it’s DD incarnation though.

them and their karts were my favorite version

No one will hit you though when they see it. For this item to be balanced you'd have to be unable to use items as well at which point it only protects you from bananas and other items blocking small paths.

I kinda feel like the boo is already enough, because it steels times, and it makes you invincible for a little bit. I know they’re both slightly different, but I feel like one is already enough.

I think the way the Mega Mushroom is handled in Tour is effectively what a "1up" would be.

@@DesignDoc I didn't know that it came back on Tour. Never played it, but now I'm curious about any other items in that.

Maybe it could be a passive item that can activate when you fall off a cliff, instead of being dragged up by lakitu, you’re instantly teleported back onto the stage and get a speed boost

@@DesignDoc Or the Heart in Tour, which only takes one hit (IIRC).

@@cosmicspacething3474 wait but couldnt you just voluntarily fall off the stage to get the speed boost? I’d much rather have an item that gives you a speed boost if you get hit by another item, but the protection doesn’t last a long time, meaning strategy is actually needed.

Okay but know this: in Mario Kart 8 & Deluxe, pressing the item button (L or ZL) without having an item will make you honk your horn, briefly playing a sound effect related to your character (and making nearby racers hop but that's not important) When using the Super Horn, you can faintly hear your regular horn sound beneath the main sound effect. Therefore, since using an item and honking your horn share the same button, you could infer that the Super Horn temporarily turns your horn into a deadly weapon, which I find to be a cute detail

Yoshi causing earthquakes every time he hops or lands from a jump, would be my worst nightmare.

@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas out of all the 'kart racer invincibility items', Super Horn is much better than a generic bubble shield or something. It's got a charm to it. I just would have liked to see the whole set. :p

@@DampWetstew :)

It did get another boon though against players, as in 8/Deluxe it makes karts more slippery and corner worse. This isn't too obvious at slower speeds, but if you're used to 200cc it becomes terrifying as you have to slam the brakes more to avoid sliding off the track completely. It can change your entire racing line in a way it couldn't before.

I had a similar childhood, never owned it but my cousin had it and it was my first in the series too. we would also play it for hours. it has the best look and feels the most mario kart like in the whole series. plus the tracks just felt so unique with all the shortcuts that you could take. even if they werent much help they were still fun to do

I did like that as a differentiator from bananas, but I think that was also why they removed it-because there wasn't a risk calculation of holding onto it defensively vs. using it offensively, people (in my anecdotal experience) are more likely to just toss it to free up the item slot than strategize with it.

​@@ZMYaroAnother reason why they removed the Fake Item Box from newer games is that the item has gotten increasingly worse since its debut in 64. From Double Dash onward, it has become increasingly obvious to tell which one is the impostor. The Fake Item Box's intended purpose is to trick the player into thinking it's the real deal. While it does its job well in Mario Kart 64, it fails miserably in all future appearances.

@@greninjamariokartpokemonfan That is somewhat true, though I think that is more a result of item boxes more frequently appearing in neat rows than the design of the fake item box itself.

It really isn't more offensive, you need to place it perfectly where an item box is. Any slight discrepancy and you've gotten an item worse then the coin. This means you lose an item to use it often times.

@@Buglin_Burger7878 compared to bananas it is meant to be used more offensively, having a larger hitbox and higher hitstun at the cost of not being able to defend yourself with it. You don't even need to put it right on an item box, even on its own it serves as an obstacle you need to avoid, although I do wish they would make them look almost identical to regular item boxes like in 64.

I love how the special moves change when you upgrade them to a higher level

@@moosesues8887 yes! It almost gives the game a progression system, which we’ve never seen before in the series

Like Lego Racers?

And it's the 9th mainline mario kart

Only exception is super circuit. It does drop on the track but the moment someone passes it. It homes after them. IMO the most broken red shell ever

@@redmagejohn right

@@redmagejohn I would say that but the broken ass redshell in ds that could hit you even when defended is something

I think the illusionary copy item they were referring to is the Double Cherry from Super Mario 3D World. In races, it wouldn’t work as well, but in Battle Mode it would work really well due to how that mode is structured.

Because it's so easy to react to...when you know what to do, all it ends up being is a item dropper. It resets everyone in the item department.

The risk/reward of thundercloud only exists when other racers are near you... and they have an item and see you coming. This often makes you a free hit or renders you helpless. While if you get it and there is no one near...

​@@SonicmaniaVideosAnd the Lightning does a much better job.

Honestly, I do like SRB2Kart's take on the Fake Item Box. At a distance, Eggman Boxes are extremely difficult to tell from real item boxes, as the overall shape and colour are identical. Get close, and you'll notice the tiny circle in the middle is Eggman's face instead of the usual star. But picking it up isn't completely the end of the world - picking it up rigs your kart to explode, but it replaces your currently held item with the detonation switch. It'll explode on its own after about 5 seconds, but you're encouraged to drive towards someone else and detonate it early to catch them in the blast as well.

It does do exactly this in 8 and Deluxe, reducing your traction and sheering when you're covered in inky black. It's not that obvious at slower speeds, but in 200cc it means you need to hit your brakes a lot more to make it around most corners, and it can make some corners absolutely terrifying.

Star would break it, I think lightning too but it's been a long long time since I played MK64.

Used to hide RIB inside the actual boxes

If it was releasing on the Switch rather than Switch 2 - And I think the booster pass completely puts the kibosh on that possibility - I was thinking they might feel the need to differentiate further than usual, and give us something along the lines of a Kart Racing equivalent of Forza Horizon. Open world, driving between tracks, races that can happen on the open road and just be 'get to Point B by any route you can find' stuff. With it not doing, probably just leaning a bit harder on what's already present. MK7, MK8, and MK8DX all feel fairly linear progression of each other. It feels like Nintendo's found what they want Mario Kart to settle into being now rather than going Wild with every iteration. Hoping for a bit more in single player - even just the return of mission mode, and maybe some more kart, and possibly character, customization. And the Lucky 7/Crazy 8 is now probably going to be called Cloud 9.

How about continuing the trend of 7 & 8 and add more mode of driving like digging for shortcut as well as driving in the sky with a purple pad switching to a hover kart. Maybe refining the experience a little more after 8. Mission mode, double racers and character specific items can be all back. The coins should cap at 20 rather than 10 and make it easier to lose large amounts of coin, in addition, make each coin worth 1/5 mushroom rather than 1/10. I think maybe super acorn, cloud flower, bomb shell and double cherry. Super Acorn can be used mid air to gain a upward boost or hop out of a glider section, cloud flower create 3 clouds for blocking the racers behind, working more like an obstacle to slow down rather than spinning out, bomb shell is basically a shell that explode upon contact with a racer and double Cherry create a racer clone which absorb item spinning out and also get a new item slot. Bring back the heart, bowser shell and giant banana as character exclusive as well as items such as ice flower, the cannons, mega mushroom and super leaf from tour and past games.

I was so hoping the return of the double item boxes in _8 Deluxe_ was setting up for a return of co-op mode. It would have been so perfect because (if I recall) the Switch can handle up to eight players using single joycons, and of course since there's only room on the TV for four split screens, that means having to play as teams of two. And because "8" is right in the name! Besides that, I'd actually like to see them double down on the inclusion of non-Marioverse characters, tracks, and even items and rebrand as "Nintendoland Kart" or "Super Smash Racers" or something. With all the extra content we've gotten, Mario Kart as we know it has kind of hit its limit.

@@Stephen-Fox I don't expect full open world, but I could definitely see them doing something with driving between tracks, like Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing.

When he said "none of the Wii's newcomers are back", he meant that none of the items introduced in Wii return in 7.

Same can be done on Double Dash. Requires significant skill to pull it off consistently, but even pulling it once can be rewarding. In fact, you can take red shells as practice.

Same, the entire point of baby park is the high speed chaos, not letting the items cross the median really removes that certain terror of a Bowser Shell coming out of nowhere on you.

I mean, you're more than capable of testing that out.

Not even a need to make whole new itens, just make triples to come to be when you catch more boxes while holding the single version of them

AGREED on the coins! I stopped playing 8 partially due to this. It often made first place no longer feel like a kart racer. I just got stuck with empty item boxes, essentially.

I like the potential, but I can also see it being a debugging nightmare (even before antigrav)!

the problem with the feather is that it's generally kinda useless and situationally absolutely _busted_ at its very core. there's a lot of tracks where it doesn't enable anything at all, there's tracks where it'll let you do some cheeky cuts, and then there's tracks where it'll let you pull off absurd ultra shortcuts. and even in the latter two cases, it'll usually end up not being all that useful unless you manage to roll it at the exact right moment, as too early and you'll be stuck holding onto it for a long while if you want to get any use out of it, and too late and you'll have to hold onto it _even longer_ to circle back around to the shortcut and, really, the issue comes down to three things: it being an item, it being an item that takes up a slot that could be used for other items, and it being a _random_ item that takes up a slot that could be used for other items. the wildly inconsistent power level of the feather across tracks wouldn't really matter all that much if it was a basic game verb like accelerating and drifting, since then learning how to exploit it just becomes part of mastering the driving. it'd also be less of an issue if feathers were more like coins, existing as a separate resource from your active items so that you could hold onto 'em without kneecapping yourself*. or it could just be like in diddy kong racing, where the item balloons carry one specific class of items signposted by their color, not only letting the developers control which tracks the feather is available on, but _also_ completely recontextualizing the act of holding onto a feather to the player: grabbing a feather in the first place is now an _intentional decision_ rather than something the game pushed onto you, so holding onto it for a later shortcut becomes an actual strategic decision that you likely made _before you even got the feather_ instead of an obligatory optimization suddenly inserted into your game plan as it is now, though, it just makes the most sense as a battle mode item. not only do its defensive traits come up _way_ more often when item combat is the center stage mechanic, but because any cool skips you can do are relegated to ways to tactically reposition yourself rather than something that directly shoots you closer to victory ... well, that just kinda removes the whole conflict between optimal feather usage vs. just using it to save your own skin, because there _isn't_ an optimal use case - just a common one and a baller situational one. or a situational one that _could've_ been baller, but it just put you directly into danger and ended up funny instead ( *although saying this, there's something conceptually _really_ funny if you had to stack up coins in one of your item slots. as in, you could still collect up to 10 from across the track and they still just passively boosted your max speed, but you had to carry them around like the coin item instead of having a separate counter for 'em. honestly could be an interesting concept for a less frantic kart racer with something like double dash's item system, esp. if using coins as an item still gave a speed boost but removed a coin from the stack instead of giving you more. proooobably not a great fit for mario kart other than as a potential shitpost, tho )

The Fake Item Box can only block items in Mario Kart 64; it can no longer do that as of Mario Kart Double Dash. On the topic of the Fake Item Box in Mario Kart Wii, it's already obvious to tell which one is the impostor due to its red and black color gradient, but they made it larger, making it even more obvious. No wonder the Fake Item Box has been absent from Mario Kart 7 onwards.