First things first, they removed inside drift.
I'm not kidding when I say that for me this is automatically -2 points off the final score if not more. I've always hated how outside drift feels in comparison to inside in both Wii and 8DX, once they created bikes for Wii it was no going back for me. It's really stupid how they have a lot of the vehicles being so clearly inspired by Mario Kart Wii bikes, like the Mach Rocket and Dolphin Dasher (watever the new name is) yet they drift outwardly. Just spitting on those vehicles' legacy man. Having no inside nukes the game's replayibility for me. WTF guys?
My pet theory as to why is because trying to make the rail grinding with the different lines of outside drift and inside wasn't doable. I don't know if this is true or not but it'd make sense since they approach corners at totally different angles. To accomodate both you'd have to probably widen the rails to a point where it'd make them look odd and potentially lower the difficulty (though I'm not as sure about this part since you're just sticking to it anyway).
Idk. It sucks because if that's true it also kinda retroactively hurts railgrinding for me. I'm a big Jet Set Radio fan and the railgrinding gives off that vibe heavily. This game made actual changes to the core gameplay formula for the first time since Wii probably that isn't all aesthetic veneer and no substance which I like, though not if it cost me my inside drift lol. But the grinding adds a very interesting dimension to the tracks, I've enjoyed it a lot especially as the tracks get more complex.
The new physics engine is really nice. It adds a lot more player agency into the game because when you get hit or bumped a certain way it feels natural and you have to correct course yourself. Sometimes you won't be able to and you just end up hitting a wall too, especially if you get bumped/hit in the process of taking a sharp turn. It kinda gives off F-Zero GX vibes in that respect. If I'm to complain about anything I'd say that maybe they made it a bit too forgiving, sometimes you'll hit a car and just lose no speed which is ridiculous.
It's a huge upgrade over Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's "physics" if you can call them that, where getting bumped causes you to shoot in a random direction that has nothing to do with how you were bumped. Or how getting hit by a blooper on inward drift fucking nukes your ability to turn while barely affecting karters at all because the slidy physics make no sense. I could rag on about how on-rails 8 Deluxe feels, but I'll save that for my proper review whenever I write it.
The highway tracks are indeed as bad as I've heard. Just giant straight lines for the most part, some of them aren't awful but most are. I like the idea of having you lead into a course naturally, seeing the scenery slowly change is nice. But that's about all there is to do other than hold A and collect coins. If any of these become custom tracks in Mario Kart Wii it's gonna be automatic spear for days so I'm looking forward to that in 5-10 years.
Track-Specific Notes
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-DK Spaceport is a fun idea and it plays pretty well. Always like seeing some retro titles being represented in the track selection.
-The Desert Hills remake felt like it had nothing to do with the original track. If it weren't for the music I'd have probably never known it was a remake and not just some generic desert track they included.
-Shy Guy Bazaar and Airship Fortress are both really nice remakes that take some creative liberties while preserving the spirit of the track. Recently Nintendo has had a habit of basically making original tracks while vaguely re-using the layout and the name (see: Desert Hills in this game and a bunch of stuff in 8 especially that butchering of Sky Garden) so I'm glad they didn't ruin two of the best maps that the series has to offer.
-Sky High Sundae is still irredeemable garbage. Why they would choose to remake that one is beyond me. This is a rare case where taking a lot of liberties would've actually been nice given how atrocious the source material is, but sadly they didn't do that.
-WARIOS SHIPYARD. DAMN. Okay this remake knocked my socks off, home run. I loved it to the end. Driving through the water and being able to trick on the waves, made the blowing pipes section a lot less obnoxious which was my biggest annoyance with the original while still maintaining the challenge, the visuals, phew. Legit maybe my favourite retro remake ever. A+
-Starview Peak was okay but it kinda just felt like a ripoff of Rosalina's Ice World.
-"Koopa Troopa Beach" (it's actually Koopa Beach 2) plays very well. You can chain so many miniturbos while staying in flow with the track, it's a blast. If I grind any track in time trials it will probably be this one.
-Crown City (2?) was absolutely excellent. I've felt for a while that Nintendo's original tracks declined a bit in 8 and the BCP didn't do much to alleviate my concerns with the Tour tracks mostly being unremarkable, but I think Crown City 2 is my favourite original Nintendo track since at least Maka Wuhu in Mario Kart 7 and it might be better & go back to Wii even. The rail grinding mixed with the skatepark scenery is absolutely chefs kiss and it has a very fun and rewarding layout. Might have to sweat this one in time trials too honestly.
-Peach Stadium was also a lot of fun and I'll have to replay it because it got kind of overshadowed by Crown City Jr in my mind, through no fault of the track's and more just due to it's placement as I'd say it's my 2nd favourite original so far. I'd probably rate it higher than all of the original tracks in 8.
-The Dino Dino Jungle remake was really interesting. They took a track that's not all that difficult and made it into a bit of a gauntlet, I hit a lot of things on my first playthrough. The Dinosaurs converging on the track the way they do is a lot more inventive than just the stomping feet in the original.
-Great Block Ruins was pretty cool. Not mindblowing or anything but I had a good time with it.
So far I like the track selection, a lot less stinkers than 8 had and much more solid overall. Most of the lower tier tracks are just forgettable. If only the highways weren't mostly trash, if not for that I'd say it exceeds 8 with regards to tracks.
Miscellaneous Notes
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-Not only did they not remove the coin item but they added some item box item that gives you a bunch of them AND doubled your maximum limit. Dude. Why is Nintendo so obsessed with coins as a gameplay mechanic? It isn't fun to have to take worse lines to collect coins just to go faster later on. It SUCKS.
-Not only is it lame and unfun from a gameplay perspective but it's also completely unfair to the person in first place. For as much as people complain about the Thundercloud in Wii I genuinely believe the coins are almost as unfair, if not for the fact that you get the TC in a middle position I'd even say they are just as bad. You're still getting hit through no fault of your own.
-And yes, I know about the holding a coin and then hitting an item box meaning you're guaranteed to get protection trick. Except that doesn't even fucking work anymore because of the stupid item box item they added, you can just get no defense and be screwed. Then even if you do get defense, 2nd can just get 2 reds and you're done.
-Did I mention that I HATE COINS YET????
-I like the Mega Mushroom being back, it's a fun item that never should've been removed to begin with.
-The roster is interesting and experimental. I like adding in all of the enemies and costumes, but why did they cut the Koopalings? They're far more notable than like Monty Mole or whatever. This is sort of why I always disliked the hate they got in 8, which seemed to be more a consequence of the 8 vanilla roster being garbage than through the fault of the Koopalings themselves. The complaint was always that the Koopalings were put in over franchise staples, not them being in at all. Free my boy.
I think that's all the thoughts I have as of now. I still have a few of the cups to complete, so I'll add further thoughts into the thread once I'm done. If you've played Mario Kart World, what do you think so far?
