I used to deeply dislike Mario Kart Wii. The controls felt unresponsive and wrong and the item balancing seemed nonexistent to me.

Now I understand that especially the latter is part of the fun. And once I got used to the controls, Mario Kart Wii gave me feelings of flow, speed and fun unlike any other entry in the series. This got especially apparent when I played Custom Tracks, it felt like I finally unlocked the true potential of this game.

It's pure frantic fun, isn't that exactly what Mario Kart should be all about?