Sigh...
I really did think for a second that I might've been too harsh on this game, considering I had only ever played it in single-player and the main appeal of any Mario Kart game is its multiplayer. I had the opportunity to play this game in multiplayer through Switch online... and it is just as unfun as it is in single-player.
The battle mode is virtually unplayable. Without a map, the entire match just consists of searching for where the heck your opponent even is. Additionally, the red shell is the only useful item in this mode. The winner is just whoever gets the most red shells. Thoroughly brainless. And since item boxes don't regenerate in this game, what happens if you run out of item boxes before the match ends? I don't wanna find out.
As for the multiplayer racing modes, they are functional, but they just suffer from the same problems that plague single-player mode: the same unappealing visuals, slippery controls, camera that nauseatingly spins whenever you get hit, nonexistent item balancing, bland worst-in-the-series track design, CPU rubber banding, top 4 to qualify system, everything that makes this game... this game.
My friend and I found ourselves struggling against the game more than against each other. That's the game's fatal flaw. It's just too punishing for a party game, and too poorly aged for a racing game. Somehow, this game completely fails to achieve any of its goals. It's a shame because this game invented an entire genre, but there is absolutely zero reason to play this iteration today.
Viva la Mario Kart: Super Circuit
I really did think for a second that I might've been too harsh on this game, considering I had only ever played it in single-player and the main appeal of any Mario Kart game is its multiplayer. I had the opportunity to play this game in multiplayer through Switch online... and it is just as unfun as it is in single-player.
The battle mode is virtually unplayable. Without a map, the entire match just consists of searching for where the heck your opponent even is. Additionally, the red shell is the only useful item in this mode. The winner is just whoever gets the most red shells. Thoroughly brainless. And since item boxes don't regenerate in this game, what happens if you run out of item boxes before the match ends? I don't wanna find out.
As for the multiplayer racing modes, they are functional, but they just suffer from the same problems that plague single-player mode: the same unappealing visuals, slippery controls, camera that nauseatingly spins whenever you get hit, nonexistent item balancing, bland worst-in-the-series track design, CPU rubber banding, top 4 to qualify system, everything that makes this game... this game.
My friend and I found ourselves struggling against the game more than against each other. That's the game's fatal flaw. It's just too punishing for a party game, and too poorly aged for a racing game. Somehow, this game completely fails to achieve any of its goals. It's a shame because this game invented an entire genre, but there is absolutely zero reason to play this iteration today.
Viva la Mario Kart: Super Circuit