interesting playing a couple mario karts in a row and you notice the little things
first of all, fuck manual mode drifting. the drift in wii feels so wrong and you can get by without mini-turbos. don't even bother, honestly.
the game in general feels a lot looser? no more problems like in double dash where an ai will lock themselves in first place, the turns are a lot wider (unless you're in manual, fml) and all the items let you more easily recover from bad positions.
but uh, about those items, they kinda suck? not because they aren't effective, but because wii has successfully created the opposite problem of double dash. now that everyone can easily recover from last place to jet back into first, being in first place is INCREDIBLY tenuous. the blue shell, lightning, the pow block, star, giant mushroom, and the goddamn bullet bill are game derailing items. if you're playing casually its not particularly fun to get bombarded over and over, but its just something you come to accept. if you're trying to, let's say, get unlocks, it is murderously annoying to do well and end up botching it at the last second due to circumstances that are objectively not in your control.
choices, choices. do i prefer the game where i can easily win back my position, but just as easily lose it? or the one where if i start losing i'll most certainly keep losing? to be honest, the experience with both is very similar, though i'll admit my biases and say that being given the taste of victory before losing it tends to sting more.
but i think the real lynchpin here is multiplayer. playing mario kart wii with friends replicates the same issues that single player has. you can do very well but have your position fucked by a chain of game derailing items.
but in double dash? not so simple. the problem with THAT game is that the ai will deliberately cheat you. if you're doing a simple versus mode with friends? they're just as prone to error as you are. at that point, it really is just a matter of skill. not to say that game is devoid of powerful items that can derail your position, that's the spice. mario kart wii just has... far too much spice. double dash though? the fact that your spiciest items are dependant moreso on your choice of racers makes it a lot more interesting.
also, im annoyed at how the time trial unlocks do not have definitive times for unlocking the fast staff ghosts, and i wish you got your time trial unlocks right when you met the conditions as opposed to going back to the title screen and re-entering your profile. that's more of a nitpick, but it bugged me. (also the fact that the message for unlocking fast staff ghosts is not clearly indicated to you in the same way unlocks are)
i'll end with a bit of praise, i think the game feels amazing to play if you manage to really figure out the controls. using bikes may be overpowered, but landing tricks and doing wheelies consistently is a wonderful feeling and rainbow road is one of my favorite tracks in wii despite the difficulty for just how exhilarating it feels to play.
so yeah, mario kart wii is fun, feels good to play for the most part, and i wouldnt mind playing with friends, but double dash is superior as a multiplayer experience and i prefer the strategic value of character choice in that game. both are comparably frustrating as completionist experiences, but double dash ultimately edges out wii for the aforementioned reasons.
(edit: I WILL SAY THOUGH that wii definitely has more consistently banger courses. coconut mall alone sweeps the best tracks in double dash imo, and its flanked by several other amazing courses like maple treeway and koopa cape)
first of all, fuck manual mode drifting. the drift in wii feels so wrong and you can get by without mini-turbos. don't even bother, honestly.
the game in general feels a lot looser? no more problems like in double dash where an ai will lock themselves in first place, the turns are a lot wider (unless you're in manual, fml) and all the items let you more easily recover from bad positions.
but uh, about those items, they kinda suck? not because they aren't effective, but because wii has successfully created the opposite problem of double dash. now that everyone can easily recover from last place to jet back into first, being in first place is INCREDIBLY tenuous. the blue shell, lightning, the pow block, star, giant mushroom, and the goddamn bullet bill are game derailing items. if you're playing casually its not particularly fun to get bombarded over and over, but its just something you come to accept. if you're trying to, let's say, get unlocks, it is murderously annoying to do well and end up botching it at the last second due to circumstances that are objectively not in your control.
choices, choices. do i prefer the game where i can easily win back my position, but just as easily lose it? or the one where if i start losing i'll most certainly keep losing? to be honest, the experience with both is very similar, though i'll admit my biases and say that being given the taste of victory before losing it tends to sting more.
but i think the real lynchpin here is multiplayer. playing mario kart wii with friends replicates the same issues that single player has. you can do very well but have your position fucked by a chain of game derailing items.
but in double dash? not so simple. the problem with THAT game is that the ai will deliberately cheat you. if you're doing a simple versus mode with friends? they're just as prone to error as you are. at that point, it really is just a matter of skill. not to say that game is devoid of powerful items that can derail your position, that's the spice. mario kart wii just has... far too much spice. double dash though? the fact that your spiciest items are dependant moreso on your choice of racers makes it a lot more interesting.
also, im annoyed at how the time trial unlocks do not have definitive times for unlocking the fast staff ghosts, and i wish you got your time trial unlocks right when you met the conditions as opposed to going back to the title screen and re-entering your profile. that's more of a nitpick, but it bugged me. (also the fact that the message for unlocking fast staff ghosts is not clearly indicated to you in the same way unlocks are)
i'll end with a bit of praise, i think the game feels amazing to play if you manage to really figure out the controls. using bikes may be overpowered, but landing tricks and doing wheelies consistently is a wonderful feeling and rainbow road is one of my favorite tracks in wii despite the difficulty for just how exhilarating it feels to play.
so yeah, mario kart wii is fun, feels good to play for the most part, and i wouldnt mind playing with friends, but double dash is superior as a multiplayer experience and i prefer the strategic value of character choice in that game. both are comparably frustrating as completionist experiences, but double dash ultimately edges out wii for the aforementioned reasons.
(edit: I WILL SAY THOUGH that wii definitely has more consistently banger courses. coconut mall alone sweeps the best tracks in double dash imo, and its flanked by several other amazing courses like maple treeway and koopa cape)