I first played this game shortly after it released, and at the time I was really impressed at some of the interesting ideas it brought to the Kart racing genre, as opposed to some, let's admit it, fairly static series like Mario Kart. Playing it through again, I still think it has lessons to offer Mario Kart, but I don't think it's as cut and dry which is superior. I really enjoyed the mission-based single player mode, and it's the main thing I would like to see in a future Mario Kart. Yeah, Mario Kart DS had a mission mode, but it wasn't integrated into unlocking anything. This has a lot of variety in its missions and lets you unlock characters and stages. My biggest complaint with this game are the items. I would often use an item, only to have the opponent turn back up within a few seconds. The items are too weak to really impact other racers, but are powerful enough to be annoying when hit; a perfect sweet spot of annoyance.