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[JJConrad]

I think the weapons are balanced enough, I just get pissed when I'm on the receiving end of them. When I'm in the back, they're awesome!!!!! What really pisses me of is when I'm blueshelled, followed by a red shell, followed by another blueshell, putting me in last where all I get is nothing but green shells and single mushrooms.

My favorite thing to see is people trying to drop-block a redshell with a fake item box!!! :lol

What I'd like to see is a weapon replace the blueshell that acts like it, but screws over the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place racers together. Or maybe have the blueshells removed from the arsonal during the last half of the final lap.

I've haven't played this game online recently. If other people or learning how to powerslide better, I may not want to return. Personally, I'd like to see the stats being completely removed from the online game (with the exception of tournaments and sinlge online bouts) The reason people drop out is because they want to protect their stats. I reset my cartridge once becasue I got screwed out of a bunch of wins and given loses instead. I won't do that again. It should be about having fun and not looking good to online strangers.

 

[callous]

What I'd like to see is a weapon replace the blueshell that acts like it, but screws over the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place racers together.

That's basically lightning.

 

[Future]

Blue shell is the great equalizer. It truly makes the game feel like nowhere is safe and that you gotta be on your toes no matter how well you think you are doing. And no matter where you are, you have a chance to win. Even in first place, no matter how far ahead you are, you gotta be worried about getting nailed by one of these and think about what you are going to do about it if it happens. If you are in the rear, you know the first place guy will never get THAT far ahead, as the blue shell keeps them close to second place. And since they are close, they will probably slow each other down enough for you to catch up. The design works.

It keeps races intense, and stops races from turning into time trial mode for the super skilled guy that can hit all the corners perfectly once he gets into the lead. And that's what makes mario kart what it is. You can never ignore the other racers and just concentrate on the track in Mario Kart. You might think it's good to stay close to 2nd place so he gets nailed by the blue shell too, or harvest weapons that can escape the shell or allow you to attack others when they pass you. Whatever you are thinking, you are thinking about the other racers MORE than the track, and again..this is Mario Kart.

But then you have to think about the track too since it has it's own hazards and possible shortcuts. And you are STILL rewarded by just getting around the track quickly even without items. The snakers prove this, because if it was all about items and not moving around the track quickly they wouldn't be a factor. So yes, it's possible to be skilled enough to gain such a lead that this blue shell, lightning, whatever don't affect you as much.

Even original mario kart had this equalizer with the feather on certain tracks. Feather jump shortcuts didn't take nearly enough skill to justify how much track you could skip, and was just cheap luck for whoever scored it. No skill needed to get the feather, just came out randomly out of a box.

In the end, if you are skilled enough it should be easy to stay in the upper bracket in wins. Might lose a race or two cuz of random shit you can't do anything about, but that's the way it is. It's much better than rubber banding or stupid shit other racers do to keep the competition close. And it's fun, because the more you get screwed, the more opportunity there is for you to screw other players..and that's the beauty of Mario Kart.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

I think different characters get different items. I know when I was playing Toad I never got a bomb when I was in first. I didn't even know that could happen until I tried Dry Bones in the same kart and got a bomb in 3 out of the 4 races in one match. Then I tried Daisy, got bombs every once in awhile in first. But never got a single one in hundreds of Toad races. He also seems to favor mushrooms, while other characters get lots of shells. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think there's something to it.

I have to disagree with you there, I'v ebeen playing SNES MK more than the DS version lately, and powerful items are very hard to get; lightning is almost impossible unless you're in last place, the same thing with stars but they appear more frequently if you're ranked 5-8....mushrooms are more powerful, yes, but keep in mind that you can only get 1 item per lap and these don't respawn like in later iterations of the franchise.

I dunno, before making that post I played the game, stayed below 5th place, and the game kept giving me great items. Then I started racing seriously and got a star when I was in 3rd place, which gave me a pretty sizable lead. And when I hit the ghost house it gave me feathers on the first two laps...

And yeah, there are fewer items per lap and they don't respawn, but there are still a lot of item blocks, more laps per race, and a whole race only slightly longer than the average lap in DS. So you still get plenty of items.

The games are definitely more item focused from 64 up (and I think DS is the first one to take the 64 blueprint and get it right - 64 was trash, and while I didn't play enough of DD in multi to have a fully formed opinion of it the track design and weapon balance seemed inferior to DS), but I think acting like SNES Kart was all about racing skillz and DS is just luck is kinda silly. They're both cheap, and if you're better than your opponent more often than not you'll win.

I can understand prefering the SNES one, though. I'd kill for an online version with 4 or more players!

 

[JJConrad]

That's basically lightning.

I meant something that would only hurt those 3 players, so that it doesn't benefit the player in 2nd place more than the person who used it. But in 4 player online, I guess the lightning bolt would have the same effect as what I said, huh.

 

[Future]

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I meant something that would only hurt those 3 players, so that it doesn't benefit the player in 2nd place more than the person who used it. But in 4 player online, I guess the lightning bolt would have the same effect as what I said, huh.
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But like I was saying in my stupidly long post, hitting just the first player isn't so bad because it makes sure that he stays near the 2nd place guy. And if they are close, they slow each other down allowing everyone to catch up. If you knock out 1-4 place only, then it won't change their positions and allow only the last place guys to catch up. Meaning that no one will still be able to catch the guy in first place

I remember in Super Mario Kart is was possible to get such a lead that you would be outside the range of most items and no one could ever catch up, because they'd just be attacking each other. That's why they added the blue shell. Now even the first place dude can get hit.

What they need to do is just let players configure item options so they can play how they want to. I think the design works how it is though.

 

[Taichu]

I was once blooper-inked when hit with a blue shell, followed by a red one, followed by lightning. X_X

Blue shells are a necessary part of the game, but I'd liked their behavior moreso in MK64. The blue shells followed the track path on the ground and hit anyone who got in it's way.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

"Wah wah wah, I'm a better racer but I still lost thanks to the EVIL BLUE SHELL!"

Get a grip. Mario Kart isn't about winning. If you can't have a good laugh over getting fucked by the item system, then you should stick to F-Zero or Gran Turismo or whatever else.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I was once blooper-inked when hit with a blue shell, followed by a red one, followed by lightning. X_X

Ouch. :lol