Mario Kart as a series will always hold a special place, both in the Nintendo lineup, and in my own personal esteem! It regularly functions as Nintendo’s golden goose, usually selling a ton of copies whenever a new installment is released. And with good reason, a new Mario Kart is usually a series that prides itself on being of the highest quality, regardless of whether the console that it is on sold well. Nowhere was that more true with Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U.

Released on May 30th, 2014 in North America, I remember my brother and I going to Gamestop on launch day and I waited with anticipation to see what we were getting into. Because I loved the previous entry on consoles, Mario Kart Wii, and played it for a ton of hours, especially the online mode, which was the only game that ran smoothly online on the Wii. I had read and digested all the new features leading up to launch day, and when that day finally came, I played it all weekend, unlocking all the cups, new parts for the karts and characters, as I went. I consider it to be the best entry in the series, and a high watermark for an already household name. It got even better with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the updated Switch port released in 2017. The Deluxe version mostly fixed the flaws of the Wii U version, added a few new wrinkles, and fine-tuned the gameplay to make it even better. It wasn’t the major Wii U system seller many had hoped, but it is still the Wii U’s best selling title, at 8.45 million copies. We’re going to be talking about the Switch version today however, so let’s get started on why this is the best Mario Kart in my opinion.

This game’s gameplay is the best in the series because it expands on games before it. It brings together elements of Mario Kart Wii, with bikes, and some items from that game returning, and Mario Kart 7, with a focus on Kart customization, which involves picking a Kart body, wheels and a glider, which also returns from 7.

Kart customization is limited, but I will say that once an ideal combination for your playstyle is found, it no longer becomes necessary, except for minor alterations here and there. But the big addition to the gameplay, the one that makes it fresh, and keeps the racing fun and fast and snappy is the anti-gravity racing!

At certain points in the track, one will come across points where the wheels of their kart will fold in, and they will begin racing upside down or sideways, as shown in the capture above, and if they bump into other players, it gives them a tiny spin, and speed boost. It’s a pretty cool gimmick, and one that they extended to the redesigned retro tracks, which are made into something completely different and refreshing using Mario Kart 8’s mechanics. The new tracks are also designed to take advantage of these new mechanics, and they include underwater racing, returning from 7, gliding, also returning from 7, and anti-gravity racing, which I have already explained.

In addition to the improved track design, the gameplay has been refined, and it is my favorite gameplay in the series. You’re no longer given the choice between automatic and manual drifting, and you have to manually drift. Initially I was not sold on this idea. Because drifting is a necessity in this game, thanks to how the tracks were designed, and I was coming over from the Wii version, where drifting was automatic, at least in my case, I just didn’t drift. But the Switch version adds an extra wrinkle. This game has an interesting drift system, where the longer you slide, the more boost you get. You’ll know how long you’ve been drifting thanks to the sparks flying off your tires, which change color depending on how long you drift. Blue sparks net a small turbo, while orange sparks net a bigger turbo.

New to the Switch version are purple sparks, which give the player the longest boost, known as an Ultra Mini Turbo. Mini Turbos and the drift length are dependent on the hidden stats in every Kart combination, so if you pick characters that are large and parts that favor acceleration over speed, Mini Turbos will take less time and effort to pull off than if you solely favor speed over everything else. There’s also an element of strategy present, both in when and how to use each type of boost, because it’s not smart to go for Ultra Mini Turbos constantly, especially in time trial mode, which requires an almost inside-out knowledge of the track if you want to get the lowest time possible. The items which are staples and mainstays to the series make a return as well as new ones. You’ve got your shells, green are free fire, red are lock on and blue lock onto the racer in first place. You’ve got your bananas which cause racers to spin out if they get hit by them. And you’ve got your new items, like the Crazy 8, which gives you 8 items at once, which, surprisingly is a bit underwhelming because it’s 8 of the same items and there’s little variance, but there’s a lot of options so it’s a wash. New to the deluxe version is something that was absent from the non-deluxe version, the ability to hold onto two items at once. It’s something that adds strategic value on paper, but in actuality adds very little, outside battle mode.

Of course, any discussion about Mario Kart has to include talking about the multiplayer mode. In this game, it’s as fun and frenetic as ever. Even if there are framerate drops from 60 frames per second to 30 frames per second if you go beyond 2 players, this is made up for with the fact that you can use any controller that is compatible with the Switch. You can do this either with analog stick controls or motion controls, for some reason. For me, I use the Switch’s Pro Controller, with analog stick controls because I’m pretty boring and don’t like motion controls too much. But, once you get going, it’s a chaotic and crazy time. It’s not quite on the level of Mario Party in terms of friendship destroying, but it’s close enough, due to the insane amounts of luck involved in obtaining and using the right items, and the often momentum destroying effects of a blue shell on a player in first place. Overall, the racing in Mario Kart 8 is the best it’s ever been, thanks to the changes carried over from Mario Kart 7 and the new wrinkles added to keep the traditional formula fresh!

The quality and effort evident in this game also extends into the graphics and music, which are better than they’ve ever been. Little graphical details, like the glistening of characters with water flying off of them, and the details of fabric on clothes, like Mario’s overalls, illustrate a sort of love and care in every little detail. The music is varied by genre, although jazz and big band are dominant here and executed perfectly, with catchy tunes all throughout.

In 2017, the Switch version, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, was released and it is considered by many to be the definitive version of the game. This added all of the new characters, tracks, Kart parts, including the free Mercedes crossover (no seriously, look at this):

That was a very weird point in the game’s life cycle. Anyway, this version also adds new characters from Splatoon, a very charming and fun online third person shooter involving spraying paint, and one that I was very fond of on the Wii U. Maybe I’ll cover the sequel on here at some point? I haven’t gotten around to playing it yet, but maybe I will.

What I have been doing, however (though I haven’t done this in a while) is trying to beat all the Staff ghosts in time trial mode, which facilitates a different approach to racing than the regular Grand Prix mode. Some courses, naturally, are easier to achieve a record time than others. It takes a ton (and I do mean A TON) of optimization, and usually several different attempts, and I’m beginning to question whether I am insane for taking this on, and maybe I am. But I’m too far into this journey to stop now, and maybe I’ll conquer it, but maybe not, we’ll see!

The DLC tracks are a mixed bag. The choices of retro tracks are great and dead on. Baby Park from Double Dash is crazy, as is the Super Nintendo version of Rainbow Road, with its square track design. The original tracks could use some work though. There’s a throwback to Excitebike with the Excitebike Arena, a track that changes each time you play, with different ramp patterns. I thought that it was a very creative idea that has a lot of potential in the future if Nintendo wants to experiment more with it, come Mario Kart 9. This Deluxe edition is the complete and definitive way to play what is, in my opinion, the best Mario Kart game.

Overall, Mario Kart 8 should be considered a must buy for any prospective Switch owner. It has enough replay value to keep one entertained for hours on end and the feedback loop for unlocking things is satisfying enough to keep people coming back!