Justin shares his ideas on how Nintendo can improve their Switch 2 launch title in the coming months and years.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/71673/how-to-improve-mario-kart-world
Mario Kart World launched alongside Switch 2 and is undoubtedly going to be one of the best selling titles for years to come. While the game is fun I do feel there are several shortcomings that hold it back. I’ve played the game to near full completion now and have thoughts on how the product could be improved upon going forward.
Free Roam
I think many of us were expecting more out of Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode after it was initially announced. Upon actually playing it I had mixed feelings. I had a great time casually roaming around the world after work looking for all the challenges and collectables. However, the world still does feel somewhat unlively and lacking in areas.
First there needs to be some enhanced tracking of what’s been accomplished. This isn’t a problem for the Question Mark Panels, as they are tracked nicely and are limited to being on each Course. But trying to find all the P-Switch and Peach Medallion locations is maddening after you do an initial sweep of the world.
Having to roam the world looking for the last few things in these open world games can be a major time sink. It’s a type of quest that I believe Nintendo started doing in Xenoblade Chronicles X with the Lobster Search, and that really gained prominence in Zelda: Breath of the Wild with Korok Seeds. I call it the Find the Needles in the Haystack quest and it’s one of the worst things to come out of modern Nintendo.
There are many ways to make this better in Mario Kart World. First, there should be optional markers on the Map so that players can see where they found things already. There should also be a way to know the total amount of what has been found as well so players can actually track their progress in a way other than looking online.
The start of Needles in the Haystack quests aren’t bad because it’s easy to find new things. However, as you progress it becomes harder and harder until you’re left to retread an entire world, with no direction, looking for the few things you missed. The only way to handle gameplay like this without wasting insane amounts of time is to look stuff up online. I found that I needed to cross reference a spreadsheet, an interactive map, and fan made YouTube videos to find the few things I missed on my own. This shouldn’t be the go to.
I’m of the opinion that Needles in the Haystack quests are boring and make players search for the real content of the game by wasting time. That said if it’s going to be done the game should start telling you where things are as you get close to full completion. Maybe when players find 60 or 70 percent of the items the map should just place markers where everything else is. Players shouldn’t have to spend time searching an entire world for the actual game content they paid for.
One other solution is to make some sort of Zelda Notes style update for the Nintendo Switch App that can turn your phone into an actual GPS to help players find these things. The framework is there and I’d love to see it expanded upon if it means playing games like this are less frustrating and more fun.
Peach Medallions also need to be fixed. Most of them seem to work in a sensible way, but some don’t spawn unless you approach them from a specific direction or only appear after doing something in a specific way as you try to go where they're supposed to be. This means you just need to know a Peach Medallion is there and there is no guidance on how to make it spawn. It comes down to pure luck or looking it up online. I’m sure some people will spend countless hours looking for the remaining Medallions not knowing they have been where they are, just not in the correct way because they don’t appear unless you know the trick to making them visible.
I’d also change the Minimap. It’s in desperate need of a compass. Sometimes trying to explore the world is extremely disorienting and having a compass around the Minimap would solve a lot of these issues. Additionally, when you turn off the Minimap in the settings it doesn’t actually turn off. Nintendo should fix that.
In future updates it would also be nice to see more challenging P-Switch Missions as most of them are way too easy. On that thought it would be cool to also introduce Boss Fights, Character Missions, Online Rankings, and more. Many types of Missions that were featured in Mario Kart Tour aren’t currently in Mario Kart World so there is room for further expansion. These include Challenges such as Goomba Takedown, Do Jump Boosts, Break Item Boxes, Steer Clear of Obstacles, Smash Small Dry Bones, and Vs. Mega Characters to name a few.
One final cool update would be to show players the name of the music track when it’s playing and what game it’s originally from.
Characters
The new characters in Mario Kart World are great, but aside from the novelty characters in Mario Kart games rarely feel important enough. There are various costumes to unlock for many of the more prominent characters in the game but they don’t do anything. My solution would be to bring back the special items that were introduced in Double Dash!! and expanded upon in Mario Kart Tour.
Tour, like World, features many costumes for most characters. That said, each one would give the character a special weapon making the personality and playstyle really stick out. I’d love to see this added, even as just an option, in Mario Kart World. This could also be used as a way to further balance the game as characters that become too strong online can be given one of the weaker special items making it more of a tradeoff instead of a full straight advantage.
And yes, I’d love to see many more characters, costumes, and karts added over the upcoming years of Mario Kart World, but those specifics aren’t what I’m aiming for in this editorial.
Courses
The courses in Mario Kart World are fun and the new mechanics such as Wall Riding and Rail Riding really open up the paths of each course in ways never before seen in a Mario Kart game. It adds a new skill ceiling to the racing in many ways. While I’d love to see more courses added in the future I think more can be done with what’s already in the game.
You see, Mario Kart Tour introduced playing each course in three new ways in addition to the Normal way. First there were Reverse (R) tracks that had players racing the course in reverse. The second were Trick (T) courses that added additional speed boosts, ramps, alternate routes, and more to the courses. And finally there were Reverse Trick (R/T) courses that added the trick elements to the reverse playthrough. They were all unique and used assets already in the game. I’d love to see the 30 courses in Mario Kart World get this treatment.
In fact, when you currently play some of the Intermission versions of a course in Mario Kart World you can occasionally play part of the reverse portion of a track depending on how you enter it. Playing DK Pass in reverse after entering from a different side in World brought back a lot of fun memories of Mario Kart Tour for me and I wish it were just a standard option.
Classic Grand Prix
I’d love to see the introduction of a Classic Grand Prix mode in Mario Kart World. That is, I want to be able to play a Grand Prix where you just do the sets of the races with the traditional three lap setup. No Intermission Courses!
I don’t completely hate the Intermission Courses, but I think they have ruined the Grand Prix as it’s presented in Mario Kart World. It makes every race feel like a straightaway and therefore is harder to actually learn the courses and to get to know their personality. I’m of the opinion that Intermission Courses should be regulated only to Knockout Tours.
You see, Intermission Courses are a fine concept but in actual practice they mostly feel like the same wide open spaces no matter where they take place. There are few areas to actually practice to gain the upper hand and they usually come down to racing the same way and only cutting corners with Mushrooms and other items. They aren’t very interesting or nearly as well crafted as the actual courses. Players should have the option to enjoy racing in a traditional way if they so choose and Classic Grand Prix would give people that option.
Classic Race Online
Before the latest Mario Kart World update players were mostly selecting Random when it came time to choose a Course online. The reason was because every time Random was chosen the next race would be in the traditional three lap format. After the update, this guarantee was removed and now there is a greater chance of an Intermission Course to be chosen when Random is selected. This decision is fairly unpopular with since many of the core Mario Kart World players feel the Intermission Courses aren’t as finely crafted as the regular ones.
For whatever reason Nintendo decided to make it more difficult to play regular Courses in the traditional Race mode. My solution would be to just make Classic Race an option when it comes to the online Multiplayer. Everyone wins if this is done.
Frenzies
Frenzies were another feature introduced in Mario Kart Tour that could be a fun addition to Mario Kart World. In Tour a Frenzy had a small chance of occurring when a player hit an item box. If a Frenzy was activated then the player would gain invincibility and have infinite use of that item for nine seconds, including Special Items unique to that character. Frenzies could only be randomly activated three times in a single race and could never happen from back to back Item Boxes.
While the concept would have to be reworked a bit in Mario Kart World I feel it could also be used as another balancing mechanism. Character/Kart combos that are seemingly underpowered competitively could be given a slightly higher chance to get Frenzies in order to keep them more competitive. There should be options to turn off Frenzies as well for those that want to race without them.
Score Attack
I became hooked on trying to get new high scores in Mario Kart Tour. It was a great addition to the arcade style gameplay of Mario Kart and I’d love to see it return in some form. The simplest solution would probably be to have a mode similar to Time Trials where you can play each course going for a new high score based on hits, combos, and more. Being able to watch replays of top scores and compare them to friends like Time Trials would also rule. Scoring works so well in Mario Kart and I’d hate to see it never used again.
Other Improvements
First, there needs to be more rewards for actually playing the game. Currently the main thing you unlock are Stickers by doing things in Free Roam or by hitting certain milestones. Getting first place in all the cups, getting three stars in all the cups, and beating all the Staff Ghosts in Time Trials gets you nothing. Not even more Stickers. Why? I don’t know, but there could definitely be some sort of incentive to actually complete these major parts of the game.
Online with Friends could also use more options as well. I’d love to create my own Cup from the start with my own predetermined Courses, Intermissions, etc. It would also be nice to be able to do some sort of Tournament here as well.
As far as Battle Mode is concerned I want to see Block Fort and Double Deck added as Courses. I admit I haven’t played enough Battle to critique it further so additional additions or changes are likely necessary.
I’d also like to have a way to do tricks while holding a Power Slide. It was done in Mario Kart Tour and I see no reason why it had to be removed.
Adding a Music Test or Juke Box would also be appreciated. Mario Kart World is filled with a great soundtrack and being able to play it at will would be incredible.
Nintendo should also make it so that we know what player we hit with an item and who hit us with items. This is a quality of life feature that was baked into Mario Kart Tour and is even found in Mario Kart World's Battle Mode. I'm of the opinion that it's more fun to know who's causing you pain and suffering and who you're dishing it out to. There is no reason to keep it a secret.
I know this one is a bit of a crazy dream, but I’d like to see a Double Dash!! Mode where you can choose to drive with two characters in a kart and swap between them. Sure, either everyone would need to play like this in this mode or the Karts would need some kind of disadvantage since you can freely swap between items, but it would be great to mix it up especially if Special Weapons are added to World.
And finally it would be nice to see hidden stats. For whatever reason Nintendo often hides some of the stats of your Character and Kart combinations. One of which is the Mini-Turbo stat which determines how long you boost for after using one. Why not just tell us all the stats so we can make an informed decision when picking who we play as and what we drive?
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I have enjoyed my time with Mario Kart World but there are many things that could and should be improved upon in the coming months and years. World is a game that will likely be selling for a long time and players should frequently be given a reason to keep coming back to one of the biggest titles on Switch 2. Only time will tell what Nintendo plans to do with this product and I hope to hear some of your own ideas as well. Until then, see you online and happy racing.
Topic: How to Improve Mario Kart World (Read 32 times)
