The only Mario Kart game I've played is Mario Kart for the GBA. I loved the crap out of that, but I was, like, 8 or 9. I'm almost 25 now. I barely remember anything about how to play, except that there are powerups and toad is fast.

I bought this and it should arrive tomorrow. What do I need to know going in? Gameplay tips, characters, anything you think is relevant. Oh and what should I get for a second controller? I don't have any Wiimotes.

P.S: Weird story. Nintendo Official Magazine had a competition for track times on the GBA, and I had an incredible time. I was a dumb ass kid at the time and I couldn't get my polaroid camera to get a picture of my time so I tried to mail the cartridge to them instead with a note telling them to check my time. Of course, my mum caught and stopped me. I threw a tantrum, but looking back at it I'm glad she did. Obviously.

I do remember, however, seeing the results of that competition and the prize winners. My time blew theirs away, so I got even more mad.

R or L (use whichever you prefer) is drift, which is the only real depth the game has.

Waluigi is still the people's champion. Wario plays to win.

Beware the blue shell.

Hop when you go over a ramp/vehicle leaves the ground due to the track for a small boost (only thing I feel isn't super evident playing it for the first time).

Does anyone know when they allowed shells to pass boost ramps? I don't recall if they did in 7.

Always be drift boosting

Start accelerating when the 2 fades at the start of a race for a speed boost. Draft behind other racers for a while for a speed boost. Use a mushroom to speed boost through shortcuts if they are off the track. Hold a banana or shell behind you at all times when you are in first place, they will block most incoming things.

You should drive good and use powerups.

Try to stay in first place, but watch out for rival racers! A blue shell just might send you flying! The evil Bowser™ and his minions won't make it easy for Mario™ and his friends, but they have a few tricks of their own! And with the power of the Wii U™, you can even play against friends and family, on the couch or online (internet connection required)!

L is actually now a dedicated Horn button. An incredibly important feature, obviously. Also, Wario is no Waluigi.

Does all the different karts and wheels and gliders make any difference? Ive only every played Super Mario Kart so all that is new to me.

Blue Shells are the root of all evil and a perfectly legitimate reason for smashing controllers.

Waaahluigi time! That is all.

Play with friends in the same space for maximum fun.

It's Mario Kart. It's pretty much the easiest game to get into short of Wii Sports. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Remember that it's just a game and don't lose friendships because you got blue shelled out of first place.

(I'm actually serious. There's a reason why people always say they'll be putting their friendship to the test with a game of Mario Kart.)

@mrmuscle: If you hit the '+' button while you're choosing that stuff, you can see some stats over on the right side of the screen showing you how it affects your performance.

Blue Shells

You will hate them.

this is gonna be rad (save battle mode :( )

wonder if the ai is still a cheating fuck

Drifting / powersliding is pretty essential. Knowing when to hold onto an item, hold it behind you to shield shells, and when to actually use it is important. Try to never go through an item block without at least getting your current item at the ready so you can get another. Finally, I hear coins that add speed are back in MK 8, so grab as many as you can - the more you have, the faster you go.

They've been doing this new thing in Mario Kart where you customize your kart, so characters are less important. It should be pretty clear what's changing when you're swapping parts, so that's all personal preference. Personally, I always liked lighter characters / karts - faster acceleration, faster offroad, but easily bullied around. I don't know exactly what it's like in 8, but it can't be too different.

@animathias: I'm pretty sure they actually got rid of the holding item trick. I did it a couple times last night and you don't get a new item when holding a banana or shell behind you.

Edit: and for OP just have fun with it. Learn the tricks on your own, starting out on 50cc (easiest difficulty) just work your way to the top! And the wii u pro controller is the best controller on the market. Get one.

Another thing about the coins; even if you have 10 (the max) it's good to continue picking them up to deny them to people behind you. At least I like to think it makes a difference :)

I noticed that changing from a light character to heavy character still showed a significant change in top speed (and other stats), at least according to the charts that pop up when picking the custom parts. IOW the stats there account for both your character and the parts you've chosen. Though it's maybe a bit hard to notice differences in the stats while you're racing.

One tip that I didn't see mentioned here is that while the "item roulette" is happening, you can mash the item button to make it end faster (I don't think you can affect what you'll get in this way though). That can be important if you need to get an item quickly. Too bad the battle mode in this game apparently sucks.

The super horn thing is a hard counter to them now, at least. Kinda rare but you can get it even in first place.

It seems like you can also use Mushrooms to deflect Blue Shells as well (beware of loud audio at the end):

This Mario Kart, from what I've played, is a call back to Double Dash. Skill is rewarded more than chance in this game. Get ahead and stay ahead if you want to win. If you're not drifting into the corners you're playing wrong. Do not slow down for the blue shell. Let it hit you and plan accordingly. Also there are no friends when playing Mario Kart. Always screw your friends when given the chance. The further ahead you are of the pack the more immune you are to their battles.

Real Question: Where did the time/ lap time meter go?

Do coins even give you a competitive advantage? Denying people coins just kind of seems dickish to me. Coins are purely for earning new things right?

At the start of a race you can get a speed boost by accelerating at a specific moment while the timer is running down.

I've found the easiest way to know the timing is to look at the Lakitu's hand as it is counting down. Start accelerating once it has counted two beeps and raised its hand for a third. It's pretty generous so now I get it every time.

NEVER use a mushroom on a Rainbow Road curve. You have been warned.

@brettchalupa said:

Nice, this was a thing in Double Dash too but pretty hard to pull off. I had tried it in MK8 but I think I hit the mushroom too early.

From 0 - 10 coins they affect your top speed. If you're in first and can get a bit ahead of the pack, then as they green / red shell each other & lose coins in the process you'll pull farther and farther ahead if you're at max coins.

I played a bit more and the "respawn timer" for the coins is really short; you can really only "deny" racers who are right on your tail. And you'd have to go out of your way to collect *all* of them, basically you can force people behind you into choosing between a better line or more coins.

You'll actually get a better / worse speed boost based on your timing, as in the earlier you start the longer boost you get, but you risk burning out. I *think* you want to hit it a split second after the 2 "lands" on the screen. The best way to tell the difference is to race against a ghost in time trial so you can compare your boost against a consistent one.

Well you see the ever shifting and evolving Mario Kart meta is all encompassing; it will take you decades to learn how to play this game at the highest level.

@quantris: Oh shit I had no idea about the coins. Cool, thanks.

source

so.. uh whats the single player progression like?

<-- Never played no Mario Kart before.