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Mario Kart 7
Topic Started: Dec 11 2011, 04:17 PM (1,291 Views)
Jwolfe340
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This is Pabu. Enjoy him.
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Alright, this is my first review on this forums, though I've been here for like a year already.
Mario Kart 7
Platform: 3DS

Gameplay: It's, for the most part, what you would expect from a Mario Kart game. They took a lot of the elements straight out of Mario Kart DS, which I happen to like. The controls are nearly identical, the only differences being the use of the circle pad and the new elements added, which consist of Underwater sections and Hang gliding sections. First I'll detail the Underwater sections. They are, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. It seems to me that they are only there to showcase the graphical power of the 3DS, rather than actually add to the fun. Driving underwater is almost identical to driving on ground, except with exaggerated physics. One element of it that also really annoyed me is that the underwater sections are usually completely mandatory in the course, but the terrain counts as off road, so it's essentially like driving on the dirt on the side of the course.
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However, I found Hang gliding to be the exact opposite. I found it to be a refreshing addition, adding new elements to the gameplay, and it also adds strategy, which I'll get into in a minute. The physics are, once again, barely changed. In this case, the only difference is that you can control your altitude by tilting forward and backward on the circle pad. However, something that they did implement into the game was weight. The lighter your Kart and character, the longer you can glide and the further you can go. I customized my Kart to be as light as possible so I could get as much entertainment out of the gliding as possible, and I never got tired of gliding. It's implemented into most, if not all, courses in the game, even the retro courses. Another element added for Hang gliding was improvement to the items. Red shells can now chase you in the air, and follow you as you hang glide, which can lead to some jerkish moves, as when you're hit, they make you fall into what is usually oblivion. Luckily, they usually have the courtesy to respawn you at the end of the gliding section.
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Some last changes they made, include, is the inclusion of coins and customization of your Kart. You can collect up to 10 coins at once during a race, and doing so increases your speed. However, when you get hit, you lose 3 coins, every time. It's kind of like a throwback to the original Mario Kart, but the coins also have a secondary function. By collecting as many as you can, you can unlock new parts to customize your Kart, which is a welcome inclusion. However, since you can only get 10 coins per race, you can only collect 40 coins every grand prix, so it takes a long time to get all of the parts.
In all, I would give the gameplay about a 9 out of 10, with the only points being taken off for the unnecessary inclusion of underwater sections and the "improvements" made to the Red shell.

Graphics: The graphics are beautiful. They reflect the power of the 3DS system, and the graphics are seamless. Nothing looks too choppy to me, though I don't exactly look for graphical problems too closely. I'll give this one a perfect 10 out of 10, though others might disagree.

Music: The music is...alright. The only reason I say this is because there aren't any pieces that particularly stick out to me. There is one stage, however, that is built around music. The stage is built out of instruments, and unfortunately, I can't find any pictures at the moment, I'll be sure to edit this later when there is one on the internet to show here. The music there is interesting, and it interacts with your driving. When you drive over a piano, it plays a scale on it. I'll link the regular music here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6CduayOdno
Other than that, the music is rather ordinary, with nothing particularly interesting to me. I'll give it a 7 out of 10, simply because it isn't bad, but it isn't that great either.

Lifetime: This one is tough to judge. The entire lifespan of the game is just racing the same 32 courses over and over again. Unlike in Mario Kart DS, there is no mission mode, meaning nothing really extra to do, aside from the typical multiplayer, time trial, and balloon battle. In order to complete the game in it's entirety, you have to race the same courses 4 times apiece, only one of which will be different. To add to the lifespan, the only way to unlock all of the collectible Kart pieces is to play the courses over and over again, collecting coins. This is extremely tedious, since you can only collect a maximum of 40 per grand prix. In the course of the grand prix mode, you can only collect 1280 coins, and the most "expensive" Kart piece is, I believe, 2500 coins. It's a bit hard to judge the lifespan on this one, since it's so repetitive, but since it managed to keep me entertained for at least a few days, without nearly completing everything the game has to offer, I'll give it a 7 out of 10, taking off points for the tedium of the game itself and unlocking everything.

Overall: I think this is a great game, definitely an improvement over Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart DS, though it does seem to be missing something. The courses aren't particularly creative, with the exception of Music Park, and aren't really that memorable. I also noticed that the selection of characters is...sub par. They included such gems as the Queen Bee, that one obscure character from a mission in Super Mario Galaxy that I can't even remember the name of, and Metal Mario, a transformation of his that hasn't even been used since Super Mario 64. They also neglected to include Waluigi, and yet included his course, Waluigi Pinball. They also included the option to play as your Mii, which is hit or miss. I tried it once, and his sound effects were really, really strange. He sounded more like a Shy Guy than a person. The game has its strong points, but it also falls short in some aspects.

Final Score: 33/40, 82.5%
Edited by Jwolfe340, Dec 11 2011, 04:35 PM.
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Complete_Dweeb
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I’M rAD
In regards to the Underwater sections, I think the point of those sections was so water wasn't just the equivalent of a bottomless pit anymore, making the game more streamlined at points. But I haven't actually played the game, so I can't really judge them myself.
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Technoboy200
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Dude With a Clue
I agree with you on some points (such as Queen Bee) but I think that Metal Mario is actually not a bad character to use. Also, it was said that in some 3DS SpotPass updates they might add features to the game (characters or parts it would seem). The most expensive part is 5000 coins, not including the golden parts, which go up to 10000 coins, but this is not as tedious if you use online play, which I think the game is centered around. Not only can you play worldwide or with friends, I think that the "Communities" feature is amazing. Playing by your rules with a group you may or may not know, and getting points to reach the top of the groups rankings WHILE adding coins to your total is an easier way of making those parts come easier.
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CamTheMan
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Poor
I'm surprised you didn't talk about the challenge of getting 3-star rankings on all of the missions. It was a great challenge in my opinion, but a little tedious and had a few unavoidable faults. I'm also surprised you didn't talk about it's online capabilities, like the newly added communities feature (which I thought was wonderful by the way, it adds a much-needed easily accessible way to race your friends, or people on forums). Pretty good review, but it might have needed a little more thought put into it.

But that's just me.
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rpgfan4
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Super
Cam, I thought even you would read the forum rules :/
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Complete_Dweeb
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I’M rAD
Cam, you really do need to stop with the bumping. :<

Oh yeah, PIPE FRAME FOR THE WIN.
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CamTheMan
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Poor
Instead of mindlessly reading the rules and obeying, why not put some reason into it?
For example:
-Forum has been fairly inactive for a while
-Only old threads exist
Where the hell am I supposed to enjoy myself here instead of constantly being told off?
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Sharky2107
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The "Card Shark"
Nothing is wrong here, you guys need to let the Mods do their jobs, this forum like Cam said has been inactive, but Cam was stating his thoughts.
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Complete_Dweeb
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I’M rAD
I guess I am a little too general when it comes to the rules, sorry.
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Draexzhan
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RAINBOW HYPER!!!
This is a relatively decent review, but I do have to dispute/add a few things.
1. I for one liked a lot of the new courses. There were simpler ones like toad circuit and Neo bowser city, and also a few crazier ones like Music Park, and Bowser's Castle. That's actually probably the main reason MKW is my least favorite in the series. There's just too much going on. Too many power items, overdoing the events on tracks, too many characters, etc. In MK7, there are actually courses that rely on your racing skills.
2. I completely agree about the Honey Queen and Metal Mario, though I think that starting with MKDD, they've decided to always have at least one BS charater in every game. I think those two should have been replaced with Dry Bones and Waluigi.
3. While I do agree that the water segments are probably just there for the eye candy, I actually really like them. Utilize them correctly, and it makes them more three dimensional than the land segments.
4. I also believe that they really couldn't have done much better with the retro course selection. My ONLY complaint with that assortment is the lack of Yoshi Valley from MK64. I freaking LOVE that course!
5. I actually really like the Mii voices. They're so funny! I hated the ones for the Wii though. *shudders*
I really liked MK7, and would actually go as far as to call it my favorite Mario Kart (Which says a lot, as I really love the N64 Mario Kart.)

Also, find smaller pictures. That underwater one in particular is really pixelly, and WAY too big. It stretches out the page.
Edited by Draexzhan, Feb 7 2012, 12:00 AM.
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rpgfan4
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Super
One thing I've found out on GameFAQs is that there is three different kinds of speeds and handlings. Land speed and handling are shown while water and air are hidden.

Other hidden stats are:
Mini-turbo (greater boost from tricks)
Stability (not sure but it might lower how much you skid)
And Drift (greater boost from drifts)
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Complete_Dweeb
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TheDragon928
Feb 6 2012, 11:56 PM
I actually really like the Mii voices. They're so funny! I hated the ones for the Wii though. *shudders*
The Mii's Voice in MKWii depends on what it's color was, mine sounded like an actual human being. In MK7, I keep hearing mine saying "F*** you!" everytime it hits something with a shell. It scares me sometimes. o.O

And now that I think about it, how is it a bad thing that the Red Shell can hit you mid-air? If it just fell off the ramp, it would be completely useless on tracks that contained a lot of gliding like Rainbow Road and Rock Rock Mountain.
Edited by Complete_Dweeb, Feb 7 2012, 03:13 PM.
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Jwolfe340
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This is Pabu. Enjoy him.
I found it to be a bad thing because it just knocked you down over what was usually just a bottomless pit. What they could have done was made the blue shells do that, and instead made the red shells just make you spin out and lose a little altitude. Though, I suppose that wouldn't be realistic, but neither is a turtle driving a car and throwing banana peels behind him, nor a car growing a tail, so realism isn't what I expect from these games.
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Draexzhan
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RAINBOW HYPER!!!
mitchgamelover
Feb 7 2012, 03:10 PM
TheDragon928
Feb 6 2012, 11:56 PM
I actually really like the Mii voices. They're so funny! I hated the ones for the Wii though. *shudders*
The Mii's Voice in MKWii depends on what it's color was, mine sounded like an actual human being.

Lucky you. Mine sounded like a mix between Kermit the Frog and this pothead kid in my fourth period class last year.
Also, I love how three forums in this section have something MK7 related as the most recent topic.
Edited by Draexzhan, Feb 8 2012, 11:01 PM.
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UnrealOdin
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Trillionaire
Sharky2107
Feb 6 2012, 08:28 PM
you guys need to let the Mods do their jobs,
LOL! Oh my goodness I'm laughing out loud right now.

We tried letting mods do their jobs, but that really hasn't worked out in the past. A BUMP IS STILL A BUMP! I must say, at least this was a reasonable one. But it honestly doesn't matter if you break rules, nobody enforces them.
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Draexzhan
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RAINBOW HYPER!!!
UnrealOdin
Feb 7 2012, 11:32 PM
Sharky2107
Feb 6 2012, 08:28 PM
you guys need to let the Mods do their jobs,
LOL! Oh my goodness I'm laughing out loud right now.

We tried letting mods do their jobs, but that really hasn't worked out in the past. A BUMP IS STILL A BUMP! I must say, at least this was a reasonable one. But it honestly doesn't matter if you break rules, nobody enforces them.
"Not enforcing a rule" and "not flipping out every single time someone breaks a rule" aren't the same thing, you know.
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Complete_Dweeb
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TheDragon928
Feb 8 2012, 12:24 AM
"Not enforcing a rule" and "not flipping out every single time someone breaks a rule" aren't the same thing, you know.
Well, excuse us for trying to follow the rules that we were told to follow and pointing it out whenever other people don't. I can understand there being exceptions to a rule, and Cam's post was one of those exceptions, for which I apologized on behalf of my accusation of him bumping. But how exactly are we "flipping out" over it? Do you see us using all caps and giving a warning like "WTF CAM WHY DID YOU BUMP THIS TOPIC YOU DON'T DO THAT EVER OR YOU GET BANNED!!!"? No. All we do is give a content warning telling them that they shouldn't keep doing that. I don't get why the Mods are telling us who can and can't say what rule someone is breaking. Like Odin said, you honestly haven't been doing a good job of that recently. Remember CasualThursdays? He's bumped at least 3 topics since he was given his warning. Has he been punished for it in any way? No. It doesn't matter what topic he bumps, or where it is. It's really annoying to see activity on the forum for once just to realize that the topic in question is really 6 months old and has just been bumped by some idiot who can't take 3 minutes out of their lives just to read the rules after being given a warning. You need to start fulfilling your duties as an administrator, which is getting rid of people who can't take the time to read the rules after being given a blatant warning, and making sure everyone who's on this forum is actually mature/intelligent enough to know what they can and can't do. I'm not trying to pick a fight with a mod or anything. I'm just saying what I think needs to be said.
Edited by Complete_Dweeb, Feb 8 2012, 03:40 PM.
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Draexzhan
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RAINBOW HYPER!!!
tl;dr
That wasn't exactly aimed at you, MGL. It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. I just feel that sometimes people overreact. I wasn't pointing fingers at anyone. I've overreacted at rulebreakings too, you know. Lots of us have. Sorry if I offended you.
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Complete_Dweeb
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Sorry for taking that a bit personally, but my point still stands.
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Caped Godot
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Yeah, his point kinda still stands. Maybe you should consider reading it.
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