As a family man getting time to just sit uninterrupted to write is rare so definitely golden time, thankfully i have that right at this moment, coffee is brewed and poured, dog is crashed out next to me on the sofa, laptop out, hell there's football/soccer back on the TV why not, i am taking full advantage of this because who knows when i will get access to this sort of zen again, not a got anytime soon would be the answer.
I hope anyone who read our last piece on the ranking of GTA titles enjoyed, it seemed to make some waves over on instagram accumulating a good amount of likes 450 roughly, i would strongly recommend using the instagram promotion tool to any bloggers trying to grow a brand or channel. I have also set up the ragequitretro facebook page but am having some issues creating a link button, I think facebook has found something offensive (possibly the word rage perhaps) hopefully it gets the ok, the page will have links to the blogs eventually along with nostalgia pictures and memories of gaming from yesteryear.
Ideas have been coming thick and fast for blogs so i have scooped them out my brain and into the written word before i forget them all, the most prominent one is one of the Nintendo crown jewels, Nintendo Royalty if you will,and that would be Mario Kart. Now i am not sure about anyone else but when i think of Nintendo i instantly think of the following 3 things, Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart,these games (for me) define Nintendo, its what they are all about, in the beginning completely groundbreaking and when the likes of Sony and Microsoft came to the party, Nintendo was sensible it didnt try to compete with them on the basis of factors such as realism etc,they continued to do what they do best and that was to bring us great stories and ultimately offer us an alternative to Playstation and Xbox, i for one am glad and grateful for this, i have owned every playstation that sony have brought out but you better believe i have owned every Nintendo that was around at the same time, and when father time catches up and the next gen are released i will get the next sony and sell the old one but ive yet to sell a Nintendo they stay with me, hell i even boot them up to give my 7 year old daughter the best gaming education she can get.
Mario Kart is perhaps one of the best titles Nintendo have, away from stand alone Mario titles so we ought to do it some justice and take a look back from Snes, 64, Cube and Wii and try to come up with our top ten tracks. But what a game it is,i mean it can take you from complete jubulation to despair and maybe even back again in the space of about 10 seconds, i have lost count of the amount of blue shells i have been obliterated by on the home straight on the last lap of bowsers castle or wario stadium, and jesus it can nearly ruin friendships.
Sit back take a read and see what our top ten looks like and see if you agree, if not comment on what you would have as yours, we love a bit of debate between gamers here on the blog and would welcome it.
10. Mario Circuit II - Snes, Super Circuit & Mario Kart 7
Now we are not starting off with one of Karts more notoriously weird and wonderful tracks, we kept it very low key to begin with, but that doesn't mean its a bad track, no sir. We wanted to include a typical race track and well Mario circuit 1 to be fair isn't all that great and II gives us the boost jump on the last corner coming in to the home stretch with some pillars that could make or break you, and lets be fair the more typical racing tracks meant you relied on being more strategic with your weapons as opposed to using track props to gain advantage, so we have issues including this track out of the many there are.
9. Baby Park - Gamecube, DS, 8 and 8 Deluxe
When you cast your eye over the track to start with you would think it would be fairly straight forward, sweet jesus you would be wrong, if any track screams wacky races its Baby Park, as close to a complete circle for a track as your going to get and well incorporated more laps and an absolute ton of weapon boxes just made for complete mayhem, Baby Park was and is one of those tracks that you can go from 1st to 6th on the actual finish line, a complete make or break track especially if you were playing with friends.
8. Moonview Highway - Wii special cup
We feature our first Wii track on the list and we have a few from this console, Mario Kart Wii definetly shifted things for the better (I felt) the ability to use the Wii Wheel was a game changer for me, it enhanced the experience no end. Moonview highway featured in the special cup which had a stellar list of tracks within it. We find our group of racers places slap bang in the middle of well a highway with actual traffic....but theres more, you are bloody heading into the traffic, brutal!, combine that with blind corners, boost pads, lane switching vehicles and again weapon boxes it did make for high octane stuff, a definite winner for me.
7. Donkey Kong, Summit, Wii
The first of 2 Dk tracks to feature on the list, not sure what it is about the DK tracks but I always found them hugely entertaining races especially on multiplayer, Any Mario Kart player will tell you that certain tracks just feel like they play that bit different if there are other actual players as opposed to single player. Dk summit takes place well exactly where is says, at the summit of a mountain, add in a massive cannon to shoot us up to the top then begin the decent to the bottom with half pipes, mogals and boost pads and well weapon boxes and potential shot cuts if the skills and confidence are high then you have yourself a winner.
6. Bowsers Castle I - Snes
I have to admit there is something about the bowsers castle tracks I absolutely love, a great blend of hazards to try and navigate and all while trying to show some epic driving capabilities, we were first introduced to BC tracks on the Snes version and they have featured heavily since, I recall the Snes version having 3 BC tracks, I have narrowed it down and opted for numero uno, main reasons being it was the best one in my opinion, perfectly square cornering that if you didn't get the skid or deceleration right you were chewing kerb and along with it your speed, some boost pads for a massive help if you hit them all in sucession and along with it some whomps attemping to flatten you like the proverbial pancake.
First 5 down, now onto the final 5 in this epic list. I would be extremely interested in some comments to see how everyone elses top 10 would look, this is definitely a topic that would create an expression of opinion, certain tracks will resonate with people that would lead me to believe it would be very rare to find two people with the exact same top ten, and there in lies the beauty of Mario Kart, its not a one size fits all game, it allows for multiple skill levels, you get from it what you need and if you work hard you can become a kart jedi. Enough rambling and on to the final 5.
5. Wario Collesium - GameCube
Very much enjoyed this track back on the Gamecube, many a hour spent on the special cup with friends and to be fair special cup on double dash really delivers. WC as a track has plenty enough twists and turns, boost ramps with also your big jump near the end of the lap, add in the spiral section that allows for as many blue skid boosts and you could possibly manoeuvre meant this track was over in the blink of an eye, a very fast track and again in typical kart fashion the potential for carnage and mayhem.
4. Ghost Valley II - SNES
Not many tracks I didn't enjoy on Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo but some excelled more than others and Ghost Valley II was one of them, we did get this track in a remastered 3d form on Wii but for me as enjoyable as that was it felt quite wide as a track, one thing I remember from the SNES version was the tight corners and the narrow feel of the track, one mistake and bump and you were ground to a near halt or off the side, add in the ability to feather jump the small short cut and you were on easy street.
3. Donkey Kong Jungle Parkway - N64 & Wii
Another track that stokes up fond nostalgia for me, very happy that Nintendo were kind enough o deem it worthy of another round via the Wii, a few spots within the track that I really enjoyed, number one the long boost turn on approach to the big jump over the water, number two said jump over the water along with the sharp turn upon landing, number three the approach to the rope bridge, a quick narrowing of the track that could induce all sorts of rage if you are neck and neck with someone and you are bumped, and finally number four the tight incline corner in the cave before the finish line, easier option was always to go for a blue smoke side boost and cut the corner for a sneaky win.
2. Bowsers Castle - N64 & Wii
Much like DK Jungle parkway Bowsers castle is a track with multiple sections that set it apart from the rest, firstly I can remember being in awe of seeing a track come to 3d life following its upgrade from SNES to N64 and thinking this is just immense. Right from the off making sure to hit your start line boost and onto your first skid boost on the first corner, simple start, from then on there are so many potential hazards that separated the Kart Padwan's from the absolute Jedi's a few 90 degree sharp turns with moving whomps to navigate onto the sharp right into the hallway again with whomps strategically places at the entrance, the narrow bridge with lava, the decending steps and sharp bend on approach to the final section, the track had a lot going on and a lot to think about, very challenging but exceedingly satisfying and well worthy of a high spot, and to be honest I did go back and forth between the top 2 on what should be 1 and 2 respectively.
Well first I guess we should do honourable mentions right, some of the tracks had to miss out and im pretty sure they would feature in other peoples lists, to be fair Nintendo have one of the strongest franchise games in Mario kart that has the ability to bring people together so thereis not really a terrible track just some good some not so good and some that are epic. some of these tracks were hard to leave out my list.
Bowsers castle - Double Dash
Koopa Beach - N64
Wario Stadium - N64
Fairly certain these would feature on a lot of peoples lists and all three to be fair don't miss out on my list by much, but hard decisions needed to be made which ultimately means some have to miss the party.
Drum Roll please................numero uno is.
1. Rainbow Road - Wii
Was it ever going to be anything else but rainbow road. The track has been redone so many times over the generations of consoles and devices and for me a very mixed bag if im honest, SNES rainbow road was just plain cruel, not the most imaginative of tracks what make it difficult was the fact that corners were sharp and there were no sides, away from that not much too it, Nintendo then went completely the other way with the N64 version, it became a very long lap with sides all the way around and ill be honest I did not enjoy it one it, well apart from the jump you could take to cut a bit of the track out.
The Wii version of Rainbow road really felt like Nintendo finally got it right, the track through the years has always been pleasing on the eye a visual feast of colour and normally a catch jingle to boot. The Wii version of rainbow road has everything, again we have sweeping corners, minimal crash barriers, boost pads, and not only that boost pads on uneven parts of the track just to make sure you are staying switched on, add in extra few parts of the track that has almost a halfpipe feel with large holes in the middle (which were always good for getting your extra jump boost from) the rack did in deed have it all, and for me its why I have given it this coveted space on the list.
No doubt the list isn't to everyone's taste and do you know what, that's cool as previously mentioned different genres of Mario kart and different tracks will hold memories for people and every list will look different. Nintendo have stepped up their game through the years and rolled with the times and evolved Mario Kart in a way that keeps it fresh for everyone from older gamers such as myself to younger gamers on the newer generation of consoles.
What we can all hopefully agree on is the gaming world is a far richer place when we have games like Mario Kart.
I hope anyone who read our last piece on the ranking of GTA titles enjoyed, it seemed to make some waves over on instagram accumulating a good amount of likes 450 roughly, i would strongly recommend using the instagram promotion tool to any bloggers trying to grow a brand or channel. I have also set up the ragequitretro facebook page but am having some issues creating a link button, I think facebook has found something offensive (possibly the word rage perhaps) hopefully it gets the ok, the page will have links to the blogs eventually along with nostalgia pictures and memories of gaming from yesteryear.
Ideas have been coming thick and fast for blogs so i have scooped them out my brain and into the written word before i forget them all, the most prominent one is one of the Nintendo crown jewels, Nintendo Royalty if you will,and that would be Mario Kart. Now i am not sure about anyone else but when i think of Nintendo i instantly think of the following 3 things, Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart,these games (for me) define Nintendo, its what they are all about, in the beginning completely groundbreaking and when the likes of Sony and Microsoft came to the party, Nintendo was sensible it didnt try to compete with them on the basis of factors such as realism etc,they continued to do what they do best and that was to bring us great stories and ultimately offer us an alternative to Playstation and Xbox, i for one am glad and grateful for this, i have owned every playstation that sony have brought out but you better believe i have owned every Nintendo that was around at the same time, and when father time catches up and the next gen are released i will get the next sony and sell the old one but ive yet to sell a Nintendo they stay with me, hell i even boot them up to give my 7 year old daughter the best gaming education she can get.
Mario Kart is perhaps one of the best titles Nintendo have, away from stand alone Mario titles so we ought to do it some justice and take a look back from Snes, 64, Cube and Wii and try to come up with our top ten tracks. But what a game it is,i mean it can take you from complete jubulation to despair and maybe even back again in the space of about 10 seconds, i have lost count of the amount of blue shells i have been obliterated by on the home straight on the last lap of bowsers castle or wario stadium, and jesus it can nearly ruin friendships.
Sit back take a read and see what our top ten looks like and see if you agree, if not comment on what you would have as yours, we love a bit of debate between gamers here on the blog and would welcome it.
10. Mario Circuit II - Snes, Super Circuit & Mario Kart 7
Now we are not starting off with one of Karts more notoriously weird and wonderful tracks, we kept it very low key to begin with, but that doesn't mean its a bad track, no sir. We wanted to include a typical race track and well Mario circuit 1 to be fair isn't all that great and II gives us the boost jump on the last corner coming in to the home stretch with some pillars that could make or break you, and lets be fair the more typical racing tracks meant you relied on being more strategic with your weapons as opposed to using track props to gain advantage, so we have issues including this track out of the many there are.
9. Baby Park - Gamecube, DS, 8 and 8 Deluxe
When you cast your eye over the track to start with you would think it would be fairly straight forward, sweet jesus you would be wrong, if any track screams wacky races its Baby Park, as close to a complete circle for a track as your going to get and well incorporated more laps and an absolute ton of weapon boxes just made for complete mayhem, Baby Park was and is one of those tracks that you can go from 1st to 6th on the actual finish line, a complete make or break track especially if you were playing with friends.
8. Moonview Highway - Wii special cup
We feature our first Wii track on the list and we have a few from this console, Mario Kart Wii definetly shifted things for the better (I felt) the ability to use the Wii Wheel was a game changer for me, it enhanced the experience no end. Moonview highway featured in the special cup which had a stellar list of tracks within it. We find our group of racers places slap bang in the middle of well a highway with actual traffic....but theres more, you are bloody heading into the traffic, brutal!, combine that with blind corners, boost pads, lane switching vehicles and again weapon boxes it did make for high octane stuff, a definite winner for me.
7. Donkey Kong, Summit, Wii
The first of 2 Dk tracks to feature on the list, not sure what it is about the DK tracks but I always found them hugely entertaining races especially on multiplayer, Any Mario Kart player will tell you that certain tracks just feel like they play that bit different if there are other actual players as opposed to single player. Dk summit takes place well exactly where is says, at the summit of a mountain, add in a massive cannon to shoot us up to the top then begin the decent to the bottom with half pipes, mogals and boost pads and well weapon boxes and potential shot cuts if the skills and confidence are high then you have yourself a winner.
6. Bowsers Castle I - Snes
I have to admit there is something about the bowsers castle tracks I absolutely love, a great blend of hazards to try and navigate and all while trying to show some epic driving capabilities, we were first introduced to BC tracks on the Snes version and they have featured heavily since, I recall the Snes version having 3 BC tracks, I have narrowed it down and opted for numero uno, main reasons being it was the best one in my opinion, perfectly square cornering that if you didn't get the skid or deceleration right you were chewing kerb and along with it your speed, some boost pads for a massive help if you hit them all in sucession and along with it some whomps attemping to flatten you like the proverbial pancake.
First 5 down, now onto the final 5 in this epic list. I would be extremely interested in some comments to see how everyone elses top 10 would look, this is definitely a topic that would create an expression of opinion, certain tracks will resonate with people that would lead me to believe it would be very rare to find two people with the exact same top ten, and there in lies the beauty of Mario Kart, its not a one size fits all game, it allows for multiple skill levels, you get from it what you need and if you work hard you can become a kart jedi. Enough rambling and on to the final 5.
5. Wario Collesium - GameCube
Very much enjoyed this track back on the Gamecube, many a hour spent on the special cup with friends and to be fair special cup on double dash really delivers. WC as a track has plenty enough twists and turns, boost ramps with also your big jump near the end of the lap, add in the spiral section that allows for as many blue skid boosts and you could possibly manoeuvre meant this track was over in the blink of an eye, a very fast track and again in typical kart fashion the potential for carnage and mayhem.
4. Ghost Valley II - SNES
Not many tracks I didn't enjoy on Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo but some excelled more than others and Ghost Valley II was one of them, we did get this track in a remastered 3d form on Wii but for me as enjoyable as that was it felt quite wide as a track, one thing I remember from the SNES version was the tight corners and the narrow feel of the track, one mistake and bump and you were ground to a near halt or off the side, add in the ability to feather jump the small short cut and you were on easy street.
3. Donkey Kong Jungle Parkway - N64 & Wii
Another track that stokes up fond nostalgia for me, very happy that Nintendo were kind enough o deem it worthy of another round via the Wii, a few spots within the track that I really enjoyed, number one the long boost turn on approach to the big jump over the water, number two said jump over the water along with the sharp turn upon landing, number three the approach to the rope bridge, a quick narrowing of the track that could induce all sorts of rage if you are neck and neck with someone and you are bumped, and finally number four the tight incline corner in the cave before the finish line, easier option was always to go for a blue smoke side boost and cut the corner for a sneaky win.
2. Bowsers Castle - N64 & Wii
Much like DK Jungle parkway Bowsers castle is a track with multiple sections that set it apart from the rest, firstly I can remember being in awe of seeing a track come to 3d life following its upgrade from SNES to N64 and thinking this is just immense. Right from the off making sure to hit your start line boost and onto your first skid boost on the first corner, simple start, from then on there are so many potential hazards that separated the Kart Padwan's from the absolute Jedi's a few 90 degree sharp turns with moving whomps to navigate onto the sharp right into the hallway again with whomps strategically places at the entrance, the narrow bridge with lava, the decending steps and sharp bend on approach to the final section, the track had a lot going on and a lot to think about, very challenging but exceedingly satisfying and well worthy of a high spot, and to be honest I did go back and forth between the top 2 on what should be 1 and 2 respectively.
Well first I guess we should do honourable mentions right, some of the tracks had to miss out and im pretty sure they would feature in other peoples lists, to be fair Nintendo have one of the strongest franchise games in Mario kart that has the ability to bring people together so thereis not really a terrible track just some good some not so good and some that are epic. some of these tracks were hard to leave out my list.
Bowsers castle - Double Dash
Koopa Beach - N64
Wario Stadium - N64
Fairly certain these would feature on a lot of peoples lists and all three to be fair don't miss out on my list by much, but hard decisions needed to be made which ultimately means some have to miss the party.
Drum Roll please................numero uno is.
1. Rainbow Road - Wii
Was it ever going to be anything else but rainbow road. The track has been redone so many times over the generations of consoles and devices and for me a very mixed bag if im honest, SNES rainbow road was just plain cruel, not the most imaginative of tracks what make it difficult was the fact that corners were sharp and there were no sides, away from that not much too it, Nintendo then went completely the other way with the N64 version, it became a very long lap with sides all the way around and ill be honest I did not enjoy it one it, well apart from the jump you could take to cut a bit of the track out.
The Wii version of Rainbow road really felt like Nintendo finally got it right, the track through the years has always been pleasing on the eye a visual feast of colour and normally a catch jingle to boot. The Wii version of rainbow road has everything, again we have sweeping corners, minimal crash barriers, boost pads, and not only that boost pads on uneven parts of the track just to make sure you are staying switched on, add in extra few parts of the track that has almost a halfpipe feel with large holes in the middle (which were always good for getting your extra jump boost from) the rack did in deed have it all, and for me its why I have given it this coveted space on the list.
No doubt the list isn't to everyone's taste and do you know what, that's cool as previously mentioned different genres of Mario kart and different tracks will hold memories for people and every list will look different. Nintendo have stepped up their game through the years and rolled with the times and evolved Mario Kart in a way that keeps it fresh for everyone from older gamers such as myself to younger gamers on the newer generation of consoles.
What we can all hopefully agree on is the gaming world is a far richer place when we have games like Mario Kart.
Hope you enjoy. It took a minute. Hard decisions were made
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