- Hey, y'all, Scott here. I have hobbies. I'm only human. I like talking harshly about Mario Kart 7 being somewhat critical of Mario Kart 7 negatively speaking about
Mario Kart 7, hiking, despising Mario Kart 7. So Mario Kart and the number
seven walk into a bar. What did you think would happen? The Mario Kart series was
always a massive success but it wasn't until the
DS and Wii incarnations that it truly reached
worldwide phenomenon status. It seems like nearly everybody played one or the other or both. It was sales numbers like these, you could walk up to anybody on the street and ask why was R.O.B in Mario Kart DS? That's not to downplay the
success of previous titles but these hit the big time. And after the release of Mario
Kart Wii, it was inevitable that whatever Mario
Kart would follow would also do phenomenally well. This was no longer a series that Nintendo wanted to put
out on each of their platforms. This was one they had to. But that's just the thing. We were 6 mainline Mario Karts in, but really who was counting? This title's making a lot more sense now. What could Nintendo do
for the seventh mainline Mario Kart game to not
only get people excited, but also sell them on
their shiny new handheld the Nintendo 3DS? Well, Nintendo did the unthinkable. They made a new Mario Kart game. This is Mario Kart 7,
a great title no doubt, but what I have felt so
little desire to go back to throughout the years
is in this weird space where it's functionally sound, it controls well, it's
still incredibly enjoyable but everything it added to the
series that were once unique to it either were so whatever or they actually became mainstay
elements from there on out. And because of that, I would
consistently ask myself, why would I ever play this game again? Well hat's a testament to
how good this game truly was at the time and introduced
so many new features that became mainstay
elements of the series from that point forward. But outside of those few
new features, this game just doesn't really have a core
identity of its own in terms of how it feels, how it
sounds, how it looks. This is a game that in
my opinion felt like just another Mario Kart, more
so than any other entry in the series. I'm sorry. I had to say that. I really hope any future
employer doesn't look that quote up. And just look at the
cover and it just feels like more of the same from DS and Wii. They just looked at these
games said, all right, this works. Third time's the charm. That's sort of indicative of my problem with Mario Kart 7, but we'll get to that when we get to that. First off we must visit the
year 2010, such a fun year. So much happened. Mario Kart 7 got announced. The Nintendo 3DS was fully unveiled at E3 alongside some early peaks
at games and development. Basically just quick
glimpses of titles to come. Most didn't have a final name yet. It was mainly stuff like Paper Mario 3DS and Animal Crossing 3DS. But right alongside those
titles was Mario Kart 3DS, Mario Kart 7's maiden name. The game was only a few
months into development at this point, but a core
feature, some journalists noted at the event, was that
the game featured glaring. Remember when I said 7
introduced the features that I couldn't imagine the franchise without. Not much else was really there. It was just a smooth Mario
Kart demoing glasses-free 3D thanks to the 3DS screen. But other than that, it wasn't
much to write home about. In the background, development
was going a bit slower than many would have expected. Only a handful of people were
actively working on the game while others who would
have, if they had time were busy going to town on Nintendogs + Cats, also known as priorities. So around December of 2010,
Nintendo enlisted the help of Retro Studios to assist in the game. They just finished up
Donkey Kong Country Returns. They were obviously the most
qualified for Mario Kart. So they had to help out Nintendo with developing a Donkey
Kong theme track for the game Because God forbid Nintendo
does it themselves. And they were developed the
retro tracks in the game. I feel like they were only
picked because of their name. Now Retro is one of
Nintendo's best subsidiaries responsible for Metroid Prime and the modern Donkey Kong Country titles. I was surprised when it was revealed they helped out with this game because I don't automatically
equate the creators of this to this. It's, whatever. I ate it up. E3 2011 came around and
so did a new trailer for Mario Kart 3DS
confirming a holiday release and the three major gimmicks of the game, gliding, underwater tracks, and cart customization. Cart customization in
this trailer boiled down to you can get big wheels now. Gliding and underwater section seem to be interesting ways to
spice up the track design and the game itself
looked pretty all right. A kind of a mix between Mario DS and Wii in terms of graphical quality. But we still didn't have an
official name for it yet. Nintendo kept referring to it as Mario Kart or Mario Kart 3DS. Oh, just you wait because
a quick two months after E3, the final title was revealed. I think I was expecting
it to just be called Mario Kart 3DS or Mario Kart 3D. Keep in mind, Mario Kart
names have never been good. Most actually were just named
after the system they were on. So it was a bit of a shock to
see them whip out math on us. So if I had to guess why they did this I'd say it's because
calling it Mario Kart 3DS or Mario 3D may have made
it seem like a rerelease or remake of Mario Kart DS or
any other previous Mario Kart but in 3D this time. It's strange that this was
where they drew the line and started numbering the games. But hey, it's hard to get
confused by this title. It's just, I worry that
some consumers refuse to play this on the basis that they never played
Mario Kart 2 through 6. There was a temporary
logo used for a few months that I kind of like
more than the final one. A few more trailers release,
showcasing new items, courses and characters, until the
Mario Kart 7 finally released on December 4th, 2011. The Nintendo 3DS had a pretty rough start after it launched earlier
that year in March. But thanks to a price cut and Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D land
releasing that holiday, it experienced a little
something I like to call success. 3D land was generally considered the more innovative game, I guess. Well, Mario Kart was more of a safe bet. You knew exactly what you were
getting into with this one. But if it wasn't for these
two games, we'd also be alive. They're video games, not shelter. So that's the history of
the world from 2010 to 2011, ie Mario Kart 7's build up to release. I wasn't super excited for this. I just had feelings of, oh great. I can play Mario Kart on
my 3DS when this comes out and not much more than that. I may have just had fatigue
from the series at the time. It just felt like this is
Mario Kart and it will be good. Keep in mind, Mario Kart
Wii was only three years old and we were not on the best of terms. So I sold it to pay for 7. And here we are with me
going back to Mario Kart Wii, saying I'm sorry and realizing
it was actually pretty good after not playing 7 for over six years. Well, I picked this game up
fairly quickly after launch. I played it. I enjoyed it. I have nothing else to say. Well, let's see why I
have nothing else to say. This is Mario Kart 7. ♪ [Mario] Mario Kart 7! ♪ - Who would have thought
this would be the game's title screen? Moving into single player, this is exactly what I was expecting. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? 7 feels so, been there done that. Like look at all the new
modes. There are none. On top of that, the
presentation is just so sterile. It looks fine, but it has
none of its own personality. That may sound like
not an argument to make for a Mario Kart game, but looking back at
each game in the series while many are incredibly
similar, each one has at least a few things that give
them their own unique flair. And first impressions of 7,
it doesn't really have that. In fact, the menu music
here is nearly identical to Mario Kart Wii's. Moving onto characters, I've already unlocked all of them here which means, hell yeah, I
don't have to waste time unlocking characters on Mario Kart 7. What am I going to do
with all this free time? Not unlock characters in Mario Kart 7. The stuff you had to do
to unlock these characters wasn't anything dreadful like it was with Mario Kart Wii for example. Unlocking all characters in that game is some people's major here. It's as simple as winning a cup in 150 CC. Each one will unlock a specific character and being all of them in any
difficulty nets you and me. Okay. Thank you. That's much easier,
but it's a little lame. I kind of want there
to be a balance between f*** this f****** s*** f*** f*** and this is a little too easy. Like have me do a bit more
than just beat all the cups. Give me a reason to play
through the other modes beat a few time trials,
that sort of thing. Well onto the roster, we have the lovable cast
we've all come to know and love over the past 20 odd years. The characters that make
Mario Kart, Mario Kart. There's a lot of bees in this one. All right. We have the mainstays here, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Daisy, Warrio, Rosalina, the meet. It's a very cozy police lineup But then we have the new comers. Shy Guy makes his debut as just a straight up playable character. You could use him when playing multiplayer and Mario Kart DS with friends
who didn't own the game. But here, if you paid for Mario Kart 7 you get the right to Shy Guy. Lakito, the character
who was fundamentally the flag girl of Mario Kart
makes his playable debut, which I like. It's cool to see him actually playable after being a staple in
the series for so long. Metal Mario. You know,
Mario Metal? Metal Mario. It's Mario made of metal making his debut in Super Mario 64 as a
power up here he's portrayed as some sort of robotic version of Mario which is strange. This maybe a reference to Metal Mario in the Smash Brothers series,
where he's an opponent near the end of some single player modes. For Mario Golf, I don't know. This is a case of Metal Mario is technically a Mario character and all we have to do is
take Mario and make him gray. I'll give them a pass this one
time, but they better clean up their act for the next game. I shouldn't have said that. Wiggler, everyone wanted
to drive as a caterpillar. Don't lie. I'm cool with Wiggler here. This is a dumb addition. I like it. And this one hits home for me to all the Mario Galaxy fans out there. It finally happened. Giant Bee. Honey Queen is our final character. And my God, why? Out of all Mario characters who haven't been in Mario Kart, hell, Mario Galaxy character, why this one? That's like if I had to make a racing game based on my life and for
the final playable character I picked this tree that's
20 feet away from me. I mean, sure this doesn't offend me. I just have more questions
than answers at this point. And that goes for the
entire roster as a whole. And they did the unthinkable. Wario, unlockable? There are a few characters that didn't come back like Waluigi. Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS returns but not him. So I remember hearing this
thing where the developer said Waluigi wasn't included
because he was too creepy. What are you talking about? But now looking into it apparently it was simply
due to time constraints. I mean, I don't need
Waluigi. He's not shelter. But that still doesn't explain the oddball roster we have here. I'll give it some slack. Handheld Mario Karts generally
don't have a ginormous list of playable characters but the playful characters
they pick this time around were very questionable. Oh, I have nothing better to do so might as well hit next. Onto the vehicle customization, something I was really interested in. You can change up your kart's
body, wheels, and glider. That's it. It's cool we have a lot more options now. But sadly, I don't feel
like this is as great as I wanted it to be when it was revealed. Like yeah, it's kind of fun to
mix and match everything up. But overall, when I look back at something like Mario Kart Wii,
that was a lot simpler. It was just pick a kart, go. Here, I have to meticulously pick out what kind of wheels I want. When, to be honest, it
really doesn't matter. The main thing I think most
will change up consistently is the kart's body, the wheels and glider. And when you find one,
you like, you just stick to that forever. Customization here doesn't make me feel more connected to the kart I create. And the only time I can
truly feel like, oh yeah, I made this monstrosity is
when I put big wheels on it. This is fundamentally the only time I ever
feel like I made this is. It's weird they didn't bring
back the emblem creator from Mario Kart DS. That would've fit perfectly
with being able to put together your own vehicle. Customization is a cool idea
and it's fine. It works. I just don't feel an
overwhelming sense of freedom or uniqueness with the
kart I put together. I end up looking back at the simpler times and realizing this isn't
much different or better. Well, let's hop into the first cup and, (Mario Kart countdown begins) it's Mario Kart again! This is one of the most Mario Kart feeling Mario Kart's I've ever played. Really no surprises here. It's not like the older ones
where you go back to them and go, wow this controls
a lot differently compared to the newer ones Mario Kart 7 feels exactly
how you'd expect it to. It runs great. And in my opinion, it
looks sharper than Wii did. Sure, the character models
may be kind of blocky but it's still fourscore and seven leagues better than DS. Speaking of DS, we have the return of the map on the bottom screen. It really does feel like
the best of DS and Wii in terms of looks and features, but with the core racing 7 introduces gliding and underwater racing which I think are fine, new additions. You don't have to think about them at all. If you drive up to a ramp
that you can glide off of your glider automatically appears and now you can weasel
your way through the air. Underwater isn't too much
different from normal racing. Just obviously things are slower and physics are more floaty. However, it's really interesting to me that what used to be
considered a no-no throughout the entirety of Mario Kart, that being these giant craters of water, are now considered integral
parts of the track. You want to go through these now. Even the returning older tracks that considered water out of bounds areas have been updated to make
them traversable now. Both of these elements
help deliver more uniquely designed tracks and keeps you on your toes to the point where it's
sorta hard to imagine Mario Kart without them. But I've been really trying to be more shell lately. So f*** these things I'm
only here for the 3D effect. Crank that slider up and experience vision
impairment you won't regret. The 3D looks great in this game giving the courses so much
more depth and liveliness. However, it at absolutely no
way enhances your gameplay. You don't gain anything for
turning the 3D on or off. It's just the good effect that
has no bearing on gameplay. But what if you wanted it to? You ever look at all
the buttons on the 3DS and wonder what's this one for? Let's hit up and find out, oh my God. So this is what a bee sees driving. Mario Kart 7 features a
first person view option alongside motion controls. Hit up and you can twist and
turn your system to steer. It's an option. You see, I've used the
steering wheel or two in my day and this just doesn't cut it. I'm no idiot. This
doesn't feel like driving. They've thought of everything. An officially licensed Mario Kart 7 wheel for the original 3DS. Do my eyes deceive me? I'd be concerned if they did. It is a shell to pop your 3DS into so you can get more
comfortable wheel action. This is obviously trying to cash in on the Wii wheel craze that
happened with Mario Kart Wii. Except with that game, it felt like a natural steering wheel. Here, it feels like a 3DS. It doesn't do much for me and Mario Kart works pretty well on Brain Age, too. Item wise, this game has it all. It has no fake item box and the item roster in this one feels a bit more stripped down than usual. No fake item box, none of the new additions
to Mario Kart Wii return but we have three new items here starting off with the super leaf. 2011 was a big tail heavy year. 7 released nearby to
Super Mario 3D Land where that game's primary
innovation was pandering. It brought back the
super leaf from Mario 3 So of course Mario Kart
got infected with it. Your Kart grows a tail. Finally. You have the power of what
feels like 30 seconds. to just keeps spamming
the button to spin it. You can deflect projectiles
at other racers. In theory, it's a nice power up but I always feel like I get it at the worst times when it's
pretty much completely useless. Yes, I'm all by myself
and have nothing to do but go on the straightaway, thank God I have a tail
to keep me company. You can use them while gliding to keep
yourself in the air for a bit but even you can come up
with positives for Satan. I like the color red and the tail keeps you in the air longer. Doesn't mean like either one of these. The fire flower, honestly,
I'm surprised it hasn't become an item before this. And technically fireballs
were Mario and Luigi's special item in double dash but here we're a fire flower family. You get to spout out as
many fireballs as you can over a short period of time. It's a nice alternative to an
item like the triple shells. And here you get faster
ammo and more of it at that but they're less predictable
as to where they'll go and they're smaller overall. Not an amazing new item,
but a worthwhile addition. And finally the lucky seven. And no, it isn't an
item you get when you're in seventh place. Way to rub it in. This gives you seven
items at your disposal and you can activate all of them. Just be careful nobody
runs into any of them while they're circling around. You see this is an item that makes you just feel ungodly powerful but it's difficult to use strategically. I just feel like I have to get rid of all my items immediately. And because of that I don't ever feel that lucky to get it. I'm just like, all right. They end up balancing this
time around, it's all right. It's just kind of boring. It just feels like I get
nothing but tails and mushrooms. Nothing like a fun evening in Mario Kart 7 getting tails and mushrooms
and like three blue shells hit me per race, oh my God. Overall, I'd say the items in
7 were pretty underwhelming, however, it turns out that movement I was a part of in 2011,
actually accomplished something. I don't even care about the coins. I just had a free year. No matter how often they leave,
they always find a way back. Coins make their triumphant return. Originally in the series,
you'd want to collect them on the track to hit top speed. If you've got hit, you lose some of them. And here it's the exact same. Go a bit faster by collecting the coins, lose them when you get hit,
it's the circle of life. And here the more coins you collect get you new kart parts to unlock. I wish they had like a little
shop to spend your coins because as it is here,
you get new kart parts when you hit certain milestones like, oh you have 2000 coins. Here you go. I just don't feel that engaged
with unlocking kart parts. Onto the tracks, first
up we have Toad Circuit. It's exactly what you think it is. Daisy Hill's a very pleasant track with windmills and hot air
balloons. It has it all. Cheep Cheep Lagoon, mostly
taking place under water, a wonderful course to realize, wow gliding is way more fun than this. Shy Guy Bazaar, I like this one. The theme is great and
taking place at night makes it stand out quite well. Moving onto the Flower Cup,
Wuhu Loop a track based on Wuhu island from Wii Sports Resort. Yes. Nintendo's excuse for not making a new character or franchises for years. The response, what are you talking about? We made a new character, Wuhu island. It's somewhat odd to have this here, but it makes for a fun track. And it's one of the
first times a Mario Kart doesn't feature laps
rather it's one long track split into three sections. Wuhu island was legitimately
fun to explore in Resort. And just as a Mario Kart track, I think its personality is undermined by a lot of the more out there courses. Though, it's still a fun time. Mario Circuit, you can go in the castle. How do they get work done in here with a driveway inside? Music Park is definitely
the star of the show here and driving on musical instruments that play music when you're on them and this giant section
where you're gliding and avoiding proof that
God doesn't exist 2011. Rock Rock Mountain, this one's cool because it literally
feels like an adventure. And there's this section
where you're gliding down from crazy high up and you have the sense of
freedom you don't usually feel in a Mario Kart track. Then climbing up with
boulders coming down, it's nothing crazy, but a cool one. Star Cup, pirana plant slide. Ever wonder what sewers look like. Well, you're welcome. Warrio Shipyard, weirdly one of the more forgettable tracks for me which is odd considering the
theme of a sunken pirate ship. It's amazing yet I keep forgetting this one was here. Neon Bowser City, it's a
rainy city. Good for it. Maka Wuhu, Wuhu Island's back. And this one is also three
sections instead of laps and takes place during a sunset. I don't remember many
differences between these two. Finally, the Special Cup. DK Jungle was the trek Nintendo just couldn't do themselves. Retro helped out with it as it's based on Donkey Kong Country Returns. And honestly, I'm happy they did. This feels straight out of that game and it's a blast to traverse. Rosalina's Ice World,
it happened, didn't it? It's a nice track. That's what it is. And it's Rosalina's all right. Bowser's Castle. This is a pretty flacid Bowser's Castle, nothing memorable really.
It's just kind of there. And finally, of course, we have Rainbow Road split three sections like the Wuhu tracks. This is easily one of the best
Rainbow Roads of all time. You explore space as a
whole going on planets, the moon, it's easily the most distinct and one of the best in the entire series. Overall, not a bad track selection. I'd say 7 has some very high highs, but also some very forgettable lows. No bad tracks, really. But, God, sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat remembering
how much I forget Rosalina's Ice World. The Retro courses this time
around are all right as well. Most are welcome comebacks. And it's cool to see these
tracks updated to take advantage of gliding and underwater sections. Well, when there's no more tracks to play we got to head over to the other modes. Okay. I guess this one. Battle mode we have balloon battle and coin runners. They're just, okay. Only this time we can very
easily change the settings. If we want team CPU is all that. I'm bummed that we can't
alter the time limit though. Whether that means removing it entirely or extending it at all. It's always locked at two minutes The battle arenas are all right. Three new, three old. Although the core one I always remember playing
on was Honeybee Hive. Literally, no other courses existed whenever I played online. It would always pick the bee one. This game is so pro bee it hurts. Speaking of online it's here. It works. That's really all there is to it. It's pretty much the same
as Mario Kart Wii is online even having the same globe spinning in the background. You vote for a track, it'll randomly pick one. You play it. Moving on. Mario Kart's always been
Nintendo's gold standard for online multiplayer. And this was like the one
game that did online well and in Mario Kart 7, it works
as well as you'd want it to. The Mario Kart channel
from Wii returns here. This time you can just access
it all from the menu rather than having to install it on your system. And it's just a way to alter
online settings, view stats, race against other's time trials. 7 was actually pretty big for Nintendo in terms of the term, the future is now. They actually had to update the game because some tracks
featured unaccounted for exploits that allowed users to finish them in record times. Yes, the only reason they ever updated the game wasn't for
adding new courses or modes. It was because some people were having just too much fun with it. It's a good game. Just like any other Mario Kart, it's fun. And this one is obviously
better than many others in the franchise, but I felt
this one had less to it. The mission mode from DS didn't return neither did bikes from Mario Kart Wii. The customization isn't
super crazy in depth. You can't even play versus races where you can select any track to play on with CPU's. Only time trials are in this one. Sure, gliding and underwater
racing they're great new additions that help
the track design be more interesting. The trick system from Wii returns and thankfully all you
have to do this time is hit the same button as your
drift to pull them off. This game is a mishmash
of good new additions, lame new additions, and
baffling exclusions. But in the end, Mario Kart 7 to me just feels like more of the same. So much of its identity to me is basically it feeling like
Mario Kart Wii on the go. But, hey, don't take my word for it. Dear God, don't, it's probably wrong. (outro music)
I kinda wish he'd talk more about the specific battle mode tracks each game has, but on the other hand, briefly addressing battle mode and then going back to the rest of the game definitely reflects my own Mario Kart experience well enough.
Also damn, that purple 2DS just keeps getting wrecked harder and harder
Mario Kart 7 added so much to the franchise that now seem like staples, whilst simultaneously is also kinda forgettable in an odd way.
Anyone remember that post someone made a while ago, it had a similar thumbnail, and it didn't let anyone down
I wish he’d talk about the retro tracks in each game more, I know they aren’t like original to the game and you could argue the game doesn’t deserve credit for them, but you still play on them just as much as the new tracks. Mario Kart 7 easily has the best selection and I think that’s one of the main reasons why people love it.