It makes sense for Nintendo to bring one of its best selling first party titles on the Nintendo Wii U to the Nintendo Switch. After all, ports have become an easy source of income with many companies like Capcom putting a lot of focus on this tactic throughout the life cycle of the current hardware generation. Although in Nintendo’s case, the resuscitation of Mario Kart 8 as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch is more than a mere port.
Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s best franchises and it shows with the level of attention and care that the company lavishes each new iteration with. Albeit Mario Kart 8 on the Nintendo Wii U was an impressive new entry, the company still took the time to go over feedback from both players and critics during the development of this port. The feedback resulted in some minor changes that made what was a thoroughly enjoyable title even better.
One of the more prominent changes is the inclusion of an additional slot for holding a second item in a race. The obvious advantage of this is that it makes it easier to come up with strategies when trying to stay on top of a race or just making a beeline for that coveted first position as quickly as possible. Although it’s not possible to choose which of the two items to use, it’s still a handy new feature that ensures clever players have a better chance of protecting themselves against the likes of red shells.
It’s not just visible changes that have somehow turned what was already a pretty exceptional experience into one that is even more fun on the Nintendo Switch. The allocation of items during each race in this edition usually feels fairer, when compared to races on the Nintendo Wii U title, which sometimes made it seem like winning races was more down to good luck. The addition of clever ideas such as the already mentioned additional item slot makes for a more strategic Mario Kart and one where not even a bad stroke of luck of being hit by several red shells in a row can ruin a race.
The lack of a second screen also means that essential features such as the map are now automatically all featured on one screen. Instead, Nintendo is able to make the most of the versatile nature of the Nintendo Switch for a handheld Mario Kart experience that can rival even that of Mario Kart DS and its first foray into online gaming for the franchise. It’s such a simple solution and yet being able to play a title such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the go is exceptionally satisfying. Not only that but the extensive list of options for using controllers on the Nintendo Switch makes playing the title with others extremely easy. At its most basic the title can be played with two Joy-Con controllers and it also gives players the option to use other options to ensure that everyone joining in can still have fun. What is great is that barring the fact that the smaller screen does make it slightly harder to keep up with the action, it still works just as well as in single player races. However, playing with four players on the Nintendo Switch screen is not advisable due to how crammed it feels to have four smaller screens on it. Like with the handheld versions of Mario Kart, it’s also possible to play with other Nintendo Switch owners locally with the help of wireless technology.
One of the biggest complaints on the original Mario Kart was the lack of variety in the Battle mode. This new edition more than makes up for it with several new Battle modes. Not only that but they are extremely fun to play and fit in nicely in a title that was already bursting with content. One of the more memorable battle modes called Shine Thief sees characters fight to see who can hold on to a star for a specific amount of time.
It makes sense that there isn’t any significant new content added to traditional racing mode such as Grand Prix. More so given the inclusion of what was previously premium downloadable content for the Nintendo Wii U version. Still, it’s somewhat disappointing to not see at least one new track to race given the inclusion of a new Splatoon themed map for Battle mode. There are at least some new characters like the Splatoon characters to play with. Even without any new tracks Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still delivers an impressive amount of tracks to master in each of the modes and there are also the various kart parts and some secrets players can unlock by playing the title. Each track contains plenty of gravity defying stunts and juicy secrets that skilled players can take advantage of to get ahead in races.
The emphasis on online play in this title is commendable and Nintendo even implemented some minor changes to improve the experience. One such improvement is the ability to change character and kart parts whilst waiting for the next race to start in the lobby. It’s such a minor change, but one that means players won’t have to start searching for new matches whenever they feel like changing the character and/or kart parts. It also means not having to quit playing with a group of good random players. The ability to run tournaments online is also fun and one that is relevant in at a time when eSports have made competitively playing against others so popular. No technical issues were found during the various matches that were played online.
As for the races themselves, they are still just as much fun to play as they were on the Nintendo Wii U version. Each one just as memorable as the previous one and it never feels repetitive due to the random nature of item allocation. It’s just as easy to control the characters with one Joy-Con controller as it is to do with both or even using one of the other controllers, like the Pro controller that offers a more traditional approach to playing a racing title. Making use of the fancy HD rumble feature exclusive to the Nintendo Switch even makes it easier to get a speed boost with drifting. The title itself runs just as well on the Nintendo Switch screen as it does on a larger TV screen. Nintendo’s trademark colourful visuals in glorious high definition and catchy music tracks ensures that this is easily still a relevant title that can stand up to any new titles recently released.
Whilst other companies would have been happy with a simple visuals upgrade on a port, it’s clear that Nintendo went the full mile with this new edition of its latest Mario Kart title on the Nintendo Switch. Just the fact that the title can be easily played on the go alone or with other players already makes for an addictive experience. It will be very difficult for Nintendo to improve on such a classic with the inevitable proper new Mario Kart Nintendo Switch entry, but at least owners of the versatile Nintendo Switch hardware can be kept entertained for months to come with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
