Mario Kart 3DS Discussion Thread

[hisak]

The blue shell is going to stay with the series forever, and it's probably always going to explode as well. It definitely needs to be less common though. I wouldn't mind seeing a return to the Mario Kart 64-era blue shell, but that's not going to happen.

[Uber_Challenger]

The blue shell is going to stay with the series forever, and it's probably always going to explode as well. It definitely needs to be less common though. I wouldn't mind seeing a return to the Mario Kart 64-era blue shell, but that's not going to happen.

Wasn't that shell like the present version of the red shell? And what was the difference between the red and green shells in the 64? I haven't played that game in literally about 12 years, so I don't remember all the details.

[hisak]

Wasn't that shell like the present version of the red shell? And what was the difference between the red and green shells in the 64? I haven't played that game in literally about 12 years, so I don't remember all the details.

Sort of. The MK64 blue shell traveled along the ground and went after every racer ahead of you until it reached the first place racer. It was less powerful than it is now and it could break if you shot it into a wall.

[Hyruleansoldier]

The MK64 blue shell traveled along the ground and went after every racer ahead of you until it reached the first place racer. It was less powerful than it is now and it could break if you shot it into a wall.

They should bring something like that back, though.  Sure enough there's the POW block, to make everyone spin out, but that's at the same time.  I'd like to see a new type of shell that travels much like a red shell (or egg), or Bullet Bill, and has a very high chance of hitting most people when it passes by.  And it blows up the first player.

^That's actually a pretty cool idea! One thing I'd like to know is this: What are you guys' opinions on the blue shell (the one that hits the person in first place; it's in the picture below)? Should it stay, go, or be updated?

Well, I'd like them to change it just a little bit.  Either they should make a separate version of it, a shell that will hit the player that's first at the moment the shell is being fired (often times who's 1st changes, which would bring the racer in second at a disadvantage if he finally got in 1st only to be chosen by the blue shell.  There's only a second or two in which the blue shell settles in the air above the doomed player, afer that you could pass it by and be first without it still coming after you.  That time period should be changed, I think, so you couldn't get away with taking 1st place until after the blue shell had hit.

Additionally, There could be shells that hit not the next player but the player after that, or both.

And they need to bring back the ability to cancel out spinning due to bananas (for the most part) like in some of the prevous versions (usually by hitting the Brake button).  You can do that for the POW block's effect, though.

They could also update the bob-omb.  Though it's already pretty smart (it has proximity-based settings above time).  But it could be cool to decide on the timing too, if you wanted to be sure you would hit someone behind you, for example.  Or you could make it explode on impact, which would be the preferred setting if you throw it in front of you.  Usualy it waits a while, and you could end up getting hit by the blast yourself.

[Uber_Challenger]

Funny you should mention items, HS. I actually came up with a few item ideas. And if they decided to ever include Special Items again, I these would make cool special items. I'll list the confirmed characters in MK3DS and the items I came up for some of the characters in those games as well as my secret character ideas I posted in this thread and their respective items. The idea I read about for alternate costumes and things will also be implemented here. I haven't come up with special items for everyone, so for those characters I will just put their item from Double Dash or put my own special twist on that item or another item from the past games for that character.

Here are the standard items that I would like to see in a game:

Mushroom (comes in one and three)
Green Shell (comes in one and three)
Red Shell (comes in one and three)
Banana (comes in one and three)
Golden Mushroom
Blue Shell
Lightning
Star

*As usual those last four things will only be available for those who aren't in the top 3 or so.

Standard MK3DS Characters:

Mario - Metal Cap

The Metal Cap will make Mario immune from every item except for the Lightning (duh, he's metal), the Star, or King Boo's, Chain Chomp's, The Koopaling's, or Petey Piranha's items. Even Blue Shells will simply break when hitting him, and they will have no effect. In addition, it will be impossible for any driver to push Mario around by driving into him unless they are equipped with a Star or are using one of Mario's other "costumes" (I talked about this idea in this thread) and have a Metal Cap as well.


Luigi - One Up Mushroom - Will be given to Luigi only if he is in the bottom half of the race due to the almost "overpowered" nature of this item

The One Up Mushroom will not give any extra lives here, as there is no such thing in the Mario Kart games. Instead, it will move Luigi "one" spot "up" in the race by having the Lakitu who saves you when you fall off course pick up Luigi and carry him one space forward in the race no matter how far ahead the next racer is. Because of the way he is carried across the track, he cannot be affected by any item while his transition in the race is happening.


Peach - Heart Shield - I cannot think of an item for Peach, so here is her item from Double Dash.


Yoshi - Egg - I cannot think of an item for Yoshi, so here is his item from Double Dash.


Bowser - Giant Shell - I cannot think of an item for Bowser, so here is his item from Double Dash. I did think of one thing, though, that should be done to it. It should be made to rotate around Bowser like the other shells could in most of the other games.


Donkey Kong - Barrels

Just like in the original NES Donkey Kong game, he has the ability here to throw Barrels. There are 3 Barrels. These Barrels will home in on the nearest Kart and can also be thrown not only backwards and forwards, but also to either side of the Kart. Throwing it forwards will home in on the nearest driver in front of you. Throwing it backwards will home in on the nearest driver behind you. And throwing them to the side will......well I'm sure you get the point by now.


Koopa - Koopa Shield

This would be basically a giant shell (in whatever style belongs to the specific "costume" under Koopa Troopa you choose) that would protect Koopa from any attack except for The Koopalings', King Boo's, Petey Piranha's, or Chain Chomp's. Also, anyone with a Star can run into Koopa and it will knock the shield off. Lightning and Blue Shells don't even effect it, though.


Toad - Giant Mushroom

This is the mushroom from MKWii that made you giant for about 10 seconds. I think it would make a great special item for Toad. This also makes him immune to any item except for the extremely strong ones like the Star or Lightning. King Boo's, Petey Piranha's, The Koopalings' and Chain Chomp's items can also effect it.


Mii - Varies

For the Mii characters, I think that the creator of their Mii should be given a menu of all the special items of the standard characters and that they should choose one of those to be their Mii's special item.


*I think they should also put Wario and Waluigi in with the standard characters on ALL future games. But since they aren't standard in the next game and they also aren't really what I'd consider to be "secret" characters, I won't put their item here, though I'm sure I couldn't come up with anything more than an updated Bob-omb (which I think HS mentioned in an above post, lol).


Now for my secret character ideas for future games:

*One thing I would like to point out is that besides Daisy, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, and Toadette, all of whom either have the same items as some of the of the standard characters or in Diddy's case have an item that could be regarded as not being "cheap" , all of the special characters will only be able to be given their special items if and when they are in the bottom half of the race, kind of like with Luigi. This is because their items would likely allow them to have an unfair advantage if they got this item when they were in the top half of the race.

I have also brought a few of the characters back towards the beginning of this list because of their items being the same as a few of the standard characters. Thus, this will actually be the order from easiest to hardest in terms of difficulty in unlocking them.


Daisy - Heart Shield - Same as Peach's item.


Toadette - Giant Mushroom - Same as Toad's item.


Bowser Jr. - Giant Shell - Same as Bowser's item


Diddy Kong - Giant Bananas

I couldn't think of anything myself, so this is basically 3 of his item from Double Dash. They'll also be dragged behind him like normal bananas, but only one at a time because they would make it too hard to see if there were 3 behind him at the same time.


Rosalina - Cosmic Shield

Although I haven't played either of the Super Mario Galaxy games, I've heard that Rosalina had some kind of protective shield, and I think that would be a good item. It will act just like the Koopa Shield, but will also make anybody who runs into Rosalina while she has this shield will be stunned and act like they had been hit by a shell. It will also not be affected by anyone's item except for someone with a Star, King Boo's "item", or the Koopalings' item.


Toadsworth - Platinum Mushroom

This is an updated version of the Golden Mushroom. Once used it lasts just as long as the Golden Mushroom, but it also gives double the speed increase of a normal boost. And if this weren't enough, it doesn't even affect turning abilities and control as much as the Golden Mushroom does, so catching up to the rest of the racers after being hit with too many items is even easier.


Petey Piranha - Bullet Bill

This is the same thing as the Bullet Bill in MKWii, but here instead of just getting you into like 5th place, this one will get Petey into 3rd place guaranteed. It will also automatically hit anyone on the way. It is invulnerable to almost any item while being used, but if it sees someone who is invincible, it will go around them since Bullet Bills have always been able to be defeated in past games by someone with a star. The only other way someone can avoid this while being below 3rd place is if it's Rosalina using her shield (or King Boo using it after stealing it) or Chain Chomp using his "item". In those cases both Petey and any of these characters using their items will be unaffected. The Koopalings' item will also be dodged with this item.

King Boo - Boo Army

If I remember right it was in Mario Kart 64 where Boo was an "item". Well this "item" is an update of that. Since King Boo is the leader of all Boos in existence, he is in command of all of them. With that in mind, I'd have this "item", when used, allow King Boo to call on an army of Boos who would do what the Boo in past Kart games would do: Steal an item. However, this is a whole army, so everybody gets robbed of their item. King Boo doesn't get all of them, though. The one he does get, though, is always the most powerful item out of all of the items being held by all racers at the time the Boos are called. Any items being used will also be taken from the racers (along with their effects) and possibly given to King Boo if that is the strongest item. The only items that cannot be taken while they are being used are the Lightning (since that takes away your item when it's used), the Star (since people with stars in invincible), the Bullet Bill (for the most part people are also invulnerable when using this as well) and the Koopalings' item. Those can still be attained if they haven't been used yet, though. Chain Chomp's item cannot be stolen under any circumstance, however, and that will be explained when I talk about his item. Plus, if the opportunity to get almost any item in the game wasn't enough, King Boo will get TWO of that item.


Chain Chomp - HIMSELF!! !

Yes, you can't really call this an item. Remember Baby Mario and Baby Luigi's attack from MKDD? This is the same thing, but like the little "3rd place" guarantee I gave to the Bullet Bill here, this does the same thing. This basically acts the same way as the Bullet Bill, but it's actually Chain Chomp holding onto the front of his vehicle with his chain and chasing like a mad dog after everyone ahead of him and taking them out until he gets into third place. He is also invulnerable to anything in this state except for someone with a Star or the Koopalings' item (yes, even Petey and Boo can't use their special items to affect Chain Chomp when he uses his "item"). And if he runs into Rosalina's shield, he won't get shocked while he is using this, but simply will avoid her. Same goes for somebody with a star. He will go around them as well. And as an added bonus, unlike the Bullet Bill, this "item" cannot be dropped or stolen under ANY circumstance because the "item" is actually the racer himself! And plus, since they'd have to downsize the 3-D Chain Chomp if he was made a racer so he could fit in the car, I think that while using this he should become his normal 3-D size and then shrink back down to "Mario Kart size" after he's done!


Ludwig Von Koopa (and the other Koopalings) - Smart Giant Shell

This would be the ultimate item. It would basically look just like Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s shell in terms of size and design. However, it would not only act like a red shell and hunt down the driver in front of you, but it would also be invincible like it had gotten a Star. This would make it so that it would not only hit the driver in front of you, but also every single driver up through the first person. Plus, once it got through everybody in front of you, it would return towards you like a boomerang, hitting all the racers in front of you again, until it finally runs out of star power when it hits the person right in front of you for the second time and disintegrates upon impact. Since it's invincible until it hits the final person, it won't be affected by any item and cannot be stolen. And because it it a "smart" giant shell, it will not only stay on the track and follow racers, but for anyone trying to play dirty and drive off the edge to make the shell chase them and go off the course early, it will know not to go off of the course!



I hope some of these ideas sound cool, partially because I want my ideas to be considered cool, and also because I don't want all that typing I just did to be for nothing.

[hisak]

I don't particularly want special items to return, but I like some of your ideas. Obviously some of them would have to be changed to keep from being too overpowered, but I like the idea of having a Final Smash-like item. The metal cap especially is an item I could see being in a Mario Kart game.

[Uber_Challenger]

I don't particularly want special items to return, but I like some of your ideas. Obviously some of them would have to be changed to keep from being too overpowered, but I like the idea of having a Final Smash-like item. The metal cap especially is an item I could see being in a Mario Kart game.

Glad to hear you agree somewhat with a few of my item ideas. I like your usage of the phrase "Final Smash-like". I think that best describes a lot of my item ideas. I also think that they wouldn't necessarily need to be brought down in power as long as there was some form of catch to them, such as the most powerful special item only being given if you are in last place and the least powerful one(s) given in any place. Also making it only be around a 1 in 5 chance for getting any of the special items would make them less cheap. If those last 2 things I said were done I think that it would make it so that even if you picked the one of the characters with the least powerful item, you wouldn't be at any sort of disadvantage over the characters with the most powerful items.

By the way, Hisak and HS, you either of you have any specific ideas for an area (such as a few levels you'd like to see back or even ones that haven't been tracks before)? I can't really think of any levels I'd like to see added right now so I'm wondering what you two might have on your "wish list" as far as levels go in future games.

[hisak]

Mario Kart 3D is now Mario Kart 7. Some people think that it's just a working title, but I don't see why they would switch from one working title to another for no reason. It'll be out in December.

Edit: We have a logo and new screens and art.





More here.

[Hyruleansoldier]

Final-smash like items sound great, and yeah there's usually a catch.  A good example is the thunder cloud: it makes you go faster, but if you hold on to it too long it will shrink you, making you slow and vulnerable.

As for stages, I really want Yoshi's Mountain from MK64 back, the Royal Raceway, Tick Tock Clock from MKDS, something with candy or presents from the GBA version, and some others that had some interesting U-turns and hidden shortcuts (jump boost pads in the middle of nowhere you would need to land on).  The turnpike from MKDD (GC), its Bowser's Castle, the one with the bridge...

These are just the ones I can think of from the top of my head.

MK7 is cool.  The problem with MK3DS is that people might get confused.  People have already made the mistake of buying 3DS games when not even owning one (heard this from the videogames store owner), so yeah they should go with something different than just slapping 3DS at the end.  They should probably also figure something out with Super Mario 3DS, give it an extra word or sub-title or whatnot.

I love the windmills and the flying, and driving underwater.  I'm sure the game will be more involving for the single player, since you'll be finding the best combination (of driver, kart, type of wheels and "extra" the glider etc) for each course (time trial) and cup (grand prix).

For multiplayer it'll mostly be about the items.

And I'm sure they'll bring back the slightly altered item distribution settings: I mean to say that each course has slightly different % of getting certain items.  In the Wii version you could affect this setting, course-based or just low or Frantic.  So yeah it's all good.

[hupla]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ecesGCI3U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ecesGCI3U</a>

Game looks fucking baller.

[Hyruleansoldier]

Sweet!  A DKCR stage!

Most of these stages look rather short though.  But I'm guessing you need to acquire some coins to buy upgrades?  like different tyres and such?

[hupla]

Coins probably increase speed like in Super mariokart and the GBA game.

[Hyruleansoldier]

Oh like in Diddy Kong Racing!  There it was bananas actually.  Quite a fake-out if you're used to avoiding bananas.

[Uber_Challenger]

Oh like in Diddy Kong Racing!  There it was bananas actually.  Quite a fake-out if you're used to avoiding bananas.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Diddy will be a secret character in 3DS...

[Hyruleansoldier]

I'm pretty sure.  There IS a DKCR stage after all...

[Uber_Challenger]

That is true. I've said this before and I'll say it again, they better include the guy in my avatar in future games (hopefully this one too).

[Hyruleansoldier]

Come to think of it, GC King Boo had a crown, MK Wii Boo didn't.  Why?

The standard roster for MK7 isn't very big.  Hopefully that means a LOT of unlockable characters;  It's fun to unlock stuff.

How many unlockable characters did MK Wii have?  Including the two Mii's?

[JordAnime]

I've felt Mario Kart hasn't been too hot since Mario Kart 64, with the exception of Mario Kart DS.  Double Dash was just kinda weird, and Mario Kart Wii felt like it was sitting in Miyamoto's closet as a Gamecube release...the biggest bunk was how little skill factored into it.  It was like playing Super Smash Bros. with all the items on High Frequency.  It'd be nice to have an option to turn items off for races and adjust the frequency of what kind of items are received. 

All in all, I'm excited for this entry, I'm hoping it'll follow in the footsteps of Mario Kart DS...but of the "big" 3DS titles, it's probably the one I have the least interest in.

[Uber_Challenger]

King Boo actually had a crown in Wii, too:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBM6EffdrcU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBM6EffdrcU</a>

And actually, I think items should always be on, but the level should be adjustable. Some cars are just faster than others and some are better at handling, which could give certain people an advantage others don't have if there are no items (particularly if someone chooses a fast car AND knows the course well).

[Hyruleansoldier]

Yeah.  But Jord is right, MKWii was too easy.  Often times I was like "I totally sucked, there's no way I can still win", but then I get a bullet bill and a star and woop, I still finish first.

I liked Double Dash.  Two characters was great, and items depending on the character in the back, you could switch them so you could keep 2 items at a time.  Strategy ftw.  Actually Double Dash was harder, not that many items to get you back in the race, and the CPU was better than in the Wii version.

DS version was great, especially the missions.  Those need to return, and not just in a "MK Wii Channel" kind of deal.