Played it a lot when it came out, didn't really care about it, it was pretty fun but I couldn't get past my distaste for the wii wheel. Mario Kart 7 and 8 come out and blow me away they are so fun; no other Mario Kart game comes close, right? WRONG. In 2022, I finally realize MKWii is compatible with a gamecube controller so I decide to play it for real, and holy guacamole? I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS MISSING! This game is absolutely bananas. The items are insanely punishing and the tracks are so hazardous that this game reaches a level of batshit that no other MK has touched. But the insanity is so fun. The game's tracks feature a bunch of strategically placed ledges, ramps, and shortcuts that, combined with the technical prowess of the player utilizing MKWii's diverse control mechanics, allow for extremely competitive racing beyond the simple randomness of the items. The game feels like a fan-made Mario Kart romhack and it's absolutely divine.

One complaint for the game is that the bots seem weirdly programmed to all stick really close together, so pretty much every time you get hit you are bombarded with bananas, bombs, and bumps and are immediately put in 12th place. My only other complaint is that all the retro tracks were just slapped into the game; I wish they woulda upgraded them to match the new tracks.