I may be slightly biased because I am a sega fan but this is my favorite kart racer of all time. Not even really for the sega fanservice, either. The character picks are solid and the courses aesthetically look okay but not the greatest. The soundtrack slaps though. This game is so incredible because of the mechanics and game balance. Boosting feels fun with up to 5(?) levels of boost, and chaining from drifts to boost panels to trick boosts, transform boosts, risk boosts, there are so many ways to go fast in this game and it makes it incredibly in depth. The items also don't make races entirely skill-dependant yet also don't make games absolutely chaotic either. The car, boat, and plane forms of each car aren't cosmetic either and entirely changes how you control and play the game. Each port of this game is also pretty unique and cool. The PC port has a ton of extra characters that none of the other ports have, which makes it my personal rec. The Xbox 360 version has a framerate boost on modern xboxs, and the wii U version has its own exclusive gamepad-utilizing gamemodes as well as 5-person multiplayer (at the cost of the wii U version looking and running like trash). Even the 3DS and vita ports are solid ways to play. This game is a turbo banger and absolutely something you should play even if you don't like sonic or sega