Pre-Review: March 21, 2024

Forgive me if I'm overpraising but, never thought in my life I would've not just actually enjoyed, but loved Super Mario RPG, especially for the fact that this is a remake of the 1996 SNES classic. While I didn't do a full completion of the game, I just beat the main story today and I just wanted to say that this is truly a faithful and improved remake of the original from the simple, yet beautiful graphics, cute art style, enhanced soundtrack, newly added cutscenes, etc. And coming from someone who has never beaten the original and feel indifferent towards it, this remake is truly the best opportunity for a new generation of Mario fans to experience why this game is so beloved by many 27 years later. This is one of best video game remakes I've ever played and I'm so very excited to play remake of The Thousand-Year Door when it finally comes out.

I was currently writing a full review this game in this textbox, but I instead decided to start small and just share my overall thoughts and feelings for this remake. Stay tuned! ^^

Pre-Review: February 21, 2024

If I had to be honest, I might've enjoyed this a lot more than Octo Expansion, maybe because Pearl and Marina appeared more physically along the quest in this.

Oh well, regardless, this expansion was so much fun to play and it feels so amazing to see those two again! ^^

Review posted: January 18, 2024

Since this will be my first review on Backloggd, I decided to come and review my first ever Mario game! Which so happens to be the person I am right now. Indeed, Mario Kart Wii was actually my first game/introduction to the Mario franchise itself, and I thought it’ll be the best time to review this game as part of my (late) New Year’s Resolution. This won’t be a critical analysis of the game since I’m no game critic, just an ordinary person who just loves to play video games and share his favorite things about it, and I think this standard should follow with every review I will make for this site.

My Personal Experiences

In the late 2000s, video games have strongly become a new hobby for not just for myself, but also my family. I remember the time when my dad got us a Nintendo Wii, which also includes Wii Sports as our first game for the console. I remember watching my family creating their own Miis, playing a variety games on the Wii such as Wii Sports, Wii Play, etc. And ever since that very moment, video games (particularly Nintendo) has sorta impacted my life because I’ve became more interested in them more than any other media.

Until one day, my dad decided to go to Best Buy to get another game for the Wii that would more fun for us to play, and that game was Mario Kart Wii. The first time I saw the game’s box cover which also includes the Wii Wheel, I was unfamiliar of what this game or even the character of Mario is. But as we got home, when my family popped that disc into the Wii, My life has suddenly changed forever as this exact memory would start my love for Mario and video games in general.

This wasn’t the only memory that I cherished back then, A collection of memorable experiences were created when I was playing the game. Seeing my family playing Mario Kart was more entertaining than playing with them, I remember one of my first characters to pick from the roster was Toad, Luigi, Birdo, King Boo, Koopa Troopa, etc. Yeah, Mario himself was in fact one of the few characters I got familiar and use to later. (It is my first Mario game after all, haha) But those characters I mentioned were my family’s picks, not just me. Another one of my favorite memories were the tracks and the Nintendo WFC. In particular, one of my family member’s least favorite courses is Rainbow Road, because they would always have a hard racing the track without falling off the course and they would also laugh themselves off whenever they lose or win. And as for WFC, whenever Rainbow Road is picked, they would pray tell to the game not to choose it, but when it does, my family just can’t help but lose it and at the same time laugh about it. One last memory I do want to bring up, and it’s pretty embarrassing. It was that whenever Rainbow Road pops up, I just can’t help but sing along its music and make up the lyrics because the music in this game is just so catchy. Especially whenever my one of my family members are playing the game. lol. Again, these are just memories of me and family’s experiences with the game, not exactly a fully-detailed story of the event.

Features

Just like every game in the series, Mario Kart Wii is a racing game that involves Mario and all his friends/characters participating in Grand Prix, Time Trials, Team Racing, Battles, etc. VS in particular is just racing for fun to play with either your friends, family or yourself. For Grand Prix, you try to win every cup or unlockable by getting either a gold, silver or bronze trophy and also get ranks based on how well you raced from Triple Stars to Rank E. And after beating either Special or Lightning Cup, two ending credits will pop up for when you finished the main gameplay. And I just gotta say, every time I see the end credits, it just gives me a warm and yet sentimental feel, it feels like my childhood is calling back to me, which made me pretty certain why most people favor this game compared to the future titles. And top everything off, the player is rewarded with an ending photo with your Mii either with Mario and Peach in Mario Circuit, or with everyone in the photo if you beat every mode and cup in the game, which just makes the entire gameplay experience feel rewarding.

Mario Kart Wii imo, has some of the best and most memorable tracks in the series. The things that stands out for me were the theming, setting and music of the tracks, and this is something I always found more intriguing and fun about the game as a kid. Courses like DK Summit, Wario’s Gold Mine, Grumble Volcano, Rainbow Road, N64 Bowser’s Castle, etc. stand out to me because of their perilous surroundings and hazardous obstacles. Rainbow Road specifically is my favorite track in the game not just for its beautiful and celestial music, but also how it gives out an atmosphere that feels grand, and if you’re able to see the details of the road that has small pattern of stars inside, it just makes the whole experience of the course so aesthetically pleasing.

And the battle mode in this game is honestly the best battle mode in Mario Kart their is. With five courses each for both the Main stage and Retro stage and both modes such as Balloon Battle and Coin Runners are so much fun to play. Particular courses like Block Plaza, Chain Chomp Wheel, Thwomp Desert, SNES Battle Course 4, GBA Battle Course 3, N64 Skyscraper and DS Twilight House are honestly my favorite because like I said before, it’s the theming, setting and music of the tracks.

The unlockables, specifically the characters and karts are one of my favorite parts about the game because personally, unlocking everything in this game are the most challenging yet fun part. Characters like Daisy, Toadette, Baby Luigi, Funky Kong, Dry Bowser, the Mii character feature, etc. are one of the most challenging things to unlock. Time Trials for example, unlocks Toadette if you play all 32 courses and for Mii Outfit B, you have to unlock all expert staff ghosts for each course. While I don’t have anything to say about unlocking the karts, they’re also very fun to unlock all of them if you’re willing to pick better karts and stats for racing or just for completing the entire game.

If I had one negative thing to say about the game, is that the graphics for this Mario Kart do feel indifferent, (if that’s the right word) especially for a Wii game compared to the previous games in the series like Double Dash has better graphics than this. It’s not really an issue, just something I want to note down.

Conclusion

With this being my first Mario game, Mario Kart Wii is without a doubt one of my favorite games of all time, (My Top 50) and as well my favorite game in the series. Everything about this game such as having the best character roster in the series, one of the best soundtracks in the franchise in general, the best tracks, unlockables, etc. is just something I can’t give enough praise for. Although even if the graphics may have not aged well in the slightest, I do think people who have a soft spot for this game tend to acknowledge, but yet ignore this issue because the game is just that fun to play. And as for this being my first finished review, I can’t wait to review other video games on this site and share them all with you!

Final Rating: ★★★★½ ♥︎