Pros:
-Got misty-eyed revising Wii Rainbow Road again after maybe 13 or 14 years. I blinked at the last turn, on the last lap, and saw myself 11 years old again. I blinked again, and I was back to my normal, current self, obviously haven flown off the track and regaining speed to cross the finish line. I still finished 1st. My muscle memory, as honed as it was, yet tucked away in my memories, was still sharp as ever, but that brief moment of glimmering nostalgia - a bullet to the heart, lodging itself deep into a place long forgotten, was enough to stun me.
-At 96 tracks, Mario Kart 8 finally ends its run at a gargantuan, unbeatable size; it makes me wonder what could possibly become of the franchise's future. What started off as a title I was initially unimpressed with back in its Wii U days became a kart-racer I've since learned to love profusely, enough to have me bawling tears when the Booster Course Pass was announced two years ago.
-The celebratory lap is over, and Mario Kart's richest and most engaging title ends doubly as much. I've no doubt that we'll see another Mario Kart in the future, as the sprinkled-in original courses (which are all great) seem to peek into a Mario Kart yet to come, but the question begs.. Or rather, many questions beg. Many. With so much of the series' history represented here, the possibilities of what yields ahead seem infinite. I do hope to see the Booster Course Pass format persist in future installments; not just to add longevity, as I'm sure many people still have their course picks unfulfilled, but also as an immortalized testament and celebration of those memories, of which I and thousands, millions of others have.
Cons:
-Rosalina's Ice World
-Got misty-eyed revising Wii Rainbow Road again after maybe 13 or 14 years. I blinked at the last turn, on the last lap, and saw myself 11 years old again. I blinked again, and I was back to my normal, current self, obviously haven flown off the track and regaining speed to cross the finish line. I still finished 1st. My muscle memory, as honed as it was, yet tucked away in my memories, was still sharp as ever, but that brief moment of glimmering nostalgia - a bullet to the heart, lodging itself deep into a place long forgotten, was enough to stun me.
-At 96 tracks, Mario Kart 8 finally ends its run at a gargantuan, unbeatable size; it makes me wonder what could possibly become of the franchise's future. What started off as a title I was initially unimpressed with back in its Wii U days became a kart-racer I've since learned to love profusely, enough to have me bawling tears when the Booster Course Pass was announced two years ago.
-The celebratory lap is over, and Mario Kart's richest and most engaging title ends doubly as much. I've no doubt that we'll see another Mario Kart in the future, as the sprinkled-in original courses (which are all great) seem to peek into a Mario Kart yet to come, but the question begs.. Or rather, many questions beg. Many. With so much of the series' history represented here, the possibilities of what yields ahead seem infinite. I do hope to see the Booster Course Pass format persist in future installments; not just to add longevity, as I'm sure many people still have their course picks unfulfilled, but also as an immortalized testament and celebration of those memories, of which I and thousands, millions of others have.
Cons:
-Rosalina's Ice World