Ah man playing time trials like a hardcore freak on this game bring back memories, me and my brother use to be so competitive on top times for every track, if i beat one of his times or vice versa it was war! Great vid
As one of the many purchasers of MK Wii, I had nostalgia for the game, but replaying it really shows its flaws compared to the other installations, especially MK 8.
Mario kart 8 is perfection, especially the switch version. The original on Wii U is great too, but deluxe just added a few little tweaks here and there that made it amazing
Never have a seen a funnier montage at 7:40 ever since I saw a montage of Homer Simpson constantly shouting "D'oh!" from various episodes of "The Simpsons". XD
I thought the racing wheel was the only chunk of plastic peripheral that worked well and felt more immersive, with the exception of the shake. (the zapper was garbage.) That blue shell induced anxiety though was rough.
I personally disagree about your overall opinion on the items. That’s part of the fun that’s it’s insanely chaotic. And trust me if your really good and know what your doing it’s easy to get half a lap on the 150cc cpus. It’s known as the crazy Mario kart game different from others.
The tricks and the wheelies in Mario Kart Wii were the best part of the game. Playing with the Wiimote and nunchuck combo and pulling off tricks was intuitive and opened up a level of fun the previous games didn't have. Lap times also mattered in this game, compared to Mario Kart 7 and 8. Mario Kart Wii also had periodic online tournaments where you went through tracks with added obstacles or new rules. Also, Mario Kart Wii had the Flame Runner, a bike that lets you drift around a dime. I've played all the Mario Karts upon release and Mario Kart Wii is simply the best. I spent so many hours playing the game online and the best player of the group won fairly consistently, downplaying any of that nonsense about the items being too powerful. Super Circuit, on the other hand, is probably my least favorite simply because of the coin requirements. Yeah, forget that noise.
Completely agree. By the time I hit 150cc, I had gotten so good that I was too far ahead for the items to matter. MKWii is my favorite for that reason, because I feel it's the only time in a Mario Kart where player skill can ignore the luck, which feels much more rewarding. Also, I never liked Super Circuit either, mostly because it's like all of the characters have extremely poor traction. To this day, driving in that game feels like I'm on ice on every track. I have similar issues with SMK and 64 but to a lesser extent.
This remains one of my least-favorite Mario Kart games. You're absolutely right about item frequency being ridiculous, which actively hampered the fun I had with it. The controls didn't help much either, felt like something was missing. I'd say it was because I played 8 before I played this... but I also played 8 before I played DS, and I love that one too.
I remember buying this game somewhere around 2008-2009, best decision I ever made. I loved all the characters and karts, and being that one of my best friends at the time was a guru on wii games, helped me unlock a good chunk of the things in this game: characters, karts, courses, etc. I love this game, but I’ll never get around to it again since I just installed my Xbox One a while back.
Mario Kart Wii has Funky Kong, so it's obviously the best. But seriously, I agree; the items were too crazy in this one. I didn't mind so much playing online, because I didn't really focus on winning so much as just having fun, but when the game requires you to win Grand Prix's... nah. I do miss Funky Kong, though. The dude was hilarious.
The intro and outro to the video are gorgeous. Double Dash for the gamecube is my personal favorite then DS, 8 and 64. I haven't played the game boy versions or 7 so take that for what its worth.
One thing to note, the motion controls work much better if you use the nunchuk without the wheel, the wheel basically gimps the handling by forcing you to make larger, and more exaggerated motions for the same if not worse results.
Man the racing wheel showed how good you really were. I found it very precise and never really had a problem with it. Need that 3 star golden wii wheel.
It sucks that stars next to the username isn't a thing anymore, it was cool showing off online, very few people got the three star rank, in MK8 you get nothing.
You don't have to mod your Wii, to play on Wiimmfi. It suffices if you setup a proxy server. Or at least it did. Maybe that changed when they introduced anti-cheat systems. Also, when playing Wiimmfi, you don't have to play CTGP, it's purely optional. The game is P2P, so all the physics code etc. runs on your Wii, so there is effectively no real difference between Wiimmfi and the official server.
Pretty much spot on with this review. I bought it day one and after the novelty of a new mario kart had worn off i never played it again and instead played either Mario Kart DS or super circuit.
I feel so validated for all the frustration I had playing this game as a kid. Thanks for illuminating me to the fact that there's a reason I love Mario kart 8 so much more!
One thing to keep in mind is that with a larger number of racing competitors in MKWii, there is just a larger number of weapons flying around in comparison with some of the earlier games from the franchise. I think your comments regarding weapon balance are pretty accurate though, and also one of the reasons I liked to play with no weapons at all at times.
Playing the Wiimote and nunchuck combo is the best! I don't mind the flick for the tricks and you can relax when you play and put your hands wherever you want.
My two favorite Mario Kart games are Double Dash and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Now don't get me wrong but I have played every Mario Kart game but I like Double Dash for having two characters on a kart one driving and one throwing items. And Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for having the amiibo support ported and having the Excitebike track which hit my nostalgia of playing NES games
I loved this game. I have such good memories playing online with one of my friends in 5th grade. I even have some old cell phone videos from 2013 playing MK Wii online...
I feel the items insanity is what makes this game special, after a while you can pretty much ignor most items exept for the blue shell if you play your cards right, which gives more of the balance you're talking about, though I can see why you don't like it. And the motion control complaints boil down to "I don't like motion controls" which is fair but then again you acted as if the other control methods were for different games, just kinda weird that complaint was. Anyway you're review otherwise was great, especially that blue shell montage, keep up the good work
You're so right about items in this game. When I was trying to unlock things, getting screwed over by a blue shell on the last lap of the last level in a grand prix was brutal.
That blue shell montage...brilliant! I rewatched that bit a few times and I got a grin...again, and again! Don't know if you were playing MK Wii during its heyday but online was some of the most fun one could have! I had 7 other guys at work and every Friday, we'd hop online and join up for hours.
since 2008, all I played with was the racing wheel. I became the patron saint of MK Wii. My muscle memory still sticks with me to this day. If there is a better wheel controller, I'd love to use it.
This is why I personally use the wii remote and nunchuck for this game. It doesn’t make you go from the stick to the d-pad to do tricks, you still use the stick to steer, and you don’t need to shake the entire controller to do a trick
This used to be my favourite until 7 and 8 came out. Compared to those games, the item inbalance really makes it brutally unfair in higher difficulties, though. Another thing I noticed is that the drift mechanic is far easier to learn in 7 or 8 comparedto previous games, such as this one, making the whole experience much easier to get good at without ruining the sense of challenge.
The drifting in this game is very touchy plus the fact that whenever someone bumps into you, you always go flying off the course. It’s a good installment into the Mario Kart franchise but games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe show what the series is capable of
This game made me use the claw grip. I've used both the Classic and GameCube controller. I currently use the Classic controller but I might go back to the GameCube controller just for this game. Claw grip on the GCN controller is way more comfortable.
man i loved the wifi functionality! *_flashbacks of people getting infinite bombs, moon jumping, auto-winning, and spawning a bullet bill to crash battle mode_* ...still loved it!
The items aren't really that bad once you get good enough so that you're so far ahead of the pack, it doesn't matter. I didn't particularly like the flick mechanic of the Wiimote but I got used to. Nunchuck with Wiimote was definitely the best way to play this game. And yeah, after people found out the cheats for the courses, it really took the fun out of it. Even though, I did like how innovative the cheats were hahaha.
6:28 this is exactly why I like the old Mario Kart games better than the last several. The newer ones are way too much of a luck Fest. There's simply too many items and they drop too often and are too powerful. They really need to dial it back a notch in the next Mario Kart game. I liked it better back in Super Nintendo days when there was just a handful of items, you only got one per lap, and Global effects like lightning were rare.
Just a thought about the item imbalance: Mario Kart Wii's item I'm balance is probably intended, Mario kart is supposed to be a goofy kart racer, so the I'm balance just makes it crazier and it makes it very challenging, which is what games are all about.
I’m old enough as a gamer that I’ve been around through all the kart iterations, and for whatever reason the wii version has always been my favourite :) nice to see this.
I just play with the wiimote for MK Wii and MK8... didn’t know anyone bothered playing any other way. The whole reason I prefer those to the earlier ones is I enjoy the motion control. I’ve never had a problem on the hardest AI difficulties, though I’ve never played online
I just got this game for $2 for the WII, and having not played any version after it, I can say it's the best Mario Kart game up to that point! I love it! I'm so new I didn't know you could do tricks or use the nunchuck :)
I have to agree with you 100% about the items. I always felt the Mario kart series had a really good balance of Chance Vs. Skill but this one took the random chance element to the max with nonstop overpowered items flying at you every 5-10 seconds. Still a very fun game, but I don't think it's as good as Mario Kart 8 or even Double Dash / 64 for this main reason.
When I played this with my flatmates and at home with my sisters, there would always be a fight about who would NOT have to play with the racing wheel/Wiimote combination, since the controls were just so awful. Overall the Wii never held its promise of realistic motion controls, since most games only required simple pointing, waggling and jerking up or down. A Wiimote-Nunchuk combo was far more precise and actually made a lot of fun, even in shooters like Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, which should've been the shining example of how to do a shooter on the Wii.
I remember the items in this game being extremely annoying. I lost countless races at the last second because I would be pummelled by three items consecutively. The game definitely needed an extended invincibility period after being hit by an item.
One thing that I think Mario Kart Wii is the best at in the series is the selection for the new tracks. Seriously, almost every new track is awesome and I’d love to see them all return eventually. There’s only a few that I wouldn’t categorize as at least very good.
To me, Mario Kart is one of those series that, once a new game comes out, there's little reason to go backwards except for nostalgia. MK Wii was great but the newer games have succeeded it in every possible way.
We had a Mario Kart 8 (wii U) tournament at retro game store I used to work at, and the guy that won was using a wheel and a wiimote... homie was a complete savage, and just destroyed everyone.
Get that motion wheel out of here bruh. Nunchuck and Wii remote was the only way I could play this game. I was always amazed though when I met someone decent at this game that preferred the wheel.
The best part of this game for me was the online play. Still a great one to play in person with friends but nothing will beat the days when the online servers were still up. RIP 2008 - 2014
Great review video, Mike. I remember playing this with my cousins and thinking "Oh, Mario Kart." and then losing a lot. Because of the intensity of items, the youngest one always felt he had a chance. I think the items in this one makes it the most kid-friendly mario kart game. Do N64 next! Where real men test their mettle.
I loved Mario Kart Wii, and apparently I loved it FOR the reasons everyone else hated it for. I really liked the Wii Wheel and all the item chaos, and was a little disappointed with how much less chaotic MK7 & 8 were than Wii. Mario Kart 8 is my SECOND favorite, but if I play the deluxe version, it might be my favorite because of dual items and battle mode.
Having grown up playing the N64 Mario Kart all the time, I have to say that I greatly prefer the Wii version. On Mario Kart 64, computer racers can catch up to you by doing absolutely nothing so the game always feels rigged. If you are really good at doing tricks/countering item attacks, you are actually rewarded in the Wii version for being good at the game. The graphics (particularly on the aquarium level) are unbelievable as well
Although the waggle-tech stuff has lots of shortcomings and is often burdensome, I enjoyed getting used to it and casually it's definitely useful. I loved how informative and in depth this was, Mike!
I only loved the battle mode of Wii. Racing felt like a hassle. Either it's dominated by Funky Kong wheelies or you are spammed by items... battle due to the chaotic item nature is fun. There is always something going on and since you always get good items you can be more strategic about it! Also it has coin runners and balloon battle done right. The arena's were perfect. Wii is for battle.. moving on.
Automatic drifting ruined modern Mario Kart players. How many goddamn people have you played Mario Kart with who didn’t know how to drift? They’re either new to the series, or they’ve only played this one.
yeah i know lol. Was the first mario kart I played seriously, but I changed from auto to manual because i wanted to beat 150cc. I don't think many people were determined enough to get as far as 150cc, so the newcomers use automatic. Still, I can tell you there are multiple people out there who didn't know how to drift and grew up playing 64 and double dash.
Max Humphreys you’d be suprised how many people play that way. A recent con I went to in fact. I don’t hold it against them but at the same time it’s like “bruh....you’re missing--“ at that point you just drift past them.
Super Circuit is still my favourite MK game. It really feels like a racing game. It has less rubber banding than other titles and the tracks are fairly technical given the hardware limitations. MK Wii, on the other hand, feels closer to a party game than a racer.
this is by far the best and most fun mario kart ever. because of the frantic item option, the replayability is incredible. i've played 32map course with my friend countless times over the years, and wiimote + nunchuck is just about perfect.
I really loved that blue shell compilation
Wait till he plays MK DS.
My life in a nutshell
That hit so close to home.
It gave me Blue Shell PTSD!
BOMBARDMENT! BOMBARDMENT! xD
Cool intro. props to whoever did it.
For real!!
Ah man playing time trials like a hardcore freak on this game bring back memories, me and my brother use to be so competitive on top times for every track, if i beat one of his times or vice versa it was war! Great vid
Nice Blue Shell montage.
Ikr
That intro was really well made
Yeah it's dope. Id really love to know how it was made.. I'll have to jump on one of his streams and see if he'll give up the secrets.
@@the66percent same
My only complaint on this game is the blue shell is way too devastating. Daisy Mach Bike got me a nearly 9,999 rating online; best combo!
As one of the many purchasers of MK Wii, I had nostalgia for the game, but replaying it really shows its flaws compared to the other installations, especially MK 8.
Didn't know they had mortal kombat in wii
Jorge Hernandez lol
@@Hornetog9vp they did, don't you remember? that one version of Mortal Kombat Armageddon that had Khameleon as an exclusive character?
His fatality is the best
Mario kart 8 is perfection, especially the switch version. The original on Wii U is great too, but deluxe just added a few little tweaks here and there that made it amazing
Never have a seen a funnier montage at 7:40 ever since I saw a montage of Homer Simpson constantly shouting "D'oh!" from various episodes of "The Simpsons". XD
7:40
niet verwacht hier nederlanders te zien
Story of my Mario Kart life...
Favorite part of the video, WORST part of playing Mario Kart Wii lmao.
That was so painful. Especially the blue shell + red shell + pow block combo right before the finish line. TOO REAL
I thought the racing wheel was the only chunk of plastic peripheral that worked well and felt more immersive, with the exception of the shake. (the zapper was garbage.) That blue shell induced anxiety though was rough.
the wheel was good for me too. it took a while to get the feel for it, but then I would never play without it. it gave the best control
I miss the wheelie in Mario kart Wii.
We miss you wheelie
I personally disagree about your overall opinion on the items. That’s part of the fun that’s it’s insanely chaotic. And trust me if your really good and know what your doing it’s easy to get half a lap on the 150cc cpus. It’s known as the crazy Mario kart game different from others.
11:05 Bam Shock Dodge!
The tricks and the wheelies in Mario Kart Wii were the best part of the game. Playing with the Wiimote and nunchuck combo and pulling off tricks was intuitive and opened up a level of fun the previous games didn't have. Lap times also mattered in this game, compared to Mario Kart 7 and 8. Mario Kart Wii also had periodic online tournaments where you went through tracks with added obstacles or new rules. Also, Mario Kart Wii had the Flame Runner, a bike that lets you drift around a dime. I've played all the Mario Karts upon release and Mario Kart Wii is simply the best. I spent so many hours playing the game online and the best player of the group won fairly consistently, downplaying any of that nonsense about the items being too powerful.
Super Circuit, on the other hand, is probably my least favorite simply because of the coin requirements. Yeah, forget that noise.
Completely agree. By the time I hit 150cc, I had gotten so good that I was too far ahead for the items to matter. MKWii is my favorite for that reason, because I feel it's the only time in a Mario Kart where player skill can ignore the luck, which feels much more rewarding. Also, I never liked Super Circuit either, mostly because it's like all of the characters have extremely poor traction. To this day, driving in that game feels like I'm on ice on every track. I have similar issues with SMK and 64 but to a lesser extent.
It's my favorite as well. I got mad when somebody hacked it though.
This was probably the MK that I played the most, to the point of exaustion hahaha
Great video, Mike. Keep up the awesome work.
This comment didn't age well
how long did it take you make that intro???
This remains one of my least-favorite Mario Kart games. You're absolutely right about item frequency being ridiculous, which actively hampered the fun I had with it. The controls didn't help much either, felt like something was missing. I'd say it was because I played 8 before I played this... but I also played 8 before I played DS, and I love that one too.
I remember buying this game somewhere around 2008-2009, best decision I ever made. I loved all the characters and karts, and being that one of my best friends at the time was a guru on wii games, helped me unlock a good chunk of the things in this game: characters, karts, courses, etc. I love this game, but I’ll never get around to it again since I just installed my Xbox One a while back.
Ryan Stroup its not lime the xbox one uses hdmi and wii av so you could have both
@@jamesreynolds6071 he might not have enough space
Mario Kart Wii has Funky Kong, so it's obviously the best.
But seriously, I agree; the items were too crazy in this one. I didn't mind so much playing online, because I didn't really focus on winning so much as just having fun, but when the game requires you to win Grand Prix's... nah.
I do miss Funky Kong, though. The dude was hilarious.
Holy fuck that blue shell montage had me dying
The intro and outro to the video are gorgeous. Double Dash for the gamecube is my personal favorite then DS, 8 and 64. I haven't played the game boy versions or 7 so take that for what its worth.
One thing to note, the motion controls work much better if you use the nunchuk without the wheel, the wheel basically gimps the handling by forcing you to make larger, and more exaggerated motions for the same if not worse results.
Imagine if we had Mike reviews every 2 weeks
John lee They take a long time to make. I wish though
@@JamesNintendoNerd Who replied to John lee?
@@JamesNintendoNerd Might be, but they're sooo good. But like any great magician, leave them wanting more...
Man the racing wheel showed how good you really were. I found it very precise and never really had a problem with it. Need that 3 star golden wii wheel.
It sucks that stars next to the username isn't a thing anymore, it was cool showing off online, very few people got the three star rank, in MK8 you get nothing.
You don't have to mod your Wii, to play on Wiimmfi.
It suffices if you setup a proxy server.
Or at least it did. Maybe that changed when they introduced anti-cheat systems.
Also, when playing Wiimmfi, you don't have to play CTGP, it's purely optional.
The game is P2P, so all the physics code etc. runs on your Wii, so there is effectively no real difference between Wiimmfi and the official server.
Nice touch that the review seems to be from 10 years ago too. Awesome sound and video quality. Great thumbnail too. Did you make that in MS Paint?
As always, you make wonderfully structured and paced reviews. Among the best and most educated on RUclips. Interesting up to the very end. Keep it up!
Out of curiosity, how many times do you go through a script like this?
Right!
It’s crazy to me how much more informed people like Mike are than most professional game reviewers.
7:40 That was awesome!
Would you consider reviewing the Crash Team Racing games as well? They're similar in the basics, but they differ in some core gameplay aspects.
7:39 lmao that blue shell montage
All the nights spent with my friends playing the shit out ouf it at 3:00am....oh god.
Pretty much spot on with this review. I bought it day one and after the novelty of a new mario kart had worn off i never played it again and instead played either Mario Kart DS or super circuit.
Pretty much same here
That Blue Shell clip compilation was GOLDEN.
7:41 died of laughter
I feel so validated for all the frustration I had playing this game as a kid. Thanks for illuminating me to the fact that there's a reason I love Mario kart 8 so much more!
One thing to keep in mind is that with a larger number of racing competitors in MKWii, there is just a larger number of weapons flying around in comparison with some of the earlier games from the franchise. I think your comments regarding weapon balance are pretty accurate though, and also one of the reasons I liked to play with no weapons at all at times.
Playing the Wiimote and nunchuck combo is the best! I don't mind the flick for the tricks and you can relax when you play and put your hands wherever you want.
My two favorite Mario Kart games are Double Dash and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Now don't get me wrong but I have played every Mario Kart game but I like Double Dash for having two characters on a kart one driving and one throwing items. And Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for having the amiibo support ported and having the Excitebike track which hit my nostalgia of playing NES games
WAWALUIGI COFFEE. That is awesome guys haha and only a few know what were talking about.
Jimmy Larmour Wawa is life
But good god they're busy 24/7
I loved this game. I have such good memories playing online with one of my friends in 5th grade. I even have some old cell phone videos from 2013 playing MK Wii online...
I feel the items insanity is what makes this game special, after a while you can pretty much ignor most items exept for the blue shell if you play your cards right, which gives more of the balance you're talking about, though I can see why you don't like it. And the motion control complaints boil down to "I don't like motion controls" which is fair but then again you acted as if the other control methods were for different games, just kinda weird that complaint was.
Anyway you're review otherwise was great, especially that blue shell montage, keep up the good work
That blue shell montage reminds me of why I quit playing online. It was bad for the blood pressure.
That's why I quit playing Mario Kart in general, except for when I'm with actual people around me.
Wiimote + Nunchuk user here
Playing with the Gamecube controller makes me feel like I should be playing Double Dash
”Okay Mario, let’s start the review.”
”I’m-a better than you are, so I should do the review-a!”
You're so right about items in this game. When I was trying to unlock things, getting screwed over by a blue shell on the last lap of the last level in a grand prix was brutal.
That blue shell montage...brilliant! I rewatched that bit a few times and I got a grin...again, and again! Don't know if you were playing MK Wii during its heyday but online was some of the most fun one could have! I had 7 other guys at work and every Friday, we'd hop online and join up for hours.
I recently saw a video about MK Wii's ultra shortcuts. Quite fascinating how they were discovered.
My favorite Mario Kart has to be Double Dash. I just love the 2 person riding mechanic. Also the Cruise Liner was my favorite track of all time
Rip the half pipes. We miss you too.
That intro was awesome
since 2008, all I played with was the racing wheel. I became the patron saint of MK Wii. My muscle memory still sticks with me to this day. If there is a better wheel controller, I'd love to use it.
This is why I personally use the wii remote and nunchuck for this game. It doesn’t make you go from the stick to the d-pad to do tricks, you still use the stick to steer, and you don’t need to shake the entire controller to do a trick
i LOVED the randomness of mario kart wii! It's the best for me!
A Wii controller mechanic that wasn't fun or good? Well now I've heard everything!!!
This used to be my favourite until 7 and 8 came out. Compared to those games, the item inbalance really makes it brutally unfair in higher difficulties, though. Another thing I noticed is that the drift mechanic is far easier to learn in 7 or 8 comparedto previous games, such as this one, making the whole experience much easier to get good at without ruining the sense of challenge.
Ok so apparently your momentary chart is:
1. Super Circuit
2. Wii
Let's see if that changes in the future.
And so what if it does?
idk. I just wanted to keep track.
The drifting in this game is very touchy plus the fact that whenever someone bumps into you, you always go flying off the course. It’s a good installment into the Mario Kart franchise but games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe show what the series is capable of
I only played it once but the drifting was pretty much the same as double dash (not very good lol).
Matthew Addai- yea
This game made me use the claw grip. I've used both the Classic and GameCube controller. I currently use the Classic controller but I might go back to the GameCube controller just for this game. Claw grip on the GCN controller is way more comfortable.
My Fav Mario Kart Honestly.
man i loved the wifi functionality!
*_flashbacks of people getting infinite bombs, moon jumping, auto-winning, and spawning a bullet bill to crash battle mode_*
...still loved it!
The items aren't really that bad once you get good enough so that you're so far ahead of the pack, it doesn't matter. I didn't particularly like the flick mechanic of the Wiimote but I got used to. Nunchuck with Wiimote was definitely the best way to play this game. And yeah, after people found out the cheats for the courses, it really took the fun out of it. Even though, I did like how innovative the cheats were hahaha.
6:28 this is exactly why I like the old Mario Kart games better than the last several. The newer ones are way too much of a luck Fest. There's simply too many items and they drop too often and are too powerful. They really need to dial it back a notch in the next Mario Kart game. I liked it better back in Super Nintendo days when there was just a handful of items, you only got one per lap, and Global effects like lightning were rare.
Wiimmfi: literally everyone is funky kong and uses the flame runner
Just a thought about the item imbalance: Mario Kart Wii's item I'm balance is probably intended, Mario kart is supposed to be a goofy kart racer, so the I'm balance just makes it crazier and it makes it very challenging, which is what games are all about.
Now that you mentioned Wiimfi and modding, I wish that you make a posible quick extra episode with your opinion about CTGP.
I loved the wifi in this game. Once that was gone, i never really go back to this.
because of the audio quality and the age of game, i thought this review was old, turns out its recent! im very happy people still like this game!
The Blue Shell vídeo effects was owesome!
I’m old enough as a gamer that I’ve been around through all the kart iterations, and for whatever reason the wii version has always been my favourite :) nice to see this.
I just play with the wiimote for MK Wii and MK8... didn’t know anyone bothered playing any other way. The whole reason I prefer those to the earlier ones is I enjoy the motion control. I’ve never had a problem on the hardest AI difficulties, though I’ve never played online
I just got this game for $2 for the WII, and having not played any version after it, I can say it's the best Mario Kart game up to that point! I love it! I'm so new I didn't know you could do tricks or use the nunchuck :)
I always used the wheel and i was pretty good with it. The steering is pretty precise, making it possible to cut corners extremely closely.
I have to agree with you 100% about the items. I always felt the Mario kart series had a really good balance of Chance Vs. Skill but this one took the random chance element to the max with nonstop overpowered items flying at you every 5-10 seconds. Still a very fun game, but I don't think it's as good as Mario Kart 8 or even Double Dash / 64 for this main reason.
Not to mention the new items in this game are particularly problematic.
When I played this with my flatmates and at home with my sisters, there would always be a fight about who would NOT have to play with the racing wheel/Wiimote combination, since the controls were just so awful. Overall the Wii never held its promise of realistic motion controls, since most games only required simple pointing, waggling and jerking up or down. A Wiimote-Nunchuk combo was far more precise and actually made a lot of fun, even in shooters like Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, which should've been the shining example of how to do a shooter on the Wii.
I remember the items in this game being extremely annoying. I lost countless races at the last second because I would be pummelled by three items consecutively. The game definitely needed an extended invincibility period after being hit by an item.
One thing that I think Mario Kart Wii is the best at in the series is the selection for the new tracks. Seriously, almost every new track is awesome and I’d love to see them all return eventually. There’s only a few that I wouldn’t categorize as at least very good.
To me, Mario Kart is one of those series that, once a new game comes out, there's little reason to go backwards except for nostalgia. MK Wii was great but the newer games have succeeded it in every possible way.
We had a Mario Kart 8 (wii U) tournament at retro game store I used to work at, and the guy that won was using a wheel and a wiimote... homie was a complete savage, and just destroyed everyone.
Get that motion wheel out of here bruh. Nunchuck and Wii remote was the only way I could play this game. I was always amazed though when I met someone decent at this game that preferred the wheel.
I like how mikes reviews have barely changed since the beginning. It's comforting
And this video just shows, you need to play as Funky Kong with the Flame runner!
It's awesome how the community of Mario Kart Wii is still strong with their own wi fi servers and custom tracks.
7:40. Genius editing!
The best part of this game for me was the online play. Still a great one to play in person with friends but nothing will beat the days when the online servers were still up. RIP 2008 - 2014
Great review video, Mike. I remember playing this with my cousins and thinking "Oh, Mario Kart." and then losing a lot. Because of the intensity of items, the youngest one always felt he had a chance. I think the items in this one makes it the most kid-friendly mario kart game. Do N64 next! Where real men test their mettle.
Honestly I'd put this on my top 3 along with DS and 8
I loved Mario Kart Wii, and apparently I loved it FOR the reasons everyone else hated it for. I really liked the Wii Wheel and all the item chaos, and was a little disappointed with how much less chaotic MK7 & 8 were than Wii. Mario Kart 8 is my SECOND favorite, but if I play the deluxe version, it might be my favorite because of dual items and battle mode.
Having grown up playing the N64 Mario Kart all the time, I have to say that I greatly prefer the Wii version. On Mario Kart 64, computer racers can catch up to you by doing absolutely nothing so the game always feels rigged. If you are really good at doing tricks/countering item attacks, you are actually rewarded in the Wii version for being good at the game. The graphics (particularly on the aquarium level) are unbelievable as well
Although the waggle-tech stuff has lots of shortcomings and is often burdensome, I enjoyed getting used to it and casually it's definitely useful. I loved how informative and in depth this was, Mike!
Between the extreme map glitches and ridiculous amount of items along with Funky Kong, this game emanates pure chaotic energy.
I only loved the battle mode of Wii. Racing felt like a hassle. Either it's dominated by Funky Kong wheelies or you are spammed by items... battle due to the chaotic item nature is fun.
There is always something going on and since you always get good items you can be more strategic about it!
Also it has coin runners and balloon battle done right.
The arena's were perfect.
Wii is for battle.. moving on.
that blueshell montage was beautiful
Automatic drifting ruined modern Mario Kart players.
How many goddamn people have you played Mario Kart with who didn’t know how to drift? They’re either new to the series, or they’ve only played this one.
yeah i know lol.
Was the first mario kart I played seriously, but I changed from auto to manual because i wanted to beat 150cc. I don't think many people were determined enough to get as far as 150cc, so the newcomers use automatic.
Still, I can tell you there are multiple people out there who didn't know how to drift and grew up playing 64 and double dash.
The same goes for any platformer sidescroller, kids/people never know how to hold the run button and it's painful to watch.
the peach gardens world record uses automatic lol
Max Humphreys you’d be suprised how many people play that way. A recent con I went to in fact. I don’t hold it against them but at the same time it’s like “bruh....you’re missing--“ at that point you just drift past them.
In my experience once you got used to the motion wheel it was actually a blast to use 😃
Super Circuit is still my favourite MK game. It really feels like a racing game. It has less rubber banding than other titles and the tracks are fairly technical given the hardware limitations.
MK Wii, on the other hand, feels closer to a party game than a racer.
There was actually a way around all these flaws you pointed out: GIT GUD.
Great video, Mike. You always have the greatest intro videos
The dark souls of Mario kart games
this is by far the best and most fun mario kart ever. because of the frantic item option, the replayability is incredible. i've played 32map course with my friend countless times over the years, and wiimote + nunchuck is just about perfect.
Hey, Mike, are you planning reviewing 8 and 8 Deluxe separately or just going with 8 Deluxe as the definitive version?
Good question! I'm not sure yet. Thanks for watching!