What Makes a Good Mario Kart Track? Analyzing the Best and Worst Courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2020 ж. 12 Қар.
17 242 Рет қаралды
You no longer have an excuse to say "this track is just fun to drive on."
twitch.tv/jackdonsurfer
If you enjoyed the video, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing. It seriously helps the videos out!
Special shoutout to Max 28, he helped me a bit with the script. He's a MKDS speedrurner, check out his channel: / @maxmkds
If you think I used your footage without listing it in the credits, please let me know!
Sources: • Everything You NEED to...
• Mario Kart: The Comple...
• MK8 101: How To Get Go...
Twitter: / jackdonsurfer
What's your favorite or least favorite Mario Kart course and why?
Probably neo bowser city, but close second by rainbow road. I really like the tracks' designs and all of the sharp turns, and a lot of the time there are a lot of tension and chaos partially due to how cramped the tracks are. it feels really rewarding to pull of all of the turns and not fall off either of the tracks, given a sense of mastery to the player. Least favorite is probably ice ice outpost, since not a ton of the turns lead into one another and the split track design doesn't allow for some items to hit other players, and a lot of the time I feel isolated near the front. However the track does have some shortcuts that I can give it credit for. Overall, though, definitely my least favorite, unless I'm forgetting one that I usually just don't play on. Also as I was writing this I heard you say sherbet land is the worst and I agree that it is definitely up there.
I like Neo but I think the altered physics in the rain sections is a little annoying. Ice Ice outpost is actually one I was like a decent amount, in large part because I love how difficult the shortcuts are, but I understand your gripes
Toad Highway, I love the thought of Mario and the Gang being a Initial D Running in the 90’s Illegal racing gang oh and driving on walls looks the best on this track.
Tick tok clock definitely
@@jackdonsurfer yeah I was just playing with my brother and he was having some trouble with neo so I understand if people don’t love it. Also I’ve never been big on doing shortcuts myself so I never did them on ice ice. But I understand why people would like them. I’ll give them a try sometime to see how they feel
you are so underrated
He only got 3 videos dude, his time hasn't come already. His last slightly clickbaity thumbnail shows that he knows what he is doing, the algorithm has already start pushing for him. He will succeed in this platform, he just needs a little more consistent uploads, nobody becomes a youtuber with three videos
@@baggelissonic shut up sonic
@@chefarmor3918 okay 10 year old, I can't argue with your incredible argument.
@@baggelissonic 1st of all this isn't something worth arguing in the first place, 2nd of all your profile picture is sonic the hedgehog. Remind me, who's the 10 year old?
@@chefarmor3918 The one that has a youtube channel from 2018 I guess
Bro I gave you a sub because damn You put effort into these videos.
Me too for same reason and the quality is top
At 8:57, this double coin item grab is, at least from my testing, an online connection issue. Every time I had seen an instance of two coins in my item slots were from games where a poor connection was present. My theory is that it may be the games lag compensation confusing what item everyone has in that one moment
That seems to be the case... kinda sucks that so much strategy is made meaningless by Nintendo servers
Lovin it. I usually judge the tracks based on visual appeal rather than the thought of how gameplay mechanics feel. But seeing this, all your information and thoughts is/are very valid. Keep it up my dude
I thought you had 515k subs and I thought that was waaaaaay too low. The fact that you have 5.15k is a crime. These analysis videos are incredible! Keep creating and keep up the good work!! This is def one of my new favorite channels:))
For me my favorite course is super bell subway. The trains brings a great risk a reward as you can take higher road to avoid them at or get incredibly tight lines to avoid them. The music is a also a bop
It makes me really sad seeing your Pokemon video get 600K+ views while this one has almost 2% of that. You're making some great quality content here and deserve much more success!! Well, at least one of your videos got the attention it deserved, so I'm happy about that.
appreciate the kind words, but to be honest I’m not too worried about the views on this vid. if you really sit down and visualize it 1000+ people is still a really large amount, and people seem to be enjoying it so it was worth making all the same
My Favourite Courses are Piranha Plant Pipe Way and the Dolphin One, i guess really Like the Water Courses in Mario Kart.
me, with sherbet land as my favorite course: 👁💧👄💧👁
💀
Going off your pinned comment, however I think a separate comment won't change the effect too much.... That being said, the best track(s) in my opinion has got to be either Rainbow Road 3DS or Mount Wario. These tracks encapsulate what, and how, Mario Kart should feel like. They are very dynamic, having varying locations and interesting layouts. Difficult, rewarding players who utilize the core mechanics of the game. Fun, as a combination of the previous points, in addition with fantastic settings and a phenomenal soundtrack allow these courses to have great ascetics. Rainbow Road, to start off, showcases these points in a way to make for a fantastic, memorable, almost climatic track. Racing in deep space is honestly so creative, and the amount of potential hasn't been realized with the Rainbow Roads as a whole. At the very start of the track, there's an immediate turn which requires drifting to complete, followed swiftly by another sharp turn. These two turns incentivizes to engage what will happen later on. Following that, a quick succession of boost jumps, a spiral around a planetary body, and a wavy section is honestly just fun to drive on. However, just as you drift away from the Waves, you preform a gliding jump onto arguably one of the best sections of Mario Kart, Saturn's Rings. As stated in your video, the choice of getting the short term boost pads or long term coins forces you to decide what area of the Rings you want to drive on (although you can just skim onto each boost pad while drifting). Near the end of Saturn's Rings, there's a boost pad leading to a gliding section which is just awesome, and hosts a shortcut if you have mushrooms. Sharp turns and the Moon round out this section of the course, and is pretty engaging, keeping you focused on the track. Finally, the final section of the course is just awe inspiring. Shooting out of a tunnel, you glide through an asteroid field, swerving to get boost from the rings hovering above the ground, before the climb to the final drift of the track. As you make the drift, you dive back at a near 90 degree angle, have a final short jump, and into the finish line. This track is just perfect. I mean, there's a reason why these are the last races in any Mario Kart game. As for Mt. Wario, the soundtrack and setting are the main reasons why I love this course. While the constant drifting and jump boosts provide significantly to the course as a whole, the setting itself is why I love this track so much. I'm from Utah, and the mountains around here are very active during the winter, as we have a ton of ski slopes. Because of this, I feel as though I have a personal connection with the track. In my mind's eye, this course is just up the road from my house. As ridiculous as it sounds, it makes me think that what I play on the switch is happening at that moment. The soundtrack is the other major reason why I love this course. The constant and dynamic changes to Mount Wario really immerse you, making every drift and jump that much more enjoyable.
I am surprised this channels only has 8k subs. I mean you got everything here, great editing, an original topic, and fantastic commentary, just an absolute banger. Keep it up, i cannot wait to see what you post next.
That ending was fantastic, holy shit. Subbed!
Been subbed since the pokemon vid and you are SO GOOD AND UNDERRATED. KZhead needs to modify the algorithm to show your vids to everyone
that would be nice lol
Just hearing big blues music got me hyped. Also I came from your pokemon video, your videos are amazing! I was surprised to see you only have 1k subscribers, you deserve at least 1 million!
Good vid, I saw the last one and I subscribed without any expectation but I'm really happy to saw that quality of content
Discovered your channel through the Pokemon video and I am blown away. Great commentary, great editing. Keep it up man! I hope this channel gets the recognition it deserves
Getting two coins is an example of having the Shittiest luck ever
Eyy another great video! I like the way you explained things, and thought the editing worked well!
Wow what an amazing video! Ribbon road is my favourite mk track and it is just so fun to play on. I always tell people about how the coin is a good and interesting item but they always say that it’s trash, but I’m normally always the one in first place anyways so they wouldn’t fully understand. Amazing video editing, wow just an amazing video.
Very amazing video! I couldn’t agree more with you with everything you said, to the point that my favourite 2 tracks are also the ones from your list!
Amazing video, well edited and well worded, helped me a lot while trying to make my own game.
Love the effort in these videos honestly!!! You’re top tier and I hope you keep growing subscribers!
Love your videos man, keep it up, hope you keep growing
Genuinely, if you keep uploading regularly I can see your channel blowing up man. Great video!
This video is SOO underrated/amazing. Well done
why dont u have more subs. seriously. these videos are so well thought out and finely edited. kudos man. sub
After watching your Twin Snakes video, I was surprised to see an analysis on Mario Kart 8. Both videos are great, you're underrated af
While I am not really a Mario Cart “fan” when I have played it with friends, I have always had fun. It’s very interesting to look at the different mechanics of it.
Cart
@@The_Holy_Wooomy I realize my mistake
Just found your channel and subbed. hope to see you grow big
Just found your channel, WOW you deserve more subs
Hey jack I’ve been waiting for the next upload since the crown tundra streams and great to see a mk vid. Fingers crossed this vid blows up like the Pokemon vid
same... wouldn’t expect it though, 550k is a little unrealistic for most of the time lol
@@jackdonsurfer we can only hope I guess
For me, I definitely find Big Blue to be an incredible blast to race through, especially on 200cc (It seems to be designed to work around 200cc quite well). I certainly don't agree with your worst choices though (expect for #1)... either way, new subscriber.
The OJ simpson bit had me fuckin rolling, great video dude
Baby Park has been one of the best tracks since Double Dash.
Glad I subbed ur content is good :D
I wasn’t expecting a Mario Kart Video, enjoyable and informative! I’m something of a mario kart pro myself ;)
I've got a question for you then; is the whole deal with getting two coins at the same time a bug? When researching the game I saw numerous times that it couldn't happen but in online play it happened once. Other people have reported that it's an online thing only but there wasn't any great info on that
@@jackdonsurfer it is possible to get double coins. There is just as much chance of getting a double red shell. But getting 2 of the same item at once can be uncommon anyway seen as there are many different items to choose from. And I’m pretty sure that it’s not an online exclusive feature but don’t quote me on that haha
I spent the majority of time recording/playing for the script offline and it never happened there. Everyone I’ve seen report it has said it’s been online and they’ve noticed that the second coin takes a ton of time to pull so some have hypothesized that it’s unintentional, but it isn’t exactly clear.
@@jackdonsurfer hmm I might have to do some testing myself aswell then as it’s never really come to my attention
So sorry to interrupt, but the game is programmed so that you can only carry one coin item in normal circumstances. When you get double coins online, it's usually a sign that the room is lagging.
Very nice video, hope more people will find it soon
the fact that this video has under 1000 views is a crime
I dont get it. More views people. I can tell you put so much effort into this!
Excite Bike is one of my favorites lol. the music is the best
8:56 A coin does actually garruntuee a protective item, but online lag can allow you to get 2 coins at once. There were a few times where i would pass 3 or 4 item sets with coin in hand and still end up getting another.
Jackdonsurfer: 15:46 Time trials: I'll pretend I didn't see that
I agree! Although i like sherbet land sometimes, it's too easy but that can be relaxing. High quality video also the ending is funny
Great video!
This channel makes so good content..but people doesnt see, to notice em......this guy deserves more!
I been waiting for a new video
Never has a game brought me such joy and frustration all at the same time
I love how I didn’t watch one of your other videos so I could watch this video
I had to resist screaming at ribbon road being picked as number one, it’s been my all time favorite ever since I got the game
I'm picking up MK8D after getting weary of Smash Ultimate for an exhilarating party game that controls well. I have to say that besides the rare joycon drift, I find the controls as smooth and responsive as how I remember playing MKWii as a kid. You're so right, it's incredibly satisfying to feel in control and nailing difficult shortcuts. I'm pretty rusty so I'll keep this video in mind to analyze my choices while racing and appreciate courses I despise, like Baby Park. And my favorite course is between Ice Ice Outpost and Ribbon Road for the satisfying shortcuts and music.
Great video!!
5:20 mario kart lick
I've just found your channel, and I have to say that you deserve so much better, your videos are extremely good and stunning, the quality your videos have and the information you provide is just amazing. Keep it up and you'll see how far you are going to get. 😊👍
Ok that Kawhi reference at the beginning... I’m sold. I’m here to stay now. 😂
AND a symphony analogy?? Never thought I’d find all my greatest loves all in one video... :)
OH MAN HES BACKKKKK
Big Blue or N64 Rainbow Road on 200CC, that's my favorite tracks. I'm always on edge on those two, always trying my best to take the tightest lines, cause you only have one chance at every corner. That, plus the fact that there are few rails to catch you make it even more interesting.
Merci pour cette vidéo GE-NI-ALE!!!
He : umb Me and my wii u : IN THE WII U TIMES
Why didn’t this one blow up,, this video is awesome
Sheesh, mk8 is absolute perfection. Literally no other mario kart game rivals it.
I knew that subscribing to you was a good move. Im here to stay!
I love how you tried to make a point about luck not being a big deal and the show a huge compilation of you getting shafted by it... RNG Kart 8 Deluxe
Excitebike has many drifting strats on ramps
Another good video from the pokemon video essayer
Dragon Driftway is my least favorite course, imo. I really dislike racing on it. I will often leave a lobby and go to a different one if that track is chosen.
Could be late but two coin boxes usually happens to first when there is lag online (someone dc’s and the race is figuring out what’s happening)
Couldnt agree more with Ribbon Road as the best track in the game, i love it so much
Best part about most Mario games is playing them with friends and family.
this video was dope man, I would LOVE to collab with u on a video!
that ending tho
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It took me 1 month to realize that your channel name is not “jackdon’tsurf” (kinda like the COD4 Level) then I get a notification today and need a second to realize the truth....
it's like how so many people think Electrodrome is Electrodome lol
One time I got lost on shebert land because of the wide ness
You are Kinda driftin off a bit from the Theme but it Was entertaining
Through this video I just have realized that all of my favourite tracks are those, which release the least amount of dopamine. That's probably the reason why I rather keep playing Mario Kart Wii, but also all of my favourite tracks for MK8 are the ones they brought back from their predecessors, like N64 Royal Raceway and Yoshi Valley.
So you like the more laid back tracks? I find that interesting
jackdonsurfer It's actually quite the opposite of laid back what I like. I'll try elaborate on my point of view a little bit better. I find less is more. I get more of a racing experience that I'm seeking if the track is more simplistic. If I'm driving under water or I'm flying in the air, I instantly feel that the tension of getting across the finish line as fast as possible reduced, because I believe you're not moving at high speed anymore (that's at least what it feels like) and it doesn't require much skill and feels very stiff and not very exciting. They've already executed the under water experience excellent once in MKWii's Koopa Cape, which is like everybody's favourite experience of that game. When I play MK8, in most tracks it feels like a hot mess, like very chaotic. It feels like they tried to integrate a Jump & Run into this game. That's probably also the reason why MKWii still has such a big popularity until now. But what I think they did great on are the shortcuts, which should really be the only highlight of a track, as they require skill and practice and is the complete opposite of the instant gratification gimmick they implemented in this game. But I guess that was what they were going for. But that's something else to talk about. I appreciate you replying to my comment though.
Big blue is only fun at the first two phases. When you hit the part with the constant boost panels it easily becomes one sided. If the boost panels were at the beginning like Mute city, I would think differently.
i Love you, also the fact u live in Japan is so funny to me
I'm gonna be honest, I have mixed thoughts about this video. On the one hand, it's very professional, shows a great understanding of the game from a game design standpoint, and was entertaining enough to watch. However, coming from a competitive Mario Kart player, I felt the information provided was a bit lacking. Most of it felt a bit obvious and didn't seem to contribute much to your main discussion about track design. Sometimes there would be moments that were irritating to watch for various reasons, such as: You mentioning 2 coins at once (it's common knowledge that they only occur when there's lag online), your failure montage (several clips can easily be explained by either lag, invincibility frames, or you not looking behind you), taking shortcuts like the one on Wario's Gold Mine that don't actually save any time, usually using kart combinations with poor or average stats, and your general ranking of the best and worst tracks. I definitely agree with Excitebike as one of the worst, but there are much worse options than Animal Crossing and Sherbet Land. Two prime examples are both of the retro Rainbow Road tracks. They both share a series of unfortunate characteristics, such as being too short, not being very fun to drive, not having any shortcuts or advanced driving techniques, having obstacles that are too easy to avoid and only end up as an annoyance when you get bumped into them, and giving bad races in general. When you race on them, it feels like you have to frontrun or die trying, but it's basically RNG whether you can pull that off. Also, Big Blue is rather overrated as a track because the first two sections are largely undermined by the item boxes at the cannon. They give much more powerful items than normal so strategy on the track devolves to either trying to break away from everyone or intentionally falling behind a bit and hoping you get lucky at the cannon boxes. Overall, this was still a good video that I might watch again, but I don't think there's enough meaningful content to justify the video length.
Thanks for the comment! In regards to the “frustrating” parts, I think a lot of the things you’re annoyed about are purposeful decisions I made to increase video variety. I use just about every character and kart because I figured staring at the same 3-4 Heavy characters wouldn’t be as much fun to watch. It’s the same thing with certain shortcuts; for example, I don’t think I ended up using any of the footage, but at one point in Yoshi Valley I purposefully drove around all the incredibly inefficient paths, not because they were faster, but because I wanted something to spice up the video so I’m not showing the same clips when I reference certain courses and whatnot. And in regards to that little failure montage in the middle, I was aware of why the things were happening, but I still thought they were funny. Like the clip with Yoshi is obviously related to i frames after he gets caught in the blue shell blast, and I know that invincibility frames were made much longer in 8 deluxe as opposed to its Wii U counterpart, but I just thought it was a really funny clip. And in regards to the coin thing, do you know of any official sources talking about that? I wrote the script assuming you couldn’t have two because that’s what I had seen in my research and testing but when I was recording some footage towards the very end of the editing process I noticed that I had pulled two coins. Did some online looking and really only found some vague forum posts that seemed to be speculation. I assumed it was an online bug given how long it took the second coin to pull but that little message on screen was more of a way for me to say “I’m aware that this isn’t a 100% possibility” because, intentionally or not, it isn’t. The meaningful content part is definitely something I was struggling with while first outlining the script, and it’s something that I was aware of even while making the video (the little “The More You Know” reference for example) but in my defense I’m not sure how else I could have done this. When I was initially conceptualizing the video I was planning on taking detailed length/angle measurements to really nail down what was satisfying, but then I realized that the variety of characters and kart combinations meant that there wouldn’t be any point. Perhaps I could have just focused on more viable builds, but then this video is only appealing to a small niche of people. In that same way, perhaps my main takeaway of “The best courses will exhibit and bolster the game’s best mechanics and systems” is obvious if you already know the mechanics and systems, but to certain people who may be less familiar with the game in depth I wanted to highlight some of the biggest concepts to understand (like racing lines and item management) and, more importantly, highlight how vital it is for games in general to play to their strengths, including MK8.
@@jackdonsurfer Okay, I see where you're coming from and I concede that a lot of my criticism might not mean much if you made those choices for the sake of a more entertaining video. However, just know that other players who are already more familiar with the game might lose interest. As for the double coin thing, technically there's no way to prove it besides showing the game's source code, however the item distribution in first place is as follows: Coin - 40% Banana - 30% Green Shell - 25% Bob-Omb - 2.5% Super Horn - 2.5% This means that if having two coins at once wasn't impossible, it would be a 16% chance (about 1 in 6) for you to get two coins every time you hit a double item box. And if you're already holding a coin when you hit an item box, you'd still have a 40% chance of getting another coin! Now if this were the case, surely people would document it to disprove this myth, right? Also, you yourself replied to another comment saying you played offline most of the time when recording and scripting for this video, so you would've run into this pretty often, right? Well neither of those have happened.
Yeah that makes sense, which is why I wrote the script assuming that you couldn’t. I do know that item odds are different for different modes (you can get triple bananas in first in GP but not Vs. for example) so I thought it might be related to that, but that’s an unfortunate bug.
@@jackdonsurfer Actually if I'm not mistaken triple bananas in first place can only ever happen when frantic items are enabled
I was curious about that because I definitely remember getting triple bs in first. I went back through some of my footage and I did get them, but only in GP mode. Even though the item chart doesn’t show it? I don’t know man it’s wacky stuff lol
Another great explanation why I like a thing. Now I know! Also: I don't get the end. Can someone explain?
Look up OJ Simpson
@@jackdonsurfer Ok, thanks.
You are great
Honestly hit boxes NEED to be improved upon
What’s everyone’s kart layout?
The fake out with RR 64 really got me, since I feel like the only person that dislikes that course. As for your real best choice, I don’t think I could agree more!!
Mount Wario tho
The video was very nice but I totally disagree with your Excitebike Arena placement. If you watch the track's world record, you'll see that the fastest lines use very advanced and uncommon mechanics, making this track one of the most unique and enjoyable to drive fast on.
Favorite course: Wario Mountain
Bro when you go big ima need a shout out
if I ever hit 50k remind me
@@jackdonsurfer I don’t doubt it
@@jackdonsurfer you better remember though! 😄
I much prefer Wii. The mechanics are much freer and I think the tracks offer a lot more moment-to-moment risk v reward and more meaningful routes at once My favorite MK track is Dry Dry Ruins, the shortcuts on that track are insane and the offroad broken up by the ruins in the middle part are awesome. You have to know how to play offroad, but it doesn't make up the entire track, the slopes there feel awesome, and just those cuts if you can do them or get the chance are incredible. Delfino Square has a really good "vertical slice" around the area with the mud cut, on the way up to there you can make a huge leap over the dock, you could just drop down to get the item box, if you have an item to use you could do the mud cut, you also have minor obstacles with the crates and the turns there just work incredibly well.
Your like Scott the woz but even better
Finally, another person that thinks Excitebike Arena isn't that great. It almost always won the vote whenever it showed up online.
When's the next video
hopefully 4-5 weeks
Btw, you can only get two coins through lag
I kinda hope Nintendo is working on Mario kart 9 but they probably aren't :(
Yes, someone else who realizes what garbage Excitebike Arena is
petition to vote baby park to be the worst mario kart track ⬇️⬇️
wassup
First to the fray let's go!!!