And finally, the Lightning Cup gives us Koopa Cape from MKW, Dino Dino Jungle from MKDD, Airship Fortress from MKDS and lastly Rainbow Road from SMK. Meanwhile, the Leaf Cup offers Kalimari Desert from MK64 (where the train now has a bell upon arrival), DK Pass from MKDS, Daisy Cruiser from Mario Kart: Double Dash (a personal favourite of mine) and the gorgeous Maple Treeway from MKW. The Banana Cup provides Koopa Troopa Beach on MK64 (which has received a major revamp on the original), Mario Circuit 2 from Super Mario Kart, Coconut Mall from MKW and Waluigi Pinball from MKDS (which looks superb due to the enhanced graphics).
And the Special Cup gives us DK Jungle, Rosalina’s Ice World (which may be my favourite track of the game), Bowser’s Castle (which is as fiery as ever, and which has a slight remix of the Bowser’s Castle theme from Mario Kart: Double Dash) and Rainbow Road, which goes beyond the galaxy more than ever by allowing drivers to bounce along the moon at one point!Īs for the retro courses: the Shell Cup has Luigi Raceway (the Mario Kart 64 version), Bowser Castle 1 from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mushroom Gorge from Mario Kart Wii and Luigi’s Mansion from Mario Kart DS (where the mud is thankfully easier to trawl through compared to the first version). The Star Cup offers Piranha Plant Slide, Wario Shipyard (one of the more unique courses in the game), Neo Bowser City and Maka Wuhu. The Flower Cup provides Wuhu Loop, Mario Circuit (which lets us drive through Peach’s castle in a cool moment), the awesome Music Park (which would reappear in Mario Kart 8) and Rock Rock Mountain, which has a fast-paced rock anthem that made me feel like I was in an F1 race. The Mushroom Cup has Toad Circuit (yes, Luigi Circuit is not the opening course for a change), Daisy Hills, Cheep Cheep Lagoon and Shy Guy Bazaar, which has a pleasing and soothing night-time backdrop.
As was the case in Mario Kart Wii, there are 32 tracks, 16 new and 16 retro, and all squeezed into eight Cups. I always consider the tracks to be the aspect that makes or break a Mario Kart game, and that is once again true here, with some very cool courses amongst the 32 on offer. The core game modes remain the same, while the crew of available racers totals in at 16 once everybody has been unlocked amongst the debutants are Wiggler and Lakitu, and they of course join the familiar faces like Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad.
The game also brings back some fondly-remembered elements such as the integration of coins on the track (thus giving drivers an extra boost of speed, as well as being built up to unlock additional content) and several new items: the Fire Flower, the Super Leaf and the Lucky Seven (the last of which is generally only earned when you are at the back of the race, as it provides you with seven times all at once). In terms of the gameplay itself, the big change for MK7 was the introduction of hang-gliding, with various attachments linking onto karts to allow for racers to fly over cliff edges, bridges and more. In addition, the two DS screens are of varying sizes and offer varying controls, which places a greater emphasis on the main racing action but also allows for intriguing additional features by using the stylus. This can reduce the suggested play-time since continuously staring at a static 3D screen sans shades can prove stressful to the eyes, but even so, it’s a very cool feature for those who bought MK7 upon release (Nintendo subsequently released a 2D version of the platform, thus meaning MK7 could only be played with 2D graphics at that point). The Nintendo 3DS delivers stronger graphics than the previous handheld DS, and for the original version, this includes 3D effects without the need to wear glasses.
As it turned out, I felt a small sense of disappointment, but that isn’t to diminish the fact that Mario Kart 7 is still a highly enjoyable portable racing game.Ĭontinuing the usual formula, Mario Kart 7 brings a chaotic and colourful racing experience featuring Mario and friends.
This was the one version from the main series that I had never played, and so I had high expectations for MK 7. Mario Kart 7 is often considered to be one of the very best MK titles to date. Released: Decem(Japan), Decem(UK) & Decem(US)