Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

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Like Xeo, I do feel these days that F-Zero has held up better than SMK but I do still love SMK. MK64 is miles better though. The CPU cheats to buggery but is also easier to game than in SMK. If you don't play as Mario or Luigi, expect them to murder you with infinite star power ups!

IMO the only worthy Mario Karts after 64 are DS and now 8. Thankfully Sega stepped in with the All-Stars games to plug the gap.

On a sort of related note, despite my love of the N64 and racing games I really dislike Snowboard Kids. Now there's a game clouded in nostalgia.

And another: while I adore Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie bores me to tears. Gave it a final go yesterday and after two hours of aimless (and slow) wandering, overstuffed game mechanics and endless dumb dialogue I just gave up. People complain about feature creep in modern games but this shit is ten times more obnoxious.

[Xeogred]

It's kind of funny in a way I almost want to say I like Tooie more. But I beat Kazooie twice, the N64 version once and then the 360 XBLA HD release. Tooie? Never beat it at all, it just kept going... and going. Very much like DK64, some of those later Rare 3D adventure games were just way too big for their own good. I never beat Jet Force Gemini either and also recall that one feeling endless or something.

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I liked Mario 64 more than Banjo back in the day but I think back then Banjo was the better game. These days I feel Mario 64 has aged very well gameplay wise and Banjo hasn't aged that well at all. I think the insane amount of collectibles is just tedious now and the gameplay feels a little clunky. I have not played on 360 so maybe the controls are better and fix the issues.

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Yeah, I much, much prefer Mario 64 these days. The HD versions of the Banjo games are very well done in fairness and map camera controls to the right stick as per modern convention.

I think what it might be is that Banjo-Kazooie follows Mario 64's lead by having levels with a lot of verticallity. If you think of Treasure Trove Cove and Freezeey Peak follow that convention and so were very open but nothing is too far from anything else and it was easy to see where jiggys and other secrets might be. (I should note this isn't a rule; obviously Mad Monster Mansion doesn't run with this).

I think in BT and DK64 what happened was the levels were made not necessarily bigger but much wider with lots of little side areas, which themselves open into side areas and BLAH. Really unintuitive and really dull to traverse. I also get a odd sense of claustrophobia from them as well which I honestly can't explain.

Jet Force Gemini is one I might have to dig into again but on Rare Replay, not N64. I seem to remember that you need to collect a certain amount of those teddy bear things to even get near the final boss. It might be you need to get 100%, can't remember. AJ would know, I think he played it not too long ago.

[Exhuminator]

I've beaten just about every Mario Kart game out there. My precious little opinions...

Awesome Mario Karts
Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart DS

Very Good Mario Karts
Super Mario Kart
Mario Kart 7

Kinda Meh Mario Karts
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Mario Kart 8 (only Meh, because the original 8 didn't have multiplayer a good battle mode)

Not Very Good Mario Karts
Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Arcade GP
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

I Have Not Played
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

[isiolia]

Mario Kart 8 (only Meh, because the original 8 didn't have multiplayer)

The only multiplayer thing 8 lacked was a good battle mode.

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The only multiplayer thing 8 lacked was a good battle mode.

Yes that is what I meant.

[BogusMeatFactory]

The only multiplayer thing 8 lacked was a good battle mode.

Yes that is what I meant.

If ever you do get a chance to play Mario kart 8 deluxe, it will definitely rank much higher. The battle modes are a breath of fresh air with excellent arenas and game modes. The weird cops and robbers game is surprisingly a blast.

[marurun]

Mario Kart was really designed as as multiplayer game first, and as a party-style multiplayer game. In that sense, the rubber-banding and blue shell crap really competitive gamers hate further the design goals. When you get a bunch of friends together and race, if someone is not very good, they'll probably still come in near last, but the way power-ups are handed out make it so that even though they are unlikely to turn things into a win, it will at least keep them from falling too many laps behind. And for players are are more competitive, it increases the likelihood of turnover, which keeps things more exciting for casual play. Mario Kart isn't F-Zero or Daytona USA and it isn't trying to be. I really think the biggest complaints about Mario Kart titles aren't that they are necessarily bad games, but that they are a slightly different kind of game than many more dedicated players want them to me.

As an example, I've read many folks on here claiming Mario Kart Wii is a poor entry in the series, but I've had a lot of fun playing it casually with my wife and friends. I don't play it often or much, but when I do it is easy to slip into and we have fun making a total mess of the races. I think that's very much what Nintendo intended. I'm not sure the game will or can ever be what some of you want it to be unless Nintendo includes a completely separate mode with more aggressive AI and completely different rules for power-ups and rubber-banding. Which is not to say I would have any issues if Nintendo decided to do that. I'm just not sure they're interested.

Are there any combat kart racing games these days that don't feature power-up rules that favor the losers and massive rubber-banding? Does Mario Kart even really have any modern competition?

[alienjesus]

Mario Kart was really designed as as multiplayer game first, and as a party-style multiplayer game. In that sense, the rubber-banding and blue shell crap really competitive gamers hate further the design goals. When you get a bunch of friends together and race, if someone is not very good, they'll probably still come in near last, but the way power-ups are handed out make it so that even though they are unlikely to turn things into a win, it will at least keep them from falling too many laps behind. And for players are are more competitive, it increases the likelihood of turnover, which keeps things more exciting for casual play. Mario Kart isn't F-Zero or Daytona USA and it isn't trying to be. I really think the biggest complaints about Mario Kart titles aren't that they are necessarily bad games, but that they are a slightly different kind of game than many more dedicated players want them to me.

As an example, I've read many folks on here claiming Mario Kart Wii is a poor entry in the series, but I've had a lot of fun playing it casually with my wife and friends. I don't play it often or much, but when I do it is easy to slip into and we have fun making a total mess of the races. I think that's very much what Nintendo intended. I'm not sure the game will or can ever be what some of you want it to be unless Nintendo includes a completely separate mode with more aggressive AI and completely different rules for power-ups and rubber-banding. Which is not to say I would have any issues if Nintendo decided to do that. I'm just not sure they're interested.

Are there any combat kart racing games these days that don't feature power-up rules that favor the losers and massive rubber-banding? Does Mario Kart even really have any modern competition?

I have no issues with the amount of bullshit most Mario Kart games throw at you, but I take umbrage with MKWii still. The way items are generated has been changed, and the number of items has been significantly increased by the amount of racers on the course. In addition, there are more items that are designed to hit multiple racers which means in the middle of the pack you're being threatened by stars, bullet bills, thunder bolts, thunder clouds, pow blocks, squids, all types of shells and mushrooms which means it's the most dangerous part of the back - stuff like stars is less likely to affect you at the front.

Mario Kart Wii wasn't disliked by me because it does the usual Mario Kart shenanigans, but because it punishes the middle of the road players harder than any others, and because the number of weapons and the power of the weapons means that you're being interrupted from racing more frequently.

They seem to have balanced the items better in 7 and 8, and I like those a whole lot more.