The Racing Goes On In Mario Kart Tour

Nearly a year ago, I downloaded Mario Kart Tour on my smartphone and elaborated on what I enjoyed about the experience that marked the first time Mario and the crew raced outside of a Nintendo console or handheld [32] [33] [34] [35]. Since March 2020, Version Two helped the app maintain its cred for those Nintendo nerds who became rather hooked on it [14] [27], despite the negative feedback Version One received mostly for its questionably greedy deals [29] [40]. Looking at the reception the app has received [26], I would say that Mario Kart Tour is like Marmite. You either love it or hate it [1] [20] [28]. Have no fear because I have not spent a penny on the microtransactions and just spent five rubies on a pipe when I felt like it. Despite the negative side of the reception’s spectrum, I will always be a fan of the Mario Kart series [30] [31], especially when it comes to racing as my homegirl, Princess Peach [10] [13] [14] [15]. Moreover, fasten your seatbelt and do not step on the gas pedal for too long because we are about to zoom through a few updates on Mario Kart Tour in its second version in association with wishing the Super Mario franchise a happy 35^th anniversary [5] [16].

Here is the new title screen for Mario Kart Tour in 2020. [14]

Oh. And did mention I love this Peach badge? [14]

Well, it looks like there is finally a real multiplayer mode after we have only witnessed opponents being controlled by artificial intelligence with usernames tacked onto them [17]. A player can also type in a room code if they wish to only play with those nearby in their local area [14], similar to how a contestant can enter a code for a game of Quiplash or Quiplash 2 [6] [7]. Alternatively and quite more ambitiously, there is also the option to race against actual players around the world, either in a standard race or a gold race that requires a gold pass to compete in. As someone who has not purchased one, I can see how it can increase the reward system by providing gold badges to earn and provide another challenge with the difficulty of 200cc [10] [11] [12] [14]. I am delighted to witness my opponents racing under the genuine influence of other Nintendo nerds. However, if there are any signs of one of them being a hacker that cheats in a race, bringing back unnerving memories of hackers in online races of Mario Kart Wii [4], bring on the blue shells in the name of karma! No gold passes for them!

Three ways to finally play Mario Kart Tour with other Nintendo nerds: locally, standard worldwide and worldwide with a gold pass. [14]

Here is one of my moments of finally playing the game with other racers rather than CPUs, but with another new feature… [14]

Another new feature that increases the appeal of Mario Kart Tour for some Nintendo nerds is the option to play it whilst holding the device horizontally [14] [18]. I like how the new Landscape mode shows more of the course being raced on and can make the experience feel more like a handheld game, quite similar to Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing and Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed for iOS and Android [21] [22] [36] [37]. However, I will admit that the Landscape mode was quite difficult for me to get used to, considering how I got very used to playing the game in its standard mode [14]. It felt quite awkward to swipe one thumb across the side of my screen whilst holding my other thumb down to drift. Nevertheless, enabling Smart Steering and Steer/Drift Button Display for the Landscape mode made it feel quite like my experience with Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing for iOS [22]. If some players prefer the standard ways of playing the game vertically, good for them. Playing Mario Kart Tour horizontally may sort of feel like playing Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7 once the Landscape mode without Steer/Drift Button Display starts to get comfortable to get used to [10] [13].

I remained a little unsure about Landscape mode before I activated Smart Steering. I am quite glad I got at least some feeling of playing Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing on my iPod Touch back in those good old days. I can say that was somewhat predicted in my first article about Mario Kart Tour [31] [32]. [14]

I also like how there is option to quickly change the mode to Portrait/Landscape mode just in case a new player may not get used to one mode and hopes to quickly switch to the other whilst focusing completely on the race. As long as the variety of alternations is present [32] [33], Mario Kart Tour can still appeal to its crowd. [14]

The cups in the newer tours do not need to be unlocked, compared to the first few tours back in late 2019 [32] [33] [34] [35]. Even though a form of challenge with a familiar task of unlocking new cups by completing the first one is now absent, the option to try out any race or challenge from any cup makes the experience excitingly non-linear and gives the player more freedom [14]. The tour gifts still need to be unlocked with certain amounts of stars from racing though. For only twenty-four hours, the icon of a cup will be highlighted in gold to show that its courses will give extra coins after racing, which can potentially motivate a player who wants to save coins for buying a new racer, kart or glider from the shop. There is also now a progress bar beneath each task in the lists of challenges, which is useful for the player to know how much more of the task they need to do to receive another badge. Besides eliminating glitches after calling the Glitchbusters [38] [39], many changes with a mobile game’s update can be useful or at least interesting, including specific changes in Mario Kart Tour’s 2020 updates [14].

A fellow Mario Kart racer can now play any of the cups at the beginning of a new tour. [14]

Some progress bars are now visible to help the player know much they need to do left to earn more stars. [14]

Throughout the tours, the lists of unlockables in Mario Kart Tour just keeps getting bigger in the name of cultural cred and familiar aspects [14] [25]. I would also like to make a list of my favourite outfits worn by certain characters throughout the tours, including:

•        Rosalina’s beach dress
•        Peach’s vacation outfit
•        Pauline’s party dress
•        Mario’s musician suit
•        Rosalina’s aurora dress

My favourite karts are:

•       White Royale
•       Glided Prancer
•       Daytripper
•       Rose Queen

My favourite gliders include:

•       Blizzard Parasol
•       Butterfly Sunset
•       Pink Flower Glider

It is amazing and ambitious how the roster of racers, including clones of them in outfits that suit the theme of a tour, would continue to increase the game’s overall appeal to a large crowd of mobile gamers and Nintendo nerds with different interests if it was not for the very little chances to get a desired one [14]. I may not have unlocked much of my favourites, but I can always gaze at images of them [25]. Furthermore, some Nintendo nerds may be curious about what will be new in the next tours while some toy collectors are looking forward to being cuted out by the third series of Kitten Catfe this Autumn [8] [9].

Rosalina looks absolutely stunning in her Aurora outfit! [14]

And the blizzard parasol is beautiful! [14]

With a new option to play the game in a landscape view and a proper multiplayer mode [17] [18], I say that Mario Kart Tour might have further increased its cred to some degrees in 2020, even though some players must have stopped playing it for a while due to the disappointment of the chances of getting a high-end racer, kart or glider being too low [14]. I can say that the ongoing service for the app from Nintendo might have a coping mechanism during the first few weeks of lockdowns that were established to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from spreading any further [3]. While some doll collectors out there are delighted by the colours of the dolls within the first Rainbow High line and plenty of Sonic supporters are getting into the spirit of the Olympics by playing Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 on their iOS and Android devices [2] [19] [23] [24], plenty of Nintendo nerds out there are still racing in Mario Kart Tour, possibly without spending a penny on any microtransactions. Have I been too optimistic about playing the app or can you tolerate it as much as I can? Let me know before I launch a blue shell at you!

Just look at Mario and Luigi’s cool outfits on my newest T-shirt! Could they be featured in a new tour of Mario Kart Tour soon? [30]

Strive and ride, Mario Kart Racers! [11]

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