In a lot of ways,Mario Kartis a pure distillation of everything Nintendo stands for. It’s bright, colorful, accessible fun, with the utter pandemonium of aSuper Smash Bros.match thrown into the mix.Absolutely perfect party game fodder.You haven’t lived until you’ve hit your friend with the dreaded Spiny Shell half an inch from the finish line and made them hate you forever.
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While even non-gamers can easily hop into a race or two, there are still some techniques and mechanics they’re sure to miss. There’s more toMario Kartthan there might seem, as these common beginner mistakes that make newcomers struggle even harder to compete prove.
10Not Powersliding
Whether you call it powersliding, drifting or something else, this is a technique that can divide the veterans from the absolute beginners.For those without a background inMario Kart,drifting doesn’t really come naturally.
It’s a simple enough mechanic to grasp: holding the shoulder button with the right timing will allow your kart to glide around a corner, building up more of a boost the longer you turn. The sharpness of taking a corner this way requires some getting used to, so it doesn’t always click immediately, but the boost means than non-drifters will soon be left in the dust. In previous entries, ‘snaking’ (rapidly drifting from left to right) was very prevalent, and there was no catching up to an experienced snaker.
9Not Holding Items Behind Them
One again, veterans will probably consider thisMario Kart101. While it’s not an option in every instalment, holding the power-up button to trail certain items behind you as a shield is instinctive for many of us now.
If you’re in first place, a humble banana or green shell can be the difference between a well-earned victory and a gloating foe who squeaked past you by the skin of their… wheels, after hitting you with a desperate red shell. This simple technique isn’t as intuitive as most things aboutthis fantastic racing series,though, so it could be missed.
8Not Performing Tricks Over Jumps
In more recent instalments, another little strategic layer was added to theMario Kartformula, in the form of tricks (added withMario Kart Wii). The idea’s simple: on driving over a jump (or large enough bump), hitting the button will see your character perform a unique animation, such as punching the air or spinning in place. Successfully performing this trick will reward you will a burst of extra speed when you land.
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When you’re playing against grandma, grandpa and your pet tortoise Sebastian, this is hardly essential. Still, these little boosts really add up over the course of a race. Like the starting line boost, it’s a rudimentary technique all players should keep in mind.
7Forgetting About The Slipstream Mechanic
As we all know, aMario Kartrace can sometimes descend into brilliant, hilarious, ridiculous chaos. Local play with a full complement of friends and family, with Bullet Bills, stars and blue shells flying up everyone’s exhaust pipes like they’re going out of fashion, is some of the most fun you may have with a games console.
When things get a little competitive and everyone’s jostling each other, though, there’s another neat little trick that beginners often neglect: the slipstream mechanic. When a racer is right behind another, a visual effect will show you that the slipstream is building. Stay close behind that racer for a few seconds and they’ll give you a big speed boost, allowing you to soar ahead of them.
6Always ‘Fearing’ Being Slowed By Going Off-Road
Now, we’re a little conflicted on this one. On the one hand, this is a solid mindset for newMario Kartplayers to have. Careening off the racetrack into the long grass, water, mud or the face-melting lava surrounding Bowser’s Castle? You’re right, that’s not generally a good thing. Characters with low acceleration in particular will be slowed to a crawl immediately and take some time to recover.
The thing to remember, though, is that certain off-road parts of the track can be used to the player’s advantage. With a mushroom in hand, you can maintain your speed and cut off corners of the track. Newer players who have strayed off the course one too many times may be reluctant to try this.
5Missing The Shortcuts That Are Hiding In Plain Sight
Of course, skimming over a corner is a little too simple to really qualify as a shortcut. Speaking of which, though, it definitely pays to be observant. On your first couple of races on a certain track, you often won’t notice those shortcuts awaiting adventurous racers on the side of the course.
Throughout the series, these tend to be very subtly ‘hidden,’ frustrating those new players who miss out while their rivals storm ahead. There’s more toMario Kart’s tracks than meets the eye, so try to be aware of this.
4Releasing Those Drifts Too Early
Maybe you’re noMario Kartpro, but you have a little more of a handle on how things work than an absolute beginner. If that’s the case, you’ll probably know the basics of drifting. As of Nintendo Switch’sMario Kart 8 Deluxe, though, there’s more to know about the drifting system than ever.
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The trick’s not only to drift around corners, but to time those drifts. There are three levels, depending on how long you hold the button. They’re indicated by the color of sparks your kart’s emitting: from blue to orange and finally purple. Compare the boost you get from a blue drift to that from an orange or purple and you’ll know how important it is to take corners in such a way that you may hold drifts as long as possible.
3Relying Too Much On Smart Steering
As we’ve already mentioned,Mario Kartis a very accessible and super fun party game for all ages and skill levels to jump into. Nintendo pride themselves on this kind of wholesome content (though, like Mario Party, it can still inspire some quite spectacular friendship-ending rage) and have been working to make the series even more inclusive for everyone.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxewent so far as to add Smart Steering, an option players can toggle to essentially have their karts drive themselves. This is a huge, welcome addition, but for some, it may be better to limit its use so the player can build confidence for themselves if they can. After all, younger players have a lot of gaming time ahead of them!
2Not Bothering To Collect Coins
Coins have had an interesting history in theMario Kartseries, appearing in the very first game and then being omitted, added back in and taken out again as the titles have gone on. In more recent games, they’ve had a couple of important functions. Reaching certain coin thresholds (in terms of overall total collected) will unlock another component for the kart customization feature, while they also have their familiar function in races themselves: speeding up the player’s kart the more they’ve collected, capping at 10 held.
When a racer is hit by a power-up (which is darn constantly), they’ll drop some. This can make collecting and holding them a real pain, so newer players may not see the benefit. They can be a huge help, though, so it’s definitely worth trying at least.
1Spamming Those Triple Mushroom/Golden Mushroom Boosts
Another feature that has come and gone and come back again over the course of the series is triple items. When you’re holding something deadly like triple red shells, it can be super tempting to get trigger happy and unleash all your firepower at once, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in… every movie Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ever been in ever. Hold your fire for a second, though: it’s sometimes better to save your shots to get the maximum effect.
The same’s true when you have three mushrooms at once, or the Golden Mushroom. Don’t always just spam the button (unless you’re shooting for a longer, more elaborate shortcut), as you’ll often get longer, more effective boosts from spreading them out. Too much speed on a tricky bend and you’ll be in trouble!
