Downloadable Content – A WiiU Mario Kart 8 Review

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Good grief, it’s been a while.

After a long hiatus, I am back to give you a first for this blog: a review that’s NOT of a full game. Instead, as the title clearly indicates, I’ll be revisiting Mario Kart 8 for my thoughts on the available DLC (DownLoadable Content), as well as other features that were brought in for the 4.0 and 4.1 updates. But first, I’d like to correct some mistakes I made in the original review. Without further ado, let’s cut to the chase!

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First off, I stated in the original review that being able to play Grand Prix in multiplayer mode was a new feature. However, I have since learned that this is not the case, as this was in several of the older games. Also, I forgot to mention the fact that for the Time Trials mode, there is a Staff Ghost for you to race on every track. Beating it will award you with a stamp to use in Miiverse posts, Nintendo’s online forum. Finally, I’ll let you in on a little secret, just for the heck of it: there are separate awards for obtaining a gold trophy with at least one star on all eight default cups in 50cc to 150cc Mirror, for beating every Staff Ghost in Time Trials, and for simply collecting 10,000 coins in-game. Good luck with that!

Next, we have the various other features added to the game via patches. The first was support for Nintendo’s action figure-esque trinkets, amiibo. The amiibo support is simple enough: on the menu right after the title screen, you can select an option to scan various amiibo for new costumes for the playable Mii character themed off of the amiibo you scanned. I only have 2 amiibo, being Mario and Yoshi, so this isn’t all that important to me.

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A notably bigger update was the addition of 200cc, and let me tell you, Mario Kart has NEVER been this fast. If you think it’s going to be a cakewalk, THINK AGAIN! You’re practically a bullet in 200cc, which means flying off the track over and over and over and over and over! This mode is for the pros. If you think you’re up to the challenge, give it a shot! If not, just remember this is a free update, no payment required!

Now, on to the main attraction! First off, there was the Mercedes-Benz x Mario Kart 8 DLC pack, released in August of last year. As the name indicates, this pack was collaboration between Nintendo and luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. It included three kart parts (the GLA, W 25 Silver Arrow, and 300 SL Roadster), all of which are based upon real-life cars! It also comes with GLA tires, which are probably the only set of realistic car tires we’ve ever seen in Mario Kart. I have no problem with this pack, especially since it’s free to purchase. So, go on and drive a GLA with Monster tires today!

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Next, we have the The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 pack, released in November last year. The pack, as evidenced by the title, features elements from The Legend of Zelda, another one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This pack comes with three playable characters, four vehicle parts, one set of wheels, one glider part, and most importantly, two new cups with both new and returning tracks, with them being listed below:

Egg Cup: GCN Yoshi Circuit, Excitebike Arena, Dragon Driftway, Mute City.

Triforce Cup: Wii Wario’s Gold Mine, SNES Rainbow Road, Ice Ice Outpost, Hyrule Circuit.

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New parts: Blue Falcon (Kart), B Dasher (Kart), Master Cycle (Bike(Inside Drift)), Tanooki Kart (Kart), Triforce Tires (Wheels), and Hylian Kite (Glider).

New Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, and Link.

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For the well-rounded Nintendo fan, a lot of this may sound familiar: Hyrule Circuit, as well as the Master Cycle, Triforce Tires and Hylian Kite are based on The Legend of Zelda, with its hero, Link, as a playable character! On top of that, we have Excitebike Arena, based off of the NES title Exitebike, and the Blue Falcon and Mute City from F-Zero! The fact that there are references to other Nintendo games in this pack is amazing. However, they were a bit lazy with other aspects, such as how Double Dash!!’s Yoshi Circuit already was a retro track back in Mario Kart DS! Coincidentally, this is also where the B Dasher, Mario’s primary kart from the same game, originates from. And yet, it was already brought back in Mario Kart 7, as well as SNES Rainbow Road! What?! On top of that, we have Mario #4 and Peach #4! All in all, it may seem like a bad idea to get this pack. And yet, between the F-Zero and the glorious, GLORIOUS music, it still stands strong! So, why not buy it?

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On to Pack 2, entitled Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8, which came in April this year! Like the previous pack, this one is based on another of Nintendo’s IPs, this one being Animal Crossing. Its content distributed the same way as the previous pack, as in three racers, six parts and two cups. Let’s see what they are!

Crossing Cup: GCN Baby Park, GBA Cheese Land, Wild Woods, Animal Crossing

Bell Cup: 3DS Neo Bowser City, GBA Ribbon Road, Super Bell Subway, Big Blue

New parts: Streetle (Kart), City Tripper (Bike (Regular Drift)), P-Wing (Kart), Bone Rattler (ATV), Leaf Tires (Wheels), and Paper Glider (Glider).

New Characters: Villager (both male and female versions), Isabelle, Dry Bowser.

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If Pack 1 was enjoyable, Pack 2 is outright amazing! The new characters make actual sense, the revamped tracks are better than ever, the music is heavenly (I’m listen to some of it as I’m typing this!), and the parts look exceptional, in particular the City Tripper: It doesn’t just change colour with different characters, it changes pattern! And those complaining about Baby Park, historically the most hectic track in Mario Kart ever, returning for the second time, I say: it’s BABY PARK, now with Anti-Gravity all the way, 7 laps instead of 5 in DS, and the music speeds up every lap! It’s AMAZING!

You may have noticed I’m skimming over one crucial detail: the price. Both packs cost 7.99 USD, with a bundle including both packs coming in at 11.99 USD. As a bonus for purchasing both, either as a bundle or separately, you receive eight alternative colours for Yoshi and Shy Guy!

My final verdict is this: Buy the bundle! 6 characters, 8 vehicles, and FOUR ENTIRE CUPS, all for just 12 dollars, and with the Yoshi/Shy Guy alt colours, you get more for less! Go on and get this DLC today! I give it a 4.5/5 for making an already fun game even better and more expansive. That is all.

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All video games reviews are written by my son. He is a grade 8 student who has a passion for all things Mario Brothers, Minecraft and YouTube.  All opinions are his own and are the exclusive rights of DownshiftingPRO and cannot be copied without permission. No compensation was received for his review.

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Hayden Ibbott is a second-year Game Design Student at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.  With an established love of gaming, he also has a strong interest in live theatre.  He often writes guest reviews of productions at The Grand Theatre and The Stratford Festival.  You can read his most recent reviews of the Stratford Festival on DownshiftingPRO.com

His attention to detail is what makes his reviews authentic and fun.