6 Changes Mario Kart Needs To Make To Stay Relevant

3. Fewer Characters

Right now, the character roster is simply too big for Nintendo to balance it in any way at all (even before bringing in all the variations the different vehicles provide). Now, I won€™t deny it€™s enjoyable to be able to pick basically any character that has ever appeared in a Mario game (although nowadays, the roster also any character whose video game has ever shared a shelf in GameStop with a Mario Game, as well as any character whose name includes an M, A, R, I or O in it). The problem is, such a huge character roster comes at the sacrifice of game balance, and that sacrifice is simply too big. Was there really such a huge group of people calling out to play as Funky Kong, a relatively unknown sidekick from the Donkey Kong Country Franchise? Because he ended up being the best character in Mario Kart Wii. I€™d much rather see characters such as Mario, Peach, Yoshi and Bowser in the limelight, offering different but well matched styles of play.

2. Mapmaker

This is enough to render any gamer positively dizzy with anticipation. I never understand why companies are so reluctant to include map and game modification tools, since it basically lets the players do their work for you, as the game can boast an almost infinite array of racetracks. Halo€™s Forge Tool is one of the main reasons for the continued success of the franchise, and certainly ensures people keep playing months later. Now, Nintendo need to include a Mapmaker in order to generate that kind of loyalty, and they also need to make sure it fulfils two basic criteria. 1) Depth: The Super Smash Bros Brawl mapmaker is an embarrassment, a tool which you fiddle with for a few weeks then discard because it€™s so limited. Give us a mapmaker that lets us create maps that feel different to each other, with more than just a few custom pieces and 1 palette. 2) Online Capability: I don€™t ask for much, just a file share. Players should be able to share and download their map creations. Nintendo games have rarely allowed for much game customisation, let€™s hope Mario Kart breaks the mould.