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Editorials   Mario Kart for the GameCube: Part 2
- By Nathaniel Walker [Associate Editor]

Last week we kicked this little two-part feature off with a bit of summarizing. We sat down and figured out exactly what it was we knew about Mario Kart for the Nintendo GameCube, and we tried to articulate what it was precisely that we did not know. Turned out, I’m afraid, there was a whole lot more of the latter than there was of the former. Mr. Miyamoto just hasn’t had a great deal to say on the subject of GameCube Karts. Nothing has changed since then, folks--I still regret to say that Nintendo’s shroud of secrecy has proved far too effective even for my charming, intelligent, whimsical self. I can bring nothing more to the table in the way of cold hard facts pertaining to the next installment of everyone’s favorite multiplayer racer.

But I was expecting that. And if you paid attention last week (and I’m sure you did, you little rascal!), you will remember that this week’s installment was intended all along to be populated by conjecture and peopled by guesswork. After all, nothing gets the blood pumping and the soul shaking more than use of the Imagination. And when you have in your hands a few sparse but nonetheless juicy details, giving your imagination room to play is as easy as closing your eyes, counting to three, and wondering: “wha?” Let’s see if we can come up with some educated guesses, shall we? What will Mario Kart be like, and wha?

Thanks to an uncharacteristic and inexplicable loss of control on Shigeru’s part, we know that this Mario Kart will be different from the others. Preliminary discussions in the depths of Nintendo’s creative bowels have borne the fruit of change, and while the risks associated with change can be discomforting, the passion that brought it into the world will (in my opinion) most likely see it through all the way. What, do you suppose, could this changes entail? We do, believe it or not, have a vague idea. First of all, we know that Miyamoto & Co. will most likely not alter the game so much that it would cease to be Mario Kart. We will still have Nintendo mascots on go-karts navigating tracks and trying to be in first place. We will still have a multiplayer game which involves a fresh spin on things, a “battle mode” of sorts. But really, my friends, we can take it reasonably further than this. Items, items, and items are also at the core of Mario Kart’s gameplay dynamics. If Nintendo was going to change the franchise so much as to take away the items, than they would probably go ahead and make a new franchise altogether. We all know that’s what Shigeru has an itching to do nowadays regardless. But no, this is still Mario Kart--and that means tracks, racers, red and green turtle shells, bananas individually and by bunches, lightning bolts, and ghosts. Some of the other generic power-ups like the mushrooms and stars could go away and not damage the spirit of the game (much like the historic feather in the first installment on the SNES). But I would be willing to bet my affinity for Catalonian women that we have not yet said goodbye to red turtle shells. I suspect that the blue ones will return, as well. Will we have yellow turtle shells, which don’t pummel opponents but rather snatch them and force them to bounce around like shells themselves until wearing off or hitting another player? Will we have purple shells, which knock your adversaries’ control schemes into the Twilight Zone, forcing them to scream like madmen and turn left to go right, right to go left? Will we have little orange shells, which can be collected and strung along like bananas, until struck by some unfortunate soul and sent into an orgy of careening, ricocheting, pool-hall lunacy? I don’t know…I just don’t know. But we will have something. And we will keep the staples, or my name ain’t Nathan. And it is.

So, if Miyamoto-san isn’t going to mutilate Mario Kart beyond recognition, what will he and his cohorts *gulp* do? Well, we can play around with a little intelligent wondering here, too. Let’s look at Shigeru’s recent trends, shall we? Let’s see how he’s been defining that good ol’ Nintendo difference as of late. First of all, he’s been trying to get all original and crap with Pikmin. Secondly, he’s been scaling things down and reminding the world of videogaming’s simpler and purer days with stuff like Luigi’s Mansion. He has publicly stated opinions which show these trends to be truly his own--namely, his un-Playstationesque value for originality and his growing conviction that simpler control schemes make gameplaying more natural and thus more enjoyable. Now, Mario Kart’s never been no fancy-boy RPG with a gazodillion buttons doing this, that, and the other. I suspect it will remain simple. But I also suspect that Miyamoto will tie in something new, something utterly different and completely original, but that he will keep this simple as well, in accordance with the game’s legacy and his own doctrine. Given Miyamoto’s stated affinity for replay value, and his disappointment that Pikmin fell a bit short in that department, I suspect the new idea will zero in on gameplay flexibility and the opportunity for the player to be creative. These sorts of things have proven in the past to be most effective at adding simple but consistent replay joy.

Any theories? I’ve got a couple. I can imagine that the next Mario Kart will have customizable tracks, Excitebike style. If not completely customizable, than maybe we will be given (and have to earn) building blocks of tracks, short racing sequences, that when put together make possible the creation of a fresh batch of unique and challenging races again and again. Of course, I suspect that we will also earn new characters, like Sonic and maybe Link or something, but that isn’t very important. Mostly I just think we will have something that enables Mario Kart to expand upon Miyamoto’s intensifying love for replay value, but yet remains consistent with his desire to keep things simple and--as always--astoundingly original. Another possibility could entail tracks which were seriously interactive. Maybe not so much that they would resemble miniature adventure games in themselves, but maybe we could have, say, little objectives Tony Hawk Pro Skater-style which would open up new shortcuts or (better yet) sabotage the laps of opponents. I can picture it now: if you snatch and keep the block o’ cheese, hundreds of chubby white mice start raining down when you pass by the pirate ship, pummeling those behind you. Or maybe when you hit a certain switch, that section of track a couple of seconds behind you pops up in the air, catapulting your unwitting opponent into the next generation of Nintendo consoles. The ideas are limitless, and mine are stupid, but I just wanted to toss out a few ideas for in order to clarify what I am saying “in theory”. Plus I just like to sit around and pretend that I am in charge of everything.

Well, folks, while it is clear we don’t know much for certain concerning the next Mario Kart installment, I think we know enough about the franchise and the people involved to have some good clean fun while making intelligent guesses about the game. I wish it was coming out tomorrow, or at least this year, but as I mentioned last week--I don’t see it happening until 2003. Until that blessed day, I hope this little feature helped to whet your appetite and get your gears spinning. Don’t be afraid to email Nintendo and demand Mario Kart. It is your privilege, and even your duty as a citizen of the gaming world to insist that great ideas are not forgotten, and that beautiful videogame essences both past and future are not spilled out upon the ground. I have faith that Mario Kart for the Nintendo GameCube will rock. If it doesn’t, I probably won’t buy it. I’ll rent it, and make fun of it in front of strangers, and deny ever writing this article. And then I will weep.

…and put my hopes in the next one. Thanks for reading!