Mario Kart 8 DLC

Yesterday Nintendo announced that they're planning to release DLC for Mario Kart 8. And the reaction has been mostly positive so far. At least on the sites and forums I frequent recently.

Mario Kart DLC is something a lot of people asked for. Especially considering the... not so optimal battle mode. It only makes sense for Nintendo to respond to that and give the people what they want. Each Pack will cost roughly 8 bucks and if you buy both of them at the same time, you'll get a discount. So 12 bucks for sixteen ''new'' (yes some of them will be reworked retro tracks) courses, eight new karts and six new drivers is a fair price. Also you get 8 different colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy if you buy both DLC packages. Nintendo has been experimenting with DLC for quite some time now. The overpriced level packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Season Pass like, already made Cups in Mario Golf for 3DS and the full blown addon like Super Luigi U. And if that Mario Kart DLC or something like Luigi U. are their sweet spot I'm totally fine with that. Also the dates on which the DLC will be released (November 2014 and May 2015 respectively) show that they started working on this new tracks only after the core game was released.

So all in all the DLC sounds pretty awesome, but I'm still going to complain anyway. Now I don't want you to get me wrong. I will buy both packs and I will absolutely love them. That I'm sure about, but I still think Nintendo could have done better.

Characters:

Buying both packs will get you six new characters. Cat Peach, Tanuki Mario, Dry Bowser, Isabella, the Villager and Link. Honestly this is the only gripe I have with the DLC. Why do they add Link and Animal Crossing characters. The answer is obviously Amiibos, but I'm not sure how I should feel about this. Yes it's cool that you can race as Link, but I'm afraid that this opens the floodgates. Why can't I drive as Samus, Fox or Captain Falcon? With this Nintendo moves Mario Kart in the direction of Smash Bros. And I'm not sure I like it. Having Mario characters race each other for fun is one thing, but for example, with Samus it just doesn't feel right.

It's just strange to play a real Metroid Game and after that have Samus squeeze herself into a much to small kart (Just look at link) and drive around colorful courses.

I full understand anyone who absolutely loves the idea and I can see why you're probably pretty excited about this DLC, but I personally would have preferred if Mario Kart would stay Mario Kart.

The only character I truly am excited for is Dry Bowser, because he's just Metal as fuck. Yes I needed to say that.

If I could choose which DLC characters I would want, it would be something like this:

Pack 1 (Minions Pack): Boo (Light), Kamek(Medium), Dino Piranha (Heavy)

Pack 2 (Koopa Pack): Dry Bones (Light), Bowser Jr. (Medium), Dry Bowser (Heavy)

Pack 3 (Kong Pack): Dixie Kong (Light), Diddy Kong (Medium), Funky Kong (Heavy)

That would be my humble suggestions for characters.

Karts:

I don't have much to say about the new karts. I only saw the blue falcon so far and I like it. It's a nice nod towards the neglected F-Zero franchise and it fits Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity theme.

Courses:

First let me say, that it's awesome to get new courses. The ''old'' ones didn't get stale for me yet, as I only reached 3000 points in online races so far, but I can see it happening if you play the game extensively. So new course are always welcome. And the inclusion of the Zelda and Animal Crossing franchise opens up cool possibilities, but Nintendo doesn't seem to restrict it to these franchises.

On the screenshots released so far you can spot a course which is obviously located in Mute City and one which seems to be inspired by Excite Bike. It's really cool and I'm hoping for a Zelda Course in which you either race through Hyrule City and the castle, or around Death Mountain.

But does it really need this? It's only another step in the direction of Nintendo Kart. Mario Kart 8 showed us that there are no boundaries in the Mario series for creative courses. Or would you have thought something like Mount Wario or the Water Park would be possible, before seeing them? Adding these other franchises adds more possibilities one might say now, but I'm not so sure. I would rather say that it adds more boundaries.

Now you have to do a Zelda course each time. You have to do your Animal crossing race track. And some things just don't mix. You can't have a water park esque course on the shores of lake Hylia.

Maybe I'm just too skeptical and negative, but I'm just not a fan of the nintendo kart idea. But even I have to admit, that this is a DLC done right. It's a really good deal and I'm sure it will be top notch quality wise. And they even got pre-orders right for me. The Yoshi and Shy Guy skins are not really a pre-order bonus, because you get them even when you buy the packs separately and it doesn't matter when you buy them.

You should never feel the need to pre-order something. If you pre-order it should always be on your own accord. It's a sign of your trust in that developer. You should never feel the need to pre-order just so you can get an exclusive DLC. And for getting that right I applaud Nintendo. But I think this is a topic for another day.

TL;dr: 

12 bucks for 16 new courses, 8 karts and 6 characters is a phenomenal deal and if you did enjoy Mario Kart you should buy it. I would prefer that Mario Kart stays Mario Kart and doesn't turn into a racing version of Smash Bros., but I get why others are excited by this very thought. Also only pre-order games on your own accord as a sign of trust to this developer, but never because the bribed you with exclusive content.

And as always

Thanks for reading

Picture Source: Nintendo