It's Friday, which means the youthful among you may be planning a weekend full of fun and frolics, while those of us that are a tad older may be planning to sleep and catch up on our reading time — with pipe and slippers to hand, of course. Whatever the case for you, it can be nice to just relax and bask in the glow of something we love; in this case, that's Mario Kart 8 DLC.
That's our tortured introduction to this collection of videos, all published on the DLC's release day though, frankly, there was enough content for the first pack around at the time. These are well worth worth watching, though, so let's kick off with a Rainbow Road comparison from our friends at Eurogamer. As you can see the laps are now longer than in the original, but with the retro footage slowed down you can see how the two shape up side-by-side.
Next up are some lovely official videos initially released by Nintendo Japan and now re-posted by Nintendo of America. These show the live band recording tracks for the content, showing how those lovely sounds were recorded.
So there you go, some of our favourite MK8 DLC videos from the pack's launch day. Are you digging the music as much as we are?
Comments 22
I can't upload my videos at all something about a error code 104-1852 I called Nintendo who are investigating the matter and I already called my fibre provider and they have done all the settings has anyone else had this or know when I am getting these errors?
Dayuuuummmmmmm... I'm on honeymoon in the Philippines for another two weeks, and watching these videos and reading these previews are... excruciating to say the least!
Awesome! Today will be the day I can finally play this amazing content.
@wolvesboy
Yeah, I've been getting the same error lately, curious to see how it turns out.
Same error here as well when I tried to upload yesterday...
Just saying, but if you have Link as DLC why do you need the Link amiibo?
I had a chance to play the DLC yesterday, and oh man, is it good! Naturally the Zelda and F Zero tracks are awesome but I was surprised by Dragon Driftway, such a unique track! Makes me wonder how they'll top it in pack 2.
@drewb0203 The link amiibo unlocks a costume for your mii and also bonus weapon in Hyrule Warriors if you own it. I'm guessing it will also unlock goodies in Majora's Mask remake on new 3ds and have some function in Zelda Wii U.
I must say, watching the video above with the new and retro track really shows you how far nintendo has come in terms of the quality of it's games. They have really mastered and remastered, the classics from back in the day with the new tracks and updated music. I have enjoyed the new DLC so far, the worst track in my opinion is yoshi's island (i think it's called), it has way to many turns, and not really anything to make it stand out.
Oh man, this DLC is a real disappointment, after all. The first impression wasn't that bad, but one revisit revealed how lame these tracks are, with two exceptions (Mute City and Wario's Goldmine).
Hyrule Circuit is just utterly random and uncreative, making it feel more like a half-baked theme park than a race through Hyrule, especially with nonsensical design choices. Other than that, the track buildup is just lame. Also, Dekuranhas have too much range, effectively punishing you for trying to drive the "wrong" way, unlike Piranha Plants.
Mute City is pretty good, especially with the abundance of speed arrows, but is just way too tame. Nintendo should've gone whack with the antigravity, ups and downs and loops and twisting turns - but they kept it simple. Too simple. Also, the barrier recharge is wasted on coin refilling.
Dragon Driftway is not too bad, but lacks any good design features. Due to the weird track design, it also feels very slow in parts, and just doesn't offer anything unique in the end.
Excitebike Arena is terrible. The single feature for the track is an abundance of ramps, nothing else. Nintendo didn't even consider loosening up the stiff NES theme for the sake of some variation. This amount of unnecessary ramps serves more as an annoyance than anything else, and stretches the lap time considerably.
Ice Ice Outpost has interesting ideas, but a very weak design gimmick. It neither challenging nor visually impressive. The shortcuts manage to give it at least some sense of variation, but don't make it much better overall.
Wii Wario's Goldmine is good, but lacks the dangerous and thrilling rollercoaster feeling from the original, despite using antigravity. It's toned down the wrong way, and also found no replacement for the lack of quarterpipes.
GCN Yoshi's Circuit doesn't fit into the general handling of Mario Kart 8 at all. Many turns are too narrow, and the track itself has no features going for itself - no antigravity, no underwater section, no glider jump, nothing. It's exceedingly boring.
SNES Rainbow Road is just... there. Nothing good, nothing bad. The gimmick isn't new, but also not old. It.. exists.
@Kaze_Memaryu I disagree with almost everything you say about the DLC. I think the many ramps found on the Excitebike track capture the idea of the original NES game and make for a unique change of pace from the other tracks. Getting the boost from the ramps and bumping other karts to jockey for better position reminds me of watching a boardercross race. I like Yoshi's Circuit way more then I thought I would because of the tightness of the coarse and I had no problem handling my Kart through the turns. Also, the lack of gimmicks does not bother me. I like them but I'm not disappointed when they're not in a track. I actually did not like the Dragon Driftway. I thought that besides the music and idea of racing through a dragon, the track and scenery was a bit boring for me. I could have lived without another rainbow road. Hyrule and Ice Ice are both fun tracks....not the best but still good fun tracks.
I think this pack alone was worth the $12 bundle cost, but that's just me.
@chewytapeworm Honeymoon in the Philippines for two weeks or Mario Kart 8 DLC??????
Tough descisions! That's ruff.
On topic: I LOVE the music from almost all of the new tracks, but especially the three posted here. In fact, these are my new favorite versions of both Mute City and the Zelda overworld theme.
@Kaze_Memaryu: I agree with you on a few of those, but only a few. I don't think the Hyrule and Mute City tracks quite captured the feel of their sources.
There's a little bit of it in the beginning, but I was really hoping the Hyrule track would feature a good stretch of wide open field. A few small hills and potholes, trees to dodge and maybe a couple freely moving peahats, but for the most part, lots of room to line up a green shell shot or to blaze through with a golden mushroom. I wanted it to capture the awe of Hyrule Field.
As for Mute City, they got a little closer, but I was hoping for even more boost pads. Really just send karts soaring down the track. There are plenty, but there are also a few stretches where they're suddenly missing and I was wanting to see it all but filled with them. I also, like you wanted them to take the anti-gravity to its fullest extreme like F-Zero, in fact, did way back on the N64. Give me a fully-traversible cylindrical track to race 360 degrees around. I was immediately disappointed the moment I saw barriers on the side.
As for the others, yeah, I think they could have done a little more to make Wario's Goldmine and Dragon Driftway stand out, but they aren't bad additions, while Yoshi Circuit and Excitebike are big changes of pace with the tight turns or jumps/straightaways. And I appreciate Rainbow Road's simplicity in a game of such otherwise wild proportions.
@bro2dragons Give me a fully-traversible cylindrical track to race 360 degrees around
That alone would've made Mute City my all-time favourite track - it's sad that they weren't fleshing it out some more.
As for Hyrule Circuit: I guess I should've clarified, but I didn't want to overbloat it right away.
As you said, an open area would've been great. But what really bothers me is how the Master Sword, of all things, is right around the corner of Hyrule Castle. Not only is the temple of time full of traps, doors, and puzzles, it's normally VERY far out, as well. So, instead of just busting it out in the open, it would've been great to have an underground pathway that transitions from muddy ruins to ancient palace to simulate traveling to the past, finishing with a glider ramp that flings you right into the triforce (while enjoying the view on the Master Sword from above), which then catapults you towards the sun and back onto Hyrule Fields.
The way it was done here makes sense, as the tracks are supposed to showcase things in a condensed manner, but I found the presentation really undeserving of Hyrule overall.
@Kaze_Memaryu I'll put your comments in the "He/she probably shouldn't be playing video games" file.
@Dr_Corndog If it makes you happy, go right ahead. Not that it will stop me from gaming, though.
THAT F-ZERO MUSIC THO
Love the dlc and multi player is mental...
I wish in the next update they would add an option to control the volume and sound effect level so I can turn the music up and turn the Karts/weapons/voices down.
@Kaze_Memaryu
Though I don't necessarily disagree with your assessments, I think calling it all a 'disappointment' is a tad harsh.
@dazzleshell
You read my mind.
Love the remix of SNES Rainbow Road music and the course itself. If I had enough money to buy a DLC #1, I would play it like there's no tomorrow!
@FubumblR Possibly, but it's my full intention to be harsh with Nintendo.
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