The second batch of new (and old) tracks from the Mario Kart 8 Booster Track Pass are here and I have to say I’m having a good time with them and think it’s a worthwhile purchase. However, that does not mean that there is not criticism, because the quality of the routes varies greatly. One outshines all the others for me: Marios Piste 3, the course that SNES owners can still drive backwards blindfolded today.
I’ve never been a fan of overly playful tracks. The ones that change round after round or that send you through one jump after another. Once I lose ground contact in a Mario Kart, I find it less fun. That’s why I love the track from the very first Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo, where you’d spend days on it just to grind a few tenths off your personal best here and there (and then swear at Carsten, who you never caught anyway) .
It’s not the first time we’ve experienced this circuit in 3D. A polygonal version of this absolutely flat piece of racetrack perfection already existed on the Wii. And on the Switch, especially the OLED model, the bright carousel of primary colors looks just gorgeous. Hearing the appropriate piece of music rearranged is the crowning glory and I don’t think I’ll have more fun with the booster pass anytime soon.
The real-world city-inspired tracks — this time New York Speedway and Sydney Jaunt from the mobile offshoot Mario Kart Tour — are nice touches that won’t come anywhere near the fame of older courses. Snowland from the GBA Mario Kart, on the other hand, is still great (though not quite as nostalgic to me as Mario’s Track 3) and while I’m not a big fan of the N64 Mario Kart, the Kalimari Desert is also in the switch implementation worked well.
Ice cream escapade at the end of the second cup is the only really new track in the bunch. With a long section of flight, a narrow route and a miserably long but straight ascent that is irrelevant to driving behavior, it has little to do with racing for me – even according to the broad definition of Mario Kart.
Which ultimately means that out of eight courses, I found one absolutely outstanding, one very good (Snowland), one good (Kalimari), two okay (the City tracks), two too busy and prone to randomness (Waluigi pinball, mushroom gorge) and a goofy one (the new one). Overall, this is a rather mediocre yield, but measured against the highlights, it is still a pleasing replenishment in a rather slow playing time. You can do it – and if you’ve already done it anyway, maybe because you wanted a Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass, you’re probably pretty well served here.
But if my enjoyment of Mario’s Track 3 told me one thing, it’s that I want to see more SNES tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. At least that’s what the recent leaks for possible upcoming routes for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Let’s see what else happens.
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