Summary
One central aspect has setMario Kart, and indeed all kart racers, apart from a typical driving game since its inception. Ironically, it’s the same thing that sets people who play Super Smash Bros. apart from people who you probably don’t want to play Super Smash Bros. with: items.
But who cares about the variety and chaos provided by items like the Lightning Bolt and relationship-ending Blue Shell? That stuff is way too interesting. Let’s get pedantic and talk about the item boxes themselves instead. Which ones are the best? Which ones fall short? How quickly can you get people to leave you alone at a party?
As largely an honorable mention, Super Mario Kart kicked things off with plenty of the conventions the series is still known for. Its roster of characters is still largely intact (R.I.P. generic Koopa Troopa), drift boosting was already a thing, and you’ll hate the computer players by the time you’re done.
But one key difference is how you obtain items. Rather than dashing through some crystalline cube, you drive over ‘?’ panels in the road, and unlike every later entry, they don’t regenerate. It addsa bit of strategysince you may have to adjust your trajectory on later laps, but that’s pretty much all they’ve got going for them.
11Mario Kart Arcade GP (All)
Along with being the Mario Kart entry you’ve probably never even heard of, the Mario Kart Arcade GP games also just had to stand out in another key way: their item boxes. They aren’t even boxes. They’re more like coins. Come on, respect the legacy, Namco.
Enjoyability of the games themselves aside (and they’re fantastic options in any arcade you may find them), the item ‘boxes’ just lack the heft and satisfying shatter you get from most of the other Mario Kart series. It’s a wonder so many reviewers completely ignored this definitely crucial factor.
The Game Boy Advance’s bold leap into the Mario Kart series did a lot of things right. For one, Mario Kart: Super Circuit started the now indispensable trend of includingtracks from past Mario Kart games, with every track from Super Mario Kart present in this one along with the originals. For another, it used actual item boxes.
And boxes they are, as Super Circuit’s item boxes are as box-like as you may possibly get. Unlike later entries, they’re simply portrayed as 3D cubes rotating on the track with some flashing colors for flair. It’s a step up from the original, but a far cry from the series' best.
Things immediately started getting interesting with the second entry in the Mario Kart series. The Nintendo 64 wasn’t the first 3D console, but it had a lot of power to play with and plenty to prove. So Nintendo took a big swing with Mario Kart 64, introducing fully-3D tracks and yes, fully-3D item boxes.
Mario Kart 64 is perhaps the only time the series went for something truly unique with its item box design. They’re not flat cubes, but more crystalline with an almost ethereal nature. The downside is they lack any real definition, mostly appearing as jagged blobs from a distance. Plus, without any borders, they’re very easy to miss on tracks like Rainbow Road.
Following Super Circuit, Mario Kart’s item box designs had basically decided on a theme and stuck with it, going for a slowly tumbling cube with a vague checkerboard pattern and well-defined edges, but a subtle and satisfying rounded look. Still, there’s some variety to be found.
Mario Kart Tour’s item boxes, for example, are a bit muted in color compared to most other games. They’re definitely easier to notice on any given track than in Mario Kart 64, but without that pop of color (and Tour’s less tactile feel in generalas a mobile game), they aren’t sitting at the cool kids' table.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is still kind of that one family member that the rest aren’t quite sure about. It has everything it needs to be a true member of the group, but it’s also got some bizarre quirks like acting way too interested in the square footage of your house.
Still, the novelty of setting up a Mario Kart course in your own living room can’t be denied, and the visuals really make it feel right. The item boxes may lack some color, but they’re exactly what they need to be inthis augmented reality dreamscape.
There’s not much difference between the boxes from Home Circuit and Mario Kart 8, but it’s there. Much like differentiating between two popular and nearly identical colas, it mostly comes down to personal preference and whatever the restaurant has.
In this case, the restaurant offers a very slightly more vibrant color to its item boxes than in Home Circuit. The translucent effect plays well with the environments, basically taking on the color palate of whichever track it’s in and compounding that on the double boxes of 8 Deluxe. But again, that color is still a bit lacking.
The effectiveness of a simple outline can’t be overstated, and Mario Kart DS understands this. Its item boxes aren’t flashy. They enjoy a similar design to most entries in the series. But take a second to really admire them up close, and don’t worry about the looks your coworkers are giving you.
These item boxes are much more blocky than their contemporaries, and they merge the checkerboard pattern with the colors themselves, which is an oddly brilliant touch. But it’s the white outline that really works, ensuring the boxes always stand out from any track. They don’t have any fancy shaders, but they’re clean and very pleasant to look at.
It seems Nintendo really wanted to raise the bar with Mario Kart World, and not just by including random enemies as drivers like Venom Snake is running their recruitment program. While it adds a ton of new content, there’s still a lot of love for the classics, and that includes the item boxes.
Unlike the mostly clear variants in Mario Kart 8 and Tour, Mario Kart World’s item boxes give off their own colors, cycling through them like the sign at your local vape shop. They’ve also got a super satisfying smooth sheen to them, like something you’d enjoy fidgeting with.
What’s better than cycling solid colors? Cycling rainbow colors. Mario Kart Wii’s item boxes go for the vibrant look like World, but with a less-defined palette that covers a range of colors at a time.
This oddly fits perfectly with Mario Kart Wii’s own rather low-fi look, with the item boxes offering an interesting, almost soft pastel accent to each track. Even a haunted boardwalk needs a splash of color.
