The Prowl

The Student News Site of Weston Ranch High School

The Prowl

The Prowl

Mario Kart Wii Stands the Test of Time

Mario Kart Wii can be considered “Old” and “Weird,” but what makes it so that thousands of people still play it every day?

Mario Kart Wii was released in April of 2008 in most countries for the Nintendo Wii. However, although that’s almost 14 years ago, there’s still a dedicated community of players that play it. Why is that?

Mario Kart Wii was released on the Nintendo Wii, which sold over 100 million units, and MKWii sold over 37 million copies, making it not hard to find a Wii and MKWii for $100, which might seem like a lot. Still, judging on how much the Wii can do, especially with modding the console, it should be more than what it is. But sales don’t make the game good or bad. So to do that, we’ll have to look into the game.

Mario Kart Wii’s base game has a cast of 24 characters and 32 tracks, making it have one of the most characters and tracks in the entire Mario Kart series. There was also an implementation to the game that was never done before, the ability to use a bike, which allowed for one of the fastest ways to get around in the game, wheelieing, which can boost your speed by almost 33%, which makes it a no-brainer to use in a race. The ability to use a bike also provides better drifting, where you turn sharply around corners, as bikes are much smaller and can be used to squeeze past lanes. The ability to use different controllers was also a first in this game, with you being able to use the Wii Remote and turn by turning the controller, a Wii Remote, and Nunchuck, which keeps the Wii Remote’s grip but allows use for a control stick, a Classic Controller, which plugs into the Wii Remote and provides full controller support, and the GameCube Controller, from the previous GameCube system, which some believe to be the most incredible game controller of all time.

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Along with all of these improvements, Nintendo added online multiplayer, allowing you to race anybody from around the world with skill points to make the game balanced. Although, in May 2014, Nintendo removed all functionality for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which Mario Kart Wii and a handful of other games used. It seemed like that was the end for multiplayer until the Wii mod Wiimmfi was created, which restored all Wi-Fi connectivity to almost every online game. Along with Wiimmfi, a free mod CTGP Revolution was released in 2014, which allowed for not only online to be back without an emulator for computer, but also provided the use for mods, which has allowed for thousands of custom tracks, characters, vehicles, and more to be made, all for free!

With all of this being said, it is no reason why Mario Kart Wii is still relevant, even in 2022.

For more information, check out: 

https://www.chadsoft.co.uk/ 

Wii – Wikipedia 

Mario Kart Wii – Wikipedia 

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Mario Kart Wii Stands the Test of Time