King of Karts: Can Mario Ever Be Dethroned

There are lots of great kart racers that have released over time. So why is Mario Kart still the go-to choice? What makes this series the best there is, best there was and maybe the best there ever will be?

[gangsta_red]

No one has really tried to dethrone the king of kart in my opinion. All Star Transformed came close but it needed more support from Sega.

It would be nice for every console to have their own mascot cart racing game.

[Neonridr]

Diddy Kong Racing definitely came close on the Nintendo 64. That game was fantastic, and with the added use of different types of vehicles, it offered something you couldn't find in MK64.

[gangsta_red]

Diddy Kong Racing was awesome, but would it be a contender to the Mario Kart thrown since it was basically on the same system? I think it was so good that Nintendo purposely didn't make a sequel (even with Rare leaving) just so Mario Kart can reign supreme on the Nintendo platform.

[CurbStompin]

DKR is still superior to this day. The story mode was genius and tons of fun.

[Teflon02]

Single player wise plenty dethrone MK, Sonic Transformed, CTR, DKR for sure. I even say MNR. MP wise, CTR and Sonic Transformed I prefer. Especially CTR as it's more skill based but just as good on Items selection. I think the only thing it needs is a proper homing weapon outside the orb as the rockets useless if they're too far. Personally as a big kart racer fan. MK is actually just a safe bet. It's never been the best to me honestly. They're always good games though. Just really accels in multiplayer only. I actually thought MNR was a great contender and just needed a better weapon setup. Then Road Trip came with a much better setup that I actually thought was fantastic but unfortunately the game wasn't made by people who use sense and they killed the games chances by not including online multiplayer and only 4p local. I wish they'd rerelease them in 1 package on PS4 and upgrade the creator with LBPK's creator

[EddieNX]

All star racing came close? It was no way near as good and sold a fraction of what MK8 has sold ( fair enough though if you personally liked it...) .

Crash racing looks bland and outdated.

Mario Kart 9 will be a critically acclaimed smash hit again no doubt.

[gangsta_red]

Yeah, i was referring to personal taste. As a Mario Kart fan but not owning a Nintendo system since the Wii, I missed out on a lot of the MK games. All Star was my only fix for the Xbox, and I really enjoyed it. There aren't that many cart games, especially good ones.

[Ricegum]

"Crash racing looks bland and outdated."

Um, no it doesnt. At all. And for many CTR is better than Mario Kart in a lot of areas, one being the decent single player campaign.

I play MK8 almost every day but much prefer CTR, can't wait for it to release next month.

[Teflon02]

You can tell who's fanboying here.
Any Karter fan wouldn't say such lies

[BrettAwesome]

Well, ctr is 30fps, sooo there's that

[EddieNX]

Ricegum . Get real bud.

Mario Kart is Avengers Endgame
And Crash racing is Superman Vs Batman with Ben Affleck.

[-Foxtrot]

Crash Team Racing was better then Mario 64 in my opinion

ND took the formula and added to it, a open hub, a story campaign, little things to do in races such as the CTR tokens, gem cups, boss races, time relics. It felt like the next step and is still a step Mario Kart hasn’t taken today, 20 years later

[Neonridr]

controls weren't as tight, One thing Mario Kart has is very tight mechanics. One reason why it always feels so good.

[-Foxtrot]

Tight controls shouldn’t be the only thing putting it over the competition

Crash Team Racing wasn’t awful with controls, they were pretty decent

Fact is tight controls isn’t an excuse to why Mario Kart hasn’t done the majority of things a game like CTR did 20 years ago

[Neonridr]

@Foxtrot - Crash had it's chance.. I mean what, should we apologize for Mario Kart and the success it has garnered? MK8 reviewed extremely well across the board. There is a reason for that.

[Teflon02]

CTR had tight controls, especially compared to MK64, That game was like you're sliding around in comparison. Maybe every MK after. But even still. No one ever said CTR had any control issues lol

[bluefox755]

I liked it better as well. Still my favorite cart racer to this day, pretty pumped about the remake.

[King_Noctis]

Of course you would say that.

[-Foxtrot]

Here we go

King Noctis getting offended and turning it into something it isn't...

[gammaray13]

Modnation racers was way better

[Platformgamer]

let's be honest, a lot of kart games, exept the ones that are made with the ass of course, are better than mario kart

[WeedyOne]

Yes IMHO Modnation racers was the best "kart game" ever released. Its a shame more people didn't try it out. Had so much customization and unlimited potential.

[ECHOINFINITY]

Modnation racers had a promising first attempt! That was the only game that sold me after casually trying the demo. Loved it. Could have been something truly special if they fully fleshed out a sequel. That and PSABR should have had sequels with more funding to really make them great.

[Teflon02]

Road Trip was actually perfect race wise, just messed up because the devs gave up on it before even releasing it and you can tell. If they made a new one on PS4 or PS5 and worked off the Road trip gameplay and upgraded. That game would be amazing

[CurbStompin]

Yep when CTR Refueled comes out it will be surpassed.

[ECHOINFINITY]

I'm excited for CTR but it's like two decades old in terms of core mechanics, it's a classic but Mario Kart has evolved. CTR is arguably better than MK64 but not MK8 lol

[Nintendew]

As of what’s out now, NO, no one can.
MK series has been a racer game all of its class.
Many people who play Karts and try another auto compare Karts to whatever they are playing.
Daddy Kong, Crash, Sonic, Micky Mouse, etc..., none come close to what MK has done, many have tried.
The only game that can dethrone MK is MK.

[UnholyLight]

At this point, It's literally impossible. Every iteration of Mario Kart is just such a fun game full of nostalgia and good times. It can't be beat.

[Silly gameAr]

Everything is better with when it has Mario in the title, I guess.

[Platformgamer]

CTR and CNK already detrhoned it a lot of years ago.
mario kart 8 in comparison of crash nitro fueled is horseshit

[BrettAwesome]

No

[FallenAngel1984]

Many kart racing games are better than Mario Kart but none have the longevity or sales

[Segata]

Transformed is better than any Mario Kart.

[Omar3li]

CTR > all , simple as that

[WickedLester]

Mod Nation Racers was amazing! The creation community made some incredible vehicles, characters, and tracks! The online was fun as well! I wish like hell Sony would bring this franchise back!

[BlaqMagiq1]

Yeah Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled will be doing that

[kwijgaming]

As far as sales go, no, there won't be anything to top MK in sales. Personally, I think games in the same genre like Transformed, CTR and Diddy Kong all showed that making a good kart racing game on par or better than Mario Kart is possible. I had way more fun on Transformed than on MK, but they haven't made a sequel in so long. The result is I've invested way more time into MK than Transformed.

The vids from Team Sonic Racing look promising, so here's hoping there are more quality kart racers to come.