Mario Kart 8 Is Better On The Switch

Originally launched for the Wii U, the most recent addition to the Mario Kart series is finally coming to the Switch. By all accounts, it’s a much better version than the original for several reasons. One is the absence of a polarizing speed trick and another is the revamped Battle Mode, which ended up disappointing players in its previous iteration.

The speed trick in question is called “fire hopping,” Polygon reports, and it involves an item in the game that was intended to boost the speed of a racer for a short time. However, players quickly realized that with a simple trick involving the joystick, they can maintain that speed boost for much longer, thus gaining an advantage over the other racers.

A lot of players criticized the trick, which many largely considered a cheat. It was bad enough when used with others in the same room. Unfortunately, it could also be applied during online competitive play, which was unfair to those who prefer using legitimate methods to win. Nintendo tried to patch the problem, but it had little to no effect, which cast a shadow on the game.

With the Switch version, this is no longer the case. Players can no longer do “fire hopping,” which immediately makes it better than the original game.

Speaking of which, Battle Mode also got a huge improvement in terms of the race tracks that players have access to. The previous version of the game disappointed many players due to how boring and mundane the competitive tracks were, Kotaku reports. With the Switch version, the tracks are now much shorter, which allows for close-quarters combat and high-octane fun.

There are eight custom race tracks available to players, all of which are meant to maximize the amount of damage and competitiveness that players experience. There are also five modes for players to choose from, namely; “Balloon Battle,” “Renegade Roundup,” “Bob-omb Blast,” “Shine Thief,” and “Coin Runners.”