We Played Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2!

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast: We Played Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2!

Hosts: Tim Gettys, Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller, Blessing Adeoye Jr., and Andy Cortez
Release Date: April 3, 2025

---

Introduction

In this episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast, the hosts dive deep into their hands-on experience with Mario Kart World on the newly released Nintendo Switch 2. Throughout the episode, Tim Gettys, Greg Miller, Blessing Adeoye Jr., and Andy Cortez explore various aspects of the game, including gameplay modes, character selection, new items, and the enhanced hardware capabilities of the Switch 2. They provide insightful analysis, share personal anecdotes, and highlight notable features that set this installment apart from its predecessors.

---

Initial Impressions and Gameplay Modes

The episode kicks off with Blessing Adeoye Jr. introducing Mario Kart World, emphasizing its evolution from previous versions like Mario Kart 8. Tim Gettys reminisces about their long history with the franchise, noting, "We've been playing Mario Kart 8 in different forms for many years" (00:36). The hosts discuss the innovative Knockout Mode, a standout feature that transforms traditional racing into a dynamic elimination battle.

Blessing describes Knockout Mode as a blend of battle royale elements and traditional racing, where players are gradually eliminated based on their standing at various checkpoints:

"For me, that was the highlight. That was the thing where I was like, this is some of the most fun I've had playing Mario Kart." (02:05)

Tim shares his competitive spirit during the mode:

"I got second place the first round, 24 racers. I was like, that ain't good enough for me... I got first, baby." (02:13)

Greg Miller adds excitement about the variety of modes available, hinting at even more options to explore beyond their initial gameplay.

---

Enhanced Graphics and Hardware Integration

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the Nintendo Switch 2's hardware improvements, particularly the game's visual fidelity. Tim praises the game's 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) capabilities:

"It was those little flourishes that make this stand out visually... besides, of course, it being 4K." (03:54)
"HDR looked killer on this game in handheld mode. I was so impressed." (22:15)

Blessing echoes these sentiments, highlighting the game's polish and presentation:

"It's the rolling start at the beginning... the amount of new items and it's the little details." (02:25)

---

Dynamic World and Procedurally Generated Elements

The hosts delve into the open-world design of Mario Kart World, comparing it to Breath of the Wild for its expansive and seamless environment. Tim elaborates on the map structure:

"The whole world map is made up of different areas that are vaguely themed... secretly integrating elements from classic courses." (04:14)
"It honestly feels like procedurally generated Mario Kart, but it's so artistically designed." (18:08)

Blessing is impressed by the living world aspect, where characters and enemies from various Mario franchises populate the environment, enhancing immersion:

"They put a lot of effort into making this a Mario World." (16:21)
"It's fully realized... every turn brings something unexpected." (16:16)

---

Character Selection and Customization

A notable change in Mario Kart World is the streamlined cart selection process. Instead of customizing individual parts, players now select complete carts:

"Once you do the character select screen, you're not picking the parts. You're just picking a straight-up cart." (12:57)
"I'm fine to do away with mixing and matching cars. I'm a standard car, baby." (13:17)

The hosts appreciate the simplification, with Tim adding:

"The character select screen... references to past Mario titles permeate every bit of this game." (11:16)

---

New Items and Gameplay Mechanics

Mario Kart World introduces a plethora of new items alongside returning favorites. Tim highlights the return of the feather from earlier games and introduces new additions like Kamek, a wizard from Mario World, who casts spells transforming racers into Mario enemies:

"Kamek casts a spell and it turns other people into random Mario enemies... I was a dolphin, and I thought I had to jump to get it off." (14:03)

Other new items include the golden shell, which leaves a trail of coins, and an upgraded coin block providing more coins:

"There's a coin block you can get 20 coins instead of 10." (15:02)
"Another new item is the golden shell that leaves behind a trail of coins you can follow." (15:07)

Tim theorizes that coins will play a more significant role in this installment due to the increased chaos and number of racers:

"Coins are flying everywhere. So there's coins all over the map, dude." (15:00)

---

Music and Sound Design

The soundtrack of Mario Kart World receives praise for its jazz rock inspiration, reminiscent of Mario Kart 8, with new compositions and remixes:

"The music style feels very inspired by the jazz rock of Mario Kart 8... I'm hearing Odyssey remixes popping off." (22:23)

Greg notes the seamless integration of music that enhances the racing experience, while Blessing appreciates the nostalgic yet fresh soundscape.

---

Gameplay Balance and Speed Settings

The discussion touches on the speed settings, particularly the introduction of 100cc mode as the default in Knockout Mode. Tim expresses initial surprise at the speed:

"It felt very slow at times. I thought it was 50cc." (23:13)
"I'm very happy for that to feel snappier." (23:31)

Blessing concurs, hoping that higher speed options like 150cc will be available to cater to traditional players seeking faster-paced races:

"Who's actually choosing 100cc? It's like, get out of here." (23:20)
"I imagine they're going to give that choice for Knockout Mode." (23:40)

---

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Tim and Blessing reflect on the potential of Mario Kart World to be a generational Nintendo title, capable of captivating both long-time fans and newcomers. Tim remarks:

"If they pull this off, I think this can be one of those generational Nintendo games." (24:25)
"This feels right and refined. It really feels like they're trying to top what they did before." (20:52)

Blessing echoes the excitement, anticipating widespread discussions and the game's impact on the gaming community:

"This is going to be a water cooler conversation about this Mario Kart." (21:14)

The hosts encourage listeners to share their excitement and opinions in the comments, hinting at future discussions on other titles like Metroid Prime 4 and Donkey Kong Banana Rama.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Blessing Adeoye Jr. (02:05):
  "For me, that was the highlight. That was the thing where I was like, this is some of the most fun I've had playing Mario Kart."

• Tim Gettys (03:54):
  "It was those little flourishes that make this stand out visually... besides, of course, it being 4K."

• Tim Gettys (14:03):
  "Kamek casts a spell and it turns other people into random Mario enemies... I was a dolphin, and I thought I had to jump to get it off."

• Tim Gettys (23:13):
  "It felt very slow at times. I thought it was 50cc."

• Tim Gettys (24:25):
  "If they pull this off, I think this can be one of those generational Nintendo games."

---

Timestamp Reference Key

• 00:36: Introduction and history with Mario Kart franchise
• 02:05: Highlight of Knockout Mode
• 02:13: Tim's competitive moment
• 03:54: Visual flourishes and 4K
• 04:14: World map and procedural elements
• 11:16: Character select screen and references
• 12:57: Streamlined cart selection
• 13:17: Preference for standard cars
• 14:03: Introduction of Kamek and new items
• 15:00: Increased role of coins
• 15:07: Golden shell and coin trails
• 16:16: Fully realized Mario world
• 16:21: Effort in world design
• 18:08: Procedurally generated maps
• 20:52: Refinement and top-tier feel
• 21:14: Anticipation of conversations
• 23:13: Speed settings discussion
• 23:20: Preference for higher speed modes
• 23:31: Satisfaction with snappier feel
• 24:25: Potential as a generational title

---

Conclusion

The Kinda Funny Gamescast hosts deliver an enthusiastic and thorough exploration of Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2. They commend the game for its innovative modes, enhanced graphics, dynamic world design, and thoughtful integration of new and classic elements. With promising features and a potential to redefine the franchise, Mario Kart World stands out as a highly anticipated title that could resonate deeply within the gaming community.

Listeners are encouraged to engage with the hosts by sharing their excitement and thoughts, ensuring that the conversation around this new Mario Kart installment continues to grow.

Transcript

[Tim Gettys]

Foreign. What's up? And welcome back to another Tim Gettys and blessing. Adio. Yay, Junior Nintendo Switch 2 hands on impression. We spent the entire day playing Nintendo Switch 2 for the very first time. We played a whole bunch of different games. We're going to be doing a bunch of mini games. Cast talking about our experience with the hardware, a ton of the software, a bunch of things in between all of that stuff. So stay tuned to YouTube.com kind of funny games for all of it. But bless, what are we talking talking about now?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

We're talking about that Mario Kart World.

[Greg Miller]

Mario Kart World.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, for many years, many years, many, many, many years, we've been playing Mario Kart 8 in different forms. Whether it was me on the Wii U, not many other people did, but I did, you know, then I played it again on the Switch. Then I played to the booster packs, all of that stuff, right? We've been playing it. It's great. We've questioned, what could a Mario Kart do?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Where do we go from here?

[Tim Gettys]

Where do we go from here? Did they go somewhere that you think was worth it?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Oh, they went somewhere. They went like the place they went essentially open, right? With it. Of course, you guys seen the direct. So you all know, right? This is a more open Mario Kart. You have more players, and we got to play quite a few different modes.

[Tim Gettys]

Explain what we did.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

So we, I guess we did this in different phases, right? Because we get to the event that we're in, we watch the direct at the same time that you guys watch the direct. And then we go into this preview event. And the way they did it was pretty smart. They start us all off just playing like a regular race of Mario Kart world, right? We do a Grand Prix situation. We then after that, all go into a bigger room and we each go to a station and we play, was it knockout mode. We play the knockout mode, which is essentially, if you're a nerd and you play burnout, think like the eliminator mode. If not, think almost like a battle royale, essentially, right? Where everybody's going. And at certain intervals, people under a certain place get knocked out of the race. And then the last stretch of the race ends up being like a few people that are racing for supremacy, right? Racing for first place. And let me tell you, I got to start off just talking about the knockout mode.

[Tim Gettys]

Let's do it.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

For me, that was the highlight. That was the thing where I was like, this is some of the most fun I've had playing Mario Kart. And I'm sad that I've only gotten to play one race of that because you went back and played even more.

[Tim Gettys]

I went back. I got second place the first round, 24 racers. I got second place the first one. I was like, that ain't good enough for me. Logan Plant from IGN got first. And I was like, I need my revenge. So I went back and. And I got first, baby.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Which is exactly what you need to do. So, like, I think the thing for me that really brings it all together, aside from, like, I think the polish and the prettiness of Mario Kart World, because I think the presentation this time around, they found a way to step up somehow.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, it's so interesting. It's funny because I agree to an extent. Mario Kart 8, I think, is kind of a perfect looking game.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, that, to me, is an example of where software meets hardware. Where it needs to be like, I love the look of that game. I love the look of this too. I don't think it's like a substantial improvement, but I think it's all the little differences and it's the amount of stuff, the amount of costumes.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It's the rolling start at the beginning.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. All the. The 24 racers, like, rolling in. It's the amount of new items and it's the. The little details because I. You. You played a couple matches like here, there. I kept going back like, this was the game that I played the most in different modes, handheld and on tv and all of it. And I was shocked at how many little details there were in terms of different animations that the characters would do for tricks and stuff. Way more than last time. And every cart seemed to have, like, unique features to it. Like I was on a motorcycle and it had this like, antenna on the top of it. And the way that it would interact and like light up at certain points, it was just like, what's going on? But just was like, it felt unique to that. I was in a weird rocket ship cart at one point, and anytime I'd get a mushroom or like I was sneaking behind somebody and I would get a boost, the rocket engines would literally have fire pop out of them.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

And I was like, oh, wow, that's really cool.

[Tim Gettys]

It was those little flourishes that I think make this stand out visually from Mario Kart. Besides, of course, it being 4k.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah, it being 4k and looking damn good. God, really Driving at home, pun intended. So knockout mode for me was such a highlight, was such a special thing because it was. They essentially Put together a full Grand Prix into one track. Is that what they're doing?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. So, okay, this is where this game gets so interesting. The whole world's map, right, is made up of different areas that are vaguely themed. Within those vague themed areas, there are the Grand Prix courses. And those courses are made up of a lot of just new ideas, but also kind of returning elements of all the classic Mario Kart courses over time, where it's not just like, oh, Muumu Meadows is here exactly as it was, but it's like a new version of Moo Moo Meadows. Like elements of it that the things we all know and love about about it are here. And they kind of seamlessly lead into other parts in that part of the world. But in knockout mode, it kind of takes them and seemingly almost like, connects them. Secret Wars, Dr. Doom Battle World style kind of connects them, and it is amazing. Like, when you start off the knockout mode, you see it randomly generates a bunch of the levels you're gonna go on. You're like, okay, it's one's from this area, one's from this area, one's from this area. And then when you play through it, they just connect, and it's like magic.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It's so incredible. And it leads to such, like, an intense race because I underestimated how much fun a an extended Mario Kart race would be. But there's something about going from. Oh, we're all going at the same time. All right. Oh, man. It's a battle between me and Tim for first place. Oh, man. Okay, I'm getting left behind. All right, I'm in it. Boom. All right, we're on to a. Next to another track. Oh, snap. All right, here we go. And, like, it's funny when I assume it was Lakitu, right? When Lakitu comes up with a sign that was like, one out of six or whatever you did your first lap out of six, I was like, wait, we're only a sixth of the way through this. And it keeps going and going. And, like, it honestly felt like I was building a story as this race was going.

[Tim Gettys]

And. And to that man, something that I am so impressed with this game. In both modes that I played, I guess there's even more modes because there's the free roam mode that you played before as you're kind of just waiting for this knockout mode to happen that I think I imagine will be kind of the single player mode that we play later. But I was so impressed with the fact that every single. And maybe this will change. Maybe there will be things later, but I don't think so. Every level you play is in the style of the Snow Mountain Wario level from Mario Kart 8.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

That's what it felt like.

[Tim Gettys]

There's not. It's not laps. You're not going over the same thing multiple times. It's always something different, like an A to B situation. It's checkpoints instead of laps. Right. And that works so well for the knockout mode. But you add on that tension, like you're talking about of, you know, normal Mario Kart. This is the bounce, but it's essentially number one and two are fighting and then there's everyone in the back. Maybe they get lucky and win.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

In this one. Because every time you get to a checkpoint, a certain number of characters are straight up knocked out. There's a level of tension of, like when you're. When there's 24 people, it's utter chaos.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Chaos.

[Tim Gettys]

There's items everywhere. Everything's getting hit and you're just like, oh, man. Man. And it's like, oh, wait, I. By the time we get through the first checkpoint, four people are getting eliminated. I gotta be in top 20 and then it's top 16. And that. It just keeps going up. And that, that race for first, that final lap, stress is with you the entire time.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah. Legitimately, I couldn't be more excited for Mario Kart World.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

And it's funny because we would have conversations before about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and what you do with the new Mario Kart, and I was like, it's going to be more. More Mario Kart. They found a way to make it feel special. They found a way to make it feel very exciting. And so I'm looking forward to it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. I mean, I want to keep talking about Mario Kart because there is a lot more to talk about, but we're going to do that right after a word from our sponsors.

[Greg Miller]

This episode is brought to you by Lost Skies. What would you do if you woke up and the world around you was now floating high in the clouds? Lost Skies is the new open world. Survival like that puts the power of exploration and choice in your hands. Use the physics based grappling hook glider and your own custom airship to traverse the remains of this fractured world and uncover its mysteries. You and up to five friends will harness the power of ancient technology to survive. The hostile islands that scatter the horizon and the threats that lurk in the sky itself. The battles are intense, so it's up to you to build a Skyship to shelter you in fierce storms and take the battle to gigantic monsters. Want to take a break from fighting in the skies? Use the intuitive island creator and share your builds with the community. Head over to Steam and Wishlist Lost Skies today and discover what's lurking beyond the horizon. This episode is brought to you by Monaco 2. Gather your crew, plan your heist and let the chaos unfold in Monaco 2. Return to Monaco, a city teeming with excellent scores and gullible marks ripe for getting parted from their prized possessions. Go it alone or tackle Heist as a team of four with online and local co op. Just remember, even the best laid plans can blow up in your face, so you'll have to stay on your toes. Monaco 2 is the sequel to the cult classic Monaco what's Yours is Mine that expands on every aspect of the game. New characters bring unique abilities and playstyles to help you escape the heat, and with new modes and procedurally generated levels, every run is full of surprises. The heist is on when Monaco 2 arrives on Steam, Xbox and PlayStation on April 10th. Y'all know how important it is to wishlist these games. It helps the developers so much. So please Wishlist, Lost Skies and Monaco 2. This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. You sign up for something, forget about it after the trial period ends and then you're charged month after month after month. The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them. In fact, 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month. Thanks to Rocket Money. You can see all of your subscriptions in one place and cancel the ones you're not using anymore and save more money. Rocket Money has helped multiple members of Kinda Funny learn that they're still paying for things they totally didn't even realize. You know who I'm talking about. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to Rocket Money.com/kind of funny today. That's Rocket Money.com/kind of Funny.

[Tim Gettys]

So, knockout mode. Definitely. I think a highlight, yes, right? Or just one of many.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

There's so much to talk about with this thing and I want to dig into a lot of your stuff because you played way more than me. But one of the first initial things that I was like, oh, snap seeing was the character select screen. There are so many dang characters in this game. Characters that have no business being behind the wheel. They got those cow from Moomoo Meadows up in this thing.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

They're like, all right.

[Tim Gettys]

The Piantas from Mario Sunshine, they got.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

A goomba up in here, just behind the wheel.

[Tim Gettys]

And I think it's important to note all Mario characters.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, I think we've talked about what is Mario going to be, Mario Kart going to be. It's going to be more Smash Bros, Way more crossover. And who knows, DLC could come. I think it probably will.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It probably will. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, but I actually really love the Mario love that they have going on here. And that goes through it permeates through every bit of this video game in ways that I can't wait to dive into, because the character select screen, how deep it is. You go through, the different costumes, all the references to past Mario titles across all of the sub franchises of Mario. Not just the platformers or whatever like Mario Party references and things like that, but the courses. When we first saw the initial Switch two reveal and little Pit stop looking thing and a western area. And then when they announced it today, when we saw the direct and it was like Mario Kart World, I was immediately a little let down just because I'm like the idea of just Mario Kart but in real world locations kind of fine, I guess. But oh my God, I'm so wrong. That immediately transitions into the most Mario in a Mario Kart of all time.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

The amount back in the day Mario Kart. Maybe there's a Mario penguin walking back and forth on the level, getting in your way. The amount of enemies from every Mario game I've ever played functioning the way they do in those games.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Hammer brothers.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Hammer brothers throwing hammers at you.

[Tim Gettys]

The, the, the, the circular black things with the like green feet and the yellow spike. It was in Mario 64, so you can't really tell what it is. Yeah. In the lava level, that kind of bump.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Bullies.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, bullies.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, that's what it is. There's bullies walking around and they function that way. They hit you and it bounces you back in that way.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

That was really fun to see.

[Tim Gettys]

It goes on and on and on. And the references and directs like, this is from this thing littered across this whole thing. It's funny, I brought up the battle world earlier. It really does Actually feel like Mario Battle World. And it's very cool.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah. Another thing I want to shout out. They're doing cart selection different this time. So once you do the character select screen, you're not picking the parts.

[Tim Gettys]

That's interesting.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

You're just picking a straight up cart.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Which immediately stood out to me. I was like, oh, sn. Okay, well. And I'm not. Here's the thing. I don't know. I don't know how you ever felt about the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Like, mixing, matching your car. I'm fine to do away with, dude.

[Tim Gettys]

Me too.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, and more so, like, I'm a standard car, baby.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I just go, hey, straight in.

[Greg Miller]

You know what I mean?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. And I. For this, I was like, I'm gonna play around with a bunch of them just to kind of see. See what's going on. But yeah. Let's try to talk about a little bit of the differences that we've noticed between World and this. Like, that is one of them.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

That is one of them. I don't. Did you ever pick up the. It's like a. It looks like an item block, but it's a different thing. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. It's like, I might have to find the trailer and see if I can show it to you. It almost looks like it could have been like a wonder kind of thing.

[Tim Gettys]

So that's what's really interesting. There's a lot of many new items and many returning items. The feather from the Super Nintendo game that allows you to bounce, which is going to be great for shortcuts. That's back. And a whole bunch of new ones. There's Kamek, the little. The wizard.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, from Mario World, but like Yoshi's Island.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Did you get a feel for what exactly Kamek does?

[Tim Gettys]

Yes. So it casts a spell and it turns other people into random Mario enemies. So it turns them into the. Like the. The bones fish.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Or it turns them into the dolphin from Mario World. Gameplay wise, I don't know what it does.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, that's what it did, though. And I. When I got turned into dolphin, I thought I had to, like, jump to get it off or something. I didn't. So, like, it was a little unclear what's going on. But a couple other new items. There was the. There's a coin block. You can get 20 coins now instead of 10. There are way more coins.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

So many coins.

[Tim Gettys]

I think this game is. And fingers crossed, I actually Hope this, because I feel like coins have been a feature of the previous Mario Kart games. I hope that I'm right about this. It seems like they're going to matter a lot more in this one because there's 24 racers, there's chaos at all times. Whenever people getting hit, coins are flying everywhere. So there's coins all over the map, dude.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

There's even a new item that's a.

[Tim Gettys]

Another.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

A golden shell that if you throw it, it leaves behind a trail of coins that you can follow.

[Tim Gettys]

Yep. So you can do that. And then there's also a coin block that you get and it goes over and you just jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, and get coin coins. So I think that with that amount of coin focused items.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And how many coins are literally popping out of people, I think it's going to matter a lot more, which is interesting. And the wonder flowery thing, it's not a wonder flower, but, like, it looks.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It kind of.

[Tim Gettys]

It kind of does. I noticed it most in the free roam mode, which is the kind of like, lobby waiting room before you get into the knockout mode, like when you're waiting for a match. And again, I was just in the open area.

[Greg Miller]

I could go all over the world.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, seamlessly while doing this. And the world was, like, surprising. Like, there's like the clear kind of courses you gotta get into, but then otherwise you're just in this open area. There's just traffic everywhere. There's, like, ramps and cars. Hella Mario enemies. Just, like, walking around Yoshi. Like a herd of Yoshis just walking by. It feels like they created a living world. It almost feels. This is. I don't mean it this dramatic, but it feels like, oh, wow. They Breath of the wild. Did Mario Kart. Like, it's just every. You turn a corner and there's just. You're seeing something. You're like, oh, wow, there's a little town of shy guys.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah. It's fully realized is the thing. It's like, oh, y'all put a lot of effort into, like, making this a Mario World.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Mario Kart world. Yeah. And so that item is everywhere in the free row.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Okay. Really?

[Tim Gettys]

Everywhere. And when you get it, at least in the free roam mode, it gives you a speed boost right then. But then it also gives you a randomized costume, so it will then just change whatever character you're wearing's costume.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

My theory is that in the single player mode, those might be collectibles you're going around collecting. That's how you Unlock new carts or new costumes or whatever it is, which I am so into.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah, that's cool. I like that idea. Like, I think I only was able to get one once during the race, and I couldn't. I couldn't tell exactly what it was doing. Right. I was like, I think it had the function of an item block in the race.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

I think it just gave me.

[Tim Gettys]

No, it gives you food. So it gives you, like, randomized food. Like, there's vending machines in the world. There's a lot about this that we don't know. There is a direct coming out. The Mario Kart direct, which I can't.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Wait for, because, again, I've. I did one Grand Grand Prix race, and then I did the knockout mode. Right.

[Tim Gettys]

And I.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

That was one long race as well. And when I tell you this game is so jam packed that, like, I feel like in any other Mario Kart, you give me one race, and I know what that game is.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

This one, I'm like, I don't know if I got all the items, dude.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, man. There's. There's so much to break down here. Because I. I felt that way after our first round when we just did the Grand Prix. It's like, okay, it's Mario Kart. The tracks are way wider because there's way more characters, which dramatically shifts the gameplay.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Like.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Oh. It makes it way more chaotic.

[Tim Gettys]

It changes it substantially.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

But the drift feels exactly the same in all the right ways. Like, this feels as good as Mario Kart 8, which, like, thank God. But I was so surprised when I went back and picked the controller up or the actual tape or handheld mode switch to. To play the Grand Prix a couple more times. Every single time that I did it, it was a different map. It was, like, randomized for this demo.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

And I was like, well interested.

[Tim Gettys]

Whoa. And they all felt so different. And even when it loaded up the second match, I map I played, and it was like, oh, cool. It's like a ghost house. I get what we're doing here, and I start going to my. Oh, they're directly referencing the style of the SNES ghost house maps. Yeah, that's pretty cool. And then you kind of get through a part of it, and then all of a sudden, I'm in a forest. Like, a dark, ghosty forest. Then you get out of that, and you're like, in a cemetery area. And it's like, oh, my God. This theme just is going and going and going. And then next match, I get. It's like, moomoo. Meadows inspired. But it's not just Moo Moo Meadows. It continues to just change. And it's. It honestly feels like procedurally generated Mario Kart. But then you're like, no, it's so artistically designed, but it feels like it's endless. It feels like the ideas just keep coming and coming and coming to the point that I'm like, maybe it's just because these are new maps that we haven't ever played. And, like, whatever. But then when you see the world map and how big it is, I really question, like, are we ever going to be that familiar with these, or is it always going to feel like we're playing these maps for the first time? Which is pretty cool.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

I mean, even from the debut, the Switch 2 reveal, when you look at, like, what the footage that we saw from that, there seem to be parts where it's like, oh, you could fit another track in there. Or like, that is another direction that, like, if you take away this barrier, you can make this into a track as well.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Like, it seems like they're playing a lot with the idea of, hey, you pick a track and it's more so of a theme.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

But, like, every lap is going to be different for what you're doing. And I love that idea. I love them switching things up like that.

[Tim Gettys]

A couple changes that I noticed. The D pad no longer works as car controls, which bums me out, because with racing games, all of them, I am a D Pad boy. So I'm pretty sad about that. But maybe I'm alone. You've got to be alone. I don't know.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

I've never heard of that.

[Greg Miller]

I'm out here winning first place.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm getting first and second. You know what I mean? Like, things are working for me.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

But so taking that away from me now, you know the D pad, though.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Like, when we're out in that open lobby area, you press down on the D pad and it does a Forza rewind.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Straight up. This is Forza Horizon. Mario Kart.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, it's Forza Horizon, but, like, with Nintendo Charm.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

It's like, it's freaking awesome. So, yeah, that's another big change. Specifically the Forza stuff, like the rewind getting rid of the D pad. I don't know if many people are affected, but me. But, like, it kind of bummed me out that I couldn't change. Maybe the options of the final game will let me, but I don't know. But a big change that took me a couple Rounds to realize you no longer need to hold the trigger button to have the green shell hold behind you.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

It defaults to that.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

I noticed that too. The same with the banana. Like, I was. Because I messed that up a few times. Just accidentally throwing the green shell and I'm like, what is going on? So, yeah, it automatically just sits there as soon as you get in the item box. Yeah, it's nice. I like that.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's a difference that I think it's going to take some getting used to, but I think it's a great call. Besides that, like, I didn't notice too much, but, like, this just feels right and it feels refined. It doesn't just feel like, oh, man, we got to make another Mario. It really feels like they're like, hey, we got to make another Mario Kart. How do we top what we did before?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah, it's a Mario Kart with a lot to chew on, which is very exciting.

[Tim Gettys]

Right?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Like, obviously Mario Kart has been filled with content for, you know, iterations and iterations, but this one is truly filled with content in a way where I'm like, oh, yeah, no, this can carry the launch. Like, this is going to be a thing that is going to be. Oh, like, how much have you completed Mario Kart? Because I got to go over here and collect this thing and like, oh, man, I still haven't seen all the different iterations of, like, what this Grand Prix can be or what this could be. Like, I think there's going to be a water cooler conversation about this Mario Kart.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes. And that again, that's the breath of the wild side of it. The weird thing of just, like, turning a corner and being like, oh, wow, there's things here I just didn't expect to see. And that's very, very cool. Another new item is the giant mushroom from Mario New Super Mario Bros. Ds.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Has that not been in Mario Kart before?

[Tim Gettys]

I don't know. I don't remember it. It wasn't an eight, Roger, look into that. It wasn't an eight. So I don't know, but it just.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Seems like something I would have already been back.

[Tim Gettys]

Or it's back. Yeah. And then HDR looked killer on this game in handheld mode. I was so impressed. The game ran beautifully. It looks great. Having a Mario Kart in 4K on the TV is awesome. It's been there before.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It's been in Mario Kart Arcade gp.

[Tim Gettys]

Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart Wii Tour. Okay, okay, Cool, cool, cool. Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

It's back.

[Tim Gettys]

It's back, everybody. And then what else did I have? Oh, man. It's so, like, the music style, it feels very inspired by the jazz rock of Mario Kart 8, which I think is so damn good. We got new music, though, obviously, but a whole bunch of Odyssey remixes I'm hearing popping off, and I'm like, that's exactly what your boy wants. And the one other thing I'll say is that it felt very slow at times. I was just like, is this 50cc? And I think it's the combination of a couple factors. One, the wider maps, I think, just make everything feel like you're moving a lot slower through them, because I feel like the linear ones, it feels like you're getting further distance just visually. But in addition to that, I did confirm we were playing in 100cc mode. So while it wasn't as slow as I might have thought, we're so used to 150.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

We are.

[Tim Gettys]

You know what I mean? Like, it's like, dude, has anyone ever played Mario Kart that's played a Mario Kart before in anything less than 150?

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Who's actually choosing 100cc? It's like, get out of here.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. So I'm very happy for that to. To. To feel it snappier. And I'm sure that'll immediately quell any of my fears about it, but that was something that I was like, come on.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah, I noticed the same thing, but, yeah, I figured it was going to be 50cc or 100. So, yeah, can't wait. Hopefully. I mean, I imagine they're going to give that choice for knockout mode of, hey, I want to play in 150cc.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, when I started my second knockout round match, like, I saw it, and then you pop up and it was like, choose. And 100cc was one of the options. So that was, like the default that it was on. But, yeah, I mean, closing remarks on this. I think that this is obviously a killer launch title. Like, I think sales wise, I think critically, I think all of that, like, this makes sense. I understand the potential. I haven't. I don't know that this is the case. We've been playing games all day, so I don't know exactly what the Internet's take is on everything. I can imagine that some people are like, really just a Mario Kart. Wait to play it, y'all. Like, I. I do think that this. This has that, like, oh, shit vibe to it where if they pull this off, I think that this can be one of those like generational Nintendo games.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Yeah, I'm, I 100 agree with you.

[Tim Gettys]

Right?

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

I'm right there with you. And yeah, like they turned me from a. Okay, cool, another Mario Kart into oh, I got to play this goddamn Mario Kart. This looks like it's going to be different. This looks really, really good.

[Tim Gettys]

So yeah, very excited for this exciting stuff everybody. Let us know in the comments below if you get more hyped based on us talking about this. We have way more Gamescast coming. We're going to Talk Metroid Prime 4 Beyond. We're going to talk Donkey Kong Banana Rama. I'm never going to remember the name.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Of this banana with no.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, just a banana version.

[Blessing Adeoye Jr.]

Just Bonanza.

[Tim Gettys]

Every video is going to end with me doing this. It's not just because I'm an asshole. Not on purpose though. It's just how my dumb brain works. Anyways, I love you all. Goodbye.