Post by: WindyMan on August 22, 2005, 09:20:33 AM
Konno is the Mario Kart expert around Nintendo, having been a major part of all the Kart games, producing the SNES and N64 games, and supervising the GBA game. With Mario Kart DS coming out in a few months, Nintendo of Europe decided to ask him a thing or two about the game.
Items in Mario Kart have always been a critical factor in how a race would be played out, and the new DS version will have new items, some specifically tailored to the dual-screen setup. For instance, Blooper the squid is a new item in the game, and when someone hits it, ink will cover the top screen and blind the player. However, they can still see where they are on the bottom screen's track map, so they can navigate that way until the ink goes away.
It's been confirmed for a while that the game will feature 16 of the best tracks from previous Mario Kart games, and 16 brand-new tracks for the DS version. The hardware allows for elevation changes in the track design (not unlike Mario Kart 64), so Konno says they'll create tracks that take advantage of that. One new track that he did hint at is set inside of a pinball table, where players need to avoid the bumpers, fippers and the giant pinball as they race around the course.
One last point made by Konno is that the mulitplayer modes will allow for just a single player to particpate in them. That is, someone could play Battle mode or Versus mode alone, with computer-controlled karts acting as opponents. That would mark a first for the Mario Kart series, since in every game before, human opponents were required to battle it out. Now players can practice their skills alone before meeting up with friends.
Mario Kart DS is shaping up to be the best Mario Kart game ever. We'll know for sure when the game is released sometime before the end of the year.
Robert Graves contributed to this report.
Post by: stevey on August 22, 2005, 10:01:16 AM
dose anyone know witch? I hope the n64 yoshi tracks not in there.
Post by: KirbySStar on August 22, 2005, 10:08:23 AM
Post by: KnowsNothing on August 22, 2005, 10:22:25 AM
Post by: Hostile Creation on August 22, 2005, 10:27:09 AM
Other details are great, too. I wasn't originally intending to get this, but I might now, since I have one and soon to be two friends with a DS who live far away. Online with them (and pietriots of course) would rock.
Post by: Bill Aurion on August 22, 2005, 10:29:44 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: KirbySStar
I like how there was no mention of Double Dash what-so-ever.
I like how Konno had nothing to do with Double Dash, and that's the reason why there was no mention of the game...
Post by: KnowsNothing on August 22, 2005, 10:31:06 AM
But deep down he loves it.
Post by: WindyMan on August 22, 2005, 10:31:30 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: stevey
"that the game will feature 16 of the best tracks from previous Mario Kart games, and 16 brand-new tracks for the DS version. "
dose anyone know witch? I hope the n64 yoshi tracks not in there.
The tracks that I've seen from video include Moo Moo Farm and Mario Circuit 1 for sure. Yoshi Circuit was in one of the early video clips, so it's not known if it's still in there.
Post by: Bill Aurion on August 22, 2005, 10:33:21 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on August 22, 2005, 10:58:50 AM
So a major player on the Mario Kart team wasn't involved in Double Dash? That explains a lot. What does Konno specialize in?
I love how they're including bots for multiplayer. I always found Mario Kart kind of dull when you only have one friend over and can only do one-on-one races. Every racing game should have bots. I hope in this case you can have four human players plus a bunch of bots. Has there been any mention of how many human players you can have?
Post by: Spak-Spang on August 22, 2005, 11:08:13 AM
If I remember correctly you can have 4 players with internet play and 8 players with LAN play with Mario Kart.
The lack of players is because Mario Kart is filled with some much going on that any more players would cause slowdown.
I am betting that Battle Mode will probably be limited to 4 players multiplayer online with bots, and 8 players LAN with bots or humans. I don't expect Nintendo to make it 16 players 8 bots and 8 humans. I just have a feeling Nintendo will keep it simple.
I do like the idea of new powerups that actually do different things. I just hope they bring the Ghost and Feather back, as they were always fun to use.
Post by: KnowsNothing on August 22, 2005, 11:25:56 AM
Post by: Bill Aurion on August 22, 2005, 11:30:17 AM
Quote
So a major player on the Mario Kart team wasn't involved in Double Dash? That explains a lot. What does Konno specialize in?
Konno is the head guy of one of EAD's studios...He has directed Luigi's Mansion and Nintendogs (and overseeing Metroid Prime Hunters, I believe) in addition to his directing of Mario Kart DS...So if he specializes in something it's under "Fun Games."
Post by: Ian Sane on August 22, 2005, 11:52:52 AM
It is? That's pretty lame. It's better than nothing but still.
Post by: Spak-Spang on August 22, 2005, 12:20:18 PM
Post by: foolish03 on August 22, 2005, 04:18:39 PM
Post by: Bill Aurion on August 22, 2005, 04:24:00 PM
Post by: Nephilim on August 23, 2005, 04:20:48 AM
