I think the amount of “big damn Nintendo games” feels a bit higher when you consider Nintendo-adjacent properties that are leaning in the same direction: namely, Pokémon and Kirby, and assumedly Xenoblade (which I am hoping will be an honest-to-goodness Open-World Xenoblade like X and not the others), with Pokémon already having an open-world installment on Switch. Not saying that’s a necessarily valid argument, as I think Zelda and Mario Kart are the only ones to which you could apply the “Nintendo” moniker.
Your commentary on Mario Kart World was very valid, though, and everyone brought up great points. It seems like something got lost in the sauce during development, or maybe the developers just didn’t quite know what else they could add that was novel in order to contrast the might of MK8D. But some of the ideas mentioned here would have been excellent nuances- particularly the Forza Lakitu.
Excited for 1000. I’ll have to pen something especially cruel for you all, since I know how easygoing my emails can be.