DanLesiak wrote on 03/10/14 at 04:21:26:


I totally agree that the frequency of the blue shell, as well as other powerful items (lightning, golden mushroom, triple red shells) is ridiculous in recent iterations. 2 days ago, I kid you not, another blue shell passed by me FIVE seconds after I launched the one I got. However, to be truly honest, there are worse items to get rid off than the blue shell for "high-level play" :

- The blooper : Item you get in the bottom half position that is near worthless offensively (affected players only have to look at the bottom screen to guide them), and leaves you without any defense until the next set of items. You will usually be fucked if you get it in lap 3.

- The bullet bill : Previously OK item that has been nerfed to the point of being slow enough to rarely enable you to catch up the guys ahead of you, especially since they usually get mushrooms/stars, to take the numerous SCs/corners cutters in MK7, while you're forced to stay in the middle of the road. And that's not even mentioning the fact that you cannot control when you interrupt it, therefore rendering the possibility to being send off to an obstacle or even a pit. Or fact that you are defenseless after it ends...

- The tanooki tail : OK, this one is not as bad as the other two and its usefullness relative to the blue shell can be debated, but getting this item instead of other classic items you get in the first places can cost you races. As a proximity item, not only it is a bad offensive item online because of lag (and exposes you to backfire if the target has any item equipped), it is also an only average defensive item : while it can stop multiple shells/bananas which it is pretty cool, you cannot get rid of it manually and can't get another item while using it, making you defenseless even if for a few seconds. It also automatically makes you jump which fuck up your lines and especially your drift, making you lose time and a bit more vulnerable in turns.

The ultimate shit item was the thundercloud in MKW, but at least this one has actually been removed. But unfortunately the blooper and the bullet bill are returning items in MK8 and that actually makes me more sad that the blue shell remaining a staple.

At least, the current form of the blue shell (unlike its winged counterpart, is actually really useful when used properly contrary to what you claim :

- It is an guaranteed hit for the opponent(s) right ahead of you with its extremy fast speed (unless they're in star mode obviously, but then you just have to wait for it to end).
- It is deadly and borderline broken (almost rivaling with the lightning in terms of total damage caused) in some tracks or some parts of tracks with narrow roads. Neo Bowser City and SNES Rainbow Road come to mind.
- It is a good intimidation tool to effectively stall the race ahead in some circumstances. A lot of players will just stop and give up 1st place whenever they see a blue shell, and others behind may do the same if they don't have the mean to dodge it. This can make the difference between finishing at a decent rank, and actually winning the race.

There are still some aspects of the blue shell that needs fixing in my opinion, like its explosive nature, being indestructible or the fact it can take shortcuts, but otherwise it won't be that bad if its frequency appearance is fixed in MK8.

TL;DR : Actually the blue shell is a kind of alright item now, that only needs to become much rarer in future iterations


DanLesiak wrote on 03/10/14 at 04:21:26:

In MK7 there is a big community that is still fairly popular, in which the items are mushrooms only (Real-Life Karts I think is its name). Close enough for the time being.

Supposedly we'll have more customability options in MK8 and no-item races (or races with individually toggable items à la Smash  Bros may become a reality). For now though, we can only wait and see...

^ Then you will hate the blue shell in MK64 since it travels on ground (luckily CPUs can't get shells, but watch out if you play with friends)

When you hear it coming, providing you're not in 1st it's easy to dodge by sticking to the sides, but the intimidation thing is the same annoyance as being hit, by which I mean you can be having a great 2 or 3 way tussle for the win at the front, nice close race and then suddenly it's not about being fastest and everyone is slowing down so they aren't in 1st because someone who's had a shocker trailing in 8th gets an item that will ultimately decide the winner over player skill. I just can't get round the fact that the worst player of a given race can have such an impact on who wins, if he's half a lap behind he should be battling to climb places not interfering with what's going on out of his jurisdiction for that race

Maybe it should be like MKDD. The blue in that was so much better. In fact, why don't they make every item like it was in DD? I loved how you dodged shells!

DanLesiak wrote on 03/10/14 at 11:13:05:


You'll realize how much harder it is do stick to the side on most tracks considering how fast the blue shell travels. Even when you hear it you can't react to it as fast as you can hear it. Some tracks are somewhat small as well so the blue takes the middle and you can sometimes fall, like rRR for example. But then again rRR is just a terrible track to begin with.

The blue shell is pretty much the first thing everyone (as in the general public) recognizes with MK. It's not going anywhere for a long time.

DanLesiak wrote on 03/10/14 at 11:13:05:

At some parts of a few tracks, parts that are narrowed, you are just BOUND to hit it.
For example : RAF the straight line after the flames and before the canon. If you drive there while the BS passes through, you can't not hit it.
Same for RMT at the small bridge during the big straight line.
And these are just a few examples.
The most raging thing is when the BS cuts through the wall... Which means that even if you are tightening a wall while drifting, a BS might hit you at anytime. So no, Blue Shells in MK7 are definitely atrocious.

On the MK7 online mode, we could create communities for exclusive items such as full bananas, full shrooms, full bombs and full Green shells.
I don't know why I have a very bad feeling about a potential full blue shell community created for MK8...

Could be fun in a way though...

NicholasRen wrote on 03/10/14 at 19:10:43:


"0.5-1 blue shells per race". Seems fair to me.

I just hope that from now on they will patch the game if some item/character is over/under powered.

Yoshistar™ wrote on 03/11/14 at 10:32:58:


Flaps are present in TT. I don't know if this is true or not but it's what you wanted to hear. X)

Leone wrote on 03/11/14 at 12:37:03:


You had me fooled for a second there  

NicholasRen wrote on 03/11/14 at 18:14:53:
are you high? I understand that getting blued 5 times in a race is too much (MKW) but 1 blue or even none per GP? No.