Are there unlockable karts/characters in MK8, and if so, how do you unlock them?  I hope it's not going to be like MK7.

The fastest way to unlock karts is with 4 player split screen multiplayer. We were getting a new kart piece about every other race if almost everyone came out with 10 coins each.

Played the demo today at a local Gamestop.

Overall, I'd say it's a solid MK game. Didn't play a whole ton since I didn't want to spoil myself too much. Got myself more hyped for release. It was pretty empty, only 1 other group of people showed up for the demo in the 1-1.5 hours I was there. I did go before lunch, so there might've been more people in the afternoon.

Tested tricking mid-drift using motion controls. It didn't work. Motion control tricking confirmed again. But you can't trick while drifting. No advantage for Wiichuck / Gamepad users here. Maybe this will change between the demo and release, but highly unlikely.

Started off playing on the Wiichuck using Circuit Special / Slim Tires. The drift felt far wider than B Dasher / Slick Tires in MK7. Probably more similar to the Jetsetter in MKW. Went wide on most turns the first lap, and did better the second.

Used the Prancer / Slim Tires next race. I'd say this handled pretty naturally, felt more similar to MK7 speed setups for turn radius. But maybe I had already gotten used to MK8's system. Not too sure about it.

Also used the Jet Bike / Monster Tires in the last race I played. The handling felt natural to me, rather similar to the Flame Flyer/Wild Wing in MKW. Granted, I mained the Flame Flyer in MKW. Anyway, snaking is like snaking in MKW karts. Not sure if it's any faster though.

Lafungo wrote on 05/17/14 at 13:25:51:

nice to know, thanks for the reports Nintendo is being mindful of TTers?!

Lafungo wrote on 05/17/14 at 17:40:53:

I'd like to know if you can charge orange MTs with auto drifts, and if you can get rid of the Piranha Plant earlier by spamming the item button.

Nicola wrote on 05/18/14 at 03:49:50:

oh my fucking god, please Nintendo, don’t…

RRD wrote on 05/17/14 at 18:10:37:

What do you mean by auto drifts?

Nicola wrote on 05/18/14 at 03:49:50:


The charts are refreshed weekly so no one person can always be at the top!

RRD wrote on 05/17/14 at 18:10:37:

I vaguely remember seeing a White circular meter around the item icon when you used the Piranha Plant item. It slowly decayed, and a chunk of the meter would disappear when you used it to propel yourself. Looking for video evidence, but the meter should be helpful for timing. I wonder how well the Piranha Plant works for cutting offroad corners.
Maybe the Golden Mushroom will have a meter too?

Thanks GameXplain for the footage. The white circular meter appears for the Boomerang item and the Piranha Plant. With the remaining meter indicating how many uses or duration remaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=aLfLbxmtr9A#t=245

Tia wrote on 05/18/14 at 11:37:27:

Yes, it has one. The Golden Mushroom lasts approximately seven seconds, like MKW and MK7.

As for the Piranha Plant, it is possible to almost fully stop with it, or slow down, so you could use that if you got the timing wrong.

The Piranha Plant's boost acts as a blue mini-turbo. So, if you hop before touching off-road, you'll jump over it, but you can't use it as a mushroom and go through it.

RRD wrote on 05/18/14 at 12:14:09:

Not sure what you mean by automated. You can control when the Piranha lunges by pressing the item button after activation. Only got the item once, so I didn't do any tests with it yesterday.

Quote:

From the mkwii forums. No more cannon blue dodges, I guess.

The Piranha Plant is still automated but you can shorten its duration and go a bit faster by spamming the item button; it about halves the duration if you didn't spam the item button.

Question: Do we have fast laps anywhere in the game?