How Good IS Mario Kart Wii?

I'll be going over my personal favorite Mario Kart game, breaking down what I find great and not so great about each of it's features and mechanics.
I certainly won't be diving much into the BCP / Booster Course Pass dlc for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. Not even the new Wave 3 / third wave that just released for it, but I'm going to mention it here anyways for relevancy's sake!

[@mkgeostar]

i actually still play Mario kart wii using wiimmfi servers and i also play CTGP and mogi lounge. i love the video, great quality

[@DE23]

@@OdipIsTired It's not an "addiction", it's just a fun character detail

[@mkgeostar]

@@OdipIsTired i agree, i play it with my dad and he loves it because of all the retro tracks

[@OdipIsTired]

@@mkgeostar yeah bro my dad as well

[@mkgeostar]

@@OdipIsTired what's your friend code?

[@--_Jack_--]

@@DE23 you ever heard of something called exaggeration?

[@MP_Guz]

the motion controls actually helped me a lot with learning how to drive, the first time i took driving lessons the wheel felt like I was playing My Mario kart Wii

[@MP_Guz]

and I agree with the following games being to gimmicky. I mean the gliding and underwater mechanics were good in 7 but 8 nerfed them badly

[@LiamIsLarge]

This is a great video man. I know it kinda sucks when people call you a clone of another KZbinr, but at the end of the day, you only know what you consume. With time, I’m sure you’ll develop your own style, you definitely have the potential for it. Keep it up!

[@fders938]

Hey, when Koji Kondo (Nintendo's main composer for Mario Bros 1, 3, World, 64, and more) started, his music was similar to songs of the time. It's natural for new artists to make work derivative of what they personally enjoy and will develop their own unique style over time naturally.

[@nirgunawish]

you have to look up CTGP Revolution charlie pls pls look it up

[@LimeAtions]

idk who he ripping off

[@LimeAtions]

scott the woz

[@pierceschofieldoldham4459]

I was bouta say this dude is like the perfect mix between Scott the Woz and Nathaniel bandy

[@Htiy]

I love the control in MKWii to this day. The motion controls, the wheelies on bikes, the stand still mini turbo, leaning before the race starts, etc.. I feel like I have more control than MK8D and that’s why Wii is my favorite

[@Zach2K]

This channel is fire keep up the good work man

[@CafeCharlie]

Thank you!

[@RyanDxxx0]

Pretty good breakdown not gonna lie. One thing I do hate about the game is the control scheme, only way I can play on it without having a seizure is a Gamecube controller, even then some buttons are weirdly placed like the trick button, but does get managable and just second nature the more you use it, but a huge reason I personally love the game is the community that still lives on for it, the custom maps, youtubers surrounded the game, a big one being CTGP, being able to play 200+ new tracks with player's online anytime is incredible for a game released nearly a decade ago. But great review all together, gg.

[@TrademarkLover64]

This game's my favorite Mario Kart game too, and it's also actually the first I've played too. In fact, this game came out the same year I was born in. The reason I mostly like it the most is #1 because of the nostalgia and #2 it has the best track selection in the series and the best mechanics. The thing that really makes me like this game out of all of the ones in the series is that the tricking gives you more airtime than the other games and looks more satisfying, and it also doesn't contain the glider, which is an ok feature but it honestly didn't really do much. I just love MKW so much.

[@Plaidleyhaha]

Very enjoyable, you have great presentation! The way you work jokes into this video feels really natural without being too over the top which is a great balance to have. Keep making good stuff man!

[@Kuuk99]

I didn’t even realize you only had subcribers in the low thousands. Your content is so good it rivals those way higher!

[@pfergee]

Feel like I have found a new wave of great Gaming KZbinrs lately, and you are definitely on that list. I'm a few videos deep into your channel and love it all.

[@ACE_77]

The sandwich analogy got me so hard lmao

[@tasshuffler8905]

Can still play this beautiful game online thankfully thanks to wiimmfi. Not sure if you knew this or not but feel like it deserved a mention, as this truly is the great MK game bar none. Also your channel is criminally under appreciated. After watching your recent vid that popped off on MKWii, I went back through your old vids and noticed some of them were only get views in the hundreds. Borderline unjust! Keep on keeping on and this will definitely take off for you. Please don’t give up ❤️

[@CafeCharlie]

I knew there was still a way but I've yet to set it up, I've got to try it some time. Anyway, thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it, I won't give up!

[@mkgeostar]

@@CafeCharlie set the primary dns to 95.217.77.181 and secondary to 8.8.8.8

[@mkgeostar]

then go into user agreements and click next until you get to a screen with two big buttons at the bottom saying agree and disagree and this screen will metion wiimmfi and the just wait and dont click anything, the disc will auto boot and online will work

[@CafeCharlie]

Thank you! I didn't know it was that easy!

[@arielnunez0612]

found myself laughing out loud several times, this is a great video and I'm already a fan

[@benguzman6888]

Good stuff. Just subscribed! I love when KZbin recommends me quality channels. Looking forward for the next vids! In the meantime, I'll dive into your previous videos

[@jackalzonearts]

My favorite Mario Kart and one of my first video games. I got it for my birthday when I was 7, when the game came out. Loved the game so much and am so happy it's still playable online because of its community.

[@hankharrisonthemovies1354]

9:26 this is my first time seeing your channel and I’ve got to say that Scott bit got me.

[@hypernovagamingstation]

I love that he shows the full roster minus Mii outfit B. I'll admit most people didn't unlock it when we were kids, but doesn't mean he isn't there.

[@Cannash54]

Scott the Woz is great but he doesn't own a patent on video game analysis with a hearty dose of comedy. While similarities can be drawn between you and Scott, similarities can be drawn between most analysis channels. You're bringing your own thoughts and opinions to the table, which is all that matters at its core.

[@wotw6394]

Exactly, it’s so annoying when ppl compare any small nintendo KZbinr to Scott. Everyone’s influenced by somebody, and as long as he’s not stealing jokes it’s fine

[@hajilee4539]

I'm just going to comment on every video I watch to give them a boost. Seriously underrated.

[@piggin6393]

Great video, so glad I came across your channel :) Excited to see what's to come!

[@JonathanQShrimpling]

Great video yo, nice to see someone look at this game positively, it was the one I grew up on and I always felt it was unfairly maligned And if you're gonna take inspiration from anyone while doing a video game review type thing, Scott The Woz is a good choice!

[@PhilipGamez]

Amazing video, I also have the MKW Guide as well! :D

[@sketchhannen]

Already watched a bunch of your videos and love the content, instant sub, hope to see more great stuff soon

[@xxsusmasterxx5491]

Your videos are awesome! Your humor is exactly like mine haha. I just found you through your Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon Switch video!

[@CafeCharlie]

Oh awesome, so glad you enjoy them!

[@PaulLeCrone]

Please keep making videos! I really enjoy the personal flair you add to each video, seems you sincerely love video games.

[@CafeCharlie]

Thank you very much, that means a lot to me!

[@decadegamers562]

Good content can't wait to see you hit 100k

[@KingYoshi93]

There's nothing on TV these days so I watched this during lunch. 😄

[@hihello3372]

Commenting to boost you in the algorithm So underrated

[@TheReesie]

Me too!! His vids are really well done. He is going to be big here

[@hihello3372]

@@TheReesie yeah, i know!

[@LugiThePainDrinker]

Instant subbed for the “alright, power up!” Line while playing the sound of garbage

[@jimbobiscool1256]

Great video mate this was an extremely fun review to watch mate good on ya keep it up legend!!👑🔥

[@Joeswansonwithoneleg]

It was only a matter of time before he became famous. I’ll give him a year and a half before he reaches 500k

[@RiftComix]

Bro this video was awesome You just earned a sub

[@DeadnotAlive]

Super Mario galaxy was my first video game I ever played and Mario kart Wii is also my first Mario kart game

[@dngdnf4862]

it was sooo comeptetive mario kart game, i remember i locked myself in my room a week and played against ghosts to be on the top on the world map.

[@qr-eh9es]

I loved your video style ! Subscribed.

[@ThatD1spynser]

Mario kart ds recently got me much more into Mario kart as a whole, and I had this on wii, so *GET COCONUT FUCKING MALL'D*

[@Ben-yu8in]

Hitting the recommendations, someone is about to blow up 👀. I kinda have "Scott The Woz" vibes, but I love it.

[@tardissins7512]

I agree on the 7 and 8 being too complicated point, and I’d add that those additions end up making their tracks feel way flatter and more uniform than Wii’s

[@nintony2994]

While I can respect your opinion on glider and water track gimmicks. I may also have to disagree with it. While they seem pretty useless and unecessary at times sure. I can agree there. But its not about the the track gimmicks themselves, its about how they're used. Take ANY past mario kart track with a cannon or a jump off a ramp. Tracks like DK Mountain or Maple Treeway, even Royal Raceway. Those force you to wait until the sefment is over. With the gkider sections of the tracks you still have some control of your kart. You can now control where you want to go, where you want to land. If the static cannon launcher was used today it would look out of place or outdated imo. As for water. That can be the most annoying gimmick to me and barely an tracks actually use it in a creative way. The best one i can think of is the most recent Boo Lake from Wave 3. There isn't much you can improve on GBA tracks so I just expected them to give us a flat track with a dark sky box. Thats it. But when it finally came. The track looks like it went through a ruin phase. Half of the track has collapsed and is now underwater. Its such a creative Nintendo thing and I hope they continye doing stuff like that

[@keith9005]

You haven't played mario kart double dash!? That's a shame, I find it to be an amazing game growing up.

[@0_vues]

I know your channel is gonna be a very popular one sooooo... I'M WAS HERE BEFORE 2K Heheheha

[@KingYoshi93]

I kinda like the idea of building your kart like in 7 and 8 but I think limiting it to only a kart and a custom glider that doesn't actually affect the stats would've been better. It would just be a visual thing, like the custom emblem in Mario Kart DS.

[@ducoolguy834]

Nice sound effects 😂👍

[@sssgaming612]

5:13 this is perfectly described

[@jaguiler7079]

YES! ANOTHER PERSON WHO LIKES THE MOTION CONTROLS! my search.... is over

[@fders938]

I think MKW is the best Mario Kart game when it comes to skill-based gameplay. Super Mario Kart feels very slippery and is pretty basic, which makes sense since it's the first MK game. MK64 has much better physics but its gameplay is only different with power sliding and a few more items. Super Circuit is the same as SMK but with more content. I haven't played Double Dash more than twice, so I'm not gonna say anything about it. MKDS is the second best with similar gameplay to MK64 but with (relatively) more refined physics and slip streaming. MKW is the best with wheelies, tricks, and everything before it. MK7 is where I feel Nintendo started to focus the gameplay more on gimmicks and item spam than raw skill. There's more items such as the Lucky 7 which create an item spam hell, and the glider physics feel shoe-horned into too many places with crappy physics. They also removed wheelies, which were a huge factor in MKW's skill ceiling. MK8 (Deluxe) goes even further with this concept, adding even MORE items and more weird gimmicks with lame physics like the anti-gravity thing that rewards you for hitting other players instead of punishing like all the previous games. In addition, items from boxes are now determined by your distance from 1st place, not your placement. This means if someone is front-running by a mile, 2nd place will be getting items like blue shells, stars, golden mushrooms, and more. I get what Nintendo was trying to do, which was prevent lopsided races and give players a chance to catch up, but I feel it rewards bad players with unfitting items and punishes good players with unusable items which leaves them defenseless to a barrage of red shells, blue shells, and more. Conclusion: MKW has the best gameplay as it represents the peak of skill-based gameplay. Before it, the physics and gameplay were less developed and boiled down to taking a good line and holding A (simplifying here). After it, gameplay became more focused on gimmicks + luck / item spam and punished more skilled players. Source: Played probably thousands of hours of MKW, hundreds of hours of DS, 7, and 8, and a couple dozen of SMK, Super Circuit, and 64.

[@savage7882]

I still play Mario Kart wii with friends to this day occasionally. Ive never understood the whole hate boner for motion controls, i've never had a problem with them. The only issue i had was with Skyward Sword but it has built in features to recalibrate and re-center the cursor.

[@MasterAdam100]

I don't think old graphics in general look "ugly", just different.

[@ghhiaccio]

you remind me of scott the woz! very enjoyable and funny video :P

[@VaniRoyal]

I think this game was designed with motion controls in mind, I tried it recently with a GameCube controller and it felt bad, I think there’s like a delay to account for the extra time spent rotating a physical object instead of pressing a stick right. I feel this way about a lot of games, but it’s strongest with Mario karts, they just feel wrong on anything other than their intended system. I thought I hated super circuit until I played it on an actual GBA …except for DS. It’s like, every other game in the series tries to be the best mario kart it can be for it’s system, but then DS is just kinda.. there. something about it just feels cheap. Always confused when someone says it’s their favorite.

[@BigDollars360]

Great content and humor. Spread your wings a bit and dive into some Mario Party games.

[@Soumac]

I love that endscreen

[@DE23]

2:14 MK8 Custom Tracks be like:

[@plushmakerfan8444]

Maple treeway n64 and gba bowser castle rainbow road and mushroom gorge are amazing

[@thealmightycrisprat]

i love mkwii and play it all the time

[@BebjaCT]

Great Video!

[@JahsimEdits]

PLEASE TELL ME THE OUTRO SONG I CANT FIND IT also great vid

[@CafeCharlie]

I gotchu, it's called 'Party In The Clouds' from the soundtrack of 'Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage ?!!'

[@StockpileThomas1]

I got a modded Wii in 2018 and played Mario Kart online for two years. While it is definitely the most deep and therefore rewarding game of the franchise, I would also argue it's a bit too difficult.

[@lllIIllIllllIIIIl]

MK7 was my first mario kart game so I will defend that game till the end of time

[@pablo5425]

you can actually win cups in 150cc and it counts as win in all lower levels im not sure if that counts for unlocking stuff tho. i conly made it with mushroom cup

[@kekisht]

Great video! The style reminds me of someone who plagiarized Scott The Woz, but in a good way.

[@thealmightycrisprat]

tbh i swear most small nintendo youtubers have a person in the comments section saying this. still great video

[@ndstar6467]

Unlocking things in mario kart wii isn't that hard,mario kart 7 is more painfully worse,10,000 coins to unlock a glider?! That's wild.

[@masterdest326]

2:14 if Mario kart sounded like that I wouldn’t play it at all.

[@Toadandacone]

Great vid

[@Exiled2Eazy]

Mario Kart Wii is definitely my favorite. You can play with classic controls or gamecube. Makes it a much better experience

[@BebjaCT]

Same here! My fav as well

[@GaelLazerYT]

I still play MKW since 2014 and now I play the game online again thanks to Wiimmfi with CTGP witch is 200+ custom tracks and use textures hacks, mods and others witch is awesome you use BTW you can still play MKW online today 😎

[@Epifyy]

You look like a KZbinr that has over 200k subs ngl

[@holidayy2468]

this is the best mario kart

[@angryone106]

Indeed

[@Sly88Frye]

I grew up in the 1990s and played a lot of Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. I have indeed played every Mario Kart game that has ever been made at least released on home consoles and handheld consoles. Never played Mario Kart tour on mobile because that game just yeah I don't want to play that and I have played one of the Mario Kart arcades as there happens to be one in my area, but I'm just going to point out flat out at least among the console releases you can take home, Mario Kart Wii I say is undoubtedly the worst Mario Kart game ever made. He said something along the lines of the items aren't so crazy? Yes they are. I swear every single race I get hit by like three blue shells it's insane. It's so unbalanced. You get punished if you play well. Every time you play well you get screwed every time which is why I can't stand the game. And look I love Mario Kart 64 and yes I enjoy Super Mario Kart even though that game is clearly flawed, but my favorite Mario Kart is Mario Kart DS for good reason because the item balancing is definitely more fair and I love the tracks and I love the various modes you can play. Mario Kart Wii simply just pisses me off. I had a race at Yoshi falls on Mario Kart Wii where I was in first the entire time and completely dominated and had not a single chance at all of losing and then all of a sudden when the finish line is in my sights and it's right there and I'm seconds away from finishing in first well ahead of everybody, I seemingly get hit by what seems like every single item in the game. A blue shell and then multiple red shells and then crushed and run over by someone with a giant mushroom and more red shells and I think I might have been hit by a bullet Bill, but honestly I just couldn't take it anymore. I dominated the race and nobody had a chance and then suddenly when the finish line is in my sights I get dead last because oh no the game had the punish me again for playing too well. Mario Kart Wii is the worst Mario Kart game ever. The best Mario Kart game in my opinion is Mario Kart DS although I do also like Mario Kart 8 a whole lot except for how lazy they got with the battle mode which I guess Mario Kart 8 deluxe makes up for that

[@greninjamariokartpokemonfan]

7:54 And I find them all to be the worst items ever added to a Mario Kart game. The Mega Mushroom is pointless unless you're near a group of racers, the POW Block is just a nuisance as it appears multiple times per race, and the Thunder Cloud is the worst item ever created. Does it surprise you that these items haven't been in a Mario Kart game since?

[@Noshadesfunky]

The coin and blooper is worse than the thunder cloud because it was fun trying to pass the cloud to your friend or a cpu. The thunder cloud could make a fun moment but the coin is completely useless it shouldn’t even be an item. The power block and mega mushroom are also fun items and INFINITELY better than the coin and blooper.

[@greninjamariokartpokemonfan]

@@Noshadesfunky But what if you have the cloud and nobody is around? Unless you get a Star or get shot out of a cannon, you'll be shrunk by your own item. The Thunder Cloud is the only item that actively HARMS you more than it helps.

[@alface935]

5:13 Subway hated confirmed

[@woferr]

Remember me when you're famous

[@KindofBradAtThis]

Hey Charlie! Really glad I just found your gem of a channel!! Would love to talk sometime and be KZbin friends if you’re down!

[@KindofBradAtThis]

I also desperately need a fellow Wii nerd friend

[@CafeCharlie]

Heck yeah, that would be awesome!

[@EdWinz779]

He reminds me of Scott the woz

[@holidayy2468]

i like the way wii looks more then 8 i jest like the blockeyness of it

[@zschow9259]

im not here to discuss politics im just having fun , man." i like ur style -subscribed. and i agree the purple boost is cool but that other bs -nah

[@theghostwiththemost789]

I have a very…… complicated relationship with Mario kart Wii. I don’t like the game. The Motion controls are horrible and the item balancing is abysmal and I’m convinced that the only people that like it are the ones that were up with it and have nostalgia for it. The thing is though I have nostalgia for it to. When I was younger my older siblings would always play it and I would watch them and they would never let me play because I was the younger brother😂. So well I don’t have nostalgia for playing the game I still have nostalgia for the game. It’s music and especially its tracks are very nostalgic for me. I don’t like the game but I don’t really hate it either

[@nunayobusiness7521]

mario kart 8 has very restrictive boundaries, there are a TON of difficult time skips on different maps. People still play this game online to this day. Nuff said.

[@some_guy79]

Mk8 came out 10 years ago if it was a bad game people wouldn’t still be playing it online rerelease or not, so the same argument applies to mk8 too

[@westernspyanatoli4360]

play some double dash. this was so damn awesome. i still want a 2nd one.

[@tryingmybest1888]

me thinks I will comment to help the algorithm maybe hmmm

[@InterDylan]

Sadly MKWII started the staff time trial ghosts, making all games before it quite bad. MKWII made me love time trials. Apparently MK64 and DS also had them but they weren't unlocked in the beginning which defeats the point. What's the point of time trials if there is no comparison? oh wow i got 1:47:05 in track 6 how interesting! This means nothing, maybe the average record is 0:58:02, I wouldn't know. And looking up world records isn't really a fun goal for an average person to beat and none of these games had online. Frankly the time trials and the ability to enact precise and optimized movements with bikes make this game something special. I tried them all before (except 7) and i don't think i like any of them besides mkwii to be honest. They really struck gold with this one, making Mario Kart from games i would play 3 matches of and then shelf to something i put the effort in to master and 100%.

[@vashtanerada2731]

Wii game was the best. Switch version is horrible with all that modification with the car, and some characters with exacly same vehicle have more estability than other characters even if the characters looks with se same height and weight.

[@Shineplasma]

Play Kart 64 and Double Dash, holy moly.

[@lachlanmclane2149]

Scott the Iz

[@ToonGohan]

Mario kart Wii is one of my least favorites because of the items. I don’t like any of the new items added and it makes the game feel even more random/chaotic then it already is without them. I prefer double dashes item mechanics, courses and visuals.

[@themariomaster5207]

Yeah all the Mac and cheese yeah there all the same flaming hot and cheesy jalapeno run this game when it comes to cheesy flavor you know I'm king bold and cheesy Mac and cheese it's a Cheeto thing #Cheetos

[@armenhammer5015]

Analytics

[@FrncisPlys]

Super Mario bros wii is one of the best games ever

[@helpimadog-otherstuff8377]

wrong video

[@marbleracingplus4429]

CTGP 👍

[@sonicjhiq]

I played wii a lot as a child but I still prefer 7 and 8 and find myself not really getting that nostalgic for wii

[@derbar4340]

Oh a guy whose first Nintendo console was the wii, of course he will say Mario Kart Wii is the best.

[@Htiy]

My first was the DS but I still prefer wii heeheeheeha

[@autisticakkrona9794]

keep making swag videos 💯

[@gaylordfocker7990]

Much better than the Scott guy. You don't nonsensicaly scream and kill my eardrums.