Mario Kart is more fun without items, amirite?

There's a whole world of simracing where the point is to drive fast without getting hit by items. You will definitely be hit by other cars though

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Idk man, some of those lobbies absolutely have blue shells in disguise as opponent racers.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Haha you're not wrong but that's also why I don't do many public lobbies, or at least not low rating ones. I mainly do league stuff with the same group week after week or the higher rated and longer duration ones on stuff like Le Mans Ultimate. If it's a 2 hour race, there seems to be less kamikaze pilots in the lobby

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Simracing is an entirely different beast though. Plenty of other arcade racers thats just pure racing though.

by External-Actuator905 1 day ago

Don't disagree but if OP just wants to drive fast and win on pure skill, a sim is probably the closest to that. A lot of the arcade racers still have some gimmicky stuff, at least in my opinion

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You could play racing games. Mario Katts identity is tied to that party nature of items.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah, I've always associated cart racers with the chaos and overall "casual" vibe honestly

by ConsequenceVarious86 1 day ago

The items balance the game It makes it so your little brother can win even if he isn't the best driver

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Mario Kart Wii had items tho...

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You can disable them easily

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Just play Burnout

by Life_Programmer 1 day ago

Burnout needs to come back. Don't think there's been another racing game quite like.

by freedacollier 1 day ago

Nope.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The beauty of Nintendo games is that they're easy to pick up for any age, but difficult to master because they have a surprising amount of depth. This is just like play smash bros without items.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Well, this is certainly an unpopular opinion. So you want gran turismo with cute characters?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The shells feel so good when you throw them at someone else. So bad to be hit by them.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

This is a great unpopular opinion, I had a friend who would only play with items off and I hated it.

by Little_Secretary2905 1 day ago

Ever played Road Rash 64?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You're supposed to hold onto your bad items to deflect hostile shells.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah, this guy just sucks at Mario Kart.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Could try playing one of the hot wheels racing games instead. Not full on racing sims but no items. You still get boosts and fully customizable tracks.

by Muelleraileen 1 day ago

What mario kart wii did you play????

by LogEmergency 1 day ago

I think he's just saying its his favorite one in how the driving feels but playing with items turned off

by Delilahjacobi 1 day ago

Oh, that makes more sense

by LogEmergency 1 day ago

Have you perhaps considered playing a different racing game? Like a regular racing game? With cars?

by Accomplished-Low906 1 day ago

Just go play forza or something if you want an item less race.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Only people in 2nd place should get blue shells.......

by Palma36 1 day ago

Yup. That's gonna be unpopular. I like the game because of the items and think of them as an interictal part of the game. If anything I want them to be a little more common with full randomization, and very little placement bias. Like if you're first place, decent chance you can still get a blue shell. Welcome to thunder dome.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

When id play with my ex she would always win till we turned items off, once it was just about racing she lost everytime.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Mario Kart is a lot more fun when you look at it as a party game instead of a purely competitive one. People get upset when you get blue-shelled three times in a row on the last stretch of the last lap, but that's actually hilarious imo (yes, even when it happens to me). It's just a wacky racing game but people take it REALLY seriously and get upset when their pure skill doesn't guarantee them wins

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I disagree, but I can sometimes see your point. Last time I played I got triple tapped by red shells that brought me from second to tenth or something, which is really frustrating

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Interestingly - the first Mario Kart was just F-Zero with items. (a reductive take - but it's true, they wanted to make a split screen F-Zero, but SNES couldn't handle tracks that size in split screen, so they made the tracks smaller and the vehicles slower to accomidate the smaller tracks, then found it boring, so they added items)

by Such_Use 1 day ago

You should try playing MK with ONLY blue shells as items. Absolutely hilarious.

by Own_Magician 1 day ago

You need to be a good sport to enjoy Mario kart. When I get blasted in first right before the finish line that's fun. I enjoy losing in a comical way as much as I enjoy winning. If you feel like that would make you upset play a racing game and not Mario cart.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

This is like saying cheeseburgers are more fun without the cheese. Why did you order a cheeseburger then? Play Forza or something, Mario Kart is not the game for you.

by Necessary_Unit 1 day ago

I'll join you on this anti-fun wagon, I'm also no fun at parties. Luckily my friends are okay with me being uptight about cars & racing as long as I shut-up during fun stuff.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

People like you, who actually get upset at the items, is a big part of why the items are fun.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Op for sure just went from 1st to 5th at the finish line after getting hit by a string of items lol

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Can't say I really agree, but I do appreciate a good unpopular opinion

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I kind of agree. But probably only for us who really like to push the skill ceiling. For most normal people Mario Kart is probably a casual game they play just for fun and laughs. Items are one of the important rubber banding features of Mario Kart allowing people of different skill levels to compete.

by Agitated-Mail 1 day ago

Mario cart without items is just any other racing game. So it won't make sense for it to exist.

by Eltonspencer 1 day ago

I think it'd be neat if you could toggle item spawns individually like you can in smash bros

by Hassiefadel 1 day ago

I think you're looking for forza or something like that

by Virtual_Fisherman15 1 day ago

Sometimes when I get tired of getting hit over and over, on the most recent Mario Kart I'll just change the items so that everyone's only getting mushrooms or stars. Keeps the fun of items but takes out the frustration of getting hit

by Lonely_Garbage_3587 1 day ago

Just disable the coins and lightnings, the rest is ok.

by OkFlounder 1 day ago

If youre me, thats basically how it is because 1st doesnt get items. (Im the best of who I play against and Im not dedicating any time to actually play against sweats)

by Fresh_Initial_6199 1 day ago

Nah im much more of a fan of the jak x approach to kart racing and more or less removing the rarity of items and anyone and everyone can them no matter their position

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Without items its just another racing game

by Boehmsyble 1 day ago

"Dark souls is more fun without enemies"

by Anonymous 1 day ago

If it was all about racing the good player would jump way ahead while more rookie players would always be behind. Items help kneecap the good players and level the playing field

by Jgoyette 1 day ago

I feel like you should probably just be playing F-Zero lol. The FAST series is also excellent and worth checking out

by Anonymous 1 day ago

This applies to Super Smash Bros as well

by Anonymous 1 day ago