Well folks, Nintendo’s just released another update for Mario Kart World. Like the last ones, it fixes a bunch of bugs and issues, and adds a few new features to the game.
With the main example of the latter being custom items. Yep, just like in 8 Deluxe, you can now choose what items appear during a race. So, if you want to race with only Stars and Golden Mushrooms, only Bullet Bills or (*gulp*) only Blue Shells, that’s now possible to do.
This also makes unlocking characters with the Kamek Orb much easier as well. Just pick the course that you know has the relevant enemy on it, set the Kamek Orb to your only possible item, and spam it until you get the one you want. It’s yet another improvement on a system that’s already been made a bit better with the UFO update a few months back.
There are also some neat online changes too. Most notably, you can now race with friends against random players online.
Yeah, by creating a friend room and setting it to everyone, you can take part in worldwide races, KO tours and battles against the general public as well. So, you don’t need to worry about joining your friends online anymore, or worry that you’ll be split off into separate rooms.
Additionally, a few neat UI tweaks and quality of life features have been added as well. For example, during a vs race, you can now choose ‘Retry’ and ‘Next Race’ from the pause menu.
So, if you want to try the current race over, you can now do that. Similarly, if you’re not having fun with the current track or settings, you can just choose to end the race and try the next one instead.
Add this to the ability to increase the music volume, go into Photo Mode during a time trial race, and the game listing what song is playing on the pause menu, and well, the game’s a lot more convenient than ever before.
However, none of these compare to the most interesting change of the lot. A major change that affects Koopa Troopa Beach and all tracks leading up to and away from it…
They’ve been redesigned. Significantly.
Hence if you race in these areas, you’re not just driving on water in a straight line anymore. No, there are now extra turns and paths and obstacles added to the mix as well. You can drive vehicles in more of these intermissions, you can ride on vines like in free-roam, and you gain extra speed by driving on top of a Manta Ramp too.
It’s not the massive change the routes need in general, and only affects a handful so far, but it does show that Nintendo is listening to the ‘straight line’ criticism so prevalent online, and redesigning the intermission/highway tracks to feature more turns and obstacles in order to make them more fun to play.
They’ve also heard the criticisms about Koopa Troopa Beach races being too short online too. Now, any route that ends there has you play two laps of the track instead of one, making it so the actual race course is a bigger part of the whole experience.
So, yeah. It seems like the shorter track variants are probably going to get a few more laps in highway style races. Hopefully, that’ll apply to things like Mario Circuit 1 and Peach Stadium Square Edition in future too.
Either way, Mario Kart World now has custom items, better online features and improved highway tracks to and away from Koopa Troopa Beach. If you want more info on what else is included, you can find the full patch notes here:
Features
- Added “Custom Items” to the item rules.
- This is a feature that lets you set which items appear.
- This is supported in “VS Race”, “Balloon Battle”, “Coin Runners”, and “Room” in “Online Play” or “Wireless Play”.
- Made it so that music track name and source title of the track that is playing will be displayed on the Pause Menu.
- Added “Music Volume” to “Settings/Controller”.
- Made it so players who gathered in a “Room” of “Online Play” can participate in “Race”, “Knockout Tour”, and “Battle”.
- Up to 4 players can participate in “Race”, “Knockout Tour”, and “Battle”.
- Made it so you can join in with friends who are playing “Knockout Tour” from “Friends” in “2p”, “Online Play” as well.
- Made it so you can select “Photo Mode” from the Pause Menu in “Race against Ghost” in “Time Trials”.
- Changed the course layout of below courses for “VS Race”, or “Race” in “Online Play” or “Wireless Play”.
- Race that heads from “Koopa Troopa Beach” to “DK Spaceport”.
- Race that heads from “Koopa Troopa Beach” to “Crown City”.
- Race that heads from “Koopa Troopa Beach” to “Peach Stadium”.
- Race that heads from “Whistlestop Summit” to “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- Race that heads from “Desert Hills” to “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- Race that heads from “DK Spaceport” to “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- Race that heads from “Crown City” to “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- Race that heads from “Peach Stadium” to “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- Changed it so that, in all races heading toward “Koopa Troopa Beach”, including the above courses, you will cross the finish line after two laps once you arrive at “Koopa Troopa Beach”.
- You will now dash when riding on Manta Ramp’s back.
- Made it so the player will not hit Dragoneel when transformed into Bullet Bill.
- Made it so the player cannot use a second Boo while already using a Boo, when holding two Boos.
- When Dash Food is taken by someone, shortened the time until that Dash Food reappears.
- When a coin placed on water is taken by someone, shortened the time until that coin reappears.
Fixed Issues
- Fixed an issue where the dash time was not correct after a Charge Jump.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through a wall when being stomped on from above by a vehicle driving on the road.
- Fixed an issue where a player would be squashed when touching a Thwomp that had landed.
- Fixed an issue where a Bullet Bill would not be displayed after using it.
- Fixed an issue where a character would be blurry even when making “Focus” “Character” when taking a photo in “Photo Mode” on the Pause Menu.
- Fixed an issue where the screen would look distorted if entering a pipe at the same time as joining a Free Roam in “Online Play”.
- Fixed an issue where player could not get in a UFO when multiple players tried to get in a UFO at the same time in Free Roam in “Online Play”.
- Fixed an issue where a friend’s information would not be updated when looking at the list of friends in “Friends” in “Online Play”.
- Fixed an issue where there would be a communication error when looking at a group ID in “View Room Info” when participating in a group in “Friends” in “Online Play”.
- Fixed an issue where a player’s place would go down if retiring during “Knockout Tour” in “Online Play”.
- Fixed an issue where a player that is seen when spectating looks like they are going off the course over and over during “Knockout Tour” in “Online Play” or “Wireless Play”.
- Fixed an issue where the player’s own character or vehicle would change when starting “Online Play” or “Wireless Play” again after quitting a game after “Knockout Tour” in “Online Play” or “Wireless Play”.
- Fixed an issue where a player would get stuck on a wall when using a Bullet Bill while falling off the course in “Sky-High Sundae”.
- Fixed an issue where a Bullet Bill would go outside the course when using it on the final curve in “Boo Cinema”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through a bulldozer in “Toad’s Factory”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get stuck on a spotlight in the race that heads from “Toad’s Factory” to “Bowser’s Castle” when transformed into Bullet Bill.
- Fixed an issue where if the player used a Bullet Bill or Spiny Shell in the first curve of “Desert Hills”, it would get stuck on a rock.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get stuck on a tree when using a Bullet Bill on “DK Pass”.
- Fixed an issue where, when the player was small because of Lightning, they would slip through the wall on the final curve of “DK Pass.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get stuck on a billboard when transforming into Bullet Bill in the race that heads from “Crown City” to “Desert Hills”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ring of stone when using a Bullet Bill or Mega Mushroom while falling in “Great ? Block Ruins” right before the final curve.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get stuck on the ground on the meadows near “Big Donut”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the wall if rewinding after wall riding in the special room you can go to from a pipe in “Shy Guy Bazaar”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would still fall into the lava even though they have “Smart Steering” ON in “Dry Bones Burnout”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go off the course when using a Bullet Bill while rail riding in “Wario Stadium”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would not be able to glide if getting on a glide panel while gliding in the race that heads from “Wario Stadium” to “Airship Fortress”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get stuck on the ground while heading from “Wario Stadium” to “Airship Fortress”.
- Fixed an issue where the vehicle would float up from the rail when the player did a rail ride after a wall ride in a bike-type vehicle in “Wario Stadium”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go off the course when using a Bullet Bill on the shortcut while heading from “Dandelion Depths” to “Cheep Cheep Falls” in the “Ice Rally” of “Knockout Tour”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go off the course while gliding, while heading from “Dandelion Depths” to “Cheep Cheep Falls” in the “Moon Rally” of “Knockout Tour”.
- Fixed an issue where a green shell would get stuck on the ground while heading from “Airship Fortress” to “Dry Bones Burnout” in the “Heart Rally” of “Knockout Tour”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go off the course when they transformed into Bullet Bill on top of a building in “Crown City” in the below races:
- Race that heads from “DK Spaceport” to “Crown City”.
- Race that heads from “Koopa Troopa Beach” to “Crown City”.
- Race that heads from “Faraway Oasis” to “Crown City”.
- Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
And you can discuss the changes and what they mean for the game in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
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