When it comes to Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World, one of the biggest criticisms of the mode is how limited the options are. Oh sure, the routes are fairly fun to race in that mode, and the mechanics involved do keep things somewhat interesting…
But the actual number of routes is pitiful at best, with only 8 options available in the game at launch.
However, it seems things have finally started improving on that front. Why? Because earlier today, Nintendo released Mario Kart World Version 1.7. With said update expanding the number of rallies at long last.
Here’s the announcement video showing them in action:
Plus, a list of changes from the official site:
List of Changes
General
- Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally have been added to Knockout Tour.
- You can select these if you have played one of the rallies in Knockout Tour.
- When you are using Photo Mode on the pause menu, you can now add stickers.
- You can add stickers using touch controls or mouse controls as well.
- Raised the acceleration performance of characters and vehicles that had low acceleration.
- Raised the gliding speed of characters that had high speed and that of some other characters and vehicles.
- Made it so the player can hop right away after being hit by Kamek’s magic or Bullet Bill.
- Adjusted conditions where the player can do a Jump Boost by shaking the controller when racing on top of the water.
- Adjusted behaviour after landing on rivals and made it so the dash time after landing is longer.
- Made it so that the player can avoid a slipstream boost by braking before it starts.
- Adjusted rate at which players can acquire items from Item Boxes in races and in Knockout Tour.
- Made it so that players can see the Super Horn a rival is holding.
- Added a ramp to the race that heads from Airship Fortress to Bowser’s Castle.
- Added support for Thai.
- You can change the language in System Settings > System > Language.
Fixed Issues
- Fixed an issue where the time after crossing the finish line in Time Trials would be incorrect.
- Time Trials ghosts that have encountered this issue may be removed from View Rankings without notice.
- Fixed an issue where, when a player started gliding right after crashing, their speed while gliding would slow down.
- Fixed an issue where, when a player hit a Goomba or Para-Biddybud that they sent flying, the player would crash.
- Fixed an issue where the player would not be able to get on a helicopter in Online Play and Wireless Play.
- Fixed an issue where, when the player threw a Bob-omb behind them while riding a Standard Bike or W-Twin Chopper, they would not be able to throw it farther than when riding other vehicles.
- Fixed a number of issues regarding Bullet Bill.
- Fixed an issue where if a Spiny Shell hit a gold block or a broadcast van, it would break.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through walls in Bowser’s Castle.
- Fixed an issue where the player would stay caught on an electronic sign in Dandelion Depths.
- Fixed an issue where if the player used a Feather after doing a Jump Boost in Dandelion Depths, they would fall off the course.
- Fixed an issue where the player would fall off the course after jumping on a parasol in the race heading to Salty Salty Speedway.
- Fixed an issue where the player would fall off the course when driving through the shortcut route in the race heading from Koopa Troopa Beach to Dino Dino Jungle.
- Fixed an issue where a player would have two coins taken from them at once in the race that heads east from Peach Stadium.
- Fixed an issue where if a player does a Jump Boost while rail riding in the race that heads from Cheep Cheep Falls to Dandelion Depths, they would fall from the rail.
- Fixed an issue where the player would hit the pole at a shop and not be able to move at Shy Guy Bazaar.
- Fixed an issue where Dry Bones falls through the ground around Dry Bones Burnout.
- Fixed an issue where if the player was driving along the edge of the course, they would fall off the course in the race that heads from Wario’s Galleon to DK Pass or Cheep Cheep Falls.
- Fixed an issue where the player would be returned very far in front at various times when they fell off the course on various courses.
- Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
Mario Kart World Updates (Nintendo UK Official Site)
As you can tell, we’ve already got two new rallies right off the bat. These are the Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally respectively, and go through the following courses:
New Rally Routes
Drill Rally
- Wario Shipyard
- DK Pass
- Dandelion Depths
- Mario Circuit (SNES)
- Dry Bones Burnout
- Bowser’s Castle
Boomerang Rally
- Salty Salty Speedway
- Cheep Cheep Falls
- Moo Moo Meadows
- Choco Mountain
- Mario Bros. Circuit
- Whistlestop Summit
Yeah, they’re some pretty interesting routes for sure. Especially given that both of them end on some of the most competitively viable, beloved tracks in the entire game. So, if you’re the kind of person that practiced all the shortcuts on Whistlestop Summit and Bowser’s Castle, you’d be in your element here.
What’s more, it’s not like this is some one-off change either. Oh no, the same trailer also shows slots for other upcoming rallies too:
At least 6 more KO rallies have been confirmed, as shown here
Yup, we’re getting at least 6 more rallies in the foreseeable future. So, Knockout Tour will eventually go from being a mode that’s only playable on a tiny selection of routes, to one with about half as many options as the main modes have for tracks.
It’s certainly an improvement, that’s for sure.
And so is the addition of stickers in photo mode. Yeah, you know those stickers you get from completing missions in free-roam? The ones which in previous updates, could only applied to your kart on a one at a time basis?
They’re now useable in photo mode too. They actually function like stickers rather than barely visible kart decals.
As you can tell, stickers are now useable in photo mode
So, the missions have something of a reason to exist now. They’re not just random trinkets you’ll mostly see in some deeply buried menu interface.
However, the changes don’t exactly end there. At least on the competitive side of things.
No, they also tweaked some character stats and attributes too. Like, acceleration for heavyweight drivers.
Hence if you like playing as Bowser or Wario or Cow, you’ll be able to get up to top speed a bit more quickly than before. It won’t be enough to make the difference between weight classes irrelevant, but it’ll be useful for staying in a hectic race nonetheless.
Same goes with gliding speed too. Some characters that originally glided quite slowly are now a bit faster than before, making it a more practical means of getting around in the air.
There are also some neat quality of life changes here too. You can now see any Super Horns that your opponents are holding, so their usage doesn’t come out of nowhere anymore. You can jump if bumped by a Bullet Bill or hit with one of Kamek’s spells, making it easier to stay on the track or avoid obstacles. Slipstreams can be avoided if you brake early, in case doing so would put you in a bad position.
Plus there’s even a little ramp added on the route from Airship Fortress to Bowser’s Castle. For those needing another minor shortcut that’s doable without a feather.
So, there’s some interesting stuff here for sure. Knockout Tour has been fleshed out a bit, and will be expanded on even more, stickers are more usable than previously, and various tweaks have made racing a bit less hectic than it used to be.
But will it be enough to get you playing the game again? Do these changes warrant picking up Mario Kart World if you haven’t already?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
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