Mario Kart Wii is the 6th game in the Mario Kart franchise. The game was released for the Nintendo Wii in 2008 and is one of the most iconic games for the system. It introduced some welcome new quality of life changes and some new additions to the franchise as well.

While I probably have more total hours clocked into Mario Kart DS, my all time favorite has to be Mario Kart Wii. I’m just able to fully immerse myself into the game and the race, whereas with other Mario Kart games I’ve always felt more of a disconnect on that end. Not that they aren’t fun, but this is the only Mario Kart game where I feel like I’m the one actually racing.

Sadly, my Wii was taken away from me as a kid (something that I’m still not completely over) and I have only rarely been able to play the game since. I used to still bring it with me to a friend’s house, but now I can only play through emulators. Anyway, how does the game hold up today?

Graphics - 10/10

I’m sorry, what? You’re telling me this game came out only a few years after the DS one? I mean, sure, the Wii is a much more powerful console. The graphical capabilities are always going to be higher. Still, the difference is staggering. The game, more than anything, looks alive. The colors are vibrant, the water flows naturally, and the models are full of life as well. Not to mention the insane amount of creative and fun vehicles in the game. Cars and… bikes? BIKES! Yes, this game introduced bikes and they look fantastic.

The backgrounds for the tracks are also splendid. They do a great job of creating an atmosphere that amplifies the experience of racing through them. Some absolutely stunning examples include Maple Treeway, Coconut Mall, Koopa Cape, Toad’s Factory, and my personal favorite, Grumble Volcano.

Sound - 9/10

Yet again the Mario Kart franchise delivers. I can’t stress enough how important a good soundtrack is to a racing game. It makes your experience a million times better. One of the best ways I’ve found to remember tracks in these games is to just imagine the music playing in my head. It never fails to put me right back into those moments years ago of trying to make it to a cannon blast right as you see a red shell approaching behind you.

A staple of the Mario Kart franchise in the quick arrangement of the background music during the final lap also returns. It really signifies that it’s now or never. You only have one more lap to maintain your lead or to crawl your way back to the front of the pack.

Oh and a special shout out to Funky Kong’s voice actor. I find it so funny imagining someone in the studio recording all this. The dude is an absolute legend for these soundclips; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rIoAhowXVg

Addictiveness - 10/10

Easiest 10 I’ve ever given. If there’s one Mario Kart game that never gets old, it’s this one. The tracks are super replayable, and doing stunts and tricks over the million ramps and obstacles will never get old. If there’s one thing I’ll still be doing by the time I’m 75 it’s performing tricks on Mario Kart Wii.

Playing with your friends is once again possible here too. 4 players can race at the same time on one Wii console so all you need is a few extra controllers. Speaking of, have I mentioned the amazing Wii Wheel that you get with the game for your Wii-mote? Just plug that bad boy in the wheel and you’re actually steering your vehicle in real time. Brilliant addition to make use of the Wii’s motion detection. If you want to race with more people, you’ll need to get an online connection. Sadly, this feature is no longer available as Nintendo removed Wifi compatibility from the Wii altogether. At the time though, you could play with up to 12 players! 12! Imagine the usual chaos of playing with a party of 8, only now add an additional 4 players to the mix. Insanity. There are still ways to play online thanks to the very active online community, but I won’t delve too much into that as I don’t want to get in trouble. You can look it up on your own.

Online was made even better by the tournament system. You could host tournaments that others from all over the world could join. On top of that, there existed some sort of rating or ranking to determine a player’s level of expertise. Winning or scoring well in races would make your score go up, whilst getting near the bottom of the table would make it go down. I believe the maximum was 9999 VR. I never personally got that high, but I was around the 7500-8000 level at one point. Some of these people were cheating, I swear. Still, going up against people of your own skill level constantly made for a very entertaining playtime. And chasing the big 9999 was a great motivator to keep playing.

Story - N/A

The old tale. A racing game, no story. There is nothing to see here. Your princess is in another castle.

Depth - 9/10

I actually rate it slightly lower than Mario Kart DS. The removal of Shine Runners and Mission Mode kind of hurts. Yes, it did add the tournament mode in online play, but this didn’t really make up for the loss of other creative game modes as it was just another racing mode at the end of the day. The game was still great, don’t get me wrong, but it lacked the diversity that its predecessor had.

On the other hand, they went all out when it came to unlockables, carts, and characters. A whopping 24 characters are playable in this game (26 if you count your Mii characters as well). There was pretty much a character for everyone. The addition of bikes also increased your options a ton. They play similarly to karts, but with a few slight differences. While both can drift and get a drift boost, karts get a slightly better boost from their drifts. Bikes (most of them), on the other hand, can use inside drift to cut corners better and increase your level of driving. They also have access to wheelies, which prevents you from steering left or right but gives you a slight speed boost on a straight path.

Lastly, they added tricks to the game. Gone are the days where you just drive off a ramp all boring like and just land on the ground. In this game you can shake your controller to perform a trick. These are super addicting to do and reward you with a slight speed boost upon landing.

Difficulty - 9/10

This game is definitely more difficult than your average Mario Kart game. The controls are more complex, and are also more punishing. Driving well is rewarded more in this game than in almost any other Mario Kart game out there. There are crucial speed boosts that can make a difference over a 3 lap race that you lose out on if you don’t take the time to practice and become better. You can then take it a step further by testing your skills in online play. The rating system allows you to join lobbies with people around your skill level, so you have actual competition when you race. And let me tell you, when that rare 9000+ rated player joins your lobby you really get put in your place.

Also, the SNES Ghost Valley 2 track is my all time least favorite because I find it too difficult. I just can’t seem to ever score well in it, and even the pity rocket you get in 12th place has killed me more than I’d like to admit.

Overall

This game is just so much fun. That’s the best way to describe it. The whole game is designed to make you have the most fun possible. It’s also extremely competitive in the online scene, so if you’re looking for that then this is the Mario Kart game for you!