Mario Kart 8 is Nintendo's latest entry in its highly popular racing series that stars iconic characters racing around colorful and challenging tracks.
The game was designed to be a family-friendly bonding pastime that can sometimes become rather competitive. Despite its simple premise, Mario Kart 8 actually has a lot of features that many players still have no idea even exist.
This article focuses on some beginner tips and tricks that will help newcomers understand everything they need to become the fastest racer on the track. Keeping these in mind ensures that you both have fun and leave your opponents in the dust.
Master How To Drift
The drifting mechanic in Mario Kart 8 is one of the most important features that players should learn to master.
Not only does this make it easier for you to make tight turns, but proper execution also gives you a small speed boost that lets you get ahead of other racers, according to Eurogamer.
There are three levels of speed boost that you can trigger on the Nintendo Switch version when drifting that are characterized by different colors of sparks. The first stage is blue, the second stage is orange, and the last stage is pink.
Try To Maintain First Place
Mario Kart 8 has a balancing mechanic that changes what power-ups you get from mystery boxes depending on what place you are in the race. This means that those in last place have a higher chance of getting good items compared to those in first place.
However, even if you get less-useful power-ups, you should still try to maintain first place if and when you get it. You should also try and keep some items, such as green shells, as a way to defend yourself from some items that hit you from behind.
Try To Look for Shortcuts
Mario Kart 8's tracks have a tendency to feature various shortcuts that let you skip ahead a few turns and can spell the difference between victory and defeat. Some of these shortcuts are harder to see and some are even harder to get through, said FunKidsLive.
Try to look for them when you're on the track and figure out the best way to traverse them to give you a boost. A lot of these shortcuts go through tough terrain, so if you don't know what you're doing you will end up hurting your chances of winning instead.
Learn the Starting Line Boost
Whenever you start a track, there will be a countdown and you are given a chance to trigger a starting line boost. You can do this by holding on to the accelerate button as the number fades down from 2.
If done properly, you will get a speed boost right off the gate, and is a crucial way to get ahead of the others early on.
If you do it a bit too late, you will get a small speed boost. Be careful of triggering it too early as this will make your kart stall and keep you behind, according to GameSpot.
