S.M.

Even though Mario Kart Wii is a happy-go-lucky, family oriented game. You'd be surprised how much strategy can actually be used.

Single Player:

Single player mode is pretty self explanatory. You unlock new cups(1) as well as characters and karts by winning the standard cups in sequential order. Unlockable karts do provide better bonuses and attributes, but let it be known you do not need them unlocked to be successful online.

Online:

This is where all the fun starts. If you have been playing mostly single player up to this point, as with any online game, you will notice a huge difficulty increase. This is where some of my strategies I have found come into play.

I just can't seem to get in first place!

I'm not going to lie, the new Mario Kart is essentially you vs. the power ups you are given vs. yourself. Sound weird? Let me explain...

VS. Yourself?

Position changes in an online race are directly correlated to "who breaks first." Essentially you want to run your own race and make as little mistakes as possible.

VS. Power-ups?

Power ups are no longer completely randomized. I feel this is a definite change for the worse, but only because I played the original. Power up destructive-ness is appointed by what position you are in, and moreso how far you are from the person ahead of you. Can you use this to your advantage? Absolutely.

Any tricks to getting in first place?

You don't want to be in first place. Plain and simple. When you are in first place, the only power ups you will be given are green turtle shells, bananas, and question mark explosive boxes. It gives you no offense, you can only hold(2) those items to deflect other attacks (Excluding question mark boxes, they are not a solid so they do not deflect anything). So immediately you can see the person in first place has the hardest struggle. Another reason why you don't want to be in first place is because no matter how hard you to maintain the position, you will most likely lose it. On the last lap everyone behind you has a heightened chance of getting the blue spiked, flying turtle shell. It moves much, much quicker than the previous non flying turtle shell, and it CANNOT be blocked unlike Mario Kart 64. It also disables your Kart for a much longer time than any other attack.

What do you recommend?

To win a race the best way to start off the race is to start off last. Dead last. While everyone leaves the starting line, try to stay at least 300 theoretical Wii feet behind the second to last person. You will get a very strong power up that will put you in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd position almost every time. These power ups include the lighting bolt, the gold mushroom, a star, or the torpedo. If you do happen to get the torpedo, and you are fairly confident on the map you are on, I recommend waiting to use it until you gain 1 or 2 positions. During the entire race, you want to try and maintain position 2 or 3 until the second half of the last lap. At that point in time focus on getting in second position. For the final quarter of the last lap. It's time to take the lead. If a blue spiked turtle shell is used on the guy in first, that is your time to collapse on the situation because another most likely won't be spawned.

OMG I can't get into second or third! What do I do?

When in a situation like this. I just stop dead on the track and wait to get in last place to use the strategy I talked about earlier. This probably isn't your safest bet on the last lap, but if your on the first two it should be beneficial.

Final tips?

-Always protect your position, hold an item at all times to deflect attacks from people behind you.
-Some races you just can't win. If you fail to win a race don't think its because you did something wrong.

1 Cups A tournament consisting of 4 races where the final medals are awarded by points earned during those 4 races.
2 Hold The act of activating a power-up, but not releasing it. This will hold it behind your cart to deflect most attacks.

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xShiFTx

Well I haven't play the game, but from your description it sounds really lame. You get rewarded for being in last? come on.. I loved the N64 version, but really don't have a desire to play this one now

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Still a work in progress

S.M.

It plays little different to the older copies. I was just pointing out my critical thinking to sort of cheat the system and ensure a good finish.

You can use this same strategy in the older versions too and get the same results... So they're pretty similar.

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77bigmac77

This is true of Mario Kart DS as well. You never want to be in first (until the finish of course) because the blue shell ALWAYS comes up. 99.9% of the time I see that damn shell

Koffee

Great FAQ! ME personaly... I just stopped playing, I got to frustrated.

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CrazyHeaven

It sounds stupid. Any online modes where you could turn those upgardes off or at least make them blockable?

S.M.

It does sound stupid. But it's still a barrel of fun. This thread is only for people who want to get first place. Every. Single. Time. No matter what. If you play it to have fun you will still do well.

And no there are no settings where you can turn it off.

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-Boldly Going Nowhere
-Current Overclock
-Computer Burn-in theory: Investigated
-My Computer Buildup

Elyaas

There is an XKCD on this subject. It has to do with percentage of time spent cursing and blue shells had the majority. F$^%&ng blue shells.

This does sound kind-of lame to be honest. Can you turn some of the items off like you can in the SSB games?

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The Golden Rule: "It was like that when I bought it.."

CrazyHeaven

Translation: someone using this will beat me every time. Soon most people will employ this technique and it will be a race for last place.

Rancid2008

The first time i played I took on 11 Japanese people and got my ass handed to me, i didnt even get to the finish line god damn.

I find it generally fun when the friends come round which is the majority of the time, I don't really play that often by myself.

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