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Don’t like the blue shell in Mario Kart? Too bad, so sad, because Mario Kart 7 and 8 director Kosuke Yabuki had a chat with Eurogamer explaining why he sees merit in the blue shell, and how experimenting with removing the item from the game made the experience feel as though something really integral was missing:
“Something I personally really consider is the human emotion element of the play experience. So for example playing Mario Kart – if you have something that feels unfair or makes you feel frustrated or makes you angry… Everyone is different in that respect. What you will feel is unfair might be different to someone else. As far as possible we want to avoid those feelings of frustration.
Because everyone is different, and it’s an emotive thing, you can’t pin it down with a set formula. Ultimately, in the longer term, although everyone might feel on one particular day that they’re so frustrated that they’re not going to play any more Mario Kart today – keeping the experience enjoyable enough so that you might feel like that today, but the next day, the next week, you’ll still go back to Mario Kart and still enjoy it.
We’re always experimenting with what new elements to introduce or what elements can be removed. We have tried – or we are trying – to see what the game’s like without the blue shell. When we’ve experimented without the blue shell, actually it feels like something’s missing. Like there’s something not quite enough in the game. So for now we’ve kept it in.
You know, sometimes life isn’t fair. Sometimes in life you have something where you feel that’s not right, and that’s frustrating.”
Indeed, life is sometimes unfair, and so too is Mario Kart. Given Yabuki’s explanation, and the fact that the blue shell has been around since Mario Kart 64, I think it’s safe to assume we’ll continue to panic when we hear the telltale sound of its approach in future Mario Kart installments.
What’s your opinion on the ever-controversial blue shell? Let us know below!
Source: Eurogamer
The super horn seems like the best alternative to taking the blue shell out, I think. It takes the blue shell down a peg, so long as you’re lucky/patient enough to have the item at the right time.