Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) "Planets and Exploration" Trailer

As Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart's June 11th release date approaches faster than a wild Speed-tle, Zurkon Jr. is back with another installment of the Almost Launch Party. This time it focuses on the various planets featured within Rift Apart, always one of the most exciting parts of a new Ratchet & Clank game: which wild and fantastical places the two will explore together! Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is less than a month away, and I couldn't be more excited. (Well, maybe if I had a PS5 of my own, actually...)

The Tuesday 10s - Under-appreciated Kart Racers

The kart racer: a sub-genre in the racing game genre that generally features video game mascots and colorful cartoon characters competing in speedy races against one another for the sole goal of crossing the finish line in first place. No doubt Super Mario Kart made this sub-genre popular and put it on the map, but for every well-done Mario-branded racer, there are countless others that fall through the cracks. For this purpose SPC brings back The Tuesday 10s to list ten underrated and under-appreciated kart racers from a wide swath of developers and franchises. After you've checked out these ten, relatively unordered picks on this list, I encourage you to let the community know which ones you agree and disagree with.

Mario Kart Tour (iOS, AND)

I know what you enter this article to say, "Phil! How can a game in the Mario Kart series be under-appreciated? It's only the most popular kart racing franchise in existence!" Well, my answer is pretty easy. Mario Kart Tour is often maligned, and it no doubt deserved that contempt when it launched with bare-bones features (including a total lack of competitive multiplayer), a disgustingly aggressive series of microtransactions, and a limited amount of ways to earn rubies, the premium currency of the game. Heck, I even roasted the game as if it were a nasty-tasting marshmallow when I played it for my review way back when. 

However, Mario Kart Tour has only since improved since launch. Adding more ways to earn rubies than ever before, offering free pulls for participating in tours, implementing rather enjoyable online play with friends and randoms, and throwing in several updates and upgrades have made Mario Kart Tour a worthwhile game. It still won't sway those who loathe gacha-style games, but for those who enjoy the base gameplay of the Mario Kart series and adore the charm of the series, these are still present in Mario Kart Tour.

LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)

We move on from Mario to a pair of PlayStation first party racing games, the first of which being LittleBigPlanet Karting. Following the "Play, Create, and Share" mantra that the mainline LittleBigPlanet games showcased, LittleBigPlanet Karting not only brought racing to the LittleBigPlanet series, but also brought an overwhelming amount of creation tools to craft involve tracks and creations in its editor. From designing the track layout to even setting off triggers for special effects and camera angles, LittleBigPlanet Karting's creator was incredibly intricate, allowing an unprecedented amount of creation tools for a home console kart racer. The racing itself was also solid, implementing several story elements and mechanics from the LittleBigPlanet series to craft one really cool kart racer.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Vita)

If creating a compelling enough track in LittleBigPlanet Karting was too difficult for the average creator--and quite frankly, it was for most players--then my recommendation would be to take a peek at the ModNation Racers franchise, another PlayStation-produced kart racer. You could not only create a complex track, but you could do it rather easily, especially with ModNation Racers: Road Trip, a PlayStation Vita launch title. Even with the servers offline, I still find myself returning to Road Trip to create courses and tracks, karts, and drivers for the sheer enjoyment of racing and using my own creations. The kart racing gameplay, much like LittleBigPlanet Karting, is top-notch, too, and perhaps even better due to the fact that the rubber-band AI is nowhere near as severe. Considering it's dirt cheap to pick up nowadays and features a fully featured and fleshed out campaign filled with fun races and events, there's really no excuse to miss out on ModNation Racers: Road Trip if you have a PlayStation Vita and a love for kart racers.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

The first Nickelodeon Kart Racers game was a pretty shoddy effort. The racing was okay, but everything else about the game seemed a bit off. The lack of online limited the longevity of the game, the assortment of characters and tracks didn't really dig deep into Nickelodeon's rich brand history, and the game just wasn't too enjoyable. Believe it or not, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix improves upon the original in pretty much every way possible. It added online, it beefed up both the amount of playable characters and Nickelodeon properties represented--including Ren & Stimpy, Double Dare, Rocko's Modern Life, Catdog, among many others--and the track design was much more inspired. The included mission mode, titular Grand Prix events, and aforementioned online made for a much improved kart racer. Sure, the rubber-band AI and item spam in later difficulties will make you wonder why the developer hates its target audience so freaking much, but overall, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 earned a wave of the checkered flag.

Mickey's Speedway USA (N64)

Let's move from Nickelodeon to Disney with a kart racer that came from the masters at Rare. However, Mickey's Speedway USA--specifically the Nintendo 64 version--released late in the console's life. Not only that, but it failed to reach the same levels of greatness as Diddy Kong Racing--which I would peg as one of my favorite kart racing games of all time. Despite these factors, Mickey's Speedway USA is still worth checking out if at all possible. The game features stellar kart racing mechanics, inspired tracks that take Mickey and pals across the United States from locales like the Grand Canyon and San Francisco, to name a couple, and includes an enjoyable story mode as well. The game also looks rather great on the Nintendo 64, even  tas a release that didn't utilize the Expansion Pak, when so many titles from Nintendo and Rare near the end of the N64's life seemed to do. At any rate, Mickey's Speedway USA is a fast and fun trip across the U.S. of A that will make any Mouseketeer beam from ear to ear with delight.

MySims Racing (Wii)

Let's look at two Wii kart racers from Electronic Arts. First, MySims Racing brought some uniqueness to the kart racing genre with full-blown character and kart creation. Using the MySims series'--and Sims series in general--penchant for creation and customization, MySims Racing brought full customization of one's character and kart to the game. It's something that even the Mario Kart series wouldn't see until Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011! As you played through the campaign, you earned kart parts to further customize your kart to make it one impressive and stylish beast of a vehicle. The game's 15 tracks offered colorful tracks with multiple places to take advantage of the game's boost functionality to cut across ground conditions that would otherwise slow one's kart down, as well as plenty of opportunities to shave precious seconds off of one's laps. It's by no means the best kart racer on the Wii, but MySims Racing did bring a fun, family-friendly alternative to Mario Kart Wii on Nintendo's motion-control-centric hardware.

NASCAR Kart Racing (Wii)

The other kart racer released by EA during the Wii years is an unexpected one, and one that from reading the title might make you assume it was yet another game to add to the pile of seemingly endless shovelware that plagued Nintendo's revolutionary system. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, NASCAR Kart Racing is a strong kart racing game using a partner-based system. When in the vicinity of your racing partner, you produce boost energy. When one of the two of you uses their boost from behind the other, they slingshot ahead of them. It's possible to chain slingshots together for an impressive speed boost. Featuring 12 tracks, almost two-dozen racers, a competent campaign, and more product placement than a traditional NASCAR race, NASCAR Kart Racing is an entertaining cartoon-y arcade kart racer that more people should know about and play.

Crash Nitro Kart (PS2, GCN, XBX)

Let's now go back a generation of consoles from the Wii era to the PlayStation 2, GameCube and original Xbox era with Crash Nitro Kart. There's no question that many fans of Crash Bandicoot's debut racing game were perplexed on how to feel about this particular kart racer. After all, the series had long since been out of Naughty Dog's hands, but overall, Crash Nitro Kart shined brightly on its own, even in the shadow of the original Crash Team Racing. Crash Nitro Kart's greatest achievement was possessing tracks that in some ways rivaled those seen in CTR, and delivering some impressive mechanics in them, too, such as some featuring loop-de-loops. Thus, it was great to see that CNK had not been fully forgotten, implementing all of the characters and tracks into Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, CTR's remake that is without question the most feature-packed and content-rich kart racer in genre history. 

Pac-Man World Rally (PS2, GCN, XBX, PSP, PC)

Namco could not resist entering into the foray that was the kart racer, and it did so with its starring mascot, its pride and joy Pac-Man. There were some clever ideas in Pac-Man World Rally, such as collecting fruit that would open up alternate shortcuts and paths, as well as the ability to gobble up other racers by collecting Pac-Pellets in true Pac-Man fashion. It also helps that World Rally was ultimately a well executed racer as well, feeling tight and enjoyable to control. While it didn't necessarily push the genre forward in any meaningful way, it did bring those who played the game, including yours truly, some joy. And hey, any kart racer that allows you to play as the Prince from Katamari Damacy (including having his own themed track as well), can't be appreciated enough!

Konami Krazy Racers (GBA)

Before Mario Kart: Super Circuit stormed onto the Game Boy Advance, GBA owners at the system's launch had the choice of picking up a bit of an appetizer to the Mario Kart series' handheld debut. That kart racer using a Mode 7-like approach to its visuals was Konami Krazy Racers. For fans of Konami, this kart racer is of special interest due to how many Konami franchises were featured in the game. The likes of Goemon from the Mystical Ninja series, Dracula of Castlevania fame, Gray Fox of Metal Gear Solid notoriety, and Vic Viper from the Gradius series, were but a third of the 12 playable racers in the game. That says nothing about the various tracks that were themed after numerous Konami games as well. No doubt Konami Krazy Racers was all but a Mario Kart clone in name, but this handheld kart racer offered lots of entertainment leading up to Mario Kart: Super Circuit's launch and remains an excellent game.

Mario Golf: Super Rush (NSW) Overview Trailer

Not going lie, gang, Mario Golf: Super Rush is by far my most anticipated game of 2021. Seeing this recently published overview trailer from Nintendo for the game only confirmed this. With 16 starting characters (including new to the Mario Golf series all-stars like Pauline, King Bob-Omb and Chargin' Chuck), realistic and Mario-themed courses, speed golf, the RPG-style campaign mode, and much more, Mario Golf: Super Rush is shaping up to birdie its way into the hearts of arcade golf game fans such as myself. Mario Golf: Super Rush arrives on the Nintendo Switch on June 25th.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5) Final Trailer

Although we're a month ahead of the game's release on PlayStation 5, Square Enix and PlayStation have shared what they're dubbing the final trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Intergrade features an upgraded version of the base game, but more interestingly, it also includes INTERmission, a brand-new additional episode starring Yuffie from Wutai. If you already own the PS4 version (whether physical or digital), you can upgrade to the PS5 base version for free. INTERmission, however, is an additional purchase that does not come with the upgrade. Either way, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade launches in just over one month on June 10th, exclusively on PlayStation 5.

Three Mario Games That Really Turned Things Around with Updates

With the advent of patches and updates to video games, games can now have new additional modes, characters, and enhancements added to them. While that is a pro, there is also a con of having certain games shipped incomplete or bugged, with a later promise of fixing said issues in a future update or patch. Not even Nintendo, one of the most prolific (if not THE most prolific) publishers around, escapes this issue, nor does its main mascot, Mr. Video Game himself, Mario, evade having games that require updates to end up in a satisfying condition. 

While there is a motley crew of Nintendo titles that started off weak when they released, this particular article focuses on a trio of Mario games that began rather poorly or not up to their potential when they launched, but have since become pretty great games now, even better than they were when they originally released.

The most Mario recent game to get an update is one that was quite a surprise. Not only was the update significant, but it was a long-requested one for the franchise that finally came over two years after the game released. I'm of course referring to Super Mario Party. In the original SuperPhillip Central review, I ended up really enjoying the latest entry in the long-running series of party games, but there was one major caveat. That caveat was the haphazard, half-hearted implementation of online to the series. 

Fans, such as myself, have been clamoring for online for the Mario Party series for over a decade now, and Nintendo and developer ND Cube's approach to finally implementing it into the series with Super Mario Party was less than satisfying. That's a charitable statement, as well. The Online Mariothon originally was the only online play available in Super Mario Party, offering five random mini-games for four players to compete against each other for the highest score. 

Of course, that's not really what fans wanted from the series' online. It was somewhat of a monkey's paw wish gone bad. No, the real wish was for the boards of Mario Party to become available to play online, and as of last week, Genie Nintendo made that wish come true. 

Not only is the board game mode, whether the free-for-all traditional Mario Party mode or the Partner Party mode--which pits two teams of two against one another on a grid-like board--now available to play online, but so, too, is the ability to play the majority of mini-games online with friends as well. The only caveat now is that there isn't any matchmaking, but you can simply tell total strangers online your three-digit room code to have them join--thus it's not just limited to playing with your friends.

Last night I was able to finally try out the Mario Party mode online with a dear friend of mine who lives in the same state as I do. Now, I live in the suburbs while we lives more in the rural country part of the state. I'm pleased to say that the online connection was pretty much flawless for the two of us. The only lag present was during a random board sequence rather than an actual, much more intensive mini-game. We both enjoyed ourselves, and are both interested in playing another board really soon.

And really, this update is perfect for the current harrowing times we find ourselves in, what with the pandemic and all. Despite some parts of the world seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel in some ways with mass vaccinations, the timing is still rather great. Of course, it would have been better if Nintendo had this online update for Super Mario Party earlier in the pandemic, but perhaps this update itself was built out of necessity, made during the pandemic so people could continue to enjoy Super Mario Party while staying apart from one another. Either way, it's a most welcome addition, and one that will keep me coming back and partying like it's 1999 all over again, only this time I'm enjoying the party online with friends as opposed to at a sleepover.

While Super Mario Party is the most recent game to get a major update, Mario Kart Tour, meanwhile, is a game that is perpetually getting updates since it's a live-service game. I was pretty harsh on the game in my review around this mobile racer's original launch, but I have to admit that after returning behind the steering wheel with Mario Kart Tour, I discovered a game that was much improved and decidedly rather enjoyable now.

For one, the amount of characters and more importantly courses to Mario Kart Tour has increased considerably. For the former, characters are less of a challenge to acquire. Now, there's certainly still dreaded, scummy "gacha" elements present in the game, but there are both more opportunities to acquire the rubies needed to pull from the game's pipes, as well as more opportunities to earn characters without rubies as well. One of the best things implemented now in Mario Kart Tour is how the game awards you with pipe pulls from simply earning Grand Stars, won from performing well in offline races and completing challenges. There are four green pipes that give you one free pull apiece, which can sometimes reward you with a High-End pull if you're fortunate enough, but there's also a All-Clear Pipe now, which automatically rewards you with a High-End character, kart, or glider for completing a given cup. Since all cups last two weeks, that's a free High-End each week.

Furthermore, there is a Medal shop now, which doesn't require you to spend money at all to earn the wares inside. The shop is updated with each cup, presenting goods like characters, karts, gliders, tickets (which are used to enhance your characters, karts, and gliders), as well as rubies and coin bundles. These are purchased with medals collected in races, and how you earn medals changes with each cup. Sometimes they're lying on tracks like regular coins, while other times you earn them from hitting opponents with a specific item like a green shell or a banana, for instance.

The amount of tracks has increased immensely as well, offering the enjoyable city-themed tracks, such as the most recent Sydney Sprint, but there's also now wholly original tracks not based off of any real world city at all. While there's just been two of these thus far with Merry Mountain and Ninja Hideaway--the latter of which is one of the most impressive tracks in Mario Kart series history with all of the routes incorporated into it--they are a ton of fun to race on.

Finally, there's the addition of something that was greatly amiss at the launch of Tour: online multiplayer. This allows multiple players to join either matchmaking races or friend-based races, and compete against one another. Of course, this type of competition does not rival Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as you might expect, but it's an entertaining enough distraction--well worth checking out at least once. 

I'm pleasantly surprised by the 180 I've had with Mario Kart Tour. It was a game I found detestable at launch and promptly deleted it off my phone (of course, that was partly due to the game always crashing on my old phone after a race or two), but now not only do I participate in every Grand Prix in every cup every two weeks, but now I even subscribe to the Gold Pass, that $5 susbcription each month. It's not because I feel I need to in order to have an advantage or to keep up with the whales (good luck with that, by the way), but it's more due to the fact that I'm actually loving Mario Kart Tour that much.

Moving on from parties and kart racing, we turn to our final Mario game that most certainly turned things around with its updates: Mario Tennis Aces. This game seems timely to talk about as the game I'm honestly most anticipating that has a firm release date this year is Mario Golf: Super Rush. That's another Camelot game, and no doubt as soon as Mario Tennis Aces finished development, Camelot went directly on to start work on the latest Mario Golf while a skeleton team worked on some much needed updates for Mario Tennis Aces. 

Aces was another game I didn't take too much of a shining to, as it was rather bare-bones and lacking in content. My review tagline pretty much said all you needed to know about my opinion of the game at the time. However, like Mario Kart Tour, I did a 180 with Aces, essentially moving to the other side of the court--to use a tennis analogy. Now don't get me wrong--I enjoyed the tennis gameplay for the most part of Aces, but characters weren't very balanced. The fighting game analogy for Mario Tennis Aces is really apt, as matches really are like battles where you duke it out on the court and try to outsmart and outplay your opponents. Heck, you can even break their rackets with well timed power shots, even K.O.ing them--immediately disqualifying them from the match!

Thankfully, Camelot worked extra hard to make Mario Tennis Aces a terrific tennis game instead of a middling one. It took some effort and some time, of course, but the addition of a new character each month for over a year, the inclusion of some fine-tuning to all characters so not one of them was broken (looking at you Waluigi, Boo, and especially YOU, Bowser Jr.), and the appearance of new modes like a Yoshi-based Ring Shot and even an addition to the Story Mode made all the difference. If I ever decide to go back to Mario Tennis Aces for an updated review, my tagline would have to be updated, too. No longer would it be "Game, Set, Suck", instead it'd most likely be "Game, Set, Wow!"

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Have you played any of the three games I mentioned in this article? If so, did you play them before or after their patches/updates? Do you still play any of these games? Let the SPC community know your thoughts in the comments section below!