u/MonitoliMal
r/balatro r/mariokart r/Totaldrama r/smashbrosspirits r/MarioKartWorld r/TomodachilifeLivingTD r/Schaffrillas r/Multifandom r/AceAttorney
With the Glider Speed Buffs, These Tracks Should See Time Trial Improvements Soon
In 1.7, glider speed got buffed for high speed characters and “some other characters and vehicles”. We’re already seeing strides being taken on Starview Peak and Peach Beach times, but surely others will follow, right? The glider tracks with heavyweights will definitely improve, but ones without may have a change of kart or character.
These are the tracks I’m referring to:
DK Spaceport (Heavyweight)
Shy Guy Bazaar (Featherweight)
Airship Fortress (Lightweight. I’m not sure how the buff works on cannon-like gliders)
Salty Salty Speedway (Lightweight. This one might be extra interesting if there’s a way to skip using the mushroom)
Great ? Block Ruins (Featherweight)
Dry Bones Burnout (Medium Weight)
Bowser’s Castle (Heavyweight. Again, this is a cannon-like glider, so unsure how it would work.)
Acorn Heights (Featherweight)
Rainbow Road (Heavyweight)
Some other routes into optional gliders like MBC, Crown City, and Boo Cinema might need to be reconsidered too.
What are your opinions, especially if you’re a time trials expert? How much does this specific patch note change?
u/MonitoliMal — 5 days ago
▲ 9 r/AceAttorney
Ranking Every AA-like Game I've Played
At this moment, I've played 8 different AA-like games after running out of official AA content. It's been an interesting journey seeing how game devs got inspired by the AA series, taking its mechanics and telling stories and mysteries with new characters.
I define an AA-like as a mystery visual novel game that borrows mechanics from the AA series. This usually takes the form of testimony and cross-examination gameplay (with 1 exception, but that exception clearly borrowed other AA mechanics, so it still qualifies).
One final thing to mention is that I at least liked all of the games in the list, so a low ranking doesn't mean I disliked the game. There was 1 game I played that I didn't like, but it will be left off of the ranking. It will be mentioned in another entry because I played that game's sequel and liked it much more. This list is primarily meant to be recommending games to others, not putting others' works down.
The list will go from favorite to least favorite and I will share my honest thoughts.
- Trials of Innocence: Trials of Innocence is the cream of the crop of AA-likes, and I don't think many will disagree. I'll start with the drawbacks: Case 1 is not a great introduction to the game; Case 3 has some structural flaws; and the English localization needs some work. Now onto the many, many positives. This game is very much inspired by Yamazaki's style of AA. What that means is we have super engaging mysteries combined with a massive conspiracy plotline, all in the AA formula. Mix that with a memorable cast of characters and you have a recipe for success. The 2 playable defense attorneys and 2 prosecutors are especially notable. The music and spritework are also incredible and add to the game's polish. If you haven't played ToI, go pick it up now on Steam. You won't regret it.
- Dragon Detective: A Friend From the Shadows: Dragon Detective is the most unique game on the list as it actually borrows more from the Investigations games. You play as a Miasma Dragon who solves mysteries involving anthropomorphic animals using his 7 senses. These mysteries are set within a circa-early 20th century city state stuck at war with a vast empire. Investigations are very similar to the Investigations series as you collect both evidence and logical pieces that you can connect together. It's even harder than in the Investigations games since you can get phony logic in the mix. You also get into debates with others in a similar fashion to Mind Chess. The cases are fun to crack and the characters are fun, especially the protagonist and the worldbuilding is the second-best I've seen from an AA-like. My only major complaint is that the animations make it look like the characters are hyperventilating, which I don't like. This won't be the only fantasy setting on this list, but Dragon Detective does it best.
- Paper Perjury: Paper Perjury is one of the most well-known AA-likes. It's pretty good. You play as a police clerk thrust into the world of criminal investigation and interrogation as she looks into the actions surrounding a shady investment firm. Compared to other AA-likes, Paper Perjury's story is pretty grounded, making it pretty charming to go through, combined with it's cozy-looking pixel art. It even got a free standalone DLC case which maintained its tone and acted as a fun bonus. Sometimes the clueing can make the mystery solutions a little too obvious, though. It's not overly intrusive, but it is there. Overall, I had a good time with PP and I'm looking forward to the second bonus case that the devs announced recently.
- Burden of Truth: I'm just going to say it: I didn't enjoy Burden of Proof. I disliked the writing and didn't care about most of the characters. Its sequel, Burden of Truth, on the other hand is a solid time and the developer definitely improved between games. Like Trials of Innocence, the Burden games are about unearthing a grand conspiracy and I think BoT did a good job exploring how the protagonist deals with it through how he defends his childhood friend in court. The courtroom gameplay is also fairly unique, as it overhauls how testimonies work. Now you can disrupt witness testimonies and the prosecution's arguments at certain points the game allows. If you interrupt at the wrong time you get penalized, so make sure you have an argument ready. Cross examinations are no-longer pressable, but now the statements are longer, so you really have to think about where to present your evidence. The game is far from flawless, though. While the investigation sections are an improvement over Burden of Proof, they can still feel a bit dull at times; and Case 4 is rather weak compared to the other 4 cases on offer. Regardless, Burden of Truth is a strong entry. It even somehow does the "Dark Age of the Law" concept better than DD (not to say I prefer BoT over DD, but this aspect is better) and overall it has incredible worldbuilding, the best of any AA-like I've seen. It even creates an interesting atmosphere through its techno soundtrack, as tech does play a big role in the plot of both it and BoP.
- Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane: Arguably the most well-known AA-like on the list and the second in a fantasy setting, Tyrion Cuthbert is an interesting entry. It asks the question of "what if AA had D&D magic?" Honestly, it was a fun time. I liked every major character, and those last 2 cases were amazing. It also varied the gameplay a lot with Tyrion's Eye of Horus acting like a mixture of the Mood Matrix and Mind Chess. I even liked the love story. It's something not seen a lot in AA or AA-likes. Its soundtrack is also incredible with its jazz instrumentation. However, there are some drawbacks in this title that don't let it get any higher in my ranking. Minor characters in this game are pretty forgettable, making the world feel significantly less lived-in than the setting would want you to believe. The game's pace is also fast, which has its trade-offs. Overall, I would still recommend this game.
- and 7. Pro Philosopher 1 and 2: These games are good for what they are: tools to teach philosophy through fun characters. That's all it is, really. I'll rank 2 over 1 since I liked its plot more and it didn't have sound issues like 1.
That's it for my ranking. What are your thoughts on each of these games?
u/MonitoliMal — 6 days ago
▲ 18 r/balatro
What’s your favorite stake to play on?
For me, Black Stake is the best by a long shot. The eternal sticker is easily my favorite to play around and the blind scaling from Green to Blue is a good balance between being challenging and manageable.
What’s yours?
u/MonitoliMal — 6 days ago
How Many of Your Miis Are Still Single? 15/41 of Mine Are Single.
I have 15 couples. 12 are married. Obviously, most single Miis are children on my island since they are harder jump to jump into relationships.
I’m still surprised under half of my island is single. Heck, under half are married. Is the 15/41 stat similar for others who got this game day 1? Let me know.
Also, Saul Goodman and Muad’Dib have been pining for each other for so long. Please let it end lol.
u/MonitoliMal — 8 days ago
▲ 202 r/TomodachilifeLivingTD
Glitch?
Normally, you can only give pocket money and clothing to a Mii that’s Level 10 or higher. Is this a glitch or is there some other intended trigger that I don’t know about?
u/MonitoliMal — 17 days ago
▲ 3 r/Multifandom
What Is a Show That Gave You a Wrong Impression Because You Accidentally Watched Its Episodes Out of Order?
Usually, this would be something that happens with public/cable TV, but this accident happened on streaming for me.
I watched episode 1 of Heated Rivalry and enjoyed it, so then I moved on to the next episode. Problem is I accidentally skipped Episode 2 and went to Episode 3. Those who have watched the show know that Episode 3 shifts away from Shane and Ilya's story to the story of Scott and Kip. This made me believe the show was an anthology where we focused on a bunch of different gay hockey romances. Luckily, I realized my mistake when I finished the episode and I saw the next episode was Episode 4 and I went back to Episode 2. Not the worst mistake, but it was still funny.
Do any of you have similar stories?
u/MonitoliMal — 18 days ago
▲ 12 r/Totaldrama
[AU] What If Emma Got Eliminated in Episode 1 of TDI 2023 Instead of Caleb?
Instead of Bowie rallying his team to take out a big threat early, what if he rallied against the teammate more responsible for the Frogs' loss? As anyone who watched TDI 2024 would know, Bowie was right to fear Caleb. Not only that, but Emma helped shape a lot of TDI 2023's late-game alliances. So what would change? A lot, actually.
Here's my opinion on what exactly would happen with this one change in effect:
Episodes 2-5 are not that different from canon. The Frogs would have figured out their winning strategies and the Trout would succumb to their weaknesses even without Emma. Heck, the Trout would have done even better in Episode 3 if Chase wasn't trying to impress Emma. Overall, in canon, Emma did neither a standout job nor a bad job in team challenges.
The real differences begin in Episode 6. With Caleb still on the team, he would give his team a lot of launch power on their slingshots, leading to more overall points on top of Julia being able to make it to the 10,000-point target. With the alliance of Chase, Ripper, and Zee going against the 2 girls, Millie would be eliminated.
Despite the eliminations being the same in Episode 7, relationships have changed. With no allies from her former team, Priya would seek out the alliance of Bowie and Caleb and they would welcome her if she agrees to help them eliminate Julia at some point. However, since everyone hates Ripper and MK, both of them would be targetted by all of the remaining alliances in the following episodes. Since there's no alliance strife, Zee would not be eliminated at this juncture.
By Episode 10, it's clear that Caleb is the biggest threat still in the game. Julia would rally Chase and Zee to vote for him (I don't imagine Caleb getting immunity here). Bowie backstabs his own alliance to vote out the obvious threat as well.
With every alliance except Chase and Zee fractured by Episode 11, Bowie, Julia, and Priya target them. Because Emma is not here for a majority of the season, Chase is a valid threat since he would put in more effort without any idea that he and Emma could get back together. He would especially do well in the animal selfie challenge given that he's an influencer, but Julia would out-influencer him for immunity, leaving Chase to get voted out.
With Bowie bagging, that would leave Julia as the final big threat. While Priya is still mad at Bowie for voting out Caleb (they aren't dating like in TDI 2024, but she had to anchor herself to someone after losing her only friend in the pre-merge), she still recognizes Julia is more threatening and they both team up to eliminate her with the help of Zee.
That would leave the finalists as Bowie, Priya, and Zee. Zee stands no chance and will get 3rd, leaving Priya and Bowie in their canon placements.
_________________________________________________________________________________
That's it for my theories. Do you guys think this elimination order is correct? Are you surprised by who got out early and who made it far?
u/MonitoliMal — 21 days ago
Beating Every Spirit Battle With Each Spirit's Canonical Opponent (Part 3: 3D World, Odyssey, Mario Kart, Paper Mario, and Super Mario RPG)
Challenge Rules Are Explained in Part 1. Today, we see our first 5/5 difficulty, and it should be obvious who it is based on the title.
Plessie
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Fury Bowser
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: No match for Bowser’s Fury.
Cappy
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Bowser (Wedding)
Support: Koopa Troopa
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: The realistic ending for Mario Odyssey.
Pauline
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Bowser (Wedding)
Support: Koopa Troopa
Difficulty: 4/5
Notes: This battle rewards agility, which Bowser lacks. Thankfully, he does have big hitboxes and heavy weight to make up for it. He can deal damage to all of his enemies to build up meter and even kill Mario or DK. Still, dealing damage to Peach is important since getting her to at least 30%, luring her to the left side of the map, and using Final Smash is one of the only ways to kill her. The issue is surviving long enough for that to happen.
The Odyssey
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Bowser (Wedding)
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: How is this not a novice fight?
Goo-Goo Buggy
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Waluigi
Support: Barrel Train, Bloom Coach, and Turbo Yoshi
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Better call the Wah-mbulance for this incident.
Barrel Train
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Goo-Goo Buggy
Support: Bloom Coach and Turbo Yoshi
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: You fight on the cheesiest map in the game. Just sit on the very front of the train and Up-Smash until you win.
B Dasher
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Biddybuggy
Support: Standard Kart
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: One of the easiest ace battles in general for the walkoff.
Standard Kart
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Biddybuggy
Support: Standard Bike
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: The B-Dasher fight if it was a novice battle.
Standard Bike
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Biddybuggy
Support: Standard Kart
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: See above.
Cheep Charger
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Badwagon
Support: Standard Kart and Standard Bike
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: A certified sweep even though you will get grabbed plenty.
Mach 8
Fighter: Link
Primary: Master Cycle
Support: City Tripper and B Dasher
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Finally, someone not Bowser. Now it’s even more of a wash.
Biddybuggy
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Badwagon
Support: Standard Kart and B Dasher
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Send Baby Rosalina to the stars.
Badwagon
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Biddybuggy
Support: B Dasher
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: Chain down throws to build her percent until you can either smash her offstage or get your Final Smash. Just don’t be too reckless and gain too much percent or else her Final Smash will kill you.
Paper Bowser
Fighter: Mario
Primary: King Olly
Support: Huey, Peach (Paper Mario & The Origami King), and Fire Flower
Difficulty: 3/5
Notes: This match can go either way. Bowser is powerful and has sizable HP. The name of the game is comboing. Also, if you’re wondering why Paper Mario isn’t the primary, that's because he’s been Paper Bowser’s ally twice in the series and that’s twice too many.
Kammy Koopa
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Paper Mario
Support: Fire Flower and Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Several ways to dispatch Kamek’s papery body double.
Vivian
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Shadow Queen
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Invisibility won’t help her.
Mr. L
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Paper Mario
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Paper Mario was always the better Paper Bro anyway.
Dimentio
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Paper Bowser
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Easier than the final boss of Super Paper Mario.
Huey
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Paper Bowser
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: The bucket is dry.
Mallow
Fighter: Piranha Plant
Primary: Birdo
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Mallow lives and dies by Lightning. Too bad it’s on one of the campiest stages, so Mallow can’t really use it to his advantage.
Geno
Fighter: Piranha Plant
Primary: Birdo
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 5/5
Notes: As expected, one of the hardest spirit battles in vanilla gameplay is even harder with the restrictions in place. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but Piranha Plant isn’t the worst character for the job. His Poison Breath can deal good damage to Sheik, his Up-Smash can pressure platforms, and his Long-Stem Strike can zone. Even the Bob-omb allows for early damage to Kirby or Bowser. It’s just Birdo is a weaker primary because of the type disadvantage.
Let me know if there are any more fitting fighters/spirit teams you can think of to fight in each spirit battle.
u/MonitoliMal — 21 days ago
Every Spirit Battle With Each Spirit's Canonical Opponent (Part 2: Super Mario Bros. 3 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2)
Challenge Rules Are Explained in Part 1. Let me know if there are any more fitting fighters/spirit teams you can think of to fight in each spirit battle.
Boo
Fighter: Luigi
Primary: Toad
Support: Professor Elvin Gadd and Boo Mario
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Punt Kirby off the map.
Bob-omb
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Flying Squirrel Toad, Fox Luigi, and Mallow
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: There are many Kirbys, but the Bob-omb items are friends here.
Chain Chomp
Fighter: Yoshi
Primary: Toad
Support: Cappy and Super Star
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Looks scary at first until you realize Pac-Man only uses Side-B. Just camp near the ledge, shield his attack, and Forward-Smash him offstage until he dies.
Nipper Plant
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Fire Flower
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Mario’s Dair
Boom Boom
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Squirtle’s Super armor and dash attack are intimidating, but Mario’s ability to kill off the top combined with Flying Squirrel Toad and platform camping makes this fight not too bad.
Tatanga
Fighter: Mario
Primary: n/a
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: Without spirits, you have to be somewhat diligent here. Morton can easily overwhelm you with his Super Scope if you’re not careful. Combo him and finish him off with a Super Scope of your own.
Hothead
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Perry
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Yet another fight where the signature item betrays the opponent. Hoard Hotheads and float above the chaos.
Chargin’ Chuck
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Cat Princess Peach
Support: Super Star and Fire Flower
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Get that first strike invincibility and go ham.
Wiggler
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Peachette
Support: Cappy and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Steamroll.
Kamek
Fighter: Yoshi
Primary: Baby Mario
Support: Flying Squirrel Toad, Fire Flower, and Nabbit
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Slap the nerd and his 3 clones. Not too hard as Yoshi.
Mechakoopa
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Don’t worry about the bombs. The Bowsers will waste them.
Dry Bowser
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Paper Mario
Support: Fox Luigi, Fire Flower, Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 5/5
Notes: We all know why this fight is so difficult. Not even having a strong spirit like Paper Mario helps much. The only way to win is either if the AI makes a boneheaded play or if you can pull off Mario’s Super Jump Punch and knock Bowser in a specific way that makes him bounce off the stage’s side.
Big Urchin
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Flying Squirrel Toad, Fire Flower, and Nabbit
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Another item massacre
King Bob-omb
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Paper Mario
Support: Super Star and Baby Peach
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Yet another item betrayal
Shine Sprite
Fighter: Bowser Jr.
Primary: Shadow Mario
Support: Wiggler
Difficulty: 4/5
Notes: Normally, this is one of the easiest legendary spirits in the game when you can choose your own fighter since there’s an obvious walkoff. As Jr., this strategy is harder to do since his throws aren’t great. Even playing as any character you want without a spirit team, it’s easier to beat Shine Sprite than it is in this challenge.
Piantas
Fighter: Bowser Jr.
Primary: Shadow Mario
Support: Koopa Troopa, B Dasher, and Standard Bike
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Bunch of weak soccer balls.
Shadow Mario
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Waluigi
Support: F.L.U.D.D.
Difficulty: 3/5
Notes: Even with immunity to the sticky floor, this battle has some punch to it since Jr. gets his Final Smash at a frequent rate, giving him a free recovery and a chance to kill you. Try extra hard to avoid the X shape and get some good DI when you do.
Luma
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Kamek
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Another soccer ball slaughter.
Hungry Luma
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Kamek
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Hungrier does not mean harder to beat.
Honey Queen
Fighter: Piranha Plant
Primary: Metal Mario
Support: Wiggler
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: For once, the item can actually work in the CPU’s favor. It’s very possible to get overwhelmed by the bees and lose time, so try to hit Pikachu with as many beehives as you can find. Unlike in a normal playthrough, the walkoff kill is not viable since Piranha Plant does not have the right tools to use it.
Lubba
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Hammer Bro
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Hung by her own Super Launch Star.
Starship Mario
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: n/a
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: No spirits needed.
u/MonitoliMal — 24 days ago
Every Spirit Battle With Each Spirit's Canonical Opponent (Part 1: Mario Series Main Characters, Super Mario Bros, & Super Mario Bros 2)
Rules:
- All spirits are level 99. Dojos are banned.
- If a fighter, primary spirit, or secondary spirit is the enemy's canonical opponent, they will be viable. The stronger the rivalry, the more likely they are to be used over others.
- If no fighters canonically oppose the enemy, then I will use a fighter who resembles a canonical opponent.
If you can think of more fitting teams for certain spirit battles, please let me know down below. Without further ado, let'sa go!
Super Star
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: King Bob-omb
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Even without a team, Super Star is easy since you can become invincible from the spirit’s namesake item. This challenge doesn’t change that.
Metal Mario
Fighter: Piranha Plant
Primary: Goomba
Support: Thwomp
Difficulty: 3/5
Notes: Piranha Plant is not good at killing Metal Mario when it only has a novice primary spirit assisting it. It can do damage with its Poison Breath and Long-Stem Strike at least. However, its horizontal kill moves like Forward Smash and its Final Smash are lackluster. This battle will take a while. A random Beam Sword could help.
Boo Mario
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Boo
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Boo Mario is weak and his floatiness only makes it more difficult for him to beat you.
Boulder Mario
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Chain Chomp
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Jigglypuff only uses Rollout on a stage with platforms. ‘Nuff said.
Fox Luigi
Fighter: Piranha Plant
Primary: Lakitu
Support: Bob-omb
Difficulty: 4/5
Notes: Wind is always an obstacle in spirits mode challenges, and this is no exception. However, there are ways to mitigate this obstacle, namely picking the Lakitu spirit for its weight decrease, which allows for extra speed. Piranha Plant is also ideal for the stage since Luigi will often be above you. You can use Ptooie, Up-Smash, and Plant’s aerials to win. Also, Luigi’s leaf power-up name being Fox Luigi was only in New Super Mario Bros. 2, so all others that opposed him in his leaf form before that point were ineligible for the team (unless they were also in NSMB2).
Flying Squirrel Toad
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Lakitu
Support: Bob-omb and Thwomp
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Toad is way too weak with Thwomp’s weapon resist ability. Do enough damage (an easy feat as Bowser) and he’ll go down quickly.
Baby Peach
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Princess Shroob
Support: Toadies and Green Glove & Slugger
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Bowser demolishes this matchup. Sure, Mario can be an issue, but with the Toadies’ toss ability and Isabelle’s tiny status, she will melt away.
Peach (Wedding)
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Bowser (Wedding)
Support: n/a
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Kill Mario and the battle is free. The Wedding Bowser spirit is fairly strong in Bowser’s hands, so it’s a wash.
Bowser (Wedding)
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Captain Toad
Support: Peach (Wedding) and Cappy
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: Finally a harder fight. Mario’s stubiness is not great against Bowser, and losing Peach is easy. What Mario can do is combo to build damage, which is especially simple with Cappy’s strong throw. Once you reach a certain point in New Donk City Hall, you can throw Bowser off the edge too.
Toad
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: King Olly
Support: Bob-omb and Pidgit
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Another Bowser match, another slaughter.
Toadette
Fighter: Bowser
Primary: Lakitu
Support: Bob-omb and Thwomp
Difficulty 1/5
Notes: See above
Toadsworth
Fighter Bowser Jr.
Primary Shadow Mario
Support n/a
Difficulty 1/5
Notes: No quirks, no problems.
Waluigi
Fighter: Luigi
Primary: Luigi (Mario Golf Super Rush)
Support: Luigi (Mario Tennis Aces) and Koopa Troopa
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: Luigi is one of the less reliable characters in a Spirits format, but the battle is still quite doable. It’s a little more on the even side since you also have to deal with Waluigi and the weird stage.
Goomba
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty 1/5
Notes: What did you expect? It’s a Goomba.
Koopa Troopa
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Stomp that Koopa.
Hammer Bro
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Don’t let the dangerous Assist Trophy fool you into thinking this would be a little difficult. The enemy Yoshi’s moveset is only Egg Throw.
Lakitu & Spiny
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Fox Luigi, Flying Squirrel Toad, and Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 2/5
Notes: The Bowsers can get overwhelming, especially against someone who is bad at multi-tasking like Mario is. Still not terrible.
Blooper
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Fox Luigi, Flying Squirrel Toad, and Fire Flower
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Mario is great here for his Dair combined with Flying Squirrel Toad’s toss ability.
Bullet Bill
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Flying Squirrel Toad
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: This is one of the harder novice spirits, but it’s still easy. Just don’t Bill yourself off the side like a dunce.
Shy Guy
Fighter: Yoshi
Primary: Toad
Support: Mega Eggdozer, Mallow, and Wiggler
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: While the projectiles may look overwhelming at first, you can easily use the many items on offer to your advantage. They can overwhelm the Shy Guy forces with ease.
Pidgit
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Star and Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Walkoff
Mouser
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: The Bob-ombs are stronger in your hands than Pikachu’s.
Wart
Fighter: Mario
Primary: Toad
Support: Super Mushroom
Difficulty: 1/5
Notes: Besides having to avoid the floor, this battle is fairly smooth.
u/MonitoliMal — 25 days ago
First Family Of 5?
Hugh Aryu and Mike (Total Drama) have now had their third daughter. The other 3 from left-to-right are Charlotte, Casey, and Harper. Charlotte and Casey’s appearances are purely the result of their parents’ genes, but I decided to edit Harper’s hair and eyes because she looked too much like Casey.
Do any of you have a family of 5 on your island? Bonus points if they were produced by a couple rather than being made from scratch.
u/MonitoliMal — 28 days ago
▲ 0 r/mariokart
Why Is the Banana Cup Usually Better Than the Leaf Cup?
In every Mario Kart game since DS, each successive retro cup usually gets higher-quality tracks. This is due to how more difficult tracks tend to be more engaging for players to race on.
However, in 3/5 MK games, the Banana Cup's roster is seen as better than the same game's Leaf Cup lineup. The 2 exceptions are DS and 8 as both have weaker Banana Cups (also 8's Leaf Cup is by far the best Leaf Cup in the franchise and that should not be a hot take). It seems counter-intuitive that these games are in the minority.
Wii's Leaf Cup is surprisingly drab, consisting of DS Desert Hills, GBA Bowser's Castle 3, N64 DK's Jungle Parkway, and GCN Mario Circuit. None of these tracks are bad per se, but the Banana Cup has DS Delfino Square and GCN Waluigi Stadium: 2 of the most iconic retros in Wii.
7's Leaf Cup does have its fair share of iconic tracks with GCN Daisy Cruiser and Wii Maple Treeway. However, DS DK Pass is not the most exciting course and N64 Kalimari Desert, despite being a good track, does not belong that far into a retro track lineup. The Banana Cup on the other hand has a fun reimagining of SNES Mario Circuit 2, Wii Coconut Mall, and DS Waluigi Pinball.
World's Banana Cup starts out rough with Peach Beach, but then it's followed by banger after banger with Salty Salty Speedway, Dino Dino Jungle, and Great ? Block Ruins. Meanwhile, its Leaf Cup has Dandelion Depths and Boo Cinema, 2 of the most disappointing tracks in the game that waste their strong theming. At least Cheep Cheep Falls is okay and Dry Bones Burnout is strong.
Again, I don't understand why this is the case for the majority of Mario Kart Games. No game's Shell Cup beats their Banana Cup and no Leaf Cup beats a Lightning Cup. Any theories on why things are the way they are? Was I incorrect in any of these assessments?
u/MonitoliMal — 1 month ago
▲ 9 r/MarioKartWorld
Dry Bones Burnout -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge (+Why I Skipped Boo Cinema)
It's been a while since I posted my challenge results. I just recently graduated from college and have been adjusting.
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
A tier list of each course's difficulty will be in the comment section of this post.
The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later into the race in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
The Route
Dry Bones Burnout is really not hard. The biggest challenge comes at the end of the lap where the Dry Bones' slow movement can make it hard to know what path to take sometimes. The Chomp Balls can also ricochet in strange ways in that same section, leading to some near-misses like on Lap 2. Otherwise, there are so many alternate paths on DBB that it's trivial.
In 2 previous attempts, the Lap 1 Boom Boom on the upper part of the glider landing fell down and hit me. Weird that his spawning up there was so consistent.
Why I Don't Have Boo Cinema Footage
Usually when I don't post a track in this challenge, it's because it's too easy, making the attempt boring overall. Boo Cinema is different. The Peepa enemy is the most docile Kamek summon in the game since they literally cannot damage you. The worst they can do is block your view. They just so happen to be the most common enemy type on Boo Cinema. However, if other enemies spawn, they are quite difficult to avoid because of how constrained the road is combined with the mandatory glider section each lap.
What does this mean for its difficulty? It means that if you get almost all Peepa spawns, it's too easy and if you get anything else, it's pretty difficult. My winning attempt had the earlier RNG pattern, meaning it was boring to watch. I hope that explains things.
u/MonitoliMal — 1 month ago
Nonchalant Miis Falling in Love is Iconic
Also, Gwen and Jake Conway finally have mutual crushes! Yay!
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago
Dandelion Depths -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge: The HARDEST Course Yet
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
A tier list of each course's difficulty will be in the comment section of this post.
Things Worth Noting: The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later into the race in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
The title is not an exaggeration. Dandelion Depths is somehow harder than Wario Stadium and it's all thanks to the upwards slope at the end. Some other parts have some difficulty (and most parts are flat-out easy), but they don't hold a candle to the dreaded slope and its 4 problems.
Problem 1 is the enemies that spawn there. On top of the usual demons of Chomp and Spike Balls and Boom Boom, the Swoops' movement patterns are difficult to predict as they don't always follow a straight path.
Problem 2 is the camera hiding what lies ahead sometimes, which is a pain.
But Problem 3 is the worst one of all: the boost panels. You HAVE to take the section fast and are often forced to ram into walls to slow yourself down, which doesn't always work well.
Finally, this leads into Problem 4: it's so close to the finish line, meaning if you take it too slow, a CPU can pass you on Lap 3, similar to the final ramp on Wario Stadium. At least on Wario Stadium, the summoned enemies to slow down your opponents, making that situation less likely. However, if a CPU gets hit on Dandelion Depths' slope, they can regain all their speed from a boost panel.
Will there be a harder course in this challenge? Maybe. Maybe not. I've played every track at this point, so only I know that answer. Stay tuned.
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago
▲ 4 r/MarioKartWorld
Cheep Cheep Falls -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge (Stay on the Rapids)
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
A tier list of each course's difficulty will be in the comment section of this post.
Things Worth Noting: The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later into the race in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
Cheep Cheep Falls is one of the most offroad-heavy routes in this challenge. When going uphill at the start of laps 2 and 3, there's no reason to go on the main path since it's so crowded. When going downstream, sticking to the rapids on the side allows you to avoid most of the enemies, which is a nice break. However, I would not mark this course as an "easy" tier necessarily since the narrow land pathways can easily get blocked by Chomp Balls or Boom Boom.
Overall, Great ? Ruins and Cheep Cheep Falls were a nice dip in difficulty after the horrors of Dino Dino Jungle without being too easy as to deflate the challenge. It would be a shame if the next race was an absolute nightmare!
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago
Great ? Block Ruins -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge (The Power of Slopes)
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
Disclaimers: The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later into the race in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
We're back to Piranha Plant spam, though it is easier here than it is on Dino Dino Jungle. As long as you take it slow, you should be fine. Of course, the bouncy clouds and the glider will interfere with this strategy, so you'll need to land carefully too. Overall, what saves this track is how most of it is sloped downward. Spike and Chomp Balls will fall away from you instead of towards you. Upwards slopes will be a detriment later in the challenge...
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago
▲ 10 r/MarioKartWorld
Dino Dino Jungle -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge (Piranha Plants and 2 Choke Points)
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
Disclaimers: The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later into the race in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
DDJ is easily the hardest track I've run into post-Wario Stadium so far. While it has no Goombas like the hellish Crown City or Wario Stadium, what it does have is 2 choke points that get stuffed with 3 variations of Piranha Plants, Spike Balls, Chargin' Chucks, and Chomp Balls. It can get so bad that I often had to wait them out. The forward-snapping Piranha Plants are especially bad because they pop up from the ground to surprise you and are immune to attacks from other summons. One underrated problem is the character you transform into. Up to this point, it didn't matter too much outside of a hitbox change, but Piranha Plant's bulbous head blocks the center of the screen, making it difficult to see what's ahead and plan accordingly. And it's the most common summon in this level to boot.
It is nice to use the Star though. Enjoy it while it lasts.
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago
▲ 14 r/MarioKartWorld
Salty Salty Speedway -- Kamek Orb Only, No Hit Challenge
Rules: 150cc, Hard CPUs, no getting hit, no falling off, and I have to get 1st place. Rewinding is also banned. A "hit" is when the kart goes into any of its damage states. Hitting walls, non-hostile objects, and other racers is fair game.
Disclaimers: The video skipping is a result of the Switch 2's recording software. The music never changes to the final lap version because this is in replay mode. Finally, the footage starts later than the the start in order to get to the Kamek parts faster.
I will be skipping over Peach Beach for this challenge because that track was uninteresting under the ruleset. I beat that track first try, which is something that cannot be said for Salty Salty Speedway.
Most of the track is simple: stay on dry land since Kamek put obstacles in the canal. When you're forced into the water at the end of the lap, stay on the periphery. However, these rules do not account for the first half of the track which takes place entirely on land and holds the player in a checkpoint. It's a wild west where you just have to get lucky. The curve makes it so it's difficult to see what's ahead, and stopping completely to avoid Boom Boom or Bob-Ombs could allow a Cataquack to launch you.
Oh, but Salty Salty speedway was a warm-up round for Mario Kart World's choke points. Just wait until Dino Dino Jungle...
u/MonitoliMal — 2 months ago