Why Blue Shells Lost Their Wings
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Mario Kart's Infamous Blue Shell used to have wings, but now travels on the ground. So why were they removed in newer games? Let's find out in this discussion!
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#MarioKart #Nintendo #BlueShell
![[SSBU] Jumping is Overpowered](/img/n.gif)
Let us ride the blue shell Nintendo! (For a short while, and obviously at lower speed)
nah lets go full speed
Perhaps a ride idea for Super Nintendo Land in the future? XD
Actually let's do 2x speed
Hi
Lol
I like how Mankalor casually explains all of this while Mario and Metal Mario RIDES a blue shell in the background gameplay
He do be vibing tho
@ඞ yes
@@TheDream64 That would’ve been lame
@@TheDream64 אתה מדבר עברית?
It is still kinda haunting in a way
I think the reason it got wings was because of the game- Double Dash. DD is already extremely chaotic item-wise and the Blue Shell is insanely strong, they probably figured that having blue shells run rapidly everywhere in addition to everything else was too much, and that it didn't really *need* to hit everyone. DS and Wii probably used similar design docs/they kept it for legacy reasons.
Double dash also has the bowser shell which is very similar to the new blue shell. Since this is the exclusive item for bowser and bowser jr, having the blue shell be on the ground would make the bowser shell obsolete since anyone could use it
i play double dash and i need to say the blue shell can only be gotten in 150cc AND its not that op just disables using ur items for 5 seconds
Yeah I agree I would of said the same thing, double dash was the first to include blue shells with wings because, there was items like the chain chomp or bowser shell that exists in the game. But, I personally prefer it to have wings, it looks cooler and it also looked/sounded more menacing. The grounded bluey is pretty predictable, 90% of the time if you see it coming you can easily get out of the way and not get hit, I hardly get hits from people that are on the ground (besides first place) when I use it.
DS I feel also doesn't really have the problem of being too far behind for it to matter. On the rare chances I have to use one, it has almost always given me the chance to catch up to the first place player or at least bring them within a fighting distance. If someone is far enough ahead of me that the blue shell doesn't accomplish that, then the skill gap was probably too great for me to have ever had a chance to begin with, and no number of blue shells I might pull will change that.
I miss the satisfaction of seeing one fly over without worrying if I’m in the path to be honest. It used to make me laugh whenever I was struggling to get in front.
Yeah, and it sounds like someone sipping on a empty straw... for some reason
Yeah but i guess that was kinda part of the probkem. Blue shells only help the persons near first place rather then the actual user making blue shells annoying both for the thrower and the reciever. Having the blue shell able to hit anyone on its path makes it a little bit more usefull for the thrower (not much tough as it is very easely avoided unless you are in first place)
@@jismeraiverhoeven I don't understand what you are referring to...
In Double Dash, DS and Wii, it was really tense being in 4th or 5th and seeing the Blue Shell fly through the air, then seeing a massive explosion. However, I do prefer the ground Blue Shell more
The Blue Shell with wings is so iconic that it not having wings feels so weird. Is there a reason it can't just fly but low enough to the ground so it can hit players still?
Nintendo devs probably look at it like "if its not going to fly high, why let it have wings". Either that or they just like the sight of the shell spinning, which doesn't look that great with wings on it.
It can have folded/hidden wings while it is on the ground. Spin/not spin while it's charging through the ranks, not caring who gets trampled by it like a bull. Then once it gets close to it's target it can extend/sprout the wings to fly at them. Personally I think it would add a 'alive' and or 'predatory' vibe to it. 😱
@@tea-chugger8137 didn’t it hit people near the player in Wii even with Wings
3:03 actually, from Double Dash to Wii, the winged Spiny Shell does make you lose your items if you are caught in the full explosion. It even cancels out your item roulette if it is still spinning.
The Blue Shell always did more damage in the front to compensate for not crawling like a Red Shell. If they wanted an item that could harm all the players in front of them then they should have just kept the POW block.
@@christianfrost8660 Nah, the POW block is just a nuisance, and obsolete since the lightning serves the same purpose, but better.
@@duragdee2760 It doesn't effect the people behind the user and it effects movement before it spins it's victims out. The POW Block is a very strategic item that requires intelligence to get the best out of it.
The Wii has too many attacks that make you lose your item. On top of that, it's one of the games with the longest time it takes for item boxes to reappear after another driver ahead of you has driven into it.
@@christianfrost8660 It not affecting players behind the user only makes it less effective than Lightning. It's not a strategic item if it's main purpose achieves less than the Lightning. Having two items capable of removing items and striking opponents isn't exactly fair.
The winged Blue Shell is like an angel of death.
Oh I like that thought! But it's an angel w/o wings in mk8.
I honestly love the winged shell design more.
Absolutely
It can have folded/hidden wings while it is on the ground. Kinda like it's charging through, not caring who gets trampled by it like a bull. Then once it gets close to it's target it can extend/sprout the wings to fly at them. Personally I think it would add a 'alive' and or 'predatory' vibe to it. 😱
Me too.
Me too. It should pretend to fly with wings but hit others on the ground
Another thing worth mentioning about the grounded blue shell is that, since it can hit people outside of first, it makes the item far more useful to the person throwing it so it isn't just an item that you just spam to free up an item slot like it is in Wii. You can try and target the person in front of you with it and actually gain a spot from it rather than just making the front of the pack closer to you.
1:37 "The Blue Shell frequency has been reduced since Mario Kart Double Dash."
*SilokHawk would like to know your location.*
Because their where Blue Shell up the a**
Lol
yeah, You can get hit by 10 Blue shells in a single race in MKWii, in CTGP with CPU's, make that 30
That was actually super circut *without wings*
@@luckywii8731 i never had 10 blue shells in a single race kn wii (then again didnt play ctgp), however the blue shell was indeed the most common on the wii version, being hit by as many as 3 in a single round. On the gamecube it was fairly rare and the ds was inbetween the 2, generally geting 1 in a race and if you are unlucky 2
I think the animation for the blue shell was best in the Wii. There, it felt the most wild. The way it circled around before making its downward dive gave it a lot of character. I'd also point out that when the blue shell explodes, it'll only hit people very close to first place. This helps to assure that the very close second doesn't necessarily get way ahead because first got hit. I'd say winged is better, although I must admit I feel great joy when I'm in first and a blue shell comes my way, only for it to run over my brother in second, allowing me to keep my placement.
Don't forget the hissing sound when it glided though the air.
@@badcatalex The sound of both PTSD and relief.
Hearing that hiss pass by whenever you aren’t in first really is just a “oh there it is” moment.
I'd perfer to have both
Winged for when the player in 1st has a major break away
And Wingless for closer races or on smaller tracks
I prefer the design of the blue shell with wings but I can definitely see why the changed it to move on the ground. Though if I were to change it, I would give it back its wings, have it move on the ground and move faster
new idea for the next mario kart or as an update for deluxe, it stays as a ground shell until it takes off to strike, it’ll deploy its wings out the sides and gain it’s more swirly movement from wii or dd, i think it’ll look nicer than it just floating menacingly especially in 200cc when you can really see it flying for a while
I personally like the winged shell from the wii. It felt so much faster and scary. A true missile that made it to the first place racer almost instantly. The fear factor was just better.
It can have folded/hidden wings while it is on the ground. Kinda like it's charging through, not caring who gets trampled by it like a bull. Then once it gets close to it's target it can extend/sprout the wings to fly at them. Personally I think it would add a 'alive' and or 'predatory' vibe to it. 😱
Spoiler Alert for the Mario Movie:
There is a personified Blue Shell as a Paratroopa General of Bowser's army and during the Rainbow Road sequence, as his last attempt to stop Mario, he launched himself into him as the Blue Shell and eventually died. He HAD Wings too
Wait, I didn't noticed until now that they removed the wings
Me neither. If you had asked me to draw it from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, I probably would have put wings on it.
@@unsightedmetal6857 Home Circuit brought the wings back
I like how blue shells just casually take shortcuts
winged is iconic and definitely better from aesthetic, it just ignores the crowd flying over everything with its wings than swooping down like a bomb (like a nuke) but the grounded one is a necessary balance change. though i feel since its grounded you should be able to blow it up with a bomb again (like mario kart ds)
The wings were so much better. It’s identity is rooted in its sole goal of hitting first place, it’s not necessary that it hits other players. Stopping first place DOES help someone in the back, because it condenses the pack of players near the front and makes them more likely to get hit by items.
The winged shell is cooler but my game designer brain tells me that the grounded shell is hand-over-fist better. Also IMO the grounded blue shell in 7 and 8 sounds a lot more menacing because of it making a similar sound to red shells _on top_ of the iconic hissing noise. I've also heard mentions that the blue shell feels more imposing when flying over players, and while that's true, I think the grounded blue shell still is pretty scary when it whips by you at insane speed.
Was thinking that it could have folded/hidden wings while it is on the ground. Kinda like it doesn't want to waste it's energy flying all the way there so instead it spins.
Charging through, trampling anyone in it's way like a bull. Then once it gets close to it's target it can extend/sprout the wings to fly at them like always. Personally I think it would add a 'alive' and or 'predatory' vibe to it. 😱
I think the winged one works better gameplay wise because it’s more balanced with it targeting the players at the front but the player in first being the main target
If I need a picture of a Blue Shell, the Mario Kart Wii one is definitely the best *looking* one, but for actual gameplay, the ground Blue Shell is much better.
The explosion was meant to make sure that the blue shell doesn't cause another player that is really close to 1st to gain a massive lead from it. When the ground one hits players far from 1st, it causes them to get further away from 1st, causing more problems.
However, mainly, I prefer the flying one due to it having a bit more character.
tbh i just like the winged blue shell cuz it both looks cooler and is scarier to see it flying past really fast with the blue trail behind it
In a nutshell, the blue/spiny shell lost its wings because it allows to attack other racers in its path instead of targeting only someone in first.
Yeah I agree, Getting a blue shell 3 times in 9th on the last lap on MKWii is *_NOT_* funny...
Blue Shells in MKDD, DS & Wii: Fly in the sky, are very fast, only hits first place and the surroundings respawn times are very short (aka unfair, Blue shells can appear in about 1 sec after it was thrown)
Blue Shells in MK7 & 8/DX: On the ground, can hit everyone... Explodes on first, respawn times are balanced
Okay but the wings and eerie hiss are badass. I think they should put the wings back on but still have the function of 7 8 and Tour.
The winged design is just so damn iconic.
I was playing CTGP for the first time in a few months and after getting hit by 9 blue shells in one race I remembered why I hate Mario Kart Wii.
"the Blue Shell has a cooldown in MK8D"
Custom items: Allow me to introduce myself
I’d take the more balanced and iconic winged blue shell any day
3:19 The flying blue shell, and in particular the MKWii one, because the explosion and the warning sound gives it "you're-a going to fucking-a die!" vibes. I think the grounded blue shell should explode too to that end.
The ground blue Shell also explodes in Mario kart 7, And 8
The grounded Blue Shell is my personal favourite. That and the games it appears in actually make it, you know, not common as hell like in DS and especially Wii. That and it actually can benefit the person throwing it and makes the gameplay more intense where even players not in first feel the impact. It should be noted that players hit by the blue shell travelling and not it detonating aren't stuck in hitstun as long.
Well there’s more to consider here on why and when the blue shell got wings. It debuted in MK64 in its ground form and returned in MKSC, also in ground form. Neither of those games had what one would call complex level design. Like the biggest variance in track design is the super jumps in Royal Raceway and DK Jungle. But otherwise, courses are pretty straight forward. Green shells shoot in a straight line and bounce like crazy, red shells home in on the player directly in front but is blockable, the blue shell homes in on first place and is invincible. At the core, these are just different tiers of shells.
Well in MKDD, level design started to get more complex with canons, larger jumps, actual short cuts/alternative paths, more hazards, etc. This would make the blue shell difficult to make it to first place. So they added wings so that the blue shell would suffer “falling off” or being taken out by a road hazard like it did in the two predecessors. This also gave it the ability to travel backwards in case player one fell off a ledge or used a shortcut/alternative path. Red shells and green shells were still subject to falling off and hitting other objects. MKW had roughly the same level design as MKDD, so the same rules applied.
Now comes MK7 which changed the formula for level design. Now you have underwater and gliding areas. Particularly, the gliding areas made it very difficult for red and green shells, which would traditionally fall straight to the ground, rendering them useless (like Sakura) in many parts of most stages. So why would the blue shell lose its wings in this title? Pretty simple. To keep green/red shells relevant, they had to give both a buff my enabling them to “fly without wings”. This gave red and green shells the ability to still attack players while in the flying sections (still total BS how these cpus be green shell sniping in the air 🤬). So now, red shells basically have the same effect as blue shells, except they can still be blocked. So now that wingless shells can fly, there’s no need for the blue shell to need wings anymore since this power belongs to all shells. So they removed the wings and brought it back to the ground. But this isn’t the only change they made. Since red shells are so close in power, they made the blue shell much larger than its winged counterpart and can once again hit other players who are in the direct traveling path. Now we get into the reasons stated in the video. Red shells are almost as dangerous as the flying blue shells now. So rather than having another dangerous item, we have our first Mario Kart event: the large traveling blue shell.
This change to the shells would also be applicable to the zero gravity and alternative route level designs in Mario Kart 8. The red/green shells of the past would be literally useless in MK8. But their flying buff keeps them relevant. Same goes for the blue shell. Wings visually aren’t necessary anymore since all shells can fly. So they just made it larger and put it close to the ground to make it more of an event rather than powerful item.
And with that, you all now know why I’m still single.
EDIT: oh, and I prefer the flying blue shells. It’s absolutely ridiculous being hit by flying red shells with no wings in the automated glider sections. Makes red shells literally as powerful as blue shells with the exception of being blockable. I miss DD where red shells were good items, but could evaded by the highly skilled. What used to be Mario Kart has now being Mario Party Kart. SMH. Blue shells were feared back then because it to frame perfect skill to evade, not unfair luck. 😤
All good points, but aesthetically I prefer the winged blue shell, it's so cool and satisfying to hear the ffffffffFFFFFFFF incoming sound and then see it fly by at max speed
3:03 Double Dash to Wii Mario Kart games: Are you sure about that?
Spoiler Alert: The Spiny Shell DOES have wings in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Greetings everyone. GOD bless you all!
God bless you too!
@@lordroy88 Thanks. You too!
God bless.
I actually liked the wings since I was LOVED Mario kart Ds and Wii and the Reason that is the addition of the wings is a good design But Having the others get a chance of getting farther ahead instead of just People closer to first place is understandable
Much like you, I also prefer the winged one for design, but the grounded variant is balanced and preferred
I like both versions but the winged one I love more.
Hi
I personally don’t like the blue shells in Mariokart DS and Wii because they appear so often. Sometimes there is one like 10 seconds after one just flew by. Also the blue shells in Mariokart Wii do so much damage and there can be like 5 in one race which is just absurd. And of course like Mankalor said, these blue shells don’t benefit you at all and really only help out 2nd and 3rd place.
*laughs in custom items*
I like the wing one. It makes you wanna back up from 1st place when your in the lead, and it’s fun to just slow down so your friend gets hit and not you
True...I used to do that all the time 😂
When you do this online and everyone starts reversing: *chuckles* I’m in danger.
3:03 mario kart Ds:
Am i a joke to you
Wii and Double Dash as well
It is really satisfactory hear and see the Winged Blue Shell fly over you looking for the 1st player through all the chaos.
I really miss those times!
Blue shells shouldn’t fly imo, the player who threw it needs an advantage
There's still a problem with actually being the one to pull a shell: You aren't pulling any other item. If you're in the back and pull a shell, congrats? You might be able to hit other players, but in the meantime, you aren't pulling shrooms to take shortcuts, stars to dodge shocks, or the shock itself. By making it a near last-place item, if it's pulled anytime lap 3, it essentially kills its puller's race. Which is why I think the blue shell should be a mid-spot item and fly overhead. You're close to the action of where it's exploding, and it still has tangible use.
I missed the blue shell with wings
@doma dragones the new blue shell sucks
So I've heard, they wanted it to only be able to hit 1st place in MK64, but the system would lag once everyone inevitably started passing them after they got struck by it. I don't know if that's actually true or not.
Also, in the same game, there's a stretch on Banshee Boardwalk where the homing shells' pathfinding just bugs out. Red shells will literally just leap right off the path and into the water. Blue shells, though? They're so indestructible that they just start corkscrewing around the path until they're past that borked pathfinding.
1:37 me who get 5 blue Shell in mkwii on Mario circuit: yes but actually no!
yeah, I got hit by 8 Blue Shells in 1 lap once on MKWii Rainbow road, no joke
For aesthetic, I like the one with wings. For gameplay, the grounded one makes the game more fun and interesting and spicy 🌶.
It lost wings because it stopped drinking Red Bull
They stopped drinking Red Bull
The blue shell looks cooler with wings. Also I like to call it the Spiny shell.
There are a lot of people who say the blue shell shouldn't even be a thing at all. Me? I don't understand why people think that. It's fun!
But its dumb being hit by one right before the last round ends when you try unlocking characters because of them i never got Metal mario in Mario kart 7
I'm so worry about Fly form Blue shell just turn into a ground form Blue shell
I prefer the winged Blue Shell because it just looks so much cooler, lol.
Why couldn’t the winged shell just fly along the ground
Only disagreements are with “it typically travels in the center of the road” and “it’s not very punishing to be hit by”. I’ve definitely been hit by a blue shell deciding to take tight lines, and it knocks you away to the sides so if there are no walls you often fall off the course... I think the blue on the ground is fine but I wish it would actually stick to the center so avoiding it was more predictable; as is it feels like a guessing game as to where it will be.
Imagine 15 blue shells chasing you blue shells only
the flying blue shell throws the one in first place in the air
I like the Blue Shell without wings.
Imagine if there were separate Winged and Grounded Blue Shells with different functions, like:
Grounded - Essentially a Red Shell that explodes and can only be deflected with a Fake Item Box
Winged - Flies to hit the person in first place, same as usual
Although I like the idea of the ground blue shell as seen in MK7... there's just something about that huge explosion from the one in MKWii. I can't decide!
But the ground blue spiny shell also explodes so I don't get your point
Cool
The winged blue shell in Mario Kart Wii is so pretty when it flies tho
Me and my sister used to call Blue shells Hater shells!
Only to magically regain them in Live
This doesnt really explain why nintendo made the change, it just explained why you prefer the change
As you see the blue shell is like an angry bull
The answer here is exactly what I thought it was gonna be: it debuted in Mario Kart 64 as a ground shell that could hit other players on its way to 1st. It was just reverted to that starting in MK7, adding in the newer explosion element. Tbh I'm glad - it allows the player who threw it to try to catch up instead of just favoring everyone else in front of them (besides 1st obviously).
Dread it run from it all the same
I honestly prefer the winged one because it's the one i grew up watching and getting hit by in Mario kart ds.I feel like ground blue shell is slower compared to his winged pre succesor.I'm so used to the winged one that sometimes when i play mk7 I forget that this one doesn't fly and when i play mkds sometimes it shocks me how fast it reaches me in first place
I know same! I also grew up with DS and I like that the winged blue shell goes so fast and makes that wooshing sound, also I liked the huge explosion where it throws you high in the air, and now it hits you as if it were a normal green or red shell
also spiny shell simply sounds stupid, I like blue shell better
From an astetic standpoint winged.
From a gameplay perspective grounded
But the wings were cooler :(
Aesthetics-wise, the winged blue shell is more menacing one. I remember back when Mario Kart Wii was hot that if you happened to be in first when the blue shell was approaching, you would get a preliminary notice with a very scary alarm sound before it caught up and hit you. That was always nerve-racking.
From a gameplay perspective, the ground blue shell is much better. Not only does it strike first place, but it also potentially hits other drivers along the way up to first.
Another major reason why the blue shell could have lost its wings is because of the super horn. Perhaps it can't break flying blue shells
The super horn doesn’t exist in mariokart 7 where the current blue shell debuted
@@CB-ld4yk Well yeah. But maybe that's why they kept the grounded blue shell for MK8
Because Nintendo is boring
It has wings again in Mario Kart Live right?
One thing I don’t like is how the player is not launched up into the air anymore, really felt punishing for whoever got hit. Although a bit unfair, it was key for strategy. The MK8 one just stops you in place and you’re back like nothing happened, plus it’s easier to avoid.
Plot twist: the blue shell lost to The Dual-Bladed Duelist (Scissors) in Paper Mario The Origami King
I think the winged blue shell returned in Mario Kart home circuit
ground blue shell is awesome
Wait it lost its wings?
Keep strong. Dont forget that despite the evil in this world, God is full of justice, mercy and love.
Justice said we broke His perfect law - causing the world's previous perfection to be destroyed - and therefore we deserve Hell (like a punishment in any legal system but this is eternal as His perfect law is eternal too). Don't think you fit in that category? Ever done one of these?: lying, stealing - regardless of how small the object EVER, hating others - which is murder in God's perfect law, lusting (plus God sees our entire thought life). Justice says "the soul that sins shall die" - if we break one in thought/word/deed it's as if we're guilty of all of them. Quite simply, living by the law (which is doing everything perfectly) is impossible for sinful humans
. The law shows us that 1. We will die in Hell if we fail to follow it and 2. We cannot save ourselves BUT, 3. God's perfect, immovable law points us to Christ, who followed and fulfilled the law in thought, word and deed perfectly in our place. He did what we couldn't and did it on our behalf. He was then sentenced to death on a cross, and took our personal punishment for our sin, paying our penalty (like paying our fine) completely FOR us, and has given us freedom.
If we turn from the sins we have committed and repent (pursue the opposite direction of love through Christ) He will, overtime, recreate us into His image through The Holy Spirit which Jesus sends to all who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior of their life. We cannot purify ourselves, but Christ lived that perfect sinless, pure life and then allotted it to our "account".
That's where our righteousness comes from. Not from any good, works that you or I could do.
It is not based on the amount of good works we do. God starts the changes, He carries it on, and He completes it in those who let Him.
It's about letting Christ in to guide and teach you and obeying Him, again, through His power and instruction).
He is our substitute in His life, death and resurrection. He essentially rewrote history in our place so that, if you believe in Him, it will be as if YOU had never sinned if you accept Christ's death as our own in our place.
He is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us so that He can take His faithful, believing children home with Him when He returns. He will ressurrect us from death when He returns, giving mercy to those who accept His love, forgiveness, instruction and teachings in their life, and give justice to those who refuse it.
He doesn't want ANY of us to go to Hell and die for continuing in evil and rejecting His way to life, thats why He died FOR us. Hes giving EVERYONE a chance, He wants everyone to take the free gift of salvation from Hell. He wants us to be His and begin to follow His life of love and service through His power and abiding (staying) with Him. So long as we keep our hearts near to Christ through His strength, strive to follow His will of perfect love revealed in the Bible, and let Him lead in the midst of (very certain) pitfalls and struggles, we will, in time, win the ultimate victory over sin, pain and DEATH through Christ. Even if you are willing to be made willing, pray for Jesus to come in and He will do what we can't. Give us The Holy Spirit who will guide us in the right way.
NOTE: You are NEVER too sinful or messed up that God cannot turn your life around through Jesus. EVER
If you have any questions let me know xx
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
John 16:33 - Amplified Bible
“The blue shell frequency has been reduced since Mario Kart DoubleDash.”
I call BS. I feel like they are way too common in 8, while in DoubleDash they were pretty rare.
Also the winged shell explodes because explosions are more punishing than simply getting hit. They take longer to recover from and take your items away, except in 8 where the only difference between explosions and simply getting hit is the hitbox being much larger for explosions
The MK Wii version is the coolest and most terrifying. The way it zips past everybody in a blue blur… it really looks like a frickin bird of prey and my heart sinks immediately when the warning signal thing starts blaring.
The winged variant is more iconic. I think that aesthetically, it should have wings, but it should function like a grounded blue shell, perhaps just flying close to the ground. This would allow it to be more useful for the player launching it in the back while keeping the more iconic design and even potentially helping explain how the shell may manage to make it across any potential long gaps in a course that are designed either for gliders or for sequences where the racers are kind of just launched from point A to point B (i.e. DK Summit, Waluigi Pinball)
Wings don't necessarily have to indicate flight, although both red and blue shells fly to meet gliding players. Blue and red shells having wings would be a good way to intuitively indicate that they have some control over where they're going - that is, homing in on leading players.
Adding wings to red shells would also provide a much easier way for colorblind players to tell the green and red shells apart - especially useful since their behaviors are so different.
Mechanically, the grounded shell is best, but they never needed to remove the wings.
since the blue shell still floats, they could have kept its wings. But now I'm used to the no wings.
AND I HATE THE "OFFICIAL" NAME NINTENDO GAVE.
The Blue Shell was initially grounded because the sudden stop of the player in 1st led to the screen being flooded with racers and lagging the game. This grounded state that allows it to hit other racers along the way to 1st prevented this issue.
It was given wings in Double Dash!!, DS, and Wii because this issue didn't exist in those games, so the Blue Shell was able to exclusively target the racer in 1st (and any poor souls who get caught in the blast radius).
As for why its wings were removed in 7 onward, though... That's unknown. It could be for anything from the balancing you mentioned to an aesthetic preference on behalf of the devs.
For gameplay, the wingless one is technically better since it mainly benefits the person who threw it, but I prefer the design of the blue shell with the wings. In Mario kart 8 and 8 deluxe, I think it moves around the player in first too fast, as opposed to earlier games like Mario kart Wii
I think the best blue shell would be on the ground when thrown, like mk8, but when it reaches the player in first, the wings come out as it goes into the air, slowly going around the player before hitting, like in wii
The actual reason why blue shells got wings in Mario kart: Double dash!! is because in earlier games the blue shell would break when it would hit a wall, which made it very situational in Mario kart 64 and downright useless in most maps in Mario kart: Super circuit. However, when they changed red shells in mario kart 7 to follow a way stricter path and gave them the ability to fly over gaps, they just gave the blue shell the same abilities. This obviously made the blue shell threatening to everyone again, instead of only the player in 1st.
Why did you even read through all of that go outside or smth
I used a sound bite from this video in one of my videos. If you would like to be edited out, could you please let me know? I like it, i like this video, nothing but apppreciation intended.
At the beginning of the video so haven't seen much, but I think going back to the ground was a goood decision for game balance, but I think they should have left the widgs on for the aesthetic
Edit: explosions should stay too
I didn't realize I was answering the end of the video question before even watching the video
Personally i adore the winged version. The ground one feels like throwing a normal shell but its harder for it to hit who u want it to hit and doesnt feel very impactfull at all especially in mk8 where it only has the shell sound effect, meanwhile in ds or wii when you launch a blue shell it feels like u fired a fucking ballistic missle and that first place is dead, if you arent the laucher or reciver you will see a blue trail in the sky flying at the speed of sound with a manecing sound and makes you even feel sorry for first place, if you are in first place, and this is especially true in wii, you will hear the damn alarm going off with the manacing shell sound coming closer and then boom, ur first place is gone. Its way more impactfull than ground version so i feel like it should comeback
I think a reason why the blue shell might’ve had wings at first is because of Super Mario World. When Yoshi holds a blue shell in its mouth, it grows wings.
They should just make it so the blue shell gains it’s wings when it starts reaching first place hovering through the air.