On Sept. 25, 2019  Mario Kart Tour, the mobile kart racing game, was released by Nintendo for Android and IOS devices. In its first week, the app had already reached 90 million downloads, creating a new record for Nintendo mobile games.

My childhood consisted of lounging in my friend’s basement for hours-on-end drinking Capri Suns and playing Mario games on the Wii. Every social event I attended, my Nintendo DS and baby pink game holder was by my side, and I was ready for anyone who would dare to challenge me in a round of Mario Party. With that, I had very high expectations for the new app.

On my first run,  I was impressed by how easy the game was to play. All you had to do to steer was move your finger to the side you wanted the character to turn to, making the app suitable for all ages. Also, I loved the fact that on most of the courses you couldn’t even fall off the track, taking away the mini heart attack that I used to receive because of this traumatizing experience.

I was astonished to see how much the graphics had improved from the previous versions of the game. I swear I could count every single hair on Mario’s luxurious mustache. The game appears 3D to the point that every time I play, I feel that I’m right there, racing through Bowser’s Castle in my red, spotted mushroom cart. 

I was delighted to see that most of the features in the app such as the characters and race tracks had similar components to the old versions of the game. This really made me connect with the game and brought me back to the good old days when I all I had to worry about was making sure that I didn’t fall off the edge of Rainbow Road.

The new features were impressive too. Players now receive coins and rubies while playing the game which they could use in the shop to buy power-ups, characters, or karts. 

Even though I highly enjoy the game and drain my phone’s battery constantly playing it, just swiping my finger will never fill my soul the same way as dramatically turning the fake steering wheel while playing on the Wii or slamming the buttons on my DS with the mindset that the extra pressure and passion would make Peach fly through the track like a Koopa shell on steroids. 

At the same time, I am now addicted and play this game every free moment I have.  In the beginning, all I cared about was having fun. Now, I won’t move on to another level until I get first place and all the possible gold stars one can achieve. If I’m not stopped soon I will probably link my debit card to the game and start buying more characters and power-ups – Send help, please.

Mario Kart Tour has raced through my heart, and I would rate it four and a half out of five mushrooms.