This vid does a great job of explaining Mario Kart's "balance": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Mz6rKQ8Hs&pp=ygUWc2Vjb25kIHdpbmQgbWFyaW8ga2FydNIHCQmRCgGHKiGM7w%3D%3D

Mario Kart is a party game.
The item spam is there to be funny and unpredictable.
It's not design around competitive play.

"It's a game that aggressively punish you for doing good." Jo got blueshell'd a bunch.

Took me a while to recognise Morgan. Now I do, I am begging Angie to pull the trigger.

Also, the comparison is hilariously accurate.

It's a family game that tries to let the worse players still have some fun.
There's a reason the series is so successful, and that reason is not being competitive or balanced.

I am here to appreciate Morgan.

To be accurate. Angie should have a Fire Flower or Blue Turtle Shell. An NES Zapper would also have worked.

Arent even creator said it is party game and not competetive game?
Rage of a sweat player being hit by blue shell is a feature not a bug
Same with smash brothers and Mario party (oh sweet bs bonus stars at the end of a game)

This comic is 100% accurate.

You think that's bad? Try Sonic Racing Crossworlds.

I like the Mario Kart concept more than regular racing games. You're competing more directly against other players because they can affect your time. In a regular racing game, you just drive as well as you can and hope that your time is faster than theirs. But Kart gaming balance is tricky for sure.

Comic title: Race.
Comic content: White girl shoots black girl.

Uh-oh.

Olympic biathlons (ski + shooting) could be this cool if they weren't such cowards.