Coming up: a traditional Christmas Dinner and a slightly atypical Japanese banquet.

First though, I thought I’d mention that I wanted to play some of my older games on the Wii, since I hadn’t sat down to play them in a long while.  In doing so I’ve ‘rediscovered’ Mario Kart Wii, a title that’s still going strong two years on, and one (I’m almost ashamed to admit) that I haven’t fully completed.

So, I figured that I should win any remaining GP cups I hadn’t attempted yet (probably due to the game’s fantastic online mode, as well as Uni work etc).  Almost unfortunately, the ones left were in the Mirror class.

Holy doody.  I mean I love Mario Kart to bits, but good lord, Mirror Mode.  The other classes aren’t as bad despite the game’s rubber band AI, but for whatever reason this AI becomes more apparent in Mirror Mode, often reaching levels of sadistic cruelty worthy of the AI Director him/her/itself.  Yes, Mirror Mode is to Mario Kart as Expert Mode is to Left 4 Dead.

…okay, for the most part, maybe I wouldn’t go that far – I’ve managed to win everything but the Special Cup, in which it seems like the AI gets turned up ANOTHER notch.  My only real obstacle in this cup is Rainbow Road, the place where you go when you die, according to the classic song.

Yeah, more like the place where you go TO die, no thanks to chance.  The track starts with a long drop, and here you’re completely vulnerable to the other cars banging into you, making you fall off the track, thus placing you at the top of the drop again.  From here on in, the game insists of giving you stars and mushrooms to use on some of the track’s most awkward areas – you’re going to ricochet off a barrier and fall off the track again.  From here you’ve magically lost your skills and bounce off the track simply by drifting.

You’re screwed.  You don’t have enough points to get the gold trophy by the end of the track.  You have to start the cup again.  Deal with it.

So, Mario Kart can be immensely harsh in this day and age, where there is a lack of difficult games on the Wii.  Nothing new, I suppose.  I just needed to get that off of my chest.  But one evening I’m going to get that gold trophy so I can finally join the ranks of people with licenses covered in little gold flags.

No, it doesn’t mean anything.  But getting that gold trophy is still going to feel rewarding.

Happy Belated New Year.