Mario Kart 7 controls like a breeze – it’s the easiest of the series to simply jump into and play and have a good time with. Without the more hidden mechanics from the others in the series (snaking, wheelies, inside/outside drifting) and with courses far easier than those from the past, especially with the addition of gliding and underwater driving, this is the Mario Kart with the least friction to get to high level play. It’s certainly still competitive – memorizing the courses and learning the item theory gives you an edge that will allow you to consistently place well – but through this increased accessibility, Mario Kart 7 became the highest selling game on the 3DS and helped save the system after its underwhelming launch.

While the courses may be easier, they’re no less fun – courses like Music Park and Piranha Plant Slide are phenomenal and the retro courses include tons of fan favorites, from Coconut Mall to Waluigi Pinball to Airship Fortress. Plus, its version of Rainbow Road is my favorite in the saga – it’s one long track with three segments instead of three laps and has you driving and gliding all around the vast expanses of space. 

Unfortunately, despite the extremely polished core gameplay, there’s a clear lack of care in other aspects – the character selection is absolutely abysmal unless you’re a massive Queen Bee fan, the lack of a versus mode to pick courses freely in single player is utterly baffling (it already exists in local multiplayer), and the new item, the Super Leaf, is comically unhelpful in most scenarios, as it can’t block any items without constant camera POV switching, needs to be extremely close to another player to hit them, and prevents grabbing another item while held.

The biggest problem with Mario Kart 7 is, of course, the fact that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s existence renders it mostly moot. It’s a game with mostly the same core gameplay and feel but with an absurd 96 courses, 44 characters, far more cart customization options, and more accessible local multiplayer due to being on a console versus on a handheld. There’s still reason to go back to other Mario Kart games – Double Dash’s core gimmick of 2 racers/cart still keeps the game fresh over twenty years later, DS’s single player mode is the best in the series, and Wii has the most passionate modding and competitive scene – but Mario Kart 7 can’t say the same. Like a breeze on a burning summer day, Mario Kart 7 is pleasantly experienced and easily forgotten.