Mario Kart Wii - 150cc Banana Cup

This is a capture of me playing through the 150cc Banana Cup in Mario Kart Wii for the Wii. This was recorded directly from my Wii (not the Wii U). I'm using my favorite character, Luigi, and earning a 3-star rating.

I didn't bother recording the retro cups back when I posted my playthroughs of this game two years ago, so I decided to do that now, especially since I just got done posting Mario Kart 8 footage.

Mario Kart Wii is possibly my favorite game in the Mario Kart series. I picked this game up on its release date in 2008 and it was basically the first home console game that I played online. During the first few months of the game's release I did a decent number of online races, but in the years following that, I only raced online here and there. I had a little more fun with The Conduit and especially Conduit 2, so I favored those games. Also, Funky Kong, hackers and random items hampered this game's online, which drove me away at times.

Nonetheless, I loved playing this game with friends whenever possible, especially using the splitscreen online function. Peter and Drew both joined me for quite a bit of racing and battle mode using this feature, and it was a ton of fun. The game also had excellent local multiplayer. I loved the fact that I could race with up to three friends while also competing against the AI. That made the game feel a little less competitive and a little more cooperative. To me, Mario Kart Wii just had the most content compared to any prior Mario Kart game, and it was endlessly replayable.

This game also features some of the best course designs in the series. Grumble Volcano, Wario's Gold Mine and Koopa Cape are some of my favorite courses, and I was really happy to see them return for Mario Kart 7 and 8 (although I despise Mario Kart 7). I can't think of a single bad or even mediocre course in this game. Unfortunately, the Wii's Wi-Fi Connection was shut down in May of 2014, ending the game's online multiplayer support.

Despite all of my praise, however, the Grand Prix has terribly imbalanced AI because of how items are distributed. If you're trying to get a 3-star rating, as I'm doing here, you have to rely on a great deal of luck. You have to race fast, finish in first every time, and not fall off a single course. Considering that a single blue shell or some other item can easily knock you off a course or out of first place at the last second, the coveted 3-star rating can present a massive amount of frustration.

In this video I completed the Banana Cup in the 150cc class.

Recorded with the Hauppauge HD PVR and the Wii's component cables at 60 frames per second.

I'm using a Wii Wheel.