Joining me for most of these races were K.O.K. and T.Jefferson, perhaps known better here on YouTube as Falco18 and Overhazard respectively.
In particular, a lot of these selections will overlap with the uploads named Mario Kart Wii - Nov 1 11 A, B, and C on Overhazard's channel. If you hadn't already seen them, you should go check them out.
Since it's not every race, and they don't follow the same order, I'll make a note of each individual one that can be viewed from a different perspective.
---
1 November 2011
Koopa Troopa
Cheep Charger
I really love the feel of the Cheep Charger, because it's quick to accelerate and it can unleash a mini turbo that feels almost as strong as a Mushroom boost, which is a nice bit of feedback for someone who is completely addicted to drifting.
I often worry that its low cruising speed will let it down and give the many high-speed inward drifting bikes plenty of opportunity to pull away and pick up a lead, but that actually doesn't happen as often as I would have thought.
---
Race #1 -- GCN DK Mountain
I actually set up my recording session as I was already sorted into this room, so you won't get to see it here...but there's a bit of a strange matchmaking glitch afoot that I was previously unaware of. Essentially, I tried to join the room that I knew K.O.K. and T.Jefferson were already playing in, but it sent me to this one instead, a room with nobody I know inside it.
Weirder still, if you'll notice at the end of the race, it doesn't give me the offer to "Join a Friend"...so the game actually thinks I've found the right room somehow. Weird!
As for the race itself, having an acceleration-oriented vehicle with good handling makes taking the shortcut that much easier, though I must confess some modicum of surprise that it was enough to keep faster craft from catching up.
---
Race #2 -- Luigi Circuit
Unfortunately for the Cheep, Luigi Circuit really doesn't have many turns, so the normal top speed tends to leave something to be desired in terms of performance.
Finding myself starved for items at crucial moments really hurt my last-ditch hopes of trying to catch up by cutting through the infield.
Oh well, I came to realize that there wasn't any other explanation after conferring with my intended fellow players, so I ditched this room to try matchmaking myself back into the right company.
---
Rosalina
Flame Flyer
With a change of room, I decided to change character and vehicle, and for some reason I don't use Rosalina very often...although I will also recognize that there are probably other characters even MORE neglected than her, I decided while perusing the character select screen that she should get a turn.
The Flame Flyer is an old favorite of mine, although it differs somewhat from the Charger in that its acceleration is sacrificed for top speed. It is still very much a drifter's choice, though. I should maybe think about checking myself in for Drifters Anonymous.
---
Race #3 -- Mario Circuit
Also seen in "Mario Kart Wii - Nov 1 11 B" referred to as Race #6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fmvr6r2XyQ
Some rooms are a little more aggressive than others, so I got a little hot under the collar after taking just a few too many socks to the rear end and it probably shows.
You can see late in the race where this paranoia managed to take its toll on me and I accidentally tapped the item button a little too much and tossed along a Bob-omb
just a little too carelessly...but at least I didn't hit myself and happened to somehow catch somebody else in the blast instead.
---
Race #4 -- DK Summit
I don't believe I've ever seen so many stars in a row, although I'll admit that the reason I even had the opportunity to draw some of them was because I happened to squander a couple just so I could draw another item...which I realize is rather silly, given how I already had a good item beforehand.
The part that really counts is that I drew the last one as I was drawing nearer the front, thus sparing me the need to endure the shrinking factor of the Lightning that struck near the end.
---
Race #5 -- N64 Mario Raceway
Also seen in "Mario Kart Wii - Nov 1 11 C" referred to as Race #10:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YAFoBYGZxM
I actually thought that the second lap was actually the final one, so you can see my indecision as to whether I should try to muscle andres out of the way or try to pull a last-second slipstream off of him. Fortunately that whole quandary was rendered moot by the helpful reminder from Lakitu that we still had one lap to go.
What really drove the nail in my coffin was my landing after the final trick off the pipe tunnel...without actually triggering the vital drift necessary to cut around the freestanding piranha plant. Oops!
