Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Yoshi Valley

History:

Yoshi never had a lot of money. It was cheap then to convert a large desolate valley in Dinosaur Land on the borders of the Donut Plains into a Race Course. Yoshi didn't specify an exact path however, and his course instead winds through the sun-baked valley as a huge maze, with little direction. It was never that profitable, though, and after years of low attendance and difficult viewing spots by spectators, as well as the angering fact that no one ever knew who was in first or last place, Yoshi   was forced to close it down in the late 90s.

Fates shifted and the young Dinosaur was able to re-open the Valley as a Nature Sanctuary for his own people in time for the 2014 Grand Prix. The Valley underwent some tremendous changes in the nearly twenty years in between exhibitions, but much of the maze was preserved.

64:

Yoshi Valley first appeared in MK64, and there's never really been another track like it before or since. Yoshi's had plenty of tracks but they've all been pretty different. Super Circuit featured Yoshi Desert, it became Yoshi Circuit in Double Dash and the Jungle Track Yoshi Falls in DS. It's interesting that Yoshi  is so adaptable to different course styles, but this was the original.

It mostly features a Giant Yoshi Egg which is the only overt connection to Yoshi himself. There's also tons of pesky porcupines, some dangerous cliff edges and finally, plenty of paths to choose from. Some of the variable paths are clearly better than the others but here are a couple of your best bets:


This path veers towards the left once the maze starts, which is tough because it goes through a porcupine-filled stretch as well as a narrow tricky path with no guardrails. If you can maintain a course without killing yourself though this is one of the straightest ways to go with only one major turn in the maze itself, although that one may be too out of the way.


This is the broadest, safest route, with not a porcupine in sight. It's also incredibly slow as it takes the driver on the most extreme route through the valley. This might be alright for Beginners or those racing in the 50 cc cup with terribly stupid computer players. Then again, you can get a long way by taking the shorter, more dangerous routes there.


This would be a nice route if not for the brutal 360° turn near the end with the threats of Porcupines, a drop and a lot of speed going into the Central Mountain. The first narrow bridge is also a tricky shoot to make. In all, not a great path to take.


This is going to be the fastest route, but it's also probably the most hazardous. Porcupines abound, but it's still very direct if you can avoid them. It's also the wider tunnel and it has no major turns or brushes with the edges or extremes of the course. Still, those Porcupines can be Satanic, so watch out. Just make it to the huge Center Mountain and you'll be fine. There are some other paths through the Valley but they're all derivative of these four main routes. Mostly the trade off is safety for slowness, but that's typical for Mario Kart. A good driver here is going to have good control, there isn't a whole lot of room to get some nasty speed going.

8:

This course returns as the Final Course of the Retro Leaf Cup in Mario Kart 8 with some of the greatest changes ever for a course remake. These are primarily cosmetic, as the course adds more mountains, rivers, water falls, and slight alterations in the hills and landscape to make the course feel very different. There are other more oblique alterations, though. That Red Route above now holds a Barrel Cannon to Air Blast players along the long distance. The Green Route also had its bridge replaced with a tunnel, which doesn't change too much but feels hella weird.

There are some other differences. The porcupines are now Goombas, and the Final Egg is significantly smaller. The Staff Ghost here is Yoshi, of course, who pulls a 2:28.814 using the Wild Wiggler, Standard Tires, and the Flower Glider. It's the only Ghost that features the Wild Wiggler as well as the Flower Glider. Considering that Air Travel is optional and not really the best route, you can bypass that entirely. The Wiggler is decent, not much Speed lost for heavy improvements in Handling. Throw on some Metal Tires to make it even more fearsome.

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