Honey Queen

History:

For eons the Queen of all Bees has held dominion over the Bee Diaspora throughout the Universe. The Honey Queen is their unquestioned Lord, as she is the Mother of all Bees. She hails from the Honeyhive Galaxy, a close neighbor to the Mushroom Galaxy. She has been a longtime ally to Rosalina and the Lumas and more recently encountered Mario on his Interstellar Journeys. As the thrill of the Grand Prix has been exposed on a more Universal scale, the Honey Queen became intrigued. She was able to join in the 2011 Tournament and even put up a planet in her galaxy for a Battle Arena.

7:

The Honey Queen is an interesting addition to Mario Kart 7. Likely it was part of a goal to well-represent Female Characters better, which is commendable. She is a Heavy character, making her the largest Female in the series to date, dwarfing Rosalina who is of the Cruiser Class now. Each Class in 7 has identical stats, meaning she possesses the same base as Bowser, Wario, and Metal Mario. The Heavyweights have exceptional weight and speed, but lack everything else in comparison to other classes. In addition to this, there are sixteen different Karts, most of which are associated in some way with a particular Driver. To add to this intense customization are ten different sets of Wheels and seven different Gliders, all of which affect stats, making any Racer fairly customizable to fit any playing style. For now we've taken the Queen's signature Kart, the Bumble V for a closer look:

The addition of Wood Tires and the Paraglider make the Queen ready for any circumstance. She has above average stats in just about everything here and excels most at handling, especially in Sea and Air, as well as Off-Road, Drift, and Mini-Turbo. She's therefore ready for the most difficult courses and can recover quickly in any situation. This lack of specialization makes this combination less useful in courses without Off-Road or plenty of straightaways, such as Neo Bowser City, but lets her take control on tracks like Cheep Cheep Cape, Piranha Plant Slide, and Bowser's Castle.

Every character has two Staff Ghosts on two Courses in Time Trial Mode. The Honey Queen appears on the Original Rainbow Road in the Royal Ribbon with Slim Wheels and Peach's Parasol in 02:10.090. She'll have the best of both worlds with speed and handling, tho her parasol will slow her down in the air, which Rainbow Road can have plenty of. She switches to her own Bumble V with Standard Wheels and the Flower Glider in 01:52.077. This combo will almost do the same thing, with a bit less oblique speed. She has that touch of intergalactic novelty and royalty that makes her a good fit here.

Her second Ghost is at the Retro Coconut Mall, which I guess is girly enough for the Big Bee. She does a 02:30.117 using the Standard and Slim Wheels again, but this time uses the Super Glider, which means she won't lose air speed. The Coconut Mall doesn't require the handling the Slim Wheels provide and you can beat her with some speed. The Expert goes 02:14.167 in the Koopa Clown, Sponge Wheels, and Paraglider, which is great around the sharp turns here but again loses Speed.

Coconut Mall

History:

The Coconut Mall was already a popular shopping spot on the Isle of Delfino before Daisy took it over. Located near Gelato Beach, she purchased the Mall and converted it to a race course that ended up being even more popular than it was as simply a shopping center. Nevermind the intrusion of Royal Influences on the Isle of Delfino, Daisy later gave the mall over to the Honey Queen, as with her Cruise Line booming and other courses burgeoning, the high crowds and demands became too much for her to handle.

Wii:

Coconut Mall is the second course in the Flower Cup and provides a good transition between the ease of the Mario Circuit and the growing complication of that cup. There is no major dangers here but there are plenty of multiple pathways, difficult shortcuts, sharp turns, and obstacles. There is no Off-Road here, except for a shortcut after the first set of escalators, and for the most part the track is wide but with sheer walls, allowing for plenty of chaos. There are many different paths, although for the most part one is clearly better than the other. The trickiest part may be making sure you hit an escalator when it is moving up and not down, which is on a timer that should work naturally with the progression of the course. If you get bogged down and fall behind that timing will be off (rarely, if you in fact get too far ahead you can beat the timing as well, although this is more of a Time Trial issue). The killer is also timing the final stretch of Boosts around the Cars.

The Staff Ghost here is Daisy, who uses the Sugarscoot in 02:30.764. The Expert switches to the Wild Wing in 02:13.333. Although Daisy is a good character for this level with is massive straightaways and moderate turns, Funky or Rosalina can do a little better with their Vehicle Options' Base Stats and if driven correctly there's no need to slow down or to have even moderate handling.

This track makes a comeback in 7, with some minor changes such as the lack of a final Car, making the final dash panel much safer to hit. The biggest change is the Airstrip on the Final Big Jump, although it's not as essential as Air Travel is on some of the other courses. The Ghost here is switched to the Honey Queen, who uses the Standard, Slim Tires and Super Glider in 02:30.117. The Expert switches to the Koopa Clown, Sponge, and Paraglider in 02:14.167. Her handling in the air will be superb but her land speed leaves much to be desired. Swap those wheels for Slick or Gold and burn it.