Mario Kart Mario Kart First Person Mode...without Gyro Controls!

[Danominator]

As some of you may or may not know, Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS has a first person mode, accessed by pressing ↑ on the D-Pad at any point during a race. The gyro can also be de-activated at any time by pressing Left, Down or right on the D-Pad. However, it comes with a catch: this mode automatically activates the gyro on your 3DS. What's strange about this is that you can use both the Circle Pad and the gyro whilst in this mode, making for a very confusing experience. To be fair, the gyro controls aren't that bad. However, if you tend to be an avid drifter in the game and/or are a fan of 3D, you probably want to leave this mode alone. However...
Recently I came back to Mario Kart 7 and found myself fiddling around with the settings, which are rather hidden within the game. They can be found in the Mii Settings of the Mario Kart Channel of all things. In this list of settings, there is an option to disable the gyro controls. Originally, I believed this setting to only count in Online races, or that it would disable the First Person Mode altogether. I turned it off anyway since I never used the mode, but found something very surprising: the game lets you use First Person without the gyro enabled! So...how well does this mode work now?
Here's the gist: Since you are racing in a kart, the perspective is very low, and cannot be changed. Using a larger character, kart, and wheels can somewhat alter this perspective. The mode allows you to somewhat see the Kart you're racing in, which is pretty neat when you're driving an open-wheeled beast like the B-Dasher. You can also see your steering wheel, which changes as you drive. The framerate remains unchanged in this mode, maintaining 60 fps. For some, a Time Trial in this mode might feel like a relaxing Sunday drive.

On a flat-surfaced track like Koopa Beach (shown below), this feature is really neat. It adds a new depth to Mario Kart and looks fantastic in 3D.

There's a problem, though. Since the perspective very close to the ground, it makes bendy, twisty courses like Maple Treeway and Rosalina's Ice World (shown below) rather difficult to maneuver , especially on turns where your kart might end up turning to its side. Since the camera remains in the forward-facing position, you might end up staring at the ground while trying to drift around a particularly high curve. This can be so difficult to control that I've turned off the First Person for these segments.

There are some perks, of course. Hang-gliding looks and feels awesome while in this mode, and holding items behind you shows up in a nifty little bar. Nintendo did put some true effort into making this mode work, despite the perspective problems.

Overall, I've learned to appreciate First Person Mode a lot more than I originally thought it to be. It's not great for every track (especially in Battle Mode where you need to be able to see your opponents), but it can be fun! Sometimes all it takes to renew a game's value is a change in perspective, I guess. What do you guys think about this? I'd seriously recommend you try the mode for yourself!

 

[CJ]

I never really liked the first person mode ><

As you mentioned, the view gets extremely small. Also, everything appears to be a lot faster than it really is. Drifts become annoying, since your entire view is tilted. Mario Kart is made as a third person. First person seems to take way a ot.

I guess people could enjoy it, but the above is just my opinion!

 

[Danominator]

I never really liked the first person mode ><

As you mentioned, the view gets extremely small. Also, everything appears to be a lot faster than it really is. Drifts become annoying, since your entire view is tilted. Mario Kart is made as a third person. First person seems to take way a ot.

I guess people could enjoy it, but the above is just my opinion!

Yeah, I was only making a post about it to try and revitalize its novelty, but I agree, it only works on simple courses. If it wasn't so darn low to the ground I'd probably enjoy the mode more. I've just been trying to get as much out of the games I have so that I can have a further respect for them, and Mario Kart got some more replay value out of me with the new mode. But whatevs.

 

[MegaStriker]

To be honest, I like the first-person mode because it looks like your the driver, like in many racing arcade games.

 

[Aura Knight]

Me and a friend challenged ourselves by doing First-Person mode on Rainbow Road, and it was awesome! You even get a bonus for doing the majority of the race in FP.

 

[luigiFTW]

Its fin to mess aroud with. But for some reason it makes you feel like you are going very slow sometimes. Scary to have big boulders coming at you while you are so short. Its fun though.

 

[Danominator]

Its fin to mess aroud with. But for some reason it makes you feel like you are going very slow sometimes. Scary to have big boulders coming at you while you are so short. Its fun though.

Oh yeah, you do NOT want to use this mode in Rock Rock Maountain.

 

[Tusix72]

That’s cool I’m gonna try it!

 

[MarioLuigi13579]

Spoiler: Gyro controls necessary?

First person mode is nice without motion controls, but there is something to consider. When you use 1st person controls, a white steering wheel will appear by your name (behind the stars, if any). You can get a GOLDEN wheel by using the gyro controls 80% of the time (when starting, thats about 80/100 races). The longer one races without gyro controls on (and even without 1st person controls), the harder it will be to get the wheel (but once earned, it is kept.)

 

[Danominator]

That’s cool I’m gonna try it!

Glad someone learned about it for the first time through my post! It's fun to fiddle around with...sometimes. xD

 

[Danominator]

Spoiler: Gyro controls necessary?

First person mode is nice without motion controls, but there is something to consider. When you use 1st person controls, a white steering wheel will appear by your name (behind the stars, if any). You can get a GOLDEN wheel by using the gyro controls 80% of the time (when starting, thats about 80/100 races). The longer one races without gyro controls on (and even without 1st person controls), the harder it will be to get the wheel (but once earned, it is kept.)

Ugh, I know. I gotta get back in the game and earn that wheel. Probably shoulda tried that first, I could be racing a while.

 

[Tusix72]

Glad someone learned about it for the first time through my post! It's fun to fiddle around with...sometimes. xD

I tried it and it was ok I’m gonna try get better at it

 

[NATT44]

That's really cool, even though it's not particularly practical to play the game this way most of the time.
I always find myself wishing that (especially Nintendo) games made it more clear what options you had available in all areas, or had more options/were more customizable in general.

 

[Shiny]

I'm not really a fan of the first person view. I think its cool how it looks like you are driving. Some courses look cool with this.

Its fun to fiddle around with the settings, yes. I've done it a couple times myself. I NEVER use gyro controls though. I think its hard to maneuver, tilting the 3DS. Using the arrows is a lot more comfortable.