Danominator
Professional Goof
Towns Folk
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!