Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011)

Can we just start this one by saying that more Mario Karts (outside of VR experiences) need first-person racing? This game had it, and it sucks that more don’t!

Anyway, Mario Kart 7 had a lot more to offer than just that gimmick. Mario Kart 7 made some big innovations for a handheld game, most importantly in the way players were now able to drastically customise their cars, and also how you could drive underwater.

The game is often criticised for leaning a little heavily on the rest of the Mario Kart formula (as if every game barring 64 hasn’t done the same thing), but that was always a little unfair, coming as it did on a handheld system whose primary innovation—3D visuals—could never really be taken advantage of in a way that could have fundamentally changed the Mario Kart experience

Indeed, for a game that at the time felt a little derivative, its introductions ultimately paved the way for a lot of the stuff that Mario Kart 8—which you’ll note we haven’t got to yet—does so well.