Ive only played mario kart 64 seriously, and Im the champ by the way. Im used to leading or being close to first place, but I still completely approve of the blue shell. Using the shell does take skill because if you use it during a very winding part of the track, theres a chance it will hit a wall and become a waste. You have to time it so that the area between you and the first place driver is wide open, so that the chances of hitting a wall are minimized. As for being the leader when a blue shell is used, f you know its coming, get rid of whatever item you are trailing behind you because it could cause you to drop it beneath you when you get hit by the blue shell. If you feel it coming really close to you, make sure theres no way that you will fall off the track because that a much greater setback than being hit by a shell. It has its place, and some people rage at video games, or just like to be overly dramatic, which is what leads to the complaining, but it belongs, no doubt.

I always find it strange how Mario Kart punishes people who do good and rewards people who are doing bad.

In some games giving the losers a slight help back up on their feet is ok. For instance is CS:GO the cash "reward" for loosing increases slightly each consecutive time. This gives the loosing team a chance to come back without injuring the people with the economical advantage.

On the other hand we have Mario Kart which can destroy someones winning streak in half a lap. This makes the game luck based and makes it so that you can be ok at the game yet still do well.

well well well. 

I can't really cover the blue shell without covering item in genera first, so let's do that, starting with my experience with mario kart.

I freaking love Mario kart, it's my favorite of the Mario games right above Mario party and the Paper Mario series, I remember summers about 2 years ago I would spend 6 hours a day playing Mario Kart double dash with my brothers and sister. 

I swear, I have clocked over 250 hours into that golden nugget of a game.

Anyway, after having put something like 100/150 hours into the game, and doing some serious time trials at Baby park and Sherbet land. I had began to notice something (other than the fact I was winning 70% of the time on a bad day). 

It finally got to the point where I could very, easily "out drive" all of my siblings and win with a good 6-10 second lead on any given course.
I would always take the corners very tightly, and mini turbo at every given opportunity, and I always drove the same kart. (the barrel train) anything else I just couldn't get into really, I had become one with the kart.

Of course, I have all these wonderful tales to whip out about the close races, and my really good blue shell dodging skills (yes, you can dodge them in MKDD, though it wasn't intended by the developers, and can only be done in certain karts, ((thinner ones to be exact)))

wow, I'm getting nostalgic just thinking about it.... and very de-railed from topic.

anyway, I was a really good driver, and I know every trick in the book.... at least the 2003 edition that is.

but it dawned on me, as I was playing, how many matches would I have lost if I wasn't good a dodging blue shells.... 'cause I remember on multiple occasions, several blue shells coming at me in a single race, 3 players (4 player vs mode) shot 5 shells in a single race, and the items weren't on frantic either. (I still won the race, but that's beside the point).

After that, we decided to try putting items on basic, It made the race more focused on good driving, and a good green shell aiming, no more starmen, triple red shells, or Blue Shells.

It was most definitely a different experience, more like a standard racing game, and more comparative friendly instead of being light-hearted, or at the very least, changed the focus of how to perform well, and makes the removal of the luck element.

The blue shell in itself, it just one of the highlights, along with the Bullet Bill of the whole Item conundrum. luck vs. skill.

But to take out items, is like removing the heart of what Mario Kart is to begin with, well that's just messy and you would get a lot of fans to nag Nintendo for more of the old.

So it's kind of a lose/lose scenario. but don't forget the fact that Mario kart is not really built to be a hard core game, yes you can turn items off, and the stats are getting more detailed, and I like that aspect, but to do that removes the original feel of the game to some (not me in particular, but to speak for others, I think this is a fair statement)


tl;dr yes, the blue shell is an issue, but the game is to maintain balance, and not let the one good guy get to far ahead. It's a party game for all to have fun in and a shot at winning.

BUT 

it's an item that punishes good players and rewards bad ones, that's what it truly is a heart, heck you can even put a lot of other items into this category, like the Bullet bill and triple reds, but they can escape trial....just for today.


( I couldn't find anywhere good in the essay to put the below sentence, so I'll just put it here.)

I guess that's why in the last 5 years the acronym BS has been unofficially been changed to Blue Shell 

ROCKYROCKEST :
The blue shell is indeed a dangerous weapon...No! It should not be removed, as it is one of the most powerful items that turns the tide of the game, making it more and more unpredictable, and more re-playable. The same thing never happens twice in Mario Kart, and if it was not for the blue shell...THE GAME WOULD PROBABLY BE WAY TOO EASY!!! I mean, you can avoid the red shell with some good defensive skills...but nothing--NOTHING!--can stop the blue shells rampage. Even if you try to drop back a little because you hear it coming...it still locks in on you! Yes, Mario Kart would not be the same without this painful item. As the saying goes..."no pain, no gain!"

I really like the item, let me explain.
Kart races in my opinion, Should be chaotic, they should have items like this. It should not be removed, it makes the game more fun to play, and can add incredibly much to playing with friends. It's an awesome item. And I owe some victories to it.

I'm for it, really. I don't like how they fly in the newer games, that just makes it TOO OP. In games like Super Mario Kart 64 they stayed on the ground like green and red shells, so that you can counter them with bananas, fake item boxes, etc. But when they decided that blue shells have magical WINGS, then they made them too influental in the outcome of the race. They also made them EXPLOAD, which made the item even worse to deal with. I also don't like how the people in last place get better items and people toward the front get worse items, but that's another subject.

ROCKYROCKEST : It depends what position I'm in. If I'm in 1st it's my worst enemy because it can ruin my chances of winning. If I have the item however, then it's my best friend because I can take out the leader and hopefully make up enough ground to win. It's a love/hate relationship though more hate than love.

Well, yea, it depends: if you get hit by a blue shell, then the blue shells are the worst things ever xD
But if you are able to throw a blue shell to somebody else, then the blue shell is your best friend

I know when I played Mario Kart, every time I'm about to get hit with a blue shell, that does upset me because I might be close to winning it and get hit and lose. And two, this is quite the most overrated item in the Mario Kart series, because of how it's used. To my opinion what I think, a blue shell is a power-up at a high lever, which I understand.

I think that they're just like smash balls in smash bros. It's nintendo's way of keeping the game even and accessible to less experienced players, and to just give luck a role in the game. It's fun and keeps the game interesting, because it's no fun racing against someone who's miles ahead and it's impossible to catch up to them. 

I really don't like them cuase it literally is taking down the most skilled player out there, and if you wait for the last lap and the right time to use it, The player who was hit can't even get back at you with their own set of items. In fact, I wish that all the items were balanced actually. The thunderbolt is another one that comes to mind.

If you're playing Mario Kart for fun, then yeah, it's fine.

But I find that hardcore, skill based games end up sticking around the longest and making a player feel the most rewarded, So I'm not for this particular item, at least in the way it's been used.

If they made it so that you could dodge it though, at least intentionally, then yeah. That would be cool. ^^'

I Really dislike blue shells as they are way OP.

If a player is in first then that means they are best, and if you take them out using some cheep item, that's pretty lame.

Nintendo used this to try to keep it fair, but you can use one and take out multiple users at one time, and that just seems like it's really unfair to those players.

Also, no matter how good you are, you can't stop them and that is really unfair.

I think that blue shells are really unfair and OP.

Ah, Blue Shell, the most annoying item in the Mario Kart series (Especially when you're 1st place, and the Blue Shell is against you.). In my opinion, the Blue Shell can be very useful when it comes for beginners when they're playing any Mario Kart game. Like you said, with this item, some racers can catch up, but it can be annoying for other players because they are taking the lead. I wonder what happens if you use the Blue Shell in 1st Place... so, basically, my whole opinion about the Blue Shell is that it is the most annoying item when it is against you. It is also helpful for beginners, or for players who are way behind 1st place.

My opinion is neutral overall. I haven't really got it enough times but from the few times I've had.....It wreaks havoc on everything. It's been quite a monster those few times.

I do get mad when they fail me every now and then, bur in general, I support them a lot as they have mostly helped me a great number of times.

This is an easy question to answer in my opinion: Blue shells are good.

"They're unfair and cost skilled players the win they deserve" (a reference to a school of thought on the matter, not anyone here). Simply not true. You see, while they do cost the more skilled a win from time to time, Mario Kart has never been about pure racing skills, rather it's always been about zany racing/battle competitions. The truly skilled kart racer will almost always win still, though likely not the skilled simulation/arcade racer.

So while it does add an element of luck (which makes it more fun for Kart racing fans), it also adds a layer of strategy and thus requires skills that the typical racing game does not.

Long story short, Racing games and Kart racing games are completely different genres, so a certain item hitting you and knocking you out of first doesn't break the game or make it cost the best player the circuit win usually. Rather it challenges your ability at this quirkier genre twist of racing. It's supposed to play like this. Welcome to the kart racing genre.

This thread's description fits the item perfectly! xD

I think Blue Shells should remain in Mario Kart; unless you are far into first place, it isn't that difficult to slow down enough in time for it to hit whoever goes in front of you . 

If you are far ahead in first place, then it shouldn't be that big of a deal to get slowed down a little, should it ?