Bagging seems like it should be a valid strategy, let yourself go to the back of the pack to get better items, but run the risk of not being able to catch up.
It seems counter-intuitive to make a racing game’s optimal strategy to lag behind the rest of the other racers
Mario Kart is a racing game like Smash Bros is a fighting game; sure it fits, but you can’t really compare it directly to the competition.
Knocking opponents off the stage is close enough to lowering their HP to 0.
Being slower than everyone else is the opposite of being faster than everyone else. It does seem like it’s cheesing the system that’s supposed to balance things out.
Even items in Smash Bros has a skill component in getting to the item first. And “rubber band” mechanics like bonus final smashes (and items in general) can be turned off.
It’s also possible to turn those off (items and their distribution), making bagging a minor issue at best.
Isn’t the competitive default online in Mario Kart to have items on?
Eh serious tournaments disable items in Smash, the same isn’t said for Mario Kart.
It does, but for a real world parallel see bike sprints.
Is it because of wind resistance? The one in front cuts through the wind for everyone else?
Yes. But it’s a duel, so they’re just trying to stay behind one person.
You’re not allowed to stop, so you try and creep forward really slowly by doing bike stands until the last lap.
I dunno exactly what sandbagging looks like in Mario Cart, but I kind of doubt it looks this silly.
Interesting!
How would you stop bagging? Detect if someone brakes when moving to a lower place vs getting hit with items? That’s a bold change.
How they implemented it it is you can’t get a strong item if you pick-up the item box while being stopped (like as it respawns with no forward speed), by going in reverse or picking up the same one multiple times.
