Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's quips and loveable characters make it stand out from other kart-racing games. One might wonder how many kart-racing games there could be. Some notable titles are Mario Kart, M&M Kart Racing, Looney Tunes: Space Race, F1 Race Stars, Team Sonic Racing, Diddy Kong Racing, and Digimon Racing. Kart-racing games have been a significant genre of the video game industry for quite some time.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is on track to be one of the highest-selling games of the year—no pun intended. We love Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled for scratching out kart-racing itch, yet it may not live up to its closest competitor, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. These are 5 reasons why Crash Team Racing is better than Mario Kart (& 5 reasons why it's worse).
10 Better: Crash Team Racing Has A Single-Player Campaign
Aside from completing the various tournaments in single-player mode, there isn't much of a campaign to give the game variety. If you've played any of the other Crash Bandicoot game, you'll notice that Cortex is the main villain. Contrary to other titles in the series, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled uses a green evil-doer named Nitros Oxide for its antagonist. Nitros Oxide claims to be the fastest racer in the galaxy. He plans to take over the world and turn everyone into slaves if he isn't beaten in a race.
For a game that has a genuinely intriguing premise, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled goes above and beyond with its single-player campaign. Unfornutaley, even after all these years, Mario Kart hasn't integrated a full-fledged single-player campaign and continues to ignore fans' requests.
9 Worse: The Power Slides Are Overly Difficult
This is perhaps the most controversial entry in this list, and die-hard Crash Bandicoot fans have every right to negate it. Power sliding in Mario Kart 8 is intuitive and groundbreaking. Players who can master the controls of a game like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, including its power slide, have a significant advantage over other players.
In Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, however, power sliding is not as easy. Some players will prefer the mechanics of power sliding in Crash Team Racing because it provides a challenge, but it does grow tiresome over time, and it alienates casual gamers who just want to play for fun.
8 Better: The Protagonist Has A Purpose
Generally speaking, playing a game with a purpose in mind adds to its enjoyability. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled does an excellent job with its campaign that bears similarities to the widely acclaimed Diddy Kong Racing.
Having a protagonist who is bold, courageous, and hungry for Wumpa fruit is precisely what the kart-racing genre needs. Trying to save the world gives players a purpose and its this very purpose that has contributed to Crash Team Racing's being able to stand the test of time.
7 Worse: Crash Team Racing Has Fewer Maps
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a package bundle including all of Mario Kart 8's core levels as well as all of the DLC maps. It's a generous package that is a must-have for anyone with a Nintendo Switch.
Crash Team Racing falls behind in level variety and detail, but it does a heck of a job of competing with the behemoth that is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Surely a game that is almost twenty years old couldn't have beaten Nintendo's Mario Kart on all fronts.
6 Better: Crash Team Racing's Animation Is Like A Pixar Movie
Crash Team Racing's Pixar-esque cutscenes are a huge part of why we love Crash Bandicoot's latest remakes. PlayStation did a terrific job with Crash Team Racing when it was an exclusive, but now that the remake is available on most major consoles, we are truly beginning to see what Activision can accomplish with a multi-platform game.
The animation looks like it belongs in a movie. Mario Kart 8, one the other hand, doesn't contain dialogue cutscenes which is a major setback for the game.
5 Worse: Mario Kart Has More Iconic Characters
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's sizeable lineup of characters is possibly the most extensive we have seen in any kart-racing game to date. Luigi, Wario, Donkey Kong, Shy-Guy, Toad, Peach, and Link; the list goes on. Some people may prefer Crash Team Racing's characters, but it's tough to compete with Nintendo who has made it a goal to include almost every Nintendo character—including the Squid Sisters from Splatoon!
Don't hate on Crash Team Racing for having a smaller character roster, but praise Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for being a kart-racing juggernaut.
4 Better: Crash Team Racing's Marketplace Is Brilliant
Introducing new customizations to the game through daily deals in the marketplace was a genius move by Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's developer. By earning coins from online races and the single-player mode, players can use their hard-earned coin to purchase items.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled did microtransactions the correct way. Allowing players to purchase in-game items without using their credit card is ingenious. It can be assumed that most players agree with this sentiment.
3 Worse: Crash Team Racing's Gameplay Mechanics Are Not As Good As Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
With a new skin, Crash Team Racing shows that its gameplay was enjoyable enough that a sequel wasn't necessary. As a game that was created before camera phones, USB flash drives, Bluetooth, and Blu-ray discs were invented, it does an excellent job of remaining relevant almost two decades later.
With that said, Crash Team Racing's gameplay mechanics are not on par with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a masterpiece, yet Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled does an admirable job of competing anyway.
2 Better: It's Still Comparable To Mario Kart 8 Despite Being Almost Two Decades Old
There's no telling which Crash Bandicoot game will come to consoles next. Crash Bandicoot is now getting the recognition it deserves. Even as a game that has aged considerably, Activision was able to bring back Crash Team Racing in style.
Nothing is preventing Nintendo from doing the same with Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64, yet it seems unlikely those remakes will happen anytime soon. Hopefully, Nintendo learns that graphics aren't as important as quality gameplay and storytelling.
1 Worse: There Is Less Customization In Crash Team Racing
Sure, the menus of Crash Team Racing are easier to navigate. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, players only have several seconds to choose their character, vehicle, type of tires, and glider. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled shows all the customizations in an easy-to-view format, so players can quickly decide.
Unfortunately, Crash Team Racing has less customization than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it doesn't fall far behind. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled would thrive with more customization than Mario Kart 8, but developer Beenox was generous with their customizations, so it's hard to complain.