I think it’s purpose is to give you a further challenge when your running away with the race. Can it be a little bullshit? Sure, but Mario Kart has always been about overcoming the bullshit and winning anyway. Like in the original the CPUs had access to special items that you just couldn’t get and could use them without hitting item boxes. That’s bullshit, but it’s still in my top 3 best Mario Kart games.
Since you haven’t played since 64, I’d say give Double Dash or 8 a shot, there’s significantly less rubberbanding (there are catch-up items instead) and they change the way blue shells work. They’re still bullshit but they have a blast radius so they can potentially take out a few racers at once so you can fight your way back to 1st a little more easily.
I think it’s purpose is to give you a further challenge when your running away with the race. Can it be a little bullshit? Sure, but Mario Kart has always been about overcoming the bullshit and winning anyway. Like in the original the CPUs had access to special items that you just couldn’t get and could use them without hitting item boxes. That’s bullshit, but it’s still in my top 3 best Mario Kart games.
Since you haven’t played since 64, I’d say give Double Dash or 8 a shot, there’s significantly less rubberbanding (there are catch-up items instead) and they change the way blue shells work. They’re still bullshit but they have a blast radius so they can potentially take out a few racers at once so you can fight your way back to 1st a little more easily.