No blue shell is the worst item by far.  It means you lead the whole race and then get hit by a blue shell at the end and drop down a few places.  Thundercloud just means you were in the middle of the pack and so there was justification for your being punished.  plus you can pass it on and you can use it to take short cuts since you can use it on any terrain without your speed dropping.

I'm with amp on this one. Blue shells and red shells from 2nd place are the only real threats to first place. Getting the thundercloud is like being punished for trying to get an item when you aren't in first. It's the only 'powerup' which gets destroyed when you go through a cannon.

I was hit by a Blue shell while in 3rd place because the other two already finished. I ended up in 6th... is that supposed to happen?

Amp and FamousRingo have a point however, Red and Spiny Shells are the only items capable of taking Rol... I mean, the 1st place racer down. And you know they'll be using a banana or green shell to protect against the former item.

I hate blue shells.

i dont get it

Smeags said: I was hit by a Blue shell while in 3rd place because the other two already finished. I ended up in 6th... is that supposed to happen?

Yup. It always hits the first racer, except for those who have finished.

i like the blue shell in 4 player mode (offline), well.. depending on who i'm playing against.. because i find it (and a number of the other items) balance out our skill levels so that we are all good competition for one another.. meaning that i am no longer bored by continually getting first place, and likewise not bored by continuously coming last.. its like an in game handicap mode (that can't be turned off)

It might work then but in 12 player online mode competing against say 8 others of almost equal skill it is the most retarded thing ever as you can lead the whole race and drop from 1st to 9th at the end only because someone in the middle of the pack was randomnly given a blue shell.  It introduces too much (bad) luck into the game and I think it is an extremely retarded item.  Every other item balances the game (apart from maybe the thunder cloud) but the blue shell does the complete opposite.  If they fixed it so a blue shell only appeared if you were far far ahead I won't have a problem with it.  As it is it makes me come close to hating the game at times. 

I'm with Mike on this one. It's the unlimited shells hack.

@amp: Actually, depending on track, thundercloud is one of the best items you can get. For example N64 Mario Raceway is one of these, when there's practically no use for it in Rainbow Road.
Thundercloud is the most exciting item in the game, you never know will it benefit you or not.

I don't mind the blue shell too much, I do think it should be like it was on N64 though, when it followed the middle of the track before homing in on first.

That way it might take out others on the track.

OR... perhaps it also has an effect on 2nd and 3rd, but to a lesser and lesser extent.... like for 2nd place it takes the items and spins them, and for 3rd it takes any equipped items.


The thundercloud does suck because when you get it you are usually in 3rd or 4th with a huge gap to the next player in front.... It's the only item that is more likely to be a disadvantage than an advantage.