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Mario Kart Wii is definitely a big game. Without a doubt one of Nintendo’s biggest games for its system. Mastering the game is easy without a guide as it is, but if you actually find yourself wanting to pick up a guide for any reason at all, this is actually a good one. I’ve been fairly critical of Prima Guides in the past. In the past I’ve often noted that their guides are usually incredibly disorganized leading to the guide being unreasonably thick. The Mario Kart Wii Guide gets it together. It’s very well organized and detailed guide that doesn’t have a ton of page flipping to be done. This is one of Prima’s better guides. With their guide you’ll be able to speed through all of Mario Kart Wii’s courses, and you won’t have to worry about slowing down either. It’s the perfect companion.

It wastes no time jumping into things. The first thing it talks about is all the different ways to control the game. After that it jumps into all the different modes and all the basic stuff about the game. As with most guides, it’s stuff you probably don’t really need to read up on, but it’s there if you need it. There are some good tips here though. If you’ve been playing Mario Kart for a long time, none of these advanced tips will be new to you.

The guide then talks about all the power ups. This section is also pretty helpful. It tells you all about the items and even gives off some great tips on how and when to use them. After all the items, the game goes into all the different racers and shows you all the stats for all the karts and giving their own commentary. Also in this section it’ll show you some of the natural disaster you’ll encounter throughout the courses.

The Drivethrough is the best part of the guide. This is where it covers all the courses. It begins with an introduction and then gives you some speed tactics. Each course also has a map whre it shows you a route to take (which is meant to be used for Time Trial). Showing you where to drift and where to boost. The maps themselves are also very detailed, also pointing out where some of the hazards are and noting them. Each section also details the disasters on the course and even talk about ghosts times. When it comes to the Time Trial, they also make it a point to show you exactly when you need to boost and they’ll tell you exactly what you need to make some of harder jumps or take some of the harder shortcuts.

Just the same, on the maps are two types of call outs. The first are for the course itself. These are numbered callouts that tell you what to do when you reach that point on the track. It’s stuff that’s meant to be used for Time Trial but a lot of it also helps out when going through the cups too.

The second is the simple “A” “B” “C” formula that worked in several of Nintendo Power’s older guides. Where you see those on the map you can turn to the proper letter and read about what to do. These are for Combat Tactics in the race. The guide also shows you where some of the shortcuts and secrets of the courses are, and it’d be great to use. Using the Speed Tactics and Combat Tactics together helps you to get ahead in a lot of the races.

Finally, there’s a brief mention of mirror mode. For the most part almost all the same strategies apply, you just have to remember that it’s mirrored.

There’s also a good deal dedicated to the battle courses. These are just handy tips you might want to use throughout the game.

The final section of the guide is dedicated to helping you unlock all the game has to offer. It’s done in a checklist fashion so that you can note what you have and keep track of it. It’s great stuff.

Prima’s guide to Mario Kart Wii is a very good guide. While Prima has had some bumps in producing guides for Nintendo in the past, Mario Kart Wii shows they can do a good job. There’s no wasted space, the screenshots are clear and the maps are detailed. This is an incredible guide for Mario Kart Wii.
Rating: 5 / 5

When our son gets a new video game along with the corresponding strategy guide, he sometimes seems to prefer the guide to the toy. He wears out the guides, reading and re-reading them, not only for tips and game-winning hints, but because he just loves reading about the characters and the different scenarios.

Mario Kart Wii’s official game guide is no exception. It’s a very worn, very popular paperback in our household.
Rating: 5 / 5

This is a decent enough guide for an addictively fun game. There is a lot of info in the book to help shortcut the learning process and answer many questions that arise over the course of gameplay. It informs you of the best racing lines and most of the shortcuts available in the game, although I find the maps confusing to read. The descriptions of different areas of a track aren’t always in order and tips are sometimes awkwardly described.

The characters and vehicles are described fairly well, but I find the descriptions of some of the play modes and gameplay actions are too brief. I don’t mind figuring things out on my own, but when I purchase a guide, I expect more detail of all aspects of the game – not just some of them. For example, Mirror Mode is not really well defined in the book and one is left guessing what it is until you actually unlock it and see for yourself. Same thing applies to ‘Retro’ cups – it’s often referred to, but not well defined.

Although there is a list of unlockable characters and vehicles in the back of the book, there should be more detail and emphasis on them since it’s such an important part of the game. They’re presented as more of an afterthought than an integral aspect of the game. Another thing I’d like to see is some form of an index.
Rating: 4 / 5