'The Grandest Prix' is a Mario Kart game I invented with my friends, an inebriated gauntlet of all 48 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tracks raced back-to-back, the total points tallied until an eventual winner emerges at the end of Rainbow Road. Over the past 10 years we've run it so often that raw muscle memory has replaced any sense of its many winners and losers. As a result, I promise you that it's not misplaced arrogance when I say that I know very few people who can meaningfully challenge me at Mario Kart.
So when Mario Kart World reared its head, I was keen to check it out. Not quite keen enough to spend $500 on a Switch 2 straight away - not yet, at least - but as soon as I could meet up with my fellow racers, I took it. Jumping straight into Knockout Tour, which I'd been reliably informed was the best way to get the most out of the new game, I thought I'd quickly settle into the rhythms I'd spent so long getting used to in Mario Kart 8. I was wrong.
