Monkey Monday 2 #10

Big Blue & Scratching Post

Happy Monday everyone! Today, I discovered a button on a website that makes a loud eagle screech when I press it! *press*- “SCREEEEEEEEE!!!” *press* “SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” I LOVE IT!!!!

You know what time it is! We got another issue of Monkey Monday for you. We’ll be looking at ____, we’ve got a new monthly playlist to check out, a new interview, and more! Hope y’all enjoy, and have a great week!

Monkey Monday 2 #10, button-pressing in…

No, no please, no, it can’t be.

No.

NO.

NOOOOOOOOOOO

HE’S BACK

VROOOOOOOOOM

Last week, I brought a TV into my room so I could play switch with my friends! That means playing Mario Kart has become much more convenient! With my renewed exposure to this masterpiece, I think it makes sense to make a…

MARIO KART 8 DELUXE COURSE TIER LIST

Disclaimer: This will be based off of 200cc, as I am an absolute DAWG at this game and don’t race anything slower. I also will be including DLC tracks! Lastly, within tiers the courses aren’t really ranked, as their rankings could change on any given day for me. Anyways, let’s go!

Our Template

City Courses

Paris Promenade

Paris Promenade*

Tokyo Blur

Sydney Sprint

New York Minute

London Loop

Berlin Byways

Amsterdam Drift

Singapore Speedway

Bangkok Rush

Athena Dash

Vancouver Velocity

Los Angeles Laps

Madrid Drive

Rome Avanti

Starting with the worst tracks in the game, we’ve got all the city courses! These courses are all (as far as I am aware) lazily imported from the mobile Mario Kart Tour game. Being that they were made for a mobile game, the courses aren’t all that great.

THAT BEING SAID, they don’t all suck. Paris Promenade, when it came out with the first wave of the DLC, was really awesome, so I don’t mind it. But as they kept coming, and coming, with each new wave, I got sick of them as a concept, as it just felt so bland and lazy. But yeah they don’t all suck, but as a collective whole they are the worst.

Barely Played/Don’t Remember

Daisy Circuit

Rosalina’s Ice world

Riverside Park

Moonview Highway

Piranha Plant Cove

Mario Circuit (DS)

Waluigi Stadium

Yoshi’s Island

If you have a keen eye, you would notice that these courses are all from the last few DLC waves, which was sadly after my prime Mario Karting days. I only played these ones enough to get 3 stars on 200cc, which took me like 1 or 2 tries. It hurts to be so good sometimes. While I can remember parts of these tracks, it didn’t feel right to just throw them in a random tier based off vibes, so I made them a separate tier.

Meh

Cheep Cheep Beach

Cheep Cheep Beach*

Royal Raceway

Sky-High Sundae

Daisy Cruiser

Ninja Hideaway

Excitebike Arena

Animal Crossing

Toad’s Turnpike

Mario Circuit 3

Baby Park

Kalimari Desert

Sunset Wilds

So now we get into the “Meh” tracks. I did literally just say that these aren’t really ranked within tiers, but the courses in this tier are NOT all created equal. The courses here range from me having played them a BUNCH and don’t care for them much anymore, to just straight up bad courses (shoutout sunset Wilds, the most boring course in the game). But yeah, courses like Cheep Cheep Beach and Royal Raceway aren’t too bad, they just pale in comparison to the higher placements on this list.

Good

Bone-Dry Dunes

Dry Dry Desert

Donut Plains 3

Twisted Mansion

Bone-Dry Dunes*

Mario Circuit (GBA)

Dry-Dry Desert*

Wario Stadium

Sherbert Land

Music Park

Hyrule Circuit

Wild Woods

Super Bell Subway

Shroom Ridge

Sky Garden

Snow Land

Merry Mountain

Rock Rock Mountain

Boo Lake

Onto the acceptable courses! These courses are all fine I suppose, but are mostly filler for the better courses in the game. Some of these are pretty memorable though, such as Twisted Mansion and Sky Garden.

Great

Dolphin Shoals

Cloudtop Cruise

Toad Harbor

Dolphin Shoals*

Mario Kart Stadium

Water Park

Sweet Sweet Canyon

Thwomp Ruins

Shy Guy Falls

Electrodome

Cloudtop Cruise*

Bowser’s Castle

Tick-Tock Clock

Piranha Plant Slide

Grumble Volcano

Rainbow Road (N64)

Dragon Driftway

Rainbow Road (SNES)

Ice Ice Outburst

Cheese Land

Rainbow Road (MK8)

Maple Treeway

Peach Gardens

Rainbow Road (3DS)

Squeaky Clean Sprint

Koopa Cape

Bowser Castle 3

Yoshi Valley

Alright, we’ve reached the largest group in the list. The courses that are all great! These courses make for fun, solid races. These range from quirky tracks like Dragon Driftway, to really easy, but well designed tracks like Dolphin Shoals and Water Park. These may not be the best of the best, but there are lots of memorable tracks here!

Hood Classic

Wario’s Gold Mine

Mute City

Coconut Mall

Mount Wario

Yoshi Circuit

Wario’s Gold Mine*

Sunshine Airport

Choco Mountain

Toad Circuit

Rainbow Road (Wii)

Mushroom Gorge

Waluigi Pinball

DK Summit

DK Mountain

Alright now we are getting into the certified bangers. There’s not much difference between this tier and the highest tier, besides how I was feeling when I made the list. These courses are all awesome and memorable. Some CLASSICS are in this tier, such as Coconut Mall, Mount Wario, Wii Rainbow Road, and Toad Circuit (yes, Toad Circuit, it’s the best simple course in the game, fight me.)

VROOOOOOOOOOOOM

Moo Moo Meadows

Big Blue

Big Blue*

Moo Moo Meadows*

Neo Bowser City

Ribbon Road

Mario Circuit (MK8)

DK Jungle

We’ve reached the MAGNUM OPUS of this game, the top 6. These courses are my favs. Big Blue is so GRAND! I get to drive past your mother on Moo Moo Meadows! Neo Bowser City is a MONSTER on 200cc, with some of the hardest turns in the game. Ribbon Road is super colorful and always competitive! Mario Circuit is so simple, yet so competitive, really testing your fundamentals. And DK Jungle is just SO COOL AND FUN AND HAS FROGS!

Anyways, thank you for reading all that. If you think you can beat me on 200cc, pull up to my suite and I’ll show you who’s boss. So yeah, this list definitely doesn’t reflect my thoughts on every single track, but is just a general, rough ranking so I have an excuse to talk about this game.

Final List!

-Nate

Pick of the Week

Aight y’all, it’s that time of the month! We are about halfway through November, which means we need a new playlist!

Got a bit of a twangy one for y’all this month. There’s lots of Jason Molina, MJ Lenderman, DERBY. Give it a listen if you want.

-Nate

Is It Ripe?

Speaking of MJ Lendermen, decided to give this album a nice, thorough whirl, as it’s been saved in my library for some time. We got a nice, twangy, singer-songwriter banger by Mr. MJ, which I first heard about from various critics’ top albums of 2024. Lots of critics liked it, and I do too.

This album kind of rocks. I like it, maybe you will too, maybe you won’t. Go listen and find out.

Favorite Songs: Manning Fireworks, Joker Lips, Wristwatch, Barking At The Moon

-Nate

Ripeness: 8/10

Interview Time!

This week we are interviewing the great AVA

Ashley’s Animals

The Stellar’s Sea Eagle is one of the largest raptors in the world, as well as the largest of it’s genus. They have a wingspan of 6’5”-8’2”, a weight of 11-21lbs, and stand up to 3’5” tall.

S.S.E.’s are monogamous and both parents take equal part in building their large nests and taking care of their chicks.

S.S.E.’s will make nests on steep rocky outcrops or in tall, open treetops in coastal areas all the way from Siberia to Northern Japan. They will reuse their nests year to year. However, these nests can weigh hundreds of pounds, and will sometimes break the branches they’re built on.

The S.S.E. is an expert fish hunter and mainly eats fish, but will also eat other small animals such as mollusks, carrion, and whatever they might steal from other local birds.

The S.S.E. is a protected and vulnerable species, with an estimated 4000-6000 individuals in the wild. This is partially due to eating lead contaminated carrion, and other food sources being depleted by over-fishing and overpopulation.

-Ashley

Parin’s Proverb

Flame

A pillar of life

Flame

A pillar of death

Same thing, different man.

Which man are you?

A house is built on the corpses of trees. To build, one must break. To grow, you must suffer.

-Parin

Can you believe this guy.

Quan Quotes

Verse Of The Week

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

Psalm 45:6-7