[Participating in the NEXON PEAK Post Challenge]

https://peak.nexon.com/post/2342

Back when I played KartRider with friends at PC cafés, being good at the game meant a few simple things.

Knowing a shortcut no one else knew, timing a boost well on the final corner, or dodging a Water Wisp just before the finish line was enough to make you the hero of the day.

I was never particularly gifted at driving games. I often mistimed a drift and hit a wall, and even when I was leading a Speed Race, I would regularly lose my position in the final stretch.

Even so, I kept coming back to KartRider.

Races were short, and whenever I lost, I could see exactly why. I had taken a corner too wide, wasted a boost where I did not need it, or driven straight into a Water Bomb thrown by a friend.

I could try again in the very next race, without needing a complicated explanation of what to do differently.

If I were to recommend one NEXON game series with multiple entries, I would choose the KartRider series.

My First Memory Is of a Worn PC Café Keyboard

When I first played the original KartRider, learning the track names came before worrying about equipment or rank.

When a friend said, “Stick to the inside here,” I followed without knowing why. Making it through cleanly could suddenly move me up several places, while catching a wall meant being passed by everyone behind me.

I especially remember the moments when we held on to our items as we approached the finish line.

Once, a friend in the lead was hit by a Missile just as he thought he had the race safely won, and I slipped past to finish in 1st place. He said I had simply been lucky; I insisted that saving my item until the very end had taken skill.

We were still arguing about it for a while after the game ended.

Because of moments like that, I remember KartRider as more than a racing game. It was a place where I spent time with friends.

The original PC version of KartRider shut down in Korea in March 2023, so it is no longer possible to create a new account and play the game as it was back then. (NEXON PC Café)

Drift Felt Like a Familiar Game with a New Look

When I later saw KartRider: Drift for the first time, the unfamiliar visuals were the first thing I noticed.

The karts and scenery looked much sharper, and even the familiar characters seemed like newly made models. It resembled the KartRider I remembered, but I had to get used to the controls all over again.

In those first few races, the confidence that came from having played for so long only made me more prone to mistakes.

I followed my old instincts into corners and hit walls, or ended a drift too early and let the kart slide wide. When a friend watching beside me asked, “Didn't you say you used to be good at this?” I had no answer.

Still, I enjoyed the feeling of my hands gradually remembering what to do.

After a few laps, I began to recall where I needed to turn. It felt less like learning a completely new game and more like getting back on a bicycle I had not ridden in a long time.

However, KartRider: Drift also shut down on October 16, 2025. Rather than recommending it as a starting point today, I think it is better remembered as an attempt to take the KartRider series in a new direction. (KartRider)

If I Were Starting Today, I Would Choose Rush+

For anyone coming to the KartRider series for the first time today, I would recommend starting with KartRider Rush+.

You can start playing right on your phone, and it is well suited to a quick race or two. It also offers an easy way to get to know KartRider's distinctive characters and experience the atmosphere of its Item Races.

As of July 2026, KartRider Rush+ is still running, with announcements for Season 40 content. (NEXON Community)

I initially thought the mobile controls would be frustrating, too.

I was used to steering with a keyboard, so pressing buttons on a screen felt awkward. Even a slight slip of my finger sent me wide around a corner, and I sometimes missed the moment when I needed to end a drift.

After a few days, though, I began to appreciate the convenience of playing on a phone.

Without having to turn on a computer, I could fit in a single race whenever I had a little spare time. I did not need a long-term plan for progression; shaving a little off a track time or playing a few Item Races with friends was enough.

In practice, I rarely kept my promise to stop after just one race.

If I lost, I wanted an immediate rematch, and if I won, I wanted to keep going until my winning streak ended.

Newcomers Should Not Focus Only on Fast Karts

At first glance, the KartRider series looks simple.

But getting a faster kart did not immediately improve my times. If I did not know the track, greater speed only meant hitting the walls harder.

When I was starting out, kart performance mattered less than learning the corners and shortcuts on the tracks I raced most often. After a few runs on the same track, I gradually began to see where to slow down and where to use a boost.

Second, it helps to treat Speed Races and Item Races as different experiences.

Much of the satisfaction in Speed Races came from making fewer mistakes and learning the racing lines. In Item Races, by contrast, timing my items and following the team's movements mattered more than driving well on my own.

If race positions feel stressful right from the start, it is worth getting a feel for the game in Item Races before trying Speed Races.

Third, I found the game more comfortable to play when I stopped trying to keep up with every kart released each season.

If your current kart starts to seem weak every time you see a new one, the game soon becomes tiring. I had better results choosing one kart to use regularly and trying others only after I was comfortable with its handling.

Finally, I did not simply copy someone else's control settings.

Finger sizes and screen sizes vary, so a layout that worked for someone else could be uncomfortable for me. Rather than moving all the buttons around at once, I found it easier to adjust one or two positions and test them over several races.

Why the KartRider Series Stays with Me

Part of the KartRider series' appeal is that, even as the visuals and platforms change from one entry to the next, the underlying fun is immediately familiar.

The brief tension while waiting for the starting signal, the feeling of getting a drift just right on a corner, and the way a single item could overturn the standings just before the finish line felt familiar from one game to the next.

Above all, there was plenty to laugh about, even when I was not playing well.

Falling off a shortcut on my own, getting trapped in my own Water Bomb, or losing a race I had all but won at the last moment tended to give my friends and me something else to tease each other about, rather than making me angry.

That is why, with KartRider, the races I lost in strange ways stayed with me longer than the ones I won without a mistake.

Although you can no longer start playing the original KartRider or Drift, Rush+ is still running and offers the most practical starting point for anyone who wants to experience the feel of the series. Seasons and events may change, so check the official community for the latest information before you begin. (KartRider Rush+)

To me, the KartRider series is both a memory from the past and something my hands still respond to before I have time to think.

Even after years away, I find myself pressing the drift button at the first corner without quite knowing why.

And after I hit the wall, I always say the same thing.

“That race was just practice. The next one is for real.”

Is there a game series you find yourself returning to whenever a new installment comes out?

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