#but with NBT it's absolutely no contest

[rlyehtaxidermist]

Unironically: Skill issue. Proper boost tech makes acceleration irrelevant in SMK. Bowser and DK Jr. are the characters for SMK time trials, and most serious All Cups runs also use one of the two characters (though that's a bit more debated due to the impact of RNG, but they still have the best peak result).

Graph comparing the acceleration and top speed of various characters as a function of time in seconds, from the Japanese official guide for Super Mario Kart. The red line represents Mario and Luigi, the green line Peach and Yoshi, the blue line Donkey Kong Jr. and Bowser, and the orange line Toad and Koopa Troopa.

From this, it is visible that Bowser and Donkey Kong Jr. are at a severe disadvantage. While they have a marginally higher top speed than other characters, they reach it only after 8 seconds of continuous acceleration (which is constantly thwarted in a game like Super Mario Kart that has dynamic obstacles), and otherwise suffer from abysmal acceleration.

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