#draky kartrider

[kartriderville]

Thoughts on KRD's Season 4 Cinematic

So I wanted to get this out as soon as Season 4 was released, but I realized that I wanted to actually play the game before writing anything, so that’s why this is “late” lol. This was also WAY longer than I thought it would be, so I’m going to tag posts like this in the future.

But here it is! My thoughts on the Season 4 cinematic, and maybe a few theories.

Thoughts below the cut!

So, this Season is obviously Halloween-themed since this season’s duration covers the autumn months and of course Halloween itself, so it’s no surprise we’re including supernatural stuff.

In the beginning, we’re introduced to a scene of the ghostly population living in the town they inhabit, and then almost immediately the Rabbit Hole and her lackeys rush through the crowd and towards the looming castle in the background. That can’t be good.

We then see one of the new characters this Season, Draky, who makes a return from past Kartrider games. I don’t know much about him, so I’m pretty happy he’s back so I can get to know him! (Even if his story may or may not have been changed.)

He’s seen doing some sort of ritual, which was almost completed, but gets interrupted by the Rabbit Hole and co. who seem to be after that bell Draky has. A chase begins!

It may just be me, but I noticed this cinematic uses its time well, as it mainly focuses on what’s happening and the action instead of special effects or stuff that doesn’t entirely matter, if you get what I’m saying. I like that! It makes it easier to focus on what’s going on without getting distracted too much by other things.

Also, the animations are still very high-quality, and while I do prefer the more cartoon-y style they had for other collab animations, it’s starting to grow on me a bit honestly.

So Draky gets chased by them, leading them through all the twists and turns of the dark castle. Whatever that bell has inside it is important to him, and the Rabbit Hole is dead-set on getting it.

And one of Rabbit Hole’s minions actually falls out a window from going too fast I guess lmao. It got a laugh out of me because of how sudden it was because damn RIP dude 💀

And just as Draky’s about to get out of danger, the other two manage to stop him (why he couldn’t just zoom past them is beyond me.) They manage to corner him, and when he flies away as a bat, the Rabbit Hole throws a water bomb at him to stop him and steal… whatever essence is inside the bell. I have an idea of what it could be, but I’ll say more about it later.

This was a tiny bit sad, I suppose. Why did they do that to the poor guy? They must be using it for something important if they went through all that effort chasing Draky, but we probably won't get any answers about that until the next cinematic (or better, Scenario Mode.)

So with the Rabbit Hole and gang gone, Draky is left alone mad as ever, and upset. He bats the bell away, but magically, a ghost manages to arise from it. Spirit Kid! She’s also a new character this season. (She’s absolutely adorable, and I like her design very much. I guess KRD heard me wanting Tiera’s hat to emote and said “We’ll give you one better” and made a whole ghost that’s 60% hat 💀)

Seeing how upset he is, Spirit Kid tries to cheer him up and gives him the bell that he smacked away. This doesn’t make him completely happy, but at least he’s not as upset anymore with the reminder. The cinematic ends on this note, with Draky looking out the castle as it pans away. That should be it, right?

WRONG.

Because then we get another small animated clip after the main animation, and it officially reveals Miso as the Rabbit Hole, as well as the identity of her two followers… sort of!

Let me tell you I was actually happily surprised when I saw this part with a friend of mine. Not at Miso being the Rabbit Hole, but at the other two. (I will never not make fun of KRD for accidentally spoiling Miso as Rabbit Hole through a decal on the shop for like 2 days before catching their mistake it was hilarious)

Obviously, the one on the right is Rex, no one could dismiss that from his iconic outfit, but then the one on the left was a little harder to identify for me. I’m pretty sure that’s Derek, but that only leaves me with more questions for the future...

FINAL THOUGHTS (and Last minute theories)

Honestly, out of the cinematic intros we’ve gotten so far, I think this one is definitely up there because it’s the most story-driven we’ve received, and I always love learning more about KRD’s plot and lore, even if it’s bite-sized. It just makes this game more enjoyable for me as I play, knowing there's stuff going on in the background as I'm having fun racing. I can't wait for more!

I have a few possible ideas (theories) about what occurred during the animation so I’ll leave those here:

Spirit Kid’s whole deal is that she’s the little sister of Draky, but without her memories. That energy the Rabbit Hole stole from the bell is what I believe to be the rest of her- all the memories and basically what would’ve made her completely alive if they hadn’t so rudely interrupted Draky. Without it, she’s just a ghost without a body.

That minion on the left at the end of the cinematic next to Miso/RabbitHole was racing Derek, we saw them both at the same place during the WKC Season. Does this mean this Derek is a copy of some sort? Is that the real Rex, or is that also a copy? Possibly, but there’s also another idea to entertain: They’re from the same place Miso is, the future. According to the in-game description, Miso’s from the future and has come back to cause misery, so it’s possible those two were convinced (or forced) to join her crew and travel back to the past. But of course there's also the possibility of those both being the real Derek and Rex, and if that's the case, they better start explaining themselves >:(

And not really a theory but I noticed the description of the Rabbit Hole’s personal kart mentioned something called “Hexnium” and that it was powered by it/enabled it to time travel. I think it's a new material unique to KRD? I don't really have anything to say about it I just noticed it and thought it was a neat little detail.

Okay that’s it from me that’s a lot of words lol if you read all of this: thanks! I just like talking about this silly game.