@Mop it up the basic mechanic of collecting and holding on to coins to slightly boost your speed is a great idea but it's just way too easy to get combo-ed out of all of your coins because someone got a triple red shells and knows the timing to hit me all three times.
my basic ideas for salvaging this mechanic are as follows
1. Tweak how many coins are lost when you get hit
losing 3 for running into a banana peel or general course hazard or for falling off a ledge(by my own actions, not because lighting struck me in midair on a gliding segment) on rainbow road? Sure keep that,
Two for being hit by any other item besides lightning.
One for being hit by lightning.
2. Tweak the way hitboxes work so that if I get hit by an item I gain a certain grace period that allows me to basically not lose coins if something else happens like say I fell off the ledge because I was hit while in a gliding segment.
3. Put more coins in tracks. It feels like they are using the same mantra in placing these things as they did in 7. That would be fine and dandy but 7 had only 8 racers and supplied enough coins to support 8 racers.
Mk8 seems to have failed to increase the number of coins given to accommodate 12 racers which leads to issues where it feels like the track is wide enough to take another row of coins.
4. Kill the coin itembox item. there are enough issues with item balance as is. That bitch in second has triple red's headed my way and you're giving me two coins?
Also on items let's have some fun with item balance as well,
1. Make lightning less common, for god sakes. The blue shell at least helps other racers catch up to me but lightning just annoys everyone.
2. Kill the coin item and blooper, neither of these are ever useful.
3. bring back the tanooki tail, mega mushroom, and the version of a star that gave a speed boost. Heck how about that bowser shell from double dash, let's bring that back, that seems fun.
4. Why do you have to have triple mushrooms surrounding me, that just makes me feel pressured to use them before someone can steal them. Also give the star that slight speed boost it had before 7.
5. Bring back the ability to hold a second item. I can understand having exceptions to this where if you use a more powerful item like a piranha plant or mega shroom you can't pick up a second item until it has been used (and by used in this case I mean the effects of the power up are gone so for example if you pick up a mega shroom you can't pick up a second item until you have used it and been returned to normal size.
6. introduce an item that basically sends some magikoopa or something to terrorize first place for a while. Maybe it summons a few airships to go out and fire cannon balls at whoever is in first place like in shy guy beach only a bit more frantic, just something that even if I avoid will still probably slow me down.
