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The Complete History of Mario Kart gamesCelebrating the 30th anniversary of Mario Kart with a look at every game and spin-off Words by
Chris Scullion27th Aug 2022 / 12:32 pm
It’s hard to believe that there was once a time when the karting genre didn’t exist. Over the past three decades we’ve seen countless IPs turned into ensemble racing affairs, to varying levels of success.
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Sophie Martin Member
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From gaming mainstays like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy to more unusual licenses like Power Rangers, The Muppets and Crazy Frog, there have been hundreds of karting games over the years all too happy to jam in a bunch of well-loved characters. None of this would have been the case had it not been for the success of Super Mario Kart, which turns 30 years old on the day this article was published (August 27, 2022). The enormous success of Mario Kart led not only to the inevitable sequels, but to the birth of an entirely new genre that continues to see new imitators to this day.
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Christopher Lee 2 minutes ago
To celebrate all things Mario Kart, then, we’ve decided to recap every game in the series,...
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Sebastian Silva Member
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To celebrate all things Mario Kart, then, we’ve decided to recap every game in the series, from the main entries to the spin-offs. Buckle up, then, and 3, 2 (hold the accelerator now), 1, let’s begin.
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Daniel Kumar Member
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The Complete History of Mario Kart Games VGCWatch on YouTube Subscribe to VGC on YouTube
Super Mario KartOriginal release – 27 August 1992Format – SNESPlayers – 2Characters – 8Tracks – 20 race, 4 battleCharacter debuts – Mario, Luigi, ‘Princess’, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr, Koopa Troopa, ToadGimmicks – The whole concept of an ensemble kart racing gameIt speaks volumes that many of the core elements of Super Mario Kart remain in the series 30 years later. The 50cc, 100cc and 150cc speed settings, which double as AI difficulty levels. The Grand Prix setup with its series of races and points totals.
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Kevin Wang 7 minutes ago
The fact that a green shell goes straight, a red one homes in, a Star makes you invincible and incre...
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Isabella Johnson 6 minutes ago
That Nintendo got so much right in its first attempt maybe explains why Super Mario Kart wasn’t ju...
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William Brown Member
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The fact that a green shell goes straight, a red one homes in, a Star makes you invincible and increases your speed, a Mushroom gives you a speed boost. And, of course, the fact that smacking your pal in the backside with a shell in Battle Mode is hugely satisfying.
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Sebastian Silva 15 minutes ago
That Nintendo got so much right in its first attempt maybe explains why Super Mario Kart wasn’t ju...
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Henry Schmidt 15 minutes ago
Completely replacing the SNES game’s engine, Mario Kart 64 used a trick that was common in early 3...
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Jack Thompson Member
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That Nintendo got so much right in its first attempt maybe explains why Super Mario Kart wasn’t just a one-and-done spin-off like Wario’s Woods or Yoshi’s Safari, and ended up spawning one of the industry’s most popular genres. Mario Kart 64Original release – 14 December 1996Format – Nintendo 64Players – 4Characters – 8Tracks – 16 race, 4 battleCharacter debuts – Donkey Kong, WarioGimmicks – Four-player multiplayer, blue shell, drift boost
When Nintendo first publicly showed off the Nintendo 64 at the Shoshinkai Software Exhibition show in Japan in 1995, it also revealed some of the games planned for the console’s launch. Mario Kart R, which would replace the SNES’s Mode 7 courses with fully polygonal ones, ultimately wasn’t ready in time for day one, but when it finally released as Mario Kart 64 it proved to be more than worth the wait.
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Charlotte Lee 1 minutes ago
Completely replacing the SNES game’s engine, Mario Kart 64 used a trick that was common in early 3...
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Sebastian Silva Member
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Completely replacing the SNES game’s engine, Mario Kart 64 used a trick that was common in early 3D games – because the N64 could only handle a certain number of polygons, only the environments were polygonal. The characters, meanwhile, were pre-rendered CG sprites (similar to Donkey Kong Country), which changed depending on which direction you viewed them from, to give the illusion that they were proper 3D.
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Elijah Patel 1 minutes ago
Mario Kart 64 also introduced a number of new ideas that quickly became series mainstays. By wagglin...
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Charlotte Lee Member
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Mario Kart 64 also introduced a number of new ideas that quickly became series mainstays. By waggling the stick while drifting, for example, you could build up a speed boost, a concept that remains to this day (minus the waggle, thankfully). Most notable though was the introduction of the notorious blue shell, the most dreaded weapon in Mario Kart history and the ‘great leveller’ which ensured nobody could ever get too good at the game.
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Isaac Schmidt 34 minutes ago
Mario Kart Super CircuitOriginal release – 21 July 2001Format – Game Boy AdvancePlayers – 4Ch...
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Hannah Kim Member
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Mario Kart Super CircuitOriginal release – 21 July 2001Format – Game Boy AdvancePlayers – 4Characters – 8Tracks – 40 race, 4 battleCharacter debuts – NoneGimmicks – First handheld Mario Kart, retro courses
Originally announced as Mario Kart Advance, this was one of the first games Nintendo revealed to show off the power of its new Game Boy Advance handheld. It worked, too.
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Henry Schmidt 1 minutes ago
While many assumed the GBA was essentially a handheld SNES, Mario Kart Super Circuit showed it actu...
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Amelia Singh 3 minutes ago
It was a proper “wow” moment, and the unlocking of retro tracks has become a Mario Kart traditio...
While many assumed the GBA was essentially a handheld SNES, Mario Kart Super Circuit showed it actually had more power. Instead of a straight SNES port, Super Circuit looked more like a halfway point between Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, with rotating tracks imitating the Mode 7 trickery of the SNES game, but the character models and features of the N64 one (like four-player multiplayer and blue shells). Most impressive, though, was the ability to unlock every Super Mario Kart track, doubling the number of courses from 20 to 40.
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David Cohen 1 minutes ago
It was a proper “wow” moment, and the unlocking of retro tracks has become a Mario Kart traditio...
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Ava White 14 minutes ago
The idea of riding solo was ditched entirely: all karts were now driven by two characters at a time ...
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Zoe Mueller Member
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It was a proper “wow” moment, and the unlocking of retro tracks has become a Mario Kart tradition ever since. Mario Kart Double Dash Original release – 7 November 2003Format – GameCubePlayers – 4 (16 over LAN)Characters – 20Tracks – 16 race, 6 battleCharacter debuts – Daisy, Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Koopa Paratroopa, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr, Waluigi, Toadette, Petey Piranha, King BooGimmicks – Two characters per kart, selectable vehicles, LAN multiplayer
Double Dash!! marked a bold diversion in the series, and not just because of its grammatically unforgivable decision to have two exclamation marks in the title.
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Chloe Santos 28 minutes ago
The idea of riding solo was ditched entirely: all karts were now driven by two characters at a time ...
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Evelyn Zhang 26 minutes ago
Not only that, but one of them (Toadette) was making her first appearance in any Mario game, seeming...
The idea of riding solo was ditched entirely: all karts were now driven by two characters at a time (one at the front driving, one at the back throwing weapons). Because of this new mechanic, Nintendo also had to drastically increase the number of playable characters, which up until this point had been a constant eight in every game. As a result, more than half of Double Dash’s roster was made up of debut characters appearing in a Mario Kart game for the first time.
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Christopher Lee 15 minutes ago
Not only that, but one of them (Toadette) was making her first appearance in any Mario game, seeming...
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Harper Kim 4 minutes ago
Each character had their own unique weapon that only they could use (similar to something only AI op...
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Andrew Wilson Member
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Not only that, but one of them (Toadette) was making her first appearance in any Mario game, seemingly so that Toad could have a partner. Double Dash!! also introduced a new feature that hasn’t been seen since: special items.
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Elijah Patel 8 minutes ago
Each character had their own unique weapon that only they could use (similar to something only AI op...
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Elijah Patel Member
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Each character had their own unique weapon that only they could use (similar to something only AI opponents could do in the SNES original). Mario and Luigi had fireballs. Peach and Daisy could spawn hearts to protect their kart.
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Alexander Wang 29 minutes ago
Donkey and Diddy had a massive banana they could throw. That sort of thing. One other new idea that ...
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Ella Rodriguez Member
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Donkey and Diddy had a massive banana they could throw. That sort of thing. One other new idea that did stick around, though, was the addition of different karts you could choose between, rather than generic karts for everyone.
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James Smith 27 minutes ago
This increased the possibilities when it came to choosing a set-up that best suited your racing styl...
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Sophia Chen 50 minutes ago
You know, because everyone knew seven mates who had GameCubes and were happy to carry their big CRT ...
This increased the possibilities when it came to choosing a set-up that best suited your racing style. Finally, the game introduced LAN play, allowing players to connect up to eight GameCubes locally so that up to 16 players could race.
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Dylan Patel Member
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You know, because everyone knew seven mates who had GameCubes and were happy to carry their big CRT TVs around. Notice: To display this embed please allow the use of Functional Cookies in Cookie Preferences. Mario Kart DSOriginal release – 14 November 2005Format – Nintendo DSPlayers – 8 (4 online)Characters – 12Tracks – 32 race, 6 battleCharacter debuts – Dry Bones, R.O.B., Shy GuyGimmicks – Online multiplayer, Mission mode
After the ‘two racers’ concept split Mario Kart fans, Nintendo decided to dial the crazy back a bit and go back to normal single-character karts for its second handheld title.
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Madison Singh Member
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A couple of things did remain though, including the ability to select your kart, as well as the general game engine, which continues in a modified form to this day. Mario Kart DS wasn’t without its own innovations.
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Julia Zhang Member
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It added a couple of new items – the Blooper and the Bullet Bill – which were annoying and fantastic respectively. It also introduced a brilliant Mission mode, which gave the player 63 different challenges to play through, from collecting all the coins in one lap, to driving a section backwards within a set time limit, to even taking part in boss battles. Sadly, this mode never caught on, and was never seen again.
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Daniel Kumar Member
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What was, though, was online multiplayer, which made its debut in Mario Kart DS and quickly became popular, even though the DS’s Wi-Fi connection was spottier than a teenager with the measles. Mario Kart Arcade GPOriginal release – 19 November 2005Format – ArcadePlayers – 4Characters – 11Tracks – 12 (race only)Character debuts – Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man, BlinkyGimmicks – The first arcade Mario Kart, Pac-Man crossover
In the early 2000s, a groundbreaking deal was struck in which Nintendo, Sega and Namco teamed up to create a new arcade system board called the Triforce.
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Lucas Martinez 96 minutes ago
Despite the sales pitch, Triforce was really just a modified version of the GameCube hardware, but t...
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Sofia Garcia Member
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Despite the sales pitch, Triforce was really just a modified version of the GameCube hardware, but the interesting thing about the deal was that Nintendo was allowing its racing franchises to be handled by someone else for the first time, passing duties over to their new pals. Sega got the nod to work on F-Zero AX and GX, which were released in arcades and on the GameCube respectively.
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Andrew Wilson Member
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Namco, meanwhile, was handed the keys to the hallowed Mario Kart licence. The result was Mario Kart Arcade GP. This was similar to other Mario Kart games in a number of ways, but very different in others.
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Ava White 19 minutes ago
It offered a ridiculous 93 different types of item, three of which were chosen at random for each ra...
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Mia Anderson Member
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It offered a ridiculous 93 different types of item, three of which were chosen at random for each race. It also took your photo before you raced and added a comedy Mario hat and moustache so other players could see your icon as you overtook them.
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William Brown 91 minutes ago
And when you were done you could print out a little ticket with your progress on it and insert it in...
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Jack Thompson 89 minutes ago
Arcade GP 2 wasn’t a proper ‘sequel’ in the true sense of the word, it’s better described as...
And when you were done you could print out a little ticket with your progress on it and insert it into the arcade cabinet to continue the next time you played. The thing Arcade GP was best known for, however, was introducing the first non-Nintendo guest characters to the series – Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man and the red Pac-Man ghost Blinky. Mario Kart Arcade GP 2Original release – 14 March 2007Format – ArcadePlayers – 4Characters – 13Tracks – 16 (race only)Character debuts – MametchiGimmicks – Tamagotchi crossover
The first Mario Kart Arcade GP was so successful that Namco (now known as Namco Bandai) decided to release a follow-up.
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Mia Anderson Member
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Arcade GP 2 wasn’t a proper ‘sequel’ in the true sense of the word, it’s better described as an enhanced version of the original which added more of everything. Four more tracks were added: two Yoshi-themed ones and two stadium-themed ones.
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Isaac Schmidt 1 minutes ago
It also added extra comedy frames for your photo so you could choose to make yourself look like a pi...
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Dylan Patel 14 minutes ago
We’ll explain. Namco’s merger with toy company Bandai meant it got to use all its licences too, ...
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Ryan Garcia Member
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It also added extra comedy frames for your photo so you could choose to make yourself look like a pirate or a bear. Most notably though, it added two more characters: Waluigi and Mametchi. Ma-who-tchi?
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Sophia Chen 22 minutes ago
We’ll explain. Namco’s merger with toy company Bandai meant it got to use all its licences too, ...
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Lily Watson Moderator
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We’ll explain. Namco’s merger with toy company Bandai meant it got to use all its licences too, hence the addition of Mametchi, a character from the Tamagotchi virtual pet craze. Mario Kart WiiOriginal release – 10 April 2008Format – WiiPlayers – 4 (12 online)Characters – 25Tracks – 32 race, 10 battleCharacter debuts – Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Dry Bowser, Funky Kong, MiiGimmicks – Bikes, jump tricks, motion control, plastic steering wheel gizmo
By the time April 2008 rolled along it had been nearly five years since Double-Dash, so console players – many of whom were enjoying Nintendo’s resurgence with the Wii – were well and truly jonesing for a new helping of Mario Kart goodness.
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Mason Rodriguez 2 minutes ago
Imagine the celebrations, then, when Mario Kart Wii turned up a year and a half into the Wii’s lif...
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Joseph Kim 11 minutes ago
And it had Funky Kong in it, which instantly qualifies it as one of the best video games ever create...
Imagine the celebrations, then, when Mario Kart Wii turned up a year and a half into the Wii’s life, offering more characters than in any Mario game so far. Like the DS version, it included online multiplayer – not just for four players as in the handheld, but up to 12.
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Lucas Martinez Moderator
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And it had Funky Kong in it, which instantly qualifies it as one of the best video games ever created. Mario Kart Wii was also important for another reason: it was the first in the series which really could be played by anyone. Although Mario Kart’s relatively simplistic gameplay meant previous entries could be played by most, those who’d never touched a controller in their lives were clearly still at a handicap.
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Liam Wilson 66 minutes ago
With the introduction of motion controls and the plastic Wii Wheel accessory that came with the game...
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Kevin Wang Member
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With the introduction of motion controls and the plastic Wii Wheel accessory that came with the game, Mario Kart was suddenly far more approachable for complete beginners. The result of this was obvious: with 37 million copies sold, it not only became the best-selling Mario Kart game (at the time), but the best-selling racing game ever and one of the best-selling games in history. Not even the inclusion of bikes – which are objectively rubbish – could ruin what was arguably the highest point of the series to date.
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Zoe Mueller 15 minutes ago
Mario Kart 7Original release – 1 December 2011Format – Nintendo 3DSPlayers – 8 (8 online)Chara...
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Kevin Wang 26 minutes ago
That’s right – Mario Kart 7 added flying sections that kicked in any time you went off a special...
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Grace Liu Member
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Mario Kart 7Original release – 1 December 2011Format – Nintendo 3DSPlayers – 8 (8 online)Characters – 17Tracks – 32 race, 6 battleCharacter debuts – Metal Mario, Honey Queen, Wiggler, LakituGimmicks – Kart customisation, underwater racing, gliding
Nintendo knew it was onto a winner with Mario Kart Wii, so its next handheld offering was more of the same, only better. The big new addition this time was the ability to fully customise your kart: instead of choosing from a bunch of pre-existing vehicles you could now combine different body, wheel and glider types to create your own. Glider types?
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Isabella Johnson 14 minutes ago
That’s right – Mario Kart 7 added flying sections that kicked in any time you went off a special...
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Sebastian Silva 1 minutes ago
The Fire Flower introduced some mild carnage to proceedings by letting you chuck a bunch of fireball...
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Emma Wilson Admin
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That’s right – Mario Kart 7 added flying sections that kicked in any time you went off a special blue ramp, and also let players drive underwater for the first time. Mario Kart 7 also added a few new items.
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Alexander Wang 84 minutes ago
The Fire Flower introduced some mild carnage to proceedings by letting you chuck a bunch of fireball...
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Christopher Lee Member
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The Fire Flower introduced some mild carnage to proceedings by letting you chuck a bunch of fireballs across the tracks, while the Super Leaf gave you a raccoon tail you could use to hit enemies or – if you timed it right – deflect missiles. The Lucky Seven, though, was the most ridiculous item of the lot.
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Henry Schmidt 56 minutes ago
It granted the player with a Mushroom, a Banana, a Red Shell, a Green Shell, a Blooper, a Bob-omb an...
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Ella Rodriguez 2 minutes ago
Mario Kart Arcade GP DXOriginal release – 25 July 2013Format – ArcadePlayers – 4Characters –...
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Sophie Martin Member
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It granted the player with a Mushroom, a Banana, a Red Shell, a Green Shell, a Blooper, a Bob-omb and a Star all at once. It was a bit much.
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Emma Wilson Admin
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Mario Kart Arcade GP DXOriginal release – 25 July 2013Format – ArcadePlayers – 4Characters – 16Tracks – 12 (race only)Character debuts – Don-chanGimmicks – Fusion Karts, Taiko no Tatsujin crossover
Not content with having two Mario Kart arcade games, Namco Bandai released a third in 2013. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX was another improved take on its predecessors, but it did add a couple of new ideas, including one particularly interesting co-op gimmick. Two players could now race together in a team, helping each other out.
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Jack Thompson 19 minutes ago
If one player picked up a special Fusion item, they could trigger it to activate the Fusion Kart. Th...
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Christopher Lee Member
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If one player picked up a special Fusion item, they could trigger it to activate the Fusion Kart. This teleported their partner over to them and fused both their karts together to form a massive tank thing.
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Emma Wilson 39 minutes ago
One player could drive it while the other used the wheel to aim its turret and fire missiles. It’s...
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Noah Davis 52 minutes ago
Don-chan, the hero from Namco’s Taiko no Tatsujin (Taiko Drum Master) games, made his Mario Kart d...
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Julia Zhang Member
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One player could drive it while the other used the wheel to aim its turret and fire missiles. It’s a bit like Halo, when one player is driving the Warthog and the other is manning the gun, except instead of Master Chief it’s Mario and Peach. The other additions were more straightforward.
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Sophia Chen 22 minutes ago
Don-chan, the hero from Namco’s Taiko no Tatsujin (Taiko Drum Master) games, made his Mario Kart d...
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Ava White 21 minutes ago
Mario Kart 8Original release – 29 May 2014Format – Wii UPlayers – 4 (12 online)Characters – ...
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Dylan Patel Member
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Don-chan, the hero from Namco’s Taiko no Tatsujin (Taiko Drum Master) games, made his Mario Kart debut, while even more items were added to bring the total up to a frankly daft 100. Meanwhile, players could choose the ‘alter-egos’ of some characters, meaning the likes of Tanooki Mario, Ice Luigi and Dry Bowser were added to the game.
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Jack Thompson Member
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Mario Kart 8Original release – 29 May 2014Format – Wii UPlayers – 4 (12 online)Characters – 30 (36 with DLC)Tracks – 32 (48 with DLC)Character debuts – Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, Larry, Wendy, Ludwig, Morton, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach, Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link, Villager, IsabelleGimmicks – Anti-gravity racing, ATVs, amiibo costumes, downloadable content
The Wii U may not have been the success Nintendo had been hoping for – far from it – but it did at least get arguably the best ever Mario Kart. Mario Kart 8 wasn’t revolutionary in any way, it just took everything that worked well in the entries before it and crammed it all into one glorious package.
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Scarlett Brown 55 minutes ago
It did have some ideas – the addition of anti-gravity racing was a surprisingly subtle but enterta...
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Aria Nguyen Member
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It did have some ideas – the addition of anti-gravity racing was a surprisingly subtle but entertaining new trick that made for mind-bending track layouts. The gliding and underwater racing from Mario Kart 7 returned, making their home console debuts, while the bikes from Mario Kart Wii also came back (joined this time by ATVs). It was simply an amalgamation of all the best things from the previous games, and got even better when it became the first Mario Kart game to offer downloadable content.
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Natalie Lopez 44 minutes ago
The DLC also threw in crossovers with other Nintendo franchises, bringing the likes of Zelda, Animal...
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Jack Thompson 3 minutes ago
Maybe if it had been on a more popular system, more people would buy it. Hmmmm....
The DLC also threw in crossovers with other Nintendo franchises, bringing the likes of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero and Excitebike to Mario Kart for the first time. The only thing missing was high sales figures. High for Mario Kart, we mean – it still sold great for a Wii U game.
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Alexander Wang 4 minutes ago
Maybe if it had been on a more popular system, more people would buy it. Hmmmm....
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Thomas Anderson 18 minutes ago
Mario Kart 8 DeluxeOriginal release – 28 April 2017Format – Nintendo SwitchPlayers – 4 (12 onl...
Maybe if it had been on a more popular system, more people would buy it. Hmmmm.
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Sophie Martin 207 minutes ago
Mario Kart 8 DeluxeOriginal release – 28 April 2017Format – Nintendo SwitchPlayers – 4 (12 onl...
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Kevin Wang 203 minutes ago
It’s not without improvements. The rendering resolution is now 1080p instead of 720p (when played ...
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Grace Liu Member
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Mario Kart 8 DeluxeOriginal release – 28 April 2017Format – Nintendo SwitchPlayers – 4 (12 online)Characters – 42Tracks – 48 race (96 with DLC), 8 battleCharacter debuts – Inkling Girl, Inkling BoyGimmicks – Playable on both TV and handheld, Splatoon crossover
There can be little argument that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best Mario Kart game ever made. Technically it’s not a new game – this is the first time a Mario Kart title is essentially a ‘special edition’ of the one that came before it. However, given that Mario Kart 8 didn’t reach its full potential because of the system it originally released on, most were willing to give it a second chance at the spotlight, one it’s taken with gusto.
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Joseph Kim 16 minutes ago
It’s not without improvements. The rendering resolution is now 1080p instead of 720p (when played ...
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Isabella Johnson Member
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176 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
It’s not without improvements. The rendering resolution is now 1080p instead of 720p (when played on a TV), and six more characters have been added to the roster, including two from Splatoon.
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Dylan Patel 95 minutes ago
A proper Battle Mode has also been added to make up for the widely criticised Wii U one, with eight ...
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David Cohen 171 minutes ago
This means by the end of 2023, the game’s going to have 96 courses, just in case it wasn’t alrea...
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Sofia Garcia Member
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90 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
A proper Battle Mode has also been added to make up for the widely criticised Wii U one, with eight arenas and five different battle modes. Nintendo also kicked things up a notch earlier this year when it launched the Booster Course Pass, which is in the process of adding another 48 tracks over six waves.
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Grace Liu Member
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Tuesday, 06 May 2025
This means by the end of 2023, the game’s going to have 96 courses, just in case it wasn’t already clear that it’s the best of the bunch. Mario Kart Arcade GP VROriginal release – 14 July 2017Format – ArcadePlayers – 1-4Characters – 6 (only 4 are playable)Tracks – 1Character debuts – NoneGimmicks – Virtual reality
Nintendo hardly ever dabbles with virtual reality, and in a sense it didn’t here either: like the other Mario Kart Arcade GP titles, this one was mainly handled by Bandai Namco.
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Scarlett Brown 35 minutes ago
As the name suggests, it’s a virtual reality take on Mario Kart in which up to four players compet...
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Elijah Patel 12 minutes ago
With only one track and four characters to choose from, it’s clear that Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is...
As the name suggests, it’s a virtual reality take on Mario Kart in which up to four players compete against each other while wearing a VR headset. Instead of pressing a button to throw weapons, players have to make a throwing motion with their hand which is registered by a little gizmo they wear on their wrist.
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David Cohen 17 minutes ago
With only one track and four characters to choose from, it’s clear that Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is...
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Isaac Schmidt 15 minutes ago
That all changed in the mid 2010s, when the likes of Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and New Super Mari...
With only one track and four characters to choose from, it’s clear that Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is more a one-off gimmick than a bonafide, fully-featured Mario Kart game. As a pure spectacle, however, it’s certainly something that’s worth tracking down, even though there are very few units actually out in the wild and you have a good chance of feeling sick after you play it. Mario Kart TourOriginal release – 25 September 2019Format – MobilePlayers – 1-8Characters – 175 to dateTracks – 89 to date (rotating selection)Character debuts – Peachette, Pauline, Hammer Bro, Monty Mole, Dixie Kong, Captain Toad, Nabbit, Kamek, Chargin’ Chuck (among others)Gimmicks – First mobile entry, live service Mario Kart
For the longest time, Nintendo resisted the urge to make the jump to mobile gaming, insisting that its own hardware was the best home for its creations.
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Madison Singh Member
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Tuesday, 06 May 2025
That all changed in the mid 2010s, when the likes of Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and New Super Mario Bros made the jump (literally, in the latter’s case) to Android and iOS devices. Mario Kart followed suit in 2019, offering a mobile take on the series that incorporated numerous elements of other mobile games, for better or worse. The new live service structure means players are presented with a regularly rotating series of tracks, with a steady stream of characters to try and earn (there are a frankly ridiculous 175 of them to date).
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Thomas Anderson Member
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150 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
As a result of this, however, the game has a heavy microtransaction presence, meaning completists who like the idea of having a full roster almost certainly have no chance of achieving this. Mario Kart Live Home CircuitOriginal release – 16 October 2020Format – SwitchPlayers – 1-2Characters – 13 (only 5 are playable)Tracks – 30 environmentsCharacter debuts – NoneGimmicks – Augmented reality, real-world user-created tracks
Nintendo wasn’t the main developer when it came to the virtual reality version of Mario Kart, and the same was the case for the augmented reality take on it. Developed by Velan Studios (which went on to develop Knockout City), Mario Kart Live Home Circuit comes with an actual physical remote-controlled kart driven by either Mario or Luigi.
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Evelyn Zhang Member
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51 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
The kart has a camera that sits behind Mario‘s head – this then sends a video feed to the Switch, allowing players to see what the kart sees from a traditional Mario Kart third-person viewpoint. Players also get to create their own tracks by placing checkpoints on the floor, which the kart’s camera can recognise as part of the course. As you race in the game, the real life car races across your room, scaring the cat and almost certainly getting jammed under the couch.
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Ava White 18 minutes ago
When it all works like it supposed to, it’s an impressively immersive feat, and while it likely wo...
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Sebastian Silva Member
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52 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
When it all works like it supposed to, it’s an impressively immersive feat, and while it likely won’t be seeing a sequel any time soon, it’s another very cool chapter in the Mario Kart series. To date, Mario Kart Live is still the latest Mario Kart title, and all eyes continue to be trained on Nintendo to see when Mario Kart 9 finally gets announced.
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Dylan Patel 7 minutes ago
With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s DLC set to continue until the end of 2023 we may be waiting a while yet...
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Audrey Mueller 33 minutes ago
Whenever it happens, though, we’ll be waiting, ready as ever to hit the accelerator right after �...
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Isaac Schmidt Member
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53 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s DLC set to continue until the end of 2023 we may be waiting a while yet for the next mainline Mario Kart. It’s been eight years since Mario Kart 8 was released on the Wii U, and while deluxe re-releases, AR and VR spin-offs and mobile takes are keeping us distracted, this is still the longest we’ve had to wait (by far) for a new main entry.
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Zoe Mueller 41 minutes ago
Whenever it happens, though, we’ll be waiting, ready as ever to hit the accelerator right after �...
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Jack Thompson Member
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108 minutes ago
Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Whenever it happens, though, we’ll be waiting, ready as ever to hit the accelerator right after ‘2’. 1 Comment
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