Editing Item Box

{{item infobox
|name=Item Box
|image=[[File:ItemBoxMK8.png|200px]]<br>The Item Box in its ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' appearance
|effect=Gives an item when broken
|first_appearance=''[[Mario Kart 64]]'' ([[List of games by date#1996|1996]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit]]'' ([[List of games by date#2020|2020]])
}}
{{Quote|Touch an Item Box to {{color|red|break it open}}!|[[Lakitu (Mario Kart referee)|Lakitu]]|[[Mario Kart Tour]]}}

'''Item Boxes''' (or '''item boxes''') are boxes featured mainly in the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'' series]]. Item Boxes look like [[? Block]]s but are transparent and often multicolored, and in more recent games, they have an iridescent checkerboard pattern. When a character passes through them, they get a random [[List of items|item]]. These blocks also appear in ''[[Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)|Mario Tennis]]'' and ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]''. They have appeared in all the ''Mario Kart'' games, except ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', where [[? Panel]]s are used instead. [[Fake Item Box]]es appear as items from the real Item Boxes and can be used in a similar way to [[Banana]]s, but they have a bigger impact by making racers flip over instead of spinning out. As seen in [[Toad's Factory]] in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'', Item Boxes can be made out of [[Brick Block]]s.

The positions in which players are in a race determine what kinds of items they will get. For example, someone in first place may get a [[Green Shell]] or a Banana, while someone in last place may get a [[Super Star]], a [[Golden Dash Mushroom]], [[Lightning]], or a [[Bullet Bill]].

By holding and not releasing the "use item" button on a controller, players can hold some items behind them, such as Bananas and shells, referred to as "dangling."<ref>''Mario Kart DS'' English instruction booklet. Page 10.</ref> This allows players to protect themselves from rear attacks or collisions with other racers.

==History==
===''Mario Kart'' series===
====''Mario Kart 64''====
[[File:MK64 Item Box.png|thumb|150px|The octahedron shape of an item box in ''Mario Kart 64'']]
[[File:MK64SidewaysItemBox.png|thumb|left|A sideways item box from Luigi Raceway]]
''[[Mario Kart 64]]'' is the first game to utilize Item Boxes, replacing [[? Panel]]s from ''[[Super Mario Kart]]''. Instead of being flat, square, and yellow like ? Panels, they have an [[wikipedia:octahedron|octahedron shape]] with a ? in the center, and are multicolored and translucent. Colliding with an Item Box will provide the character with a random item; the item received is determined based on the place of the character - the farther back they are, the more powerful items they will get. Unlike ? Panels, Item Boxes respawn almost immediately after being used.

Throughout the game, there are two item boxes that provide only [[Spiny Shell (blue)|Spiny Shell]]s; they are marked with a sideways "?" and appear hanging from the [[N64 Luigi Raceway|Luigi Raceway]] balloon and atop a large rock on [[N64 Koopa Troopa Beach|Koopa Troopa Beach]].
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====''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''====
[[File:MKSC Mario Circuit 1 Item Box.png|240px|thumb|left|An item box in ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' in an isolated location of [[SNES Mario Circuit 1|Mario Circuit 1]]]]
[[File:ItemBox MKSC.png|thumb]]
Item Boxes take on a different appearance in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]''. Here, they look like cubes that change color instead of their previous octahedron shape. Most are found in groups of 3 but some boxes are isolated in uncommon locations in the track. Other than appearance and location changes, no functional changes have been made. Item Boxes in this game usually rotate, but in Single-Pak Multiplayer they simply shrink and extend slightly without rotating.
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====''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!''====
[[File:MKDD Double Item Box.png|thumb|100px|The Double Item Box, which first appeared in ''Mario Kart Double Dash!!'']]
In ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', Item Boxes make a reappearance, along with a new variety named Double Item Boxes. Unlike regular Item Boxes, Double Item Boxes grant both the driver and the thrower items. Item Boxes in ''Mario Kart Double Dash!!'' take on a different appearance from their previous appearances: they are still shaped like cubes, but they have a checkerboard texture, similar to a race flag.

''Double Dash!!'' is the first game where Item Boxes can move independently around the track - some in [[GCN Mushroom Bridge|Mushroom Bridge]] or [[Mushroom City]] will follow the track like the other cars, while some in [[GCN Peach Beach|Peach Beach]] or [[GCN Sherbet Land|Sherbet Land]] will move back and forth along a piece of track. Moving Item Boxes respawn where they were last broken, except in Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City, where they respawn in the pipe shortcut and in alleyways, respectively. 

In split-screen mode except for Battle Course stages, Item Boxes are brighter checkerboard texture than the normal checkerboard texture. In the mini-game Bob-omb Blast, Item Boxes and Double Item Boxes only grant players the [[Bob-omb]] item, and have their "?" replaced with a Bob-omb to show this.

Any Double Item Boxes are replaced with single Item Boxes when a ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' course appears in a later game.

====''Mario Kart Arcade GP'' subseries ====
[[File:ToadItemBoxes.png|thumb|left|The hexagonal item boxes from ''Mario Arcade GP 2'']]
Item Boxes in ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP]]'' and its sequel, ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP 2]]'' have an identical function. However, they are depicted with a honeycomb-like hexagonal structure instead of cubic.
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====''Mario Kart DS''====
[[File:ItemBoxMKDS.png|thumb|]]
In ''[[Mario Kart DS]]'', the boxes have a similar appearance to the boxes in ''Mario Kart Double Dash!!'', though they are slightly more square with white borders and including transparent areas. They serve a similar function, though Double Item Boxes do not return and characters return to not physically holding them. Like in the previous games, they still grant the player an item depending on the player's place. 

In [[DS DK Pass|DK Pass]], there is an item box sitting on top of a large hill that gives the player, regardless of their current standing, a [[Super Star|Star]], [[Mushroom#Mario Kart series|Triple Mushrooms]], a single Mushroom, or (rarely) a [[Red Shell]]. This is the only location of such in the entire game, but it also appears in missions where the player must beat an opponent (like [[Yoshi]], a [[Chain Chomp]] or a [[Car (obstacle)|red car]]).

In multiplayer battle mode, defeated players have an unlimited supply of item boxes (though there is a delay time for each use) and can deploy them similar to a banana. These help other players get items. The ghost item boxes disappear after a while.

To match the theme of [[DS Waluigi Pinball|Waluigi Pinball]], the item roulette sound in that course has an arcade-like sound to it.

====''Mario Kart Wii''====
[[File:MKW Item Box Artwork.png|thumb|left|100px|Artwork of an item box in ''Mario Kart Wii'']]
In ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'', the item boxes lose their checkerboard textures and gain rainbow dot textures. They act in a similar manner as in the previous games and nothing has been changed relating to function when an item is received. However, they do reappear at a slower rate than its precedents. It is seen that Item Boxes are created out of [[Brick Block]]s in [[Toad's Factory]].

In [[Chain Chomp Wheel]], some item boxes float in the center of a large ring, bearing in shape of a star. If players can aim correctly and touch the item boxes, they mostly receive a [[Super Star|Star]] or the occasional [[Mushroom]].

In multiplayer modes, Item Boxes have spinning question marks inside them as opposed to being static in single-player mode.
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====''Mario Kart 7''====
[[File:MK7 Current.png|thumb|Item Boxes in ''Mario Kart 7'']]
Item Boxes return in ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'' with the same design and purpose as ''Mario Kart Wii'', with a rainbow-colored texture slightly less biased against the red area. Unlike in ''Mario Kart DS'', they do not appear on the bottom screen's map.

While the "super Item Box" of {{classic|DS|DK Pass}} remains intact, the Spiny Shell-only Item Boxes from {{classic|N64|Luigi Raceway}} and {{classic|N64|Koopa Troopa Beach}} have been replaced with a regular Item Box and a [[Coin]] respectively. {{classic|DS|Waluigi Pinball}} also retains its unique item roulette sound.

====''Mario Kart 8'' / ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''====
Item Boxes reappear in ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'', holding the same function as in previous encounters. The appearance remains about the same from ''Mario Kart 7'', except it is a crystalline grey instead of a rainbow color and the ? is slightly larger. One difference between the games is that players can no longer hold two items at once (like in ''Super Mario Kart''), and items will appear in the drivers' hands (like in ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!''), or in the case of the triple items and the [[Crazy Eight]], automatically activate by themselves. Unlike previous games, it now has a new sound effect, for both the Item Box itself and the item roulette. In ''Mario Kart 8'', the items players can receive are solely determined by their distance behind the leader, rather than position. In [[Animal Crossing]], there are Item Boxes after the glider segment that are held up by balloons, which can be obtained by either gliding through the Item Box or by breaking the balloon. The Item Boxes in certain stages have special sound effects from their respective games, as opposed to the normal sound; Animal Crossing's play a variant of the music when a profile is loaded or saved, [[Hyrule Circuit]]'s play the chest opening jingle from ''The Legend of Zelda'' games, and [[Urchin Underpass]]'s play the stat slot sound from ''Splatoon''. {{classic|DS|Waluigi Pinball}} also retains its unique item roulette sound.

''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' features the return of Double Item Boxes. Like in ''Double Dash!!'', players can once again hold up to two items at once, even if they do not equip the first item. However, unlike in ''Double Dash!!'', ''Deluxe'' uses the same arrangement as previous games in that the second item is merely held in reserve while the first item is in play, and the player can get a second item from a standard Item Box if they have one in their main slot. Additionally, Double Item Boxes are no longer randomly generated, rather they appear in the same spot every time. There are two courses in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' that do not have Double Item Boxes: {{classic-link|GCN|Baby Park}} and {{classic-link|DS|Shroom Ridge}}.  In this game, the item given is now determined by both distance and position.

====''Mario Kart Tour''====
[[File:MKT Frenzy Item Box Bobomb.png|thumb|120px|A Frenzy Item Box found in a ''Mario Kart Tour'' [[Goomba Takedown]] challenge, giving the player a [[Bob-omb]] [[Frenzy]]]]
Item Boxes return once again in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' with similar design and functionality to ''Mario Kart 8''. Replacing the Double Item Box is a feature allowing each character to hold two or three items on certain courses. When the racer drives through an Item Box, an item will be rolled in all empty item slots; if the Auto-Item feature is turned on, the remaining items will be used and all slots will be rolled. When all three item slots (if available) show the same item, [[Frenzy]] mode is activated, granting the player invincibility and allowing infinite uses of that item for a short time.

In general, if a racer drives through a spot where an Item Box that was broken by another driver is supposed to be, they will still obtain items even if the Item Box has not respawned yet; this is contrary to previous appearances, where racers would miss getting an item from an Item Box in the time it took to respawn. A ''Mario Kart Tour'' feature on the {{wp|App Store (iOS/iPadOS)|App Store}} stated that players can miss an Item Box if it has not physically reappeared after breaking;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220212163155/https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1533872240 5 Speedy Tips for Mario Kart Tour]. apple.com (United States). Archived February 12, 2022, 16:31:55 UTC from the [https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1533872240 original] via Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 12, 2022. ({{file link|App Store screenshot story 5 Speedy Tips for MKT.png|Screenshot}}.) "''If a racer in front of you gets an Item Box, you'll miss it before it respawns.''"</ref> this is only true for Item Boxes found within [[Clampy|Clampies]], which do not reappear until a Clampy closes and reopens its valves to produce another Item Box, or when [[Car (obstacle)|traffic]] breaks the Item Boxes.

Some bonus challenges contain Item Boxes with the question mark replaced by the image of an item, such as a [[Bob-omb]]. These will immediately give the player one of that item, regardless of how many item slots the driver has. The player also cannot activate a Frenzy with such Item Boxes, even if three are collected. Another special type of Item Box introduced in the [[Valentine's Tour]] has a pink appearance with a rainbow outline on the question mark, and immediately activates a Frenzy of a given item. This special Item Box appears in the [[Goomba Takedown]] bonus challenges held at [[SNES Mario Circuit 2]], [[SNES Vanilla Lake 1]] and [[Wii Mushroom Gorge]], as well as the [[Take them out quick!]] bonus challenge held at [[N64 Frappe Snowland]].

Like in previous appearances, DS Waluigi Pinball retains its unique item roulette sound.

====''Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit''====
Item Boxes appear once again in ''[[Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit]]'', where they act identically to ''Mario Kart 8''. Here they act as a gate customization option. Any racer who drives through the customized gate will trigger an item roulette.

===''Mario & Sonic'' series===
[[File:Dream Race Item Box.png|thumb|left|An Item Box in [[Dream Race (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii)|Dream Race]], a Dream Event in the Wii version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'']]
In the [[Mario & Sonic (series)|''Mario & Sonic'' series]], Item Boxes appear in various [[Dream Event]]s, functioning identically as in the ''Mario Kart'' games, but the items that they give vary, depending on the event or even position of the player. In the [[Wii]] version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'', Item Boxes only appear in the [[Dream Race (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii)|Dream Race]] and [[Dream Platform]] events. In the [[Nintendo DS]] version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'', Item Boxes appear in the [[Dream Race (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Nintendo DS)|Dream Race]], [[Dream Canoe]], [[Dream Shooting]] and [[Dream Long Jump (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games)|Dream Long Jump]] events. The items that can be obtained from these boxes vary depending on the event being played and in some events, the position of the player when they collect the Item Box. In the [[Nintendo DS]] version of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', Item Boxes appear in [[Ski Cross Racing]], [[Rocket Ski Jumping]], [[Extreme Snowboarding]] and [[Ski Shooting]]. In the game's [[Wii]] [[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)|version]], Item Boxes appear in both the [[Dream Alpine (Individual)|Individual]] and [[Dream Alpine (Team)|Team]] versions of Dream Alpine, the [[Dream Ski Cross (Individual)|Individual]] and [[Dream Ski Cross (Team)|Team]] versions of Dream Ski Cross, the [[Dream Snowboard Cross (Individual)|Individual]] and [[Dream Snowboard Cross (Team)|Team]] versions of Dream Snowboard Cross, [[Dream Short Track]], [[Dream Bobsleigh]], [[Dream Ice Hockey]], [[Dream Curling]] and [[Dream Snowball Fight]]. Additionally, in Dream Ice Hockey, one of the events that may occur when collecting a [[Wild Ball]] is a large number of Item Boxes appearing on the rink.

===''Mario Party: Star Rush''===
[[File:Bowser's Shocking Slipup.jpg|thumb|Item Boxes in [[Bowser's Shocking Slipup]], a minigame in ''Mario Party: Star Rush'']]
Item Boxes make an appearance in the minigame, [[Bowser's Shocking Slipup]] in ''[[Mario Party: Star Rush]]''. Here, depending on the timing hit, they can deliver [[Lightning|Lightning Bolt]]s to [[Bowser]] or cause [[Banana|Banana Peel]]s to spawn, which can stun players. Double Item Boxes appear and give out twice the number of items. During the second phase of the battle, Item Boxes spin faster.
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==Profiles and statistics==
===''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''===
{{SSBB sticker
|name=Item Box
|image=[[File:Item Box Sticker.png]]
|game=''Mario Kart Double Dash!!''
|effect=[Freezing] - Attack +8 
}}

===''Mario Kart Wii''===
[[File:MKW Item Box Trading Card.jpg|thumb|60px]]
'''Trading card information:''' ''Usually found strung out in a single line across the track, Item Boxes contain all of the Power-Ups, offensive and defensive items that make the Mario Kart series so interesting and enjoyable. From Bananas to Bob-ombs, don't miss your chance to hit an Item Box because you're definitely going to want what's inside. And if you use the Items to your advantage, they'll help you win!''<br>
*'''''Game Tip!'''<br>Item Boxes aren't always found in obvious locations. On some tracks you'll find them being pulled behind moving objects. Grab them anywhere you can!''

==Gallery==
{{main-gallery}}
<gallery>
MKDD ItemBox.png|''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' artwork
ItemBoxMKDS.png|''Mario Kart DS'' appearance
MK8-Line-Item-NO.gif|''Mario Kart 8'' LINE sticker
MKT 138CB.png|''Mario Kart Tour'' badge
MKT Item Box.png|''Mario Kart Tour'' screenshot
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=アイテムボックス
|JapR=Aitemu Bokkusu
|JapM=Item Box
|Chi=道具箱
|ChiR=Dàojù Xiāng
|Chi2=问号方块
|Chi2C=<ref>腾讯NintendoSwitch (March 27, 2020). [https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv5319257 想在《马力欧卡丁车8 豪华版》中占据上风？这些游戏小技巧值得一试]. ''Bilibili''. Retrieved March 27, 2020. ([http://web.archive.org/web/20201124224147/https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv5319257 Archived] November 24, 2020, 22:41:47 UTC via Wayback Machine.)</ref>
|Chi2N=Chinese release of ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''
|Chi2R=Wènhào Fāngkuài
|ChiM=Item Box
|Chi2M=Question Block
|Dut=Voorwerpdoos
|Dut2=Voorwerpkist
|Dut2N=''Mario Kart 8'' electronic manual
|DutM=Item Box
|Dut2M=Item Box
|Fre=Boîte à objets
|Fre2=Boîte à bonus
|Fre2N=''Mario Kart 64'' instruction booklet
|FreM=Item box
|Fre2M=Bonus box
|Ger=Itembox
|GerM=Item Box
|Ita=Cubo oggetto
|Ita2=Riquadro Oggetti
|Ita2N=''Mario Kart 64'' instruction booklet
|Ita3=Blocco "?"
|Ita3N=''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' website
|Ita4=Scatola
|Ita4N=''Mario Kart DS'' website
|Ita5=Scatola oggetto
|Ita5N=''Mario Kart Wii'' and ''Mario Kart 7'' websites
|ItaM=Item cube
|Ita2M=Item Square
|Ita3M="?" block
|Ita4M=Box
|Ita5M=Item box
|Kor=아이템박스
|KorR=Aitem Bakseu
|KorM=Item Box
|Por=Caixa de itens
|PorM=Item box
|Spa=Caja de objetos
|SpaM=Item box
|Swe=Objektlåda
|SweM=Item box
}}

==References==
<references/>

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