Drift

Mario drifting in his kart on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64

A drift, also referred to as a slide or power slide (alternatively spelled power-slide), is a move in the Mario Kart series that allows a kart to keep speed around corners. Drifting is done by holding and turning left or right, at the cost of a bit of handling. Beginning with Mario Kart 64, it is possible to move the Control Stick (left and right) while in a drift to cause the kart to get a short but helpful Mini-Turbo when the drift is ended. In most Mario Kart games, the player must hop before being able to drift. The exceptions to this are in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, where there is no hop button—the player simply needs to hold the button (or button) instead—and in the Mario Kart Arcade GP subseries, where the player needs to tap the brake to enable drifting.

Due to the emergence of the "snaking" technique in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, starting in Mario Kart Wii, performing Mini-Turbos by drifting has been simplified by becoming time-based rather than by tilting/pressing the control pad multiple times. Mario Kart Wii also introduced the "inside drifting" mechanic, in which the vehicle commits to the turn by going to the inside instead of drifting to the outside when the player attempts to drift. All sport bikes in the Mario Kart series use this mechanic.

In some games, one can perform a long power-slide by steering in the opposite direction while holding the drift button (when drifting to the left, steer right and vice versa), at the cost of speed. However, starting in Mario Kart Wii, performing this technique would delay the Mini-Turbo and cause it to take longer to charge. The strength of the drifting depends on the kind of vehicle used. For example, the Phantom, which has the worst drift stat in the game, drifts in a wide arc, while the Bullet Bike, which has the best drift stat in the game, drifts tightly around corners.

Profiles

Mario Kart 7

• Electronic manual: "Drifting allows you to take sharp corners without slowing down. To drift, press and hold while entering a turn. While drifting, you can change the angle of your turn by moving ."

Mario Kart 8

• Electronic manual: "Drift around sharp corners without reducing speed! With held down, hold and use to turn."

Mario Kart Tour

• Tips & Tricks: "If you turn and hold your swipe in the direction you're turning, you'll be able to take tight corners without losing speed."

Gallery

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  Artwork of Mario drifting, Mario Kart 64

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  Yoshi drifting on his Mach Bike in Mario Kart Wii

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  Yoshi drifting on his Standard Bike in Mario Kart Wii

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  LINE sticker of Mario drifting, Mario Kart 8

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  LINE sticker of Wario drifting and crashing into a Warp Pipe, Mario Kart 8

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  Larry performing "inside drifting" with the Sport Bike in Mario Kart 8

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  Mario drifting in front of the Koopa General in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ドリフト[?] Dorifuto	Drift
Chinese	漂移[?] Piāoyí	Drift
French	Dérapage[?]	Slip
German	Drift[?]	Drift
Italian	Slittata Derapata (Mario Kart Wii and onwards)[?]	Slide Sideslip
Korean	드리프트[?] Deuripeuteu	Drift
Portuguese (NOA)	Derrapagem[?]	Slip
Portuguese (NOE)	Deslize[?]	Slide
Russian	Управляемый занос[?] Upravlyayemyy zanos	Controlled skid
Spanish	Derrapar[?]	To skid