Mario Kart 8

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Mario Kart 8 is an upcoming Mario Kart game for the Wii U, which will be released in Japan on May 29, 2014, North America and Europe on May 30, 2014, and Australia on May 31, 2014 both physically and digitally through the Nintendo eShop. Being the follow-up to Mario Kart 7, the game is the eighth installment in the mainstream series, and eleventh overall in the Mario Kart series.

A prominent new addition is anti-gravity, allowing players to drive on almost any surface. Bikes, gliders, and underwater driving are also confirmed to return. In addition, ATVs have been confirmed to join traditional karts and bikes as a new class of vehicle.

Gameplay

File:WiiU MarioKart8 scrn01 E3.png

Mario demonstrating the anti-gravity mechanic in Mario Circuit.

The gameplay maintains the traditional elements of previous Mario Kart games, mostly from the two recent installments on the Wii and 3DS respectively. Karts, which feature similar designs from Mario Kart 7, can be customized once again, alongside the returning bikes, which handle similar to the karts now and can only perform a wheelie via a boost, and the newly introduced ATVs, as well as, according to an interview, more customization options that have yet to be revealed.. The hang-glider and underwater mechanics also return, as well as Coins, with the player being able to collect up to ten in one race as in Mario Kart 7. Like Mario Kart Wii, twelve racers are present in normal races.

The newest feature for the series is anti-gravitational segments that not only allow for more dynamic track design, but also for racers to drive across walls, ceilings, and other seemingly unusual places. When in anti-gravity, if a racer bumps into another racer, the kart spins rather than just bumping and both racers receive a speed boost. This technique is called "spin boosting". The tracks have been described as more narrow when compared to previous Mario Kart tracks, specifically those from Mario Kart Wii.. For the fifth time in the series, courses from previous Mario Kart games will be included, and both the game's anti-gravity mechanic, as well as Mario Kart 7 's glider and underwater mechanics will be incorporated into these retro courses, much like the retro courses in Mario Kart 7.

The game is also to feature Wii U GamePad integration. In addition to the standard Off-TV Play, players also have the option of displaying the course map as well as using it as a horn button. Players have the option to toggle between these three features at will.

Point management works similar to Mario Kart Wii, except that every racer gets at least one point in Grand Prix mode. Below is a chart of the point spread comparison between these eight games:

Point Spread Comparisons (GP)
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Super Mario Kart Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart: Super Circuit	9	6	3	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Mario Kart DS	10	8	6	4	3	2	1	0	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart Wii	15	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
Mario Kart 7	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart 8	15	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Grove-green bg signifies victory results (great clapping, character(s) cheering), best after-race music Yellow-limegreen bg signifies moderate results (mild clapping, moderate character reaction), same music in Wi-Fi as winner (different in MKDS GP) Normal bg signifies losing results, losing music; - means not available In Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart Super Circuit, 5th or worse forces the player to retry the race. If the racer fares this badly four times, the Grand Prix must be started over. In Mario Kart 64, 5th or worse forces the player to retry the race, but without the restrictions on how many times the player can retry a race. Starting with Mario Kart: Double Dash to recent installments including this one, the Grand Prix normally goes forth.

It has been confirmed that there will be Miiverse integration, which will allow players to share their replay videos and comment on others' videos, in a feature called "Mario Kart TV". Another change is that in 2-player mode, the screen will split vertically instead of the horizontally in the other console Mario Kart games, a feature that was originally intended to be in Mario Kart 64 but was removed from the final game.

Game modes

Various game modes have been announced for Mario Kart 8. All modes available on singleplayer (some also on local and online multiplayer) are listed here.

The game's main menu.

Grand Prix

Mario Kart 8's Grand Prix works similar to past installments. Only the Mushroom and Shell cups are available at the start of the game, the others which can be unloced by completing them. There is the usual four-race marathon. However, players now have the option to do a multiplayer Grand Prix.

Time Trials

Time Trial mode lets the player complete a selected course in the fastest time possible. Among the new features included, the user can upload ghosts onto Miiverse and other players can give their comments about it. Additionally the user gains a stamp once he or she has competed a race against a Nintendo Staff member ghost. Leaderboards as seen in Mario Kart Wii also return.

VS Race

VS mode can be played locally with up to 4 players. Players can set rules like which items appear, the difficulty level of the CPUs, and Team or Solo racing. Players can also set how the courses appear, choose a course after one is finished, or play all tracks randomly or in order.

Battle

Battle mode now features race tracks remixed to fit battle mode rather than contain all-new separate arenas. Balloon Battle can be played in teams or in free-for-all mode. It combines survival battle mode from Mario Kart DS and earlier installments and the timed points battle mode introduced in Mario Kart Wii; all players start with 3 points and 3 balloons each. Successfully making an opponent lose a balloon awards the player a point, and losing a balloon through any method will cause the player to lose a point. Balloons can never be regained (unless one is stolen from another player with a Mushroom), and if all balloons are lost, points can no longer be lost or gained. Players are can still drive and attack players as a Ghost however, so a player with a high score and no balloons can still win. Players can also now adjust the time limit from one to five minutes.

Mirror mode

Mirror mode returns in this game, as an unlockable mode. It also can be used as a set rule for online tournaments.

Characters

Drivers

There are 30 playable characters confirmed for Mario Kart 8, consisting of 16 default characters and 14 unlockable characters. There are 9 characters that make their first appearance as playable characters in the series, including the Koopalings (indicated by an * in the gallery), and 2 more making their overall debut in the Mario franchise; Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach (indicated by an **). There are 3 weight classes dependent on the size of the kart the characters ride on (with the exception of Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach): light, medium, and heavy, though a group of certain drivers in a class have differing stats to another group.

Starting drivers

• 

  Mario
  Medium

• 

  Luigi
  Medium

• 

  Peach
  Medium

• 

  Daisy
  Medium

• 

  Yoshi
  Medium

• 

  Toad
  Light

• 

  Koopa Troopa
  Light

• 

  Shy Guy
  Light

• 

  Baby Mario
  Light

• 

  Baby Luigi
  Light

• 

  Baby Peach
  Light

• 

  Baby Daisy
  Light

• 

  Bowser
  Heavy

• 

  Donkey Kong
  Heavy

• 

  Wario
  Heavy

• 

  Waluigi
  Heavy

Unlockable drivers

• 

  Rosalina
  Heavy

• 

  Metal Mario
  Heavy

• 

  Lakitu
  Light

• 

  Toadette
  Light

• 

  Baby Rosalina**
  Light

• 

  Pink Gold Peach**
  Heavy

• 

  Iggy*
  Medium

• 

  Roy*
  Heavy

• 

  Lemmy*
  Light

• 

  Larry*
  Light

• 

  Wendy*
  Light

• 

  Ludwig*
  Medium

• 

  Morton*
  Heavy

• 

  Mii
  Any

• Mii's weight is determined by the height and weight of the Mii.

Unlocking criteria

Characters are unlocked at random by completing cups, unlike previous Mario Kart games.

Driver base stats

Just like in Mario Kart 7, characters in a specific group have their own stats. The units are out of 6, displaying the different stats.

Character Stats
Group	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Light	2.25	3.25	2.25	4.75	4.5
Light	2.75	3	2.75	4.25	4.25
Medium	3.25	2.75	3.25	3.75	4
Medium	3.75	2.5	3.75	3.25	3.75
Heavy	4.25	2.25	4.25	2.75	3.5
Heavy	4.25	2	4.75	2.75	3.25
Heavy	4.75	2	4.75	2.25	3.25

Body frame sizes

Depending on the character, the size of the vehicle can change. The size can influence how big of a target the vehicle is.

Size	Characters
Small
Medium
Large

Other

Ball 'n' Chains Bone Piranha Plants Boos Boomerang Bros. Boulders Bouncing Notes Cheep Cheeps Chomps

Cows Dolphins Dry Bones Fire Bros. Fire Snakes Fishbones Fishin' Lakitu Freezies

Frogoon Gingerbread Cookies Goombas/Goomba Towers Gray Bowser Statues Hammer Bros. Jelectros Jellybeams Koopa Paratroopas

Lakitu Mecha Cheeps Mantas Monty Moles Nokis Piantas Piranha Plants Pokeys

Screaming Pillar Shy Guys Sidesteppers Snowmen Swoopers Thwomps Tiki Goons Toads

Unagi Yoshis

Vehicle parts

This is a list of the currently known available kart parts to customize a player's vehicle. Currently, there are 14 karts, 9 bikes, 3 ATVs (26 bodies in total), 18 tires, and 11 gliders known. The parts are listed as they appear in-game, and the stat boost/drop values are out of 6.

• Speed: The top speed of the vehicle. Does not affect off-road travel.
• Acceleration: The rate of the vehicle it takes to reach its top speed from a standing position.
• Weight: The weight of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher weight knock away vehicles with lower weight.
• Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle. A higher stat means vehicles turn sharper.
• Traction: The grasp of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher traction slip less on certain terrain and can stay stable on the road better. Not to be confused with handling.

Unlocking criteria

Kart parts are unlocked by collecting coins from Grand Prix, VS Mode, and online races at intervals of 50 coins.

Special parts

The special parts must be unlocked with these criteria:

• The Gold Standard can be unlocked by obtaining a minimum of one star ranking in all cups of every engine class.

Courses

32 tracks have been confirmed, consisting of 16 new tracks and 16 retro tracks, featuring one track each from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, four tracks from Mario Kart 64, two each from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii, and three each from Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7. As with the retro tracks from the 3DS installment, the retro tracks in this game will feature altered sections that incorporate the game's hang-glider, underwater, and anti-gravity features. The game will feature live-recorded music for all of the new tracks and most of the retro tracks.

Nitro courses

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	File:MK8 StarCup.png Star Cup	File:MK8 SpecialCup.png Special Cup
Mario Kart Stadium	File:WiiU MarioKart8 scrn01 E3.png Mario Circuit	File:MarioKart8AirportRunway.jpg Sunshine Airport	File:MarioKart8RosalinaBike.jpg Cloudtop Cruise
Water Park	Toad Harbor	Dolphin Shoals	File:MarioKart8Peach.jpg Bone Dry Dunes
File:WiiU MarioKart8 scrn05 E3.png Sweet Sweet Canyon	File:WiiU MarioKart8 scrn04 E3.png Twisted Mansion	Electrodrome	File:40 Koopa 1.jpg Bowser's Castle
File:MarioKart8Wario.jpg Thwomp Ruins	Shy Guy Falls	File:47 Waluigi 2.jpg Mount Wario	File:01 Course RainbowRoad 1.jpg Rainbow Road

Retro courses

File:MK8 ShellCup.png Shell Cup	File:MK8 BananaCup.png Banana Cup	File:MK8 LeafCup.png Leaf Cup	File:MK8 LightningCup.png Lightning Cup
Wii Moo Moo Meadows	File:WiiU MarioKart8 scrn06 E3.png GCN Dry Dry Desert	DS Wario Stadium	File:TickTockClockMK85thTrailer.png DS Tick-Tock Clock
GBA Mario Circuit	SNES Donut Plains 3	GCN Sherbet Land	File:MK8PiranhaPlantSlide.jpg 3DS Piranha Plant Slide
DS Cheep Cheep Beach	N64 Royal Raceway	3DS Music Park	Wii Grumble Volcano
N64 Toad's Turnpike	3DS DK Jungle	File:52 Yoshi 2.jpg N64 Yoshi Valley	N64 Rainbow Road

Battle stages

Unlike previous installments of the series, there are no stages unique to Battle Mode; instead, a quarter of the tracks in standard race modes are modified and used as stages for battles and can all be played from the start of the game, including those that are originally in cups that need to first be unlocked in the race modes. Tracks enabled for Battle mode are the following:

• Wii Moo Moo Meadows
• GCN Dry Dry Desert
• SNES Donut Plains 3
• N64 Toad's Turnpike
• Mario Circuit
• Toad Harbor
• GCN Sherbet Land
• N64 Yoshi Valley

Items

Items found on the track
Item Box	Gives the player a random item. Items given are based on the player's position.
Coin	Gives the player a small boost and increase top speed when more are collected, up to a max of 10.
New items
Boomerang Flower	Can be thrown up to three times, hitting racers forward and when it returns.
Piranha Plant	Automatically chomps on obstacles and other racers, giving a short speed boost for each bite.
Super Horn	Emits a radial shockwave, destroying all obstacles and items, and hitting racers.
Crazy 8	Generates eight items (Coin, Bob-omb, Mushroom, Star, Blooper, Green Shell, Red Shell, and a Banana) that circle around the player for them to use.
Returning items
Coin	Grants the player 2 extra coins.
Green Shell	Travels in a straight line and knocks over a kart it hits.
Triple Green Shells	Three green shells that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
Red Shell	Homes in on the closest kart in front of the player and knocks it over.
Triple Red Shells	Three red shells that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
Banana	Protects the player from incoming items, and spins out other racers that hit it.
Triple Bananas	Three bananas that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
Mushroom	Provides the player's kart with a small speed boost.
Triple Mushrooms	Orbits the player's kart, providing them with three separate speed boosts.
Golden Mushroom	Provides the player's kart with continuous speed boosts for a short time.
Fire Flower	Allows the player to throw fireballs for a short time that cause other karts to spin out on impact.
Star	Provides the player invincibility from all terrain and items, and also giving a speed boost.
Blooper	Sprays ink on all racers ahead and reduces their visibility.
Bob-omb	Explodes after a short time when thrown or dropped, knocking over any kart in its blast radius.
Spiny Shell	Targets the racer in first place, knocking over all other karts in its path.
Lightning	Causes all opponents to drop their items, shrink, and drive slowly for a short time.
Bullet Bill	Transforms the player into a Bullet Bill, rocketing through the track with auto-pilot, and providing invincibility from all terrain and items.

Stamps

Main article: Stamp (Mario Kart 8)

As in Super Mario 3D World and NES Remix, players can obtain stamps to use in Miiverse posts when they complete a certain objective, such as winning a cup in Grand Prix or defeating a staff member ghost in Time Trial. There are 90 stamps in the game.

Development

Development for Mario Kart 8 started in 2012. Some ideas that were scrapped in Mario Kart 8 included a drill that made drivers drive into subterranean depths. The idea was scrapped because the developers thought it was not as interesting as the anti-gravity idea. The anti-gravity concept stemmed from the Wii U being a powerful console, and with the upgraded hardware, the developers wanted to make courses with a 3D plane in mind rather than the 2D plane as the other tracks in the Mario Kart series.

The title, Mario Kart 8, is chosen to represent the anti-gravity mechanic as the "8" used in the official logo resembles the Möbius strip from Mario Circuit.

Select tracks will be orchestrated, making this game the first Mario Kart game to feature orchestrated tracks.

Promotion and advertising

Limited edition

The limited edition bundle in Europe featuring a Spiny Shell figurine.

A limited edition version of Mario Kart 8 is available to pre-orders in the European and Australian regions. It includes the game as well as a Spiny Shell figurine. This limited edition is also confirmed for North American release, though it is exclusive to New York's Nintendo World Store.

Collaboration with Pennzoil

Nintendo and Pennzoil teamed up to promote Mario Kart 8. It features real-life go-karts on a specially modified track. Icons representing some of the items in the game are spread in the course as well.

Card game

Nintendo is also developing a Mario Kart-themed card game. The game features two types of cards: Mario cards (includes Peach and Luigi cards) and Rosalina Cards (includes Lakitu and Koopalings cards). These cards come with the Japanese version of the game.

Wii U Premium Pack

Nintendo is releasing a Premium Pack with Mario Kart 8. This pack is currently only available to Europe and Australia. The Nintendo UK Online store also offers two different bundles, being a Mario bundle and a Luigi bundle. Each will contain a Mario Kart 8 Premium Pack, along with a Wii Remote Plus, Wii U GamePad skin, and Wii Wheel in the corresponding brother's theme. It also contains a Mario or Luigi Hat and Mario Kart 8 guide book. Both packs will be released on May 30th, alongside the game itself, as well as Peach and Yoshi themed Wii Remote Pluses. Nintendo also revealed a Deluxe set for North American release; this one includes a black Wii U, a black GamePad, a Mario Wii Remote Plus, a red Wii Wheel, and the game.

Bonus game promotion

Nintendo is giving another Wii U game to those in Europe, Australia, and North America who register Mario Kart 8 on Club Nintendo between May 30th and July 31st. Players can choose between a variety of different Nintendo titles, that differs depending on region. In Europe and Australia, players have the choice of: Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Game & Wario, Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Sonic Lost World, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Wii Party U, The Wonderful 101, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, while North American players are limited to only New Super Mario Bros. U, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, and Wii Party U.

Reception

As of March 16, 2014, Mario Kart 8 has received generally favorable reviews, scoring an 89 on Metacritic based on 46 critics and and 88.37% based on 46 critics. Jose Otero of IGN gave the game a 9.0, praising the great graphics and sound, race tracks, antigravity, and item balance while criticizing the lack of some online features, the overload of baby characters in the roster, and the battle mode. He ended with "Mario Kart 8 is the best kart racing game Nintendo has made in a long time. It strikes a careful balance between refining old ideas while introducing fresh new ones." Tom Mc Shea of GameSpot praised the game, lauding the smooth gameplay, interesting tracks, and fair skill while criticizing the game's selection of characters and the battle mode. Though he was initially bored when first playing Mario Kart 8, Mc Shea changed his opinion after appreciating the small details in the game; his verdict was an 8/10. Thomas Whitehead of Nintendo Life gave the game a 9/10. He wrote, "The vehicles and racers have never handled better, the collection of courses is possibly the best yet, while replayability through Ghost Races or — primarily — online races and Tournaments is almost endless. A few design oddities aside, this joins the list of must-have Nintendo games on the Wii U; it’s an accomplished effort that pushes the franchise forward." Michael Damiani of GameTrailers gave the game an 8.6 out of 10. As other reviewers, he praised the stellar visuals, tight controls, and improved online experience but criticized the battle mode. He ended with, "The overall high quality of the game is so impressive that it doesn’t really matter that much that the zero-gravity gimmick barely adds anything that’s truly new. Next time around, though, Nintendo might need to come up with new tricks if it hopes to keep us coming back for more." André from GameXplain gave the game a "Liked a lot" rating, praising the tracks, online mode, visuals and battle mode, stating "it can be fun under the right circumstances". However, he criticised some issues with the interface and the item management.

On the slightly more critical side, Neal Ronaghan of NintendoWorldReport gave the game a 7.5 out of 10. He praised the graphics, soundtrack, and multiplayer but he criticized the stagnation of the franchise, saying, "Mario Kart 8 is just like any other Mario Kart game you’ve played in recent years, adding little to the franchise other than polish and some middling additions and tweaks." He also criticized Mario Kart TV and the battle mode.

References to other games

• Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally: The Mario's Motors logo is seen at the starting line of Mario Circuit. In addition, Mario's artwork from the game can be faintly seen above the logo itself.
• Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic: The Shy Guy Metals sign seen at Toad Harbor says that they've been around since 1987, which is the year of the Shy Guy's first appearance.
• Super Mario Bros. 3: Many aspects of Cloudtop Cruise, particularly the airships, are inspired by this game. Gray Bowser Statues that shoot lasers appear in Bowser's Castle.
• Super Mario Kart: Donut Plains 3 returns as a retro track. Also the Coin item returns with the same function as it did in this game. Rainbow Road and N64 Rainbow Road have their design similar to the Rainbow Road from that game.
• Mario Kart 64: Toad's Turnpike, Royal Raceway, Yoshi Valley and Rainbow Road return as retro tracks.
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Mario Circuit returns as a retro course. Cloudtop Cruise has some references from Sky Garden, which appears in this game, including its Japanese name and concepts.
• Super Mario Sunshine: Sunshine Airport has a Shine Sprite in its logo. The European release date is used as a serial number on some storage crates in Sunshine Airport (55402MS= Oct 4th, 2002).
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Like in this game, characters hold items in their hands. Dry Dry Desert and Sherbet Land return as retro courses. N64 Rainbow Road is set above a city like the Rainbow Road from this game.
• Mario Kart DS: Cheep Cheep Beach, Tick-Tock Clock, and Wario Stadium return as retro courses. Courses with anti-gravitational segments are similar to the corkscrew and the loop, in Rainbow Road, that allow racers to drive upside down.
• Super Mario Galaxy series: An image of a Luma can be seen on an airplane (from Galaxy Air airlines) in Sunshine Airport. Also, part of Cloudtop Cruise's music is a cover of Gusty Garden Galaxy's music and Sky Station Galaxy's music.
• Mario Kart Wii: Twelve player races and motorbikes return. The ability to perform stunts on ramps and boost panels returns. Like from this game, Rainbow Road is set above the Earth and the course has launch stars that launch racers in the tunnel to another section of the course. Moo Moo Meadows and Grumble Volcano also return as retro courses.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii: One of the planes in Sunshine Airport has a logo for Propeller Toad Transport with an insignia of a Propeller Mushroom. The Red Case first featured on the game's box art will return as a North American exclusive.
• Super Mario 3D Land: Goomba Towers appear as obstacles in Mario Circuit. The Biddybuggy resembles a Para-Biddybud. The Boomerang Flower appears as an item.
• Mario Kart 7: Being the direct follow-up to this title, gliders and underwater areas return. Music Park, Piranha Plant Slide, and DK Jungle return as retro courses. Vehicle customization returns from this game. The remixed music that occurs when the player is first place also returns from this game. Two of the courses are split into three sections just like the three courses from that game. In N64 Rainbow Road, when the player gets to the final section of the course, the last part of the music starts, just like how the last part of the music in Rainbow Road starts at the final section of the course. Just like from this game, Rainbow Road has one section that is not rainbow-colored. It also has Mario Kart 7's point system where each racer gets a point regardless of their position. Various kart parts that originated from this game return.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2: Twisted Mansion's entrance has a statue of a Boohemoth above it, an enemy from this game. Bone Piranha Plants also make an appearance in Bone Dry Dunes.
• New Super Mario Bros. U: The Mecha Cheep returns in this game and there is a glider based on a Waddlewing.
• Super Mario 3D World: The Potted Piranha Plant appears as an item. Fireworks are seen in some courses. Furthermore, most of the fireworks in N64 Rainbow Road course use stamp images from this game. An ad on Toad Harbor for Tropical Grocery has a Double Cherry on it. Stamps can be unlocked just like how stamps are unlocked in this game.

Gallery

Main article: Gallery:Mario Kart 8

• 
• WiiU MarioKart8 scrn01 E3.png
• MarioMK8.png
• 
• 

Trivia

• This is the first Mario Kart game since Mario Kart: Super Circuit to feature no new Donkey Kong courses or retro Bowser's Castles. Since Super Mario Kart, it also features no Luigi-themed tracks.
• This is the first Mario Kart game where each course features its own background music, with no tracks sharing music. All previous titles in the series included at least two tracks sharing the same music, most commonly the regular circuit music.
  • Instead, Mario Circuit's music is a cover of Mario Kart Stadium's music, as Mario Kart Stadium serves as a replacement for the Mushroom Cup circuit.
• This is the first Mario Kart to have unlockable characters appear as CPUs during races when they aren't unlocked yet.

External links

• Official North American Website
• Official European Website
• Official Japanese Website
• Official Australian Website