Underwater driving

Artwork for Mario Kart 7 depicting Mario driving underwater

Underwater driving is a game mechanic in the Mario Kart series. It was first introduced in Mario Kart 7, and has appeared in all later games since. When drivers are underwater, a small propeller will pop out from the back of the kart, and some of the driver's statistics are changed.

Underwater driving is implemented on new courses, classic courses and battle courses. Various other mechanics such as anti-gravity and Jump Boosts also appear in underwater sections, though gliding is automatically canceled when entering the water. Various underwater enemies such as Cheep Cheeps and Sidesteppers can also be found in the water. Prior to the introduction of underwater driving, entering deep water will usually respawn or slow down the player. When the player is underwater, the music is slightly altered, though there are courses that have their own arrangements for underwater sections. The player's screen becomes wet for a short period when exiting underwater sections.

Although the mechanic was introduced in Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast features a similar mechanic, where the players could race underwater by riding on Enguarde the Swordfish or via their barrels. It is featured in Salty Sea, Shimmering Sea and Open Ocean.

In Super Mario Kart, if a driver goes into the water, they can drive underwater for about four seconds until Lakitu pulls them out. This allows them to potentially get back onto the racecourse without needing Lakitu.

In-game statistics

Main articles: Mario Kart 7 in-game statistics, Mario Kart 8 in-game statistics, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in-game statistics

In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, when driving underwater, the handling, speed, and drifting of most drivers, vehicles, and tires are different than usual. For some examples from Mario Kart 7, the Egg 1 would become faster, while the Barrel Train would become slower. In Mario Kart 8, the Badwagon strongly excels while underwater, but it has among the worst underwater statistics in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

It is worth noting, however, that if a vehicle is using anti-gravity while underwater, the anti-gravity stats will take higher priority than the underwater stats.

Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit do not use different stats while driving underwater.

Courses with underwater segments

Lemmy driving underwater on Water Park

Drivers tricking underwater on 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon

Track	Games	Description	Optional?
SNES Donut Plains 3	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The lake below the bridges.
SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2	Mario Kart Tour	The ocean. Can only be fallen into during a Glider Challenge.
SNES Vanilla Lake 2	Mario Kart Tour	The lake. Can only be fallen into during a Glider Challenge.
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour	The ocean off the coast.
GBA Boo Lake	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The titular lake below the track, which the track dips into. This lake was not actually present in Super Circuit despite the course's name.
GBA Cheep-Cheep Island	Mario Kart Tour	The ocean off the coast.
GCN Dry Dry Desert	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The oasis that replaces the wide section at the end.
GCN Daisy Cruiser	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The pool, which can now be driven through. The aquarium that replaces the cellar racers can fall into after the dining hall.
GCN Sherbet Land	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The lakes, which have been made into optional alternate routes.
DS Cheep Cheep Beach	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The shallow parts of the ocean.
DS Wario Stadium	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The final turn is now flooded, in addition to being simplified.
Wii Koopa Cape	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The underwater glass tunnel is no longer enclosed.
3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour	The titular lagoon.
3DS Piranha Plant Slide	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	A large area reached by going down a pipe from the underground area.
3DS Wario Shipyard	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour	Significant portions of the track, although some contain a route above the water.
Maka Wuhu	Mario Kart 7	Duckling Lake.
3DS DK Jungle	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	Underneath the glider section when leaving the temple.
3DS Rosalina's Ice World	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour	Underneath the icy lake. Optional on the first lap, but not during the second or third.
3DS Bowser's Castle	Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour	The large lake after the Turning Floor.
Water Park	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	Significant portions of the track before and after the shuttle loop.
Sweet Sweet Canyon	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The sea of orange soda during the antigravity section.
Thwomp Ruins	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The pool of water below the split paths.
Twisted Mansion	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The sewers.
Dolphin Shoals	Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	Every part of the track except for a large antigravity curve after the Maw-Ray. Uniquely, this includes the Finish Line.
Yoshi's Island	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The turn after the Stilt Guys and Piranha Plant.
Squeaky Clean Sprint	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The Sink and the Bath Tub.
Tour Vancouver Velocity	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	The Lost Lagoon, visited in lap 2. Not drivable in Tour.
Tour Los Angeles Laps	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The coast of the beach, seen in the first Los Angeles Laps route in Tour and the first segment in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Tour Amsterdam Drift	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour	The canals.
Piranha Plant Cove	Mario Kart Tour	The entire track.
Tropical Coast	Mario Kart Arcade GP DX	The ocean.
Omatsuri Circuit	Mario Kart Arcade GP DX	The lake after the temple.
Lightning Lagoon	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit	A filter applies over the entire track.
Cheep Cheep Reef	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit	A filter applies over the entire track.

Additionally, DS Palm Shore is the only battle course to contain underwater driving.

Gallery

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  Cheep Cheep Lagoon

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  Piranha Plant Slide

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  Wario Shipyard

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  Maka Wuhu

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  Rosalina's Ice World

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  GCN Daisy Cruiser

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  Bowser's Castle

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  Sweet Sweet Canyon

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  Twisted Mansion

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  Dolphin Shoals

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  GCN Dry Dry Desert

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  GCN Sherbet Land

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  GBA Boo Lake

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  Los Angeles Laps

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  Piranha Plant Cove

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  Lightning Lagoon

Trivia

• DS Palm Shore is the only battle course to include underwater driving, Dolphin Shoals and Piranha Plant Cove are the only courses to start underwater, and SNES Donut Plains 3 is the only course to have its underwater section removed in a later installment, in this case Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour, though the player's screen does become wet and a propeller will pop out for a short moment when going out of bounds into the lake.
• In Mario Kart Tour, SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2 and SNES Vanilla Lake 2 have inaccessible underwater areas. Both areas can only be entered by falling into them during Glider Challenges.
• In Mario Kart Tour, the first variants of Singapore Speedway and Bangkok Rush have shallow bodies of water that trigger the underwater propeller, but the player themselves are not usually fully submerged in it. In Singapore Speedway, the propeller appears when a back portion of small kart (such as a Pipe Frame driven by small and medium drivers) is submerged in the pool of it, while in Bangkok Rush, the propeller appears when the player uses a small driver and a small kart next to the start of the river section. In the courses' appearances in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, these sections affect every player the same way as when driving underwater, but the propeller does not appear. A new shallow body of water is added in Tour Vancouver Velocity that triggers the underwater propeller, just before the player is respawned by Lakitu.