Mario Kart 7

Template:Infobox Mario Kart 7 is a racing game for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the ninth installment of the Mario Kart series overall, the seventh in the main series (hence the game's title), and the third on a handheld console. The main new feature of this installment is the hand gliding and underwater driving which allows racers to glide through the air and race in underwater sections of the new and old tracks. Kart customizing is also introduced instead of racing in pre-made karts like previous titles.

In the game, players are able to exchange Ghost Data and play online in multiplayer mode. Players can also receive ghost data via Spotpass and race against other player's ghosts from around the world. Nintendo stated that the game brings "a bunch of new elements" to the Mario Kart series.

Gameplay

Features

One of the innovations in Mario Kart 7 is the race in first-person views. By pressing the , the player can activate the view and then tilt the Nintendo 3DS to steer.

In this new installment of the Mario Kart series, Coins make a prominent return. Coins have not been featured in this way in the last Mario Kart games since Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Coins are to be found along a race track, and can be underwater, on the road, or in the air. Collecting coins on different tracks will allow the player to unlock vehicle parts used for customization. The option to select classic Mario Kart tracks is also available again in this game.

Mario Kart 7 also has some new features. Players can now use air gliders, which can be useful for navigating through the air and also use propellers to drive underwater. In addition, players may now assemble their own karts, rather than select pre-set karts as in older Mario Kart games. It is possible to select the body of the kart, the wheels, and the glider, although some parts need to be unlocked before they can be used, mainly through collecting coins during races. Mario Kart 7 returns to the traditional eight characters per race like previous installments, instead of the total of twelve as seen in Mario Kart Wii. It is also compatible with both SpotPass and StreetPass.

Similar to preceding games, an overall "game ranking" of ★, ★★, or ★★★ is shown next to the player's nationality flag if the player has earned the designated ratings in all cups and in all classes. The overall ranking can also be seen while participating at a Grand Prix. The game shows the overall ranking at the results of the last course before the overall results of the last cup being shown.

Among other gameplay innovations is the vehicle's behavior in the courses. Each element to assemble the vehicle has a function that grants an advantage on certain courses. In other words, speed and handling alter if the player is driving through land, underwater, or in the air. Gliders also provide speed and duration for the vehicle when airborne and can be controlled using the . Players can tilt the either up or down to fall gently or quickly, respectively. Additionally, when driving underwater, the kart's handling, speed and drifting can considerably change compared to when driving on land.

This Mario Kart installment also introduces the option to race in a first-person view, where the player watches the race from the character's viewpoint and can race by tilting the system, instead of the usual third person view in the other six installments. In this view, the player can also see the vehicle's steering wheel in front of the character. The gyroscope, which gives the player the ability to steer the kart in first-person mode by tilting the , can be enabled or disabled by going to the Mario Kart Channel, going to the player's Mii's icon on the bottom right, going to "Settings", and lastly, selecting "Use" or "Don't Use" when going to "Gyro Sensor".

In a minor note, a small additional beat of the track's music plays if the player gets ahead in first place. The small beat fades when the player slows down the kart via braking, going off-road, or getting hit by an item. This happens only when the player is playing any cup beyond 50cc.

Motorbikes, which made their first appearance in Mario Kart Wii, do not return in the game. Tricks, which were also introduced in Mario Kart Wii, do return and can be used with Gliders for more speed. The Single Player version of VS mode from the other Mario Kart games and the mission mode from Mario Kart DS are also absent.

Controls

• /: Accelerate / Rocket Start (press and hold when the countdown shows 2 before the race starts)
• : Brake/Reverse
• : Steer / Auto Drift
• : Hop / Manual Drift / Perform tricks in midair.
• /: Use item
• : Switch map view
• : Pause / Resume
• : Display HOME Menu
• : First-Person Camera
• Tilt: Steer / Auto Drift (First person view only)

Modes

Grand Prix

The game's main option mode.

As usual in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart 7 has the Grand Prix, where a single player has to compete against computer-controlled opponents in order to obtain the trophies of the eight cups in the game. The Grand Prix has three engine classes, 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. The higher the engine class, the harder the races will be against the opponents. In this mode, by beating the first cups available, the user unlocks the other cups as well as new elements such as the kart's part (by collecting coins in each race), or a new playable character. By completing all the engine classes available at the start, the player unlocks the Mirror class.

A notable change featured in the game is the point system given to the racers after a competition 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 three 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. In Mario Kart: Double Dash to Mario Kart 8, the Grand Prix normally goes forth.

Time Trials

Time Trials allows the player to complete all the laps of a race course in the fastest time possible. Mario Kart 7 saves the player's records, and a Ghost for the combo that he or she used. Through Nintendo Network connection, the player can exchange his or her Ghosts to other players, compare their records, and even compete with their Ghosts. Up to seven Ghosts can be raced against at the same time, making it an 8-player race.

VS

In Versus, players can customize the races selecting personally the order of the racecourses and change other settings, such as setting the computer difficulty, the requirements to win the races, and the engine class of the player's and computer players' karts. Unlike in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, this mode is no longer available in Single Player mode. In Download Play, the players that don't have the Mario Kart 7 game card in their handhelds play as Shy Guy, like in Mario Kart DS, and are unable to customize their kart.

Battle

In Battle Mode, the player can select one of the two types of battles available in Mario Kart 7 and one of the six battle courses that appear in this mode. 3 of the six battle courses are new, and the remaining 3 battle courses are from previous installments in the series.

Balloon Battle

Racers compete each other by popping the opponent’s balloons to gain points in a time limit of two minutes. All racers start with three balloons and must use the items from the Item Boxes to take away a balloon from their opponents. Hitting a rival is worth a point. If the racer has one balloon remaining and is hit, a point will be taken out and will be momentarily out of the battle to respawn with three balloons again and continue to play.

Coin Runners

In Coin Runners (Coin Battle in Europe), racers collect the Coins spread in the battle course within the time limit of two minutes. The racer that has the most Coins at the end wins. Racers can use the items to hit the opponents and make them drop a maximum of 3 coins of the coins they have collected. As with Grand Prix and Time Trials, only 10 coins can be held onto at once.

Online Multiplayer

File:Mario Kart 7.PNG

Map that shows (in red) the countries that are registered to Nintendo Network to play Mario Kart 7 online.

With the Nintendo 3DS's online capabilities, players can look for other users for online play, local or global range. Players can choose a worldwide competition to race against other users that are connected, race with friends that were met, via StreetPass, or play in communities formed by users with customized rules for the races. Just like in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 has the Mario Kart Channel, that shows updates of online activity automatically through the SpotPass and StreetPass modes. With StreetPass, the users can exchange their Miis, Ghost Data from Time Trials, players' names, and information of communities, while the user will only receive Ghost Data from other users and community recommendations, via SpotPass.

VR

When racing online, players gain VR (short for VS Rating) points based on their finishing position. Also, players start with 1000 VR, rather than 5000 VR from the previous game. The basic use of VR is determining the skill of players and putting them against players of the same skill level in online races. Races and battles online play affect VR, but Community races and battles do not.

Characters

The complete character select screen.

Mario Kart 7 includes 17 total drivers (8 starting drivers and 9 unlockable drivers). The following is the order of what weight classes go by in order from lightest to heaviest: Feather, Light, Medium, Cruiser and Heavy.

Starting Drivers

• 

  Mario
  Medium

• 

  Luigi
  Medium

• 

  Peach
  Light

• 

  Yoshi
  Light

• 

  Bowser
  Heavy

• 

  Donkey Kong
  Cruiser

• 

  Toad
  Feather

• 

  Koopa Troopa
  Feather

Unlockable Drivers

• 

  Daisy
  Light

• 

  Wario
  Heavy

• 

  Rosalina
  Cruiser

• 

  Metal Mario
  Heavy
  New Driver

• 

  Shy Guy
  Feather

• 

  Honey Queen
  Heavy
  New Driver

• 

  Wiggler
  Cruiser
  New Driver

• 

  Lakitu
  Feather
  New Driver

• 

  Mii
  Medium

Unlocking Criteria

Criterion
Daisy	Win 150cc Mushroom Cup
Wario	Win 150cc Flower Cup
Rosalina	Win 150cc Star Cup
Metal Mario	Win 150cc Special Cup
Shy Guy	Win 150cc Shell Cup
Honey Queen	Win 150cc Banana Cup
Wiggler	Win 150cc Leaf Cup
Lakitu	Win 150cc Lightning Cup
Mii	Win all cups on any engine class.

Character Stats

Just as in Mario Kart Wii, characters get their own specific stat boost that accounts for kart customization, based on their weight class. The units are out of 6. In general, light characters have high values ​​of Acceleration, Handling, and Off-Road, while heavy characters have high values ​​of Speed and Weight. Hover over the weight class column to see the characters in the represented weight class.

Character Stats
Weight Class	Speed			Acceleration	Weight	Handling			Off-Road	Mini-Turbo	Stability	Drift
	Land	Sea	Air			Land	Sea	Air
Feather	3	3	4	4	2.25	3	2.5	2.25	4	2.75	1.75	4.25
Light	3.25	3	4	3.5	2.75	3	2.5	2.25	3.75	2.5	1.75	3.25
Medium	3.5	2.75	4	3	3.25	2.75	2.25	2	3.75	2.5	1.75	3.25
Cruiser	3.75	2.5	4	2.5	3.75	2.5	2	1.75	3.75	2.25	1.75	2.25
Heavy	4	2.5	4	2	4.25	2.5	2	1.75	3.5	2.25	1.75	2.25

Rival order

Much like in Super Mario Kart, all playable characters have a rival order, the order CPU drivers finish at the end of the race. However, unlike in Super Mario Kart, it is more simplified, as two characters are set instead of single characters followed by another single character, etc. If a set character is supposed to be unlockable, the set character is replaced by a default character until the unlockable character can be used, making the default character a third rival, that occasionally appears on the race.

Character
	Rivals	Mario	Metal Mario, Bowser, Peach	Luigi	Mario, Daisy, Yoshi	Peach	Lakitu, Donkey Kong, Toad	Yoshi	Wiggler, Toad, Donkey Kong	Bowser	Mario, Rosalina, Luigi	Donkey Kong	-	Toad	Rosalina, Peach, Koopa Troopa	Koopa Troopa	Yoshi, Shy Guy, Luigi	Daisy	Peach, Wario, Luigi	Wario	Luigi, Mario, Donkey Kong	Rosalina	Honey Queen, Peach, Toad	Metal Mario	Bowser, Rosalina, Mario	Shy Guy	Toad, Lakitu, Koopa Troopa	Honey Queen	Koopa Troopa, Metal Mario, Yoshi	Wiggler	Shy Guy, Yoshi, Bowser	Lakitu	Donkey Kong, Honey Queen, Mario	Mii	Bowser, Metal Mario, Mario or Yoshi, Rosalina, Peach Other Banzai Bills Birdos Boos Bouncing Notes Cars Cheep-Cheeps Chomps Clampies Dinosaurs Fishbones Frogoons Goats Goomba Signs Goombas Grand Goombas Hammer Bros. Lakitu Lava Bubbles Mega Wigglers Miis Monty Moles Moving Trees Penguins Piantas Pinballs Piranha Plants Rocky Wrenches Screaming Pillars Shy Guys Sidesteppers Snakes Snowmen Star Thwomps Stingbies Super Piranha Plants Swoopers Thwomps Tiki Goons Toads Trains Unagis Walking Vases Waluigi (Cameo) Items Many classic items make a return in Mario Kart 7. However, the Thunder Cloud, POW Block, and Mega Mushroom, introduced in Mario Kart Wii, are absent from the game. Instead, it features three new items – the Fire Flower, the Super Leaf, and the Lucky Seven. The Fake Item Box from previous installments is also absent, along with Boo. Similar to its predecessors, players receive items by driving through an Item Box found on courses. When players drive through an Item Box, the Item Roulette will select an item. In Mario Kart 7, Coins can be found on the track. Players can collect the coins by driving through them. Picking up a coin increases a player's top speed. If players collect ten coins, their kart is at maximum speed. Players lose coins if they get hit by an item or fall in a pit. Collecting a certain amount of coins unlocks vehicle parts to select them in the vehicle's customization menu. Items found on tracks Image Name Description Item Box Item Boxes give players items. File:Mk7 coin.jpg Coin Coins receive a small boost and increase top speed. Items received from Item Boxes Image Name Description File:Mk7 banana.jpg Banana Karts that run over Bananas spin out. File:Mk7 bananas.jpg Triple Bananas Gives players three bananas that trail behind the kart. File:Green Shell MK7.jpg Green Shell Travels in a straight line and knocks over a kart it hits. File:Mk7 triplegreenshell.jpg Triple Green Shells Three green shells that protect the player's kart from incoming attacks. File:Mk7 redshell.jpg Red Shell Homes in on the closest kart in front of the player and knocks it over. File:Mk7 tripleredshells.jpg Triple Red Shells Three red shells that protect the player's kart from incoming attacks. File:Spiny Shell.jpg Spiny Shell Chases after the kart in the lead, knocking over all karts it hits on the way. File:Mk7 bob-omb.jpg Bob-omb Explodes when thrown or dropped, knocking over any kart in its blast radius. File:Mk7 supermushroom.jpg Mushroom Provides the player's kart with a small speed boost. File:Mk7 triplemushrooms.jpg Triple Mushrooms Provides the player's kart with three separate speed boosts. File:Mk7 goldenmushroom.jpg Golden Mushroom Gives players a speed boost when the / is pressed, but only for a short time. Bullet Bill Transforms the player into a Bullet Bill, which rockets down the entire track at very high speeds on auto-pilot for some seconds. The Bullet Bill is invincible and can knock over items, course hazards and other racers, which makes them lose all items in their possession. Blooper Sprays ink on all the karts ahead and reduces their visibility. File:Mariokart7 lightning.jpg Lightning Causes all opponents to drop their items and drive slowly for a short time. Opponents can also get squashed by normal-sized players. File:Mk7 star.jpg Star The driver obtains total invincibility and is able to knock over everything in his path including items, course obstacles and other racers, making them lose their current item. In addition, the driver receives a speed boost and the ability to drive off-road without losing any speed. File:FireFlower-MK7.jpg Fire Flower New Item Allows the player to throw fireballs that cause other karts to spin out of control on impact. Super Leaf New Item Gives the player's kart a tail that can be used to deflect items and knock over opponents. Lucky Seven New Item Surrounds the player's kart with seven items that can all be used. Courses Mario Kart 7 introduces 32 courses that include 16 new courses and 16 retro courses, which include two courses from Super Mario Kart, three from Mario Kart 64, one from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, two from the Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, four from Mario Kart DS and four from Mario Kart Wii. It also features three new battle stages, and three Retro ones. Only the Mushroom Cup and Shell Cup, as well as the battle courses are available from the start, but upon unlocking them they are available for all game modes, and not just for that specific Engine Class, unlike past installments. Mario Kart 7 has three courses -- Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu, and Rainbow Road -- that have three sections each, with each section counting as one lap. The following charts show the North American English names of the tracks, with their European and Australian variants in italics. Like in Mario Kart DS, the retro tracks' lengths have been shortened, except the DS retro courses, which have been widened. New Courses Mushroom Cup Flower Cup Star Cup Special Cup Toad Circuit Wuhu Loop Wuhu Island Loop Piranha Plant Slide Piranha Plant Pipeway DK Jungle Daisy Hills Mario Circuit Wario Shipyard Wario's Galleon Rosalina's Ice World Cheep Cheep Lagoon Cheep Cheep Cape Music Park Melody Motorway Neo Bowser City Koopa City Bowser's Castle Shy Guy Bazaar Rock Rock Mountain Alpine Pass Maka Wuhu Wuhu Mountain Loop Rainbow Road Retro Courses Shell Cup Banana Cup Leaf Cup Lightning Cup N64 Luigi Raceway N64 Koopa Beach N64 Koopa Troopa Beach N64 Kalimari Desert Wii Koopa Cape GBA Bowser Castle 1 SNES Mario Circuit 2 DS DK Pass GCN Dino Dino Jungle Wii Mushroom Gorge Wii Coconut Mall GCN Daisy Cruiser DS Airship Fortress DS Luigi's Mansion DS Waluigi Pinball Wii Maple Treeway SNES Rainbow Road Battle Stages New Stages Retro Stages Honeybee Hive Honeybee House GBA Battle Course 1 Sherbet Rink N64 Big Donut Wuhu Town DS Palm Shore Vehicle Customization File:BoltBuggyScreenshot.jpg The Kart customization menu allows the player to build his or her own kart; choosing the body, the tires, and the glider. Here, Bowser selects the Bolt Buggy, the Monster tires, and the Paraglider glider. Mario Kart 7 introduces the option to personalize the player's vehicle before getting to the race. The player can select the body, the tires, and the glider to build the desired kart. By collecting many Coins from the races in Grand Prix mode, the player can unlock a new body, tire, or glider to use. It is possible to acquire ten coins in a race. As the user chooses the parts, the stats may vary, regarding to the parts' combination and that the vehicle works better in particular situations. The resulting type of vehicle can be described in this way in general: A speedy Kart = great speed, moderate weight, humble acceleration, and poor off-road and handling. A robust Kart = low speed, off-road, great acceleration and handling, in contrast with a very low weight. A heavyweight Kart = great speed, off-road and weight, but very poor acceleration and handling. A lightweight Kart = mild speed, low weight, good off-road and handling, and great acceleration. A midweight Kart = above average speed, mild acceleration and weight, great off-road, and poor handling. Vehicle Parts and Stat Boosts Each part affects each kart's stats differently. The following is a list of the stat boosts that are applied, and the units are out of 6. However, only the Speed, Acceleration, Weight, Handling, and Off-Road stats are visible in-game. This list shows the North American kart names. If the kart has a different name in Europe, the European name will be put in parentheses under the North American name. All kart parts are sorted based on how they're ordered in-game, starting with the standard parts. Vehicle Part Bonuses Kart Bodies Body Speed Acceleration Weight Handling Off-Road Mini-Turbo Stability Drift Land Sea Air Land Sea Air Standard* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gold Standard (Gold Kart) +0.25 0 -0.25 -0.25 +0.25 0 0 0 -0.25 -0.25 0 -0.25 Birthday Girl** (Royal Ribbon) -0.5 +0.5 +0.5 +0.5 -0.25 +0.5 +0.25 +0.25 -0.25 +0.5 0 +0.25 Bumble V 0 0 +0.5 +0.5 -0.25 -0.5 0 +0.25 +0.25 +1.5 0 +0.25 Bruiser (Growlster) +0.5 -0.5 -0.25 -0.25 +0.25 -0.5 0 0 0 +0.5 0 -0.25 Soda Jet +0.25 -0.5 +0.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +0.25 -0.25 +0.5 0 +0.25 B Dasher +0.5 -0.5 0 -0.5 0 +0.25 0 0 -0.25 0 0 0 Egg 1 -0.25 +1.5 +0.5 +0.5 -0.25 0 0 0 0 +0.5 0 +0.25 Barrel Train +0.25 -0.75 -0.25 0 +0.25 -0.5 0 0 0 +1.5 0 -0.25 Tiny Tug -0.5 +1.5 -0.25 0 +0.25 0 +0.5 0 +0.25 -0.5 0 -0.25 Cact-X -0.25 +0.5 -0.25 -0.25 0 +0.25 0 0 +0.25 -0.5 0 0 Koopa Clown 0 0 0 -0.25 0 +0.5 +0.25 +0.25 -0.25 +1.5 0 0 Cloud 9 -0.5 +1 +0.5 +0.25 -0.25 +0.5 +0.5 +0.25 0 +0.5 0 +0.25 Zucchini (Gherkin) +0.5 -0.5 -0.25 -0.25 0 -0.25 0 0 0 -0.5 0 0 Blue Seven +0.5 0 -0.25 -0.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 0 -0.5 0 -0.25 Bolt Buggy +0.25 -0.5 -0.25 -0.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +0.25 0 0 -0.25 Pipe Frame* -0.25 +1 +0.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 +0.25 +0.25 +0.25 +0.5 0 +0.25 Kart Tires Tire Speed Acceleration Weight Handling Off-Road Mini-Turbo Stability Drift Land Sea Air Land Sea Air Standard (Normal) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gold Tires (Gold Wheels) +1 -1 0 -0.5 +0.5 -1.25 0 -1 -2.5 0 0 -1 Roller -0.75 +1 +1 +0.75 -1 +2 +1.25 +1 -1.25 +1 +1 -1 Slim -0.25 0 0 +0.25 -0.25 +1.25 +1.25 0 -1.25 -1 +1 +1 Slick +1 -1 0 -0.25 +0.25 -1.25 -1.25 0 -2.5 0 0 +1 Sponge -0.25 -1 +1 +0.5 -0.75 0 -1.25 +1 0 0 0 +1 Mushroom +0.25 0 0 -0.25 -0.5 +1.25 0 0 -1.25 0 0 -1 Wood (Wooden) -0.5 +1 +1 +0.5 -0.5 +1.25 +2.5 +1 0 -1 +1 +1 Red Monster +0.75 -1 0 -0.5 +0.75 -1.25 -1.25 -1 +1.25 +0.25 -1 -1 Monster +0.75 -1 0 -0.75 +1 -1.25 -1.25 -1 +1.25 0 -1 0 Kart Gliders Glider Speed Acceleration Weight Handling Off-Road Mini-Turbo Stability Drift Land Sea Air Land Sea Air File:Supergilder.png Super Glider* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gold Glider 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Peach Parasol** 0 0 -3 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +2 0 +0.25 0 -0.25 Flower Glider 0 0 -3 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +2 0 +0.25 0 -0.25 Beast Glider (Ghastly Glider) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swooper (Swoop) 0 0 -1.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +1 0 +0.25 0 -0.25 Paraglider (Parafoil) 0 0 -1.5 +0.25 -0.25 0 0 +1 0 +0.25 0 -0.25 *Changes color, depending on the character. **Changes color, only when used by female characters, excluding female Mii's. Unlocking Criteria The only parts that don't need to be unlocked are the Standard kart, the Birthday Girl, the Bolt Buggy, the Standard tires, the Roller tires, the Monster tires, and the Super Glider. To unlock a different kart part requires a certain total of coins collected from every race in Grand Prix. Once the player has reached that amount, a random kart part is unlocked. The only exceptions to this rule are the gold parts and the Beast Glider. Random Parts Players can unlock random parts by collecting the following coin values: 50 coins 100 coins 150 coins 200 coins 250 coins 300 coins 400 coins 500 coins 600 coins 700 coins 800 coins 900 coins 1000 coins 1200 coins 1400 coins 1600 coins 1800 coins 2000 coins 2500 coins 3000 coins 3500 coins 4000 coins 4500 coins Special Parts The special parts must be unlocked with these criteria: The Beast Glider can be unlocked by collecting 5,000 coins, but if players earn kart parts with the StreetPass feature, the amount of coins needed to unlock it will decrease. The Gold Glider can be unlocked by making a minimum of 100 StreetPass connections, or by collecting 10,000 coins. The Gold Tires are unlocked by obtaining a minimum of one star ranking in all cups of every engine class, or by collecting 15,000 coins. The Gold Standard can be unlocked by obtaining at least 10,000 VR, or by collecting 20,000 coins. The Gold Steering Wheel can be unlocked by racing 100 races using gyro-controls for 80% of the time. The golden steering wheel is lost once 20 races are played without the gyro controls, unlike the Golden Wheel in Mario Kart Wii. Ghosts Just like in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 has Normal Staff Ghosts and Expert Staff Ghosts, which appear in the Time Trials game mode. The Normal Staff Ghosts are available at the start, but when players achieve a certain time, the Expert Staff Ghosts will be unlocked. Normal Staff Ghosts Course Staff Name Time Character Kart Combination Body Tires Glider Toad Circuit Nin★KATIE 01:35.135 Toad Standard Standard Super Glider Daisy Hills Nin★Terui♪ 02:06.351 Daisy Birthday Girl Roller Peach Parasol Cheep Cheep Lagoon Nin★Gonta♪ 01:53.758 Peach Birthday Girl Roller Peach Parasol Shy Guy Bazaar Ret★TEAGUE 02:31.167 Shy Guy Standard Roller Super Glider Wuhu Loop Ret★Bryan 01:44.287 Peach Standard Sponge Peach Parasol Mario Circuit Nin★Miki★ 02:25.001 Mario Standard Standard Super Glider Music Park Nin★wtnbt 02:19.336 Rosalina Birthday Girl Roller Super Glider Rock Rock Mountain Nin★Morimo 02:35.105 Wiggler Standard Red Monster Super Glider Piranha Plant Slide Nin★tBando 02:20.186 Lakitu Standard Monster Super Glider Wario Shipyard Nin★Miyamo 02:26.268 Wario Bolt Buggy Monster Super Glider Neo Bowser City Ret★Chuck 02:11.032 Metal Mario Standard Standard Super Glider Maka Wuhu Ret★Reed 01:50.607 Yoshi Bumble V Sponge Paraglider DK Jungle Ret★Derek 02:24.040 Donkey Kong Bolt Buggy Red Monster Super Glider Rosalina's Ice World Ret★RLingo 02:25.784 Rosalina Standard Sponge Paraglider Bowser's Castle Ret★Matt M 02:34.815 Bowser Standard Monster Super Glider Rainbow Road Nin★Takamu 02:10.090 Honey Queen Birthday Girl Slim Peach Parasol N64 Luigi Raceway Nin★McCoy 02:04.317 Luigi Standard Slick Super Glider GBA Bowser Castle 1 Nin★Hayata 01:31.030 Bowser Pipe Frame Standard Beast Glider Wii Mushroom Gorge Nin★Kataok 02:02.292 Toad Cloud 9 Mushroom Paraglider DS Luigi's Mansion Nin★Konno 02:09.982 Luigi Zucchini Slim Super Glider N64 Koopa Beach Ret★Amanda 01:54.274 Koopa Troopa Pipe Frame Standard Super Glider SNES Mario Circuit 2 Nin★ITRO-S 01:28.106 Mario Pipe Frame Standard Super Glider Wii Coconut Mall Ret★Thomas 02:30.117 Honey Queen Standard Slim Super Glider DS Waluigi Pinball Ret★Bill 02:44.372 Wario Standard Slick Swooper N64 Kalimari Desert Nin★Nishim 02:01.932 Shy Guy Cact-X Wood Swooper DS DK Pass Ret★Sean 02:35.045 Donkey Kong Barrel Train Wood Super Glider GCN Daisy Cruiser Nin★Dai8 01:49.564 Daisy Pipe Frame Sponge Peach Parasol Wii Maple Treeway Nin★Asakaw 02:53.560 Wiggler Standard Wood Super Glider Wii Koopa Cape Ret★Quinn 02:49.046 Koopa Troopa Standard Monster Super Glider GCN Dino Dino Jungle Nin★iwaco 02:29.837 Yoshi Egg 1 Roller Paraglider DS Airship Fortress Nin★OBSHNN 02:23.323 Metal Mario Zucchini Slick Super Glider SNES Rainbow Road Nin★YABUKI 01:34.459 Lakitu Pipe Frame Slim Super Glider Expert Staff Ghosts Course Staff Name Time Character Kart Combination Body Tires Glider Toad Circuit Nin★ishi 01:26.632 Toad Standard Monster Super Glider Daisy Hills Nin★SASAKI 01:51.111 Daisy Birthday Girl Sponge Super Glider Cheep Cheep Lagoon Nin★Tkdr 01:42.011 Peach Tiny Tug Roller Peach Parasol Shy Guy Bazaar Ret★RWO 02:14.714 Shy Guy Pipe Frame Monster Paraglider Wuhu Loop Nin★nkm 01:32.854 Peach Pipe Frame Slick Peach Parasol Mario Circuit Nin★raba 02:10.018 Mario B Dasher Slick Super Glider Music Park Nin★Masa 02:07.551 Rosalina Soda Jet Slim Paraglider Rock Rock Mountain Nin★Hiroma 02:19.149 Wiggler Standard Mushroom Flower Glider Piranha Plant Slide Nin★JIKU 02:06.540 Lakitu Cloud 9 Sponge Paraglider Wario Shipyard Nin★syun1 02:12.313 Wario Bruiser Slim Beast Glider Neo Bowser City Ret★Matt M 01:58.996 Metal Mario Blue Seven Monster Paraglider Maka Wuhu Nin★Chucky 01:39.361 Yoshi Standard Monster Super Glider DK Jungle Ret★Dupree 02:10.777 Donkey Kong Standard Wood Swooper Rosalina's Ice World Ret★Dax 02:13.091 Rosalina Zucchini Red Monster Super Glider Bowser's Castle Ret★Tom 02:15.244 Bowser Bruiser Red Monster Beast Glider Rainbow Road Nin★Asakur 01:52.077 Honey Queen Bumble V Standard Flower Glider N64 Luigi Raceway Nin★miyakw 01:52.206 Luigi Pipe Frame Slick Paraglider GBA Bowser Castle 1 Nin★hokwai 01:22.221 Bowser Koopa Clown Roller Super Glider Wii Mushroom Gorge Ret★Jay 01:50.526 Toad Pipe Frame Monster Super Glider DS Luigi's Mansion Ret★Vince 01:58.539 Luigi Egg 1 Monster Paraglider N64 Koopa Beach Nin★ueda 01:42.909 Koopa Troopa Soda Jet Sponge Paraglider SNES Mario Circuit 2 Nin★==Kony 01:17.777 Mario B Dasher Slick Super Glider Wii Coconut Mall Ret★RyanP 02:14.167 Honey Queen Koopa Clown Sponge Paraglider DS Waluigi Pinball Nin★Nahhr 02:27.574 Wario Bruiser Slim Beast Glider N64 Kalimari Desert Nin★KOZ★ 01:48.707 Shy Guy Bolt Buggy Red Monster Beast Glider DS DK Pass Nin★MaTU 02:16.534 Donkey Kong Bolt Buggy Red Monster Paraglider GCN Daisy Cruiser Ret★Carlos 01:43.341 Daisy Tiny Tug Sponge Peach Parasol Wii Maple Treeway Ret★Bill 02:34.877 Wiggler Egg 1 Sponge Flower Glider Wii Koopa Cape Ret★Shane 02:28.585 Koopa Troopa Cact-X Standard Flower Glider GCN Dino Dino Jungle Ret★Will 02:14.430 Yoshi Egg 1 Monster Swooper DS Airship Fortress Ret★Shane 02:07.704 Metal Mario Standard Monster Super Glider SNES Rainbow Road Nin★SRIWtm 01:21.994 Lakitu Cloud 9 Roller Paraglider Update History File:MK711.jpg After the update, Ver. 1.1 can be seen on the Online Multiplayer button. Mario Kart 7 is the first Nintendo 3DS game to utilize the 3DS's ability to patch games, spurred by significant shortcut exploits found on certain courses. Updating is free, with the data being categorized as 3DS Add-On Content; the patches can be deleted at any time, and have no effect in Single Player and Local Multiplayer, but are mandatory to play online. An SD Card is required to download the patches, however. Version 1.1 of May 15, 2012 (43 SD Card blocks) Resolved shortcut exploits for Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu, and GBA Bowser Castle 1 when playing online. Does not affect offline play; the exploits remain in Single Player and Local Multiplayer, and ghosts that used these exploits are unaffected. Starting on May 15, 2012, all players must download this update to access Online Multiplayer. Nintendo eShop Descriptions The newest installment of the fan-favorite Mario Kart™ franchise brings Mushroom Kingdom racing fun into glorious 3D. For the first time, drivers explore new competitive kart possibilities such as soaring through the skies or plunging into the depths of the sea. New courses, strategic new abilities and customizable karts bring the racing excitement to new heights! Gallery MarioGlider3DS.PNG Mario gliding in air. Luigi and his Bolt Buggy kart. Yoshi in the Bumble V. Shy Guy and his standard kart. Mario, Bowser, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Lakitu. Mario on his own circuit. First logo. Beta Elements Main article: List of Mario Kart 7 beta elements The game featured a demo in which 3 courses could be played. These courses are Rock Rock Mountain, Cheep Cheep Lagoon and DK Jungle. Media Main article: List of media from Mario Kart 7 Glitches Main article: List of glitches in Mario Kart 7 Some of the most well known glitches are found in Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu and GBA Bowser Castle 1, if executed correctly they allow the driver to skip sections of the track. On May 15, 2012 an update was released that made these glitches unusable in multiplayer, but they are still allowed while playing offline. Staff Main article: List of Mario Kart 7 staff Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development developed Mario Kart 7, with Retro Studios as Co-Developers and Artists. The music composition is credited to Kenta Nagata and Satomi Terui. References to Other Games Super Mario Bros.: The Fire Flower appears for the first time as a usable item that throws fireballs. The layout of the course Piranha Plant Slide greatly resembles the tile sprites from this game. Super Mario Bros. 2: The Shy Guy Bazaar course makes references to the elements from this game such as the addition of Magic Carpets (being ridden by Shy Guys) and vases in their original colors. Super Mario Bros. 3: The Super Leaf appears as an item. Super Mario Kart: The Pipe Frame returns from this game. The starting lineup of characters is also the same. Mario Circuit 2 and Rainbow Road return as playable courses. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3: A small portion of Wario Shipyard's music is a remix of this game's main theme. Donkey Kong Country: DK Jungle's music is a remix of the Jungle Hijinxs theme from this game. Mario Kart 64: Some musical pieces are remixes from this game such as the main title screen, the results screen and Rainbow Road. A segment of the theme for the course Toad's Turnpike can be heard in the newer course, Neo Bowser City. Luigi Raceway, Koopa Troopa Beach, and Kalimari Desert return as playable courses, plus Big Donut returns as a playable battle course. Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Bowser Castle 1 returns as a playable course, plus Battle Course 1 returns as a playable battle arena. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Part of the Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road themes are based on their respective themes originating from this game. Also, the Barrel Train returns from this game. Daisy Cruiser and Dino Dino Jungle return as playable courses. Mario Kart Arcade GP: The way that Coins give the kart a small boost upon being collected originated from this game. Mario Kart DS: The Egg 1 and B Dasher return from this game as kart parts. Luigi's Mansion, Waluigi Pinball, DK Pass, and Airship Fortress return as playable courses, plus Palm Shore returns as a playable battle arena. Super Mario Galaxy: The Comet Observatory and the starting planet of Gateway Galaxy appears in the background in the course, Rosalina's Ice World. A part of Space Junk Galaxy's music is also remixed in the course. Mario Kart Wii: Most of the gameplay in Mario Kart 7 is based off of this game. The first part of the Award Ceremony fanfare music is from said installment as well. Minecarts from Wario's Gold Mine can be seen on Wario Shipyard. Tricks return from this game. The menu selection music is based on said music from this game. The roster and map sprites also return from this game. Mushroom Gorge, Coconut Mall, Maple Treeway, and Koopa Cape return as playable courses. Wii Sports Resort / Wii Fit Plus: Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu and Wuhu Town all take place in Wuhu Island. Donkey Kong Country Returns: DK Jungle is based on and includes elements from this game. Super Mario 3D Land: The new look for the Super Leaf introduced in this game is shown as one of the newest items for the Mario Kart series and also used for the logo for the Leaf Cup. Also, the cardboard cut-out Goombas reappear in Piranha Plant Slide. References in Later Games Mario Kart Arcade GP DX: Gameplay elements such as the glider and underwater racing return in this game. Mario Kart 8: Music Park and Piranha Plant Slide are confirmed return as this game's retro tracks. Also, this game is a direct sequel to Mario Kart 7 as it includes the glider and underwater racing mechanics, as well as similar graphics. Reception The game has received positive reviews. GameXplain has given the game's Multiplayer 4.5 stars out of 5, and Single-Player a 3.5 out of 5.. IGN gave the game a 9.0/10, Gametrailers gave it a 8.8/10, Joystiq gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, Gameinformer gave it an 8.50/10, 1up gave it a B- grade, Gamespot gave it a 8/10, and Gamesradar gave it a perfect 10/10. However, Destructoid only rated the game a 5.0/10. As of December 10, 2011, Metacritic has an average score of 85%, including 41 positive reviews, and 6 mixed. Gamerankings has an average score of 84.03% based on 32 reviews. The game sold over 420,000 units in its first 4 days in Japan. Names in Other Languages Trivia Mario Kart 7's Puzzle Swap panel. This is the second installment in the Mario series overall (excluding crossover installments) to be localised to Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian (the first was Super Mario 3D Land). Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land are marketed by Nintendo of Europe as the first Mario games to be released in these languages. Mario Kart 7 is the first Mario game to use the Nintendo Network service as it offers the ability to create custom communities, which would then become one of the features of the service. One of the newer Puzzle Swap panels in the StreetPass Mii Plaza software for the Nintendo 3DS is a Mario Kart 7 picture. CPU players are more likely to choose the Standard body and two other bodies. For instance, computer player Wario is more likely to drive in the Egg 1, the Bumble V, and the Standard body. Male or gender-indeterminate CPU players never drive on the Birthday Girl body. CPU players never drive with Gold parts. Mario Kart 7 is the first Mario Kart game to be developed by more than one video game developer, Retro Studios. And the second Mario Kart to have a different video game developer, the first being Mario Kart: Super Circuit. References External Links Launch Trailer Official Japanese Website Official European Website Official Australian Website Official American Website Official Korean Website Official Chinese Website