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

Courses with normally optional segments are marked with an asterisk (*).

• SNES Donut Plains 3*
• N64 Koopa Troopa Beach*
• GBA Boo Lake
• GBA Cheep-Cheep Island*
• GBA Yoshi Desert*
• GCN Dry Dry Desert
• GCN Daisy Cruiser*
• GCN Sherbet Land*
• DS Cheep Cheep Beach*
• DS Wario Stadium
• Wii Koopa Cape
• 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon
• 3DS Piranha Plant Slide
• 3DS Wario Shipyard
• Maka Wuhu*
• 3DS DK Jungle*
• 3DS Rosalina's Ice World
• 3DS Bowser's Castle
• Water Park
• Sweet Sweet Canyon
• Thwomp Ruins*
• Twisted Mansion
• Dolphin Shoals
• Yoshi's Island
• Squeaky Clean Sprint
• Vancouver Velocity*
• Los Angeles Laps*
• Amsterdam Drift (T, R/T, all versions of 2 and 3)
• Piranha Plant Cove (all routes)
• Tropical Coast
• Omatsuri Circuit
• Lightning Lagoon
• Cheep Cheep Reef

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.