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The Green Shell, the classic attack Item in Mario Kart, made its debut appearance in Super Mario Kart, and since then, it has came back as an Item in every single Mario Kart game, even the arcade games Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It is one of the two most common items in Mario Kart history, along with the banana.

Triple Green Shells, first introduced in Mario Kart 64, have the same effect, however, there is three of them and they also rotate around the kart. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Triple Green Shells (and Triple Red Shells) are the Special Item of Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa. Petey Piranha and King Boo can use three Shells, too.

Uses[]

The Green Shell is mainly used for as a basic offensive Item. A racer can throw them in front of them at an opponent, and it will speed through the track in a straight line until:

  • A-It collides with other driver, in which it will knock them over. They disintegrate instantly upon impact.
  • B-It collides with an item trailed by racers. Items spinning around racers or on track, like a banana, also destroys it.
  • C-It comes into contact with the explosion impact from a Bob-omb or a Spiny Shell, or the sound waves from an active Super Horn.
  • D-It is consumed by on-track obstacles, most notably the Piranha Plants in Music Park/Melody Motorway.
  • E-It is hit by throwable items from racers, like Boomerang, Fireballs or shells (all 3 variants).
  • F-It ricochets off the walls five times, the fifth one destroying it (In Mario Kart 64, it can bounce an unlimited number of times.). This makes them especially dangerous in tight spaces.
  • or G-It falls off the course.

Due to how they work, it is a great item to be used for taking out the racer in front who is currently trailing their items, unlike the Red Shell.

Triple Green Shells - Mario Kart Wii

Green Shells can also be held behind a Kart to act as a defensive Item against other enemy Green Shells or the more powerful, homing Red Shell. They can also be shot backwards, acting the same way as they do when they are launched forward. This technique is also great to take out racers who are attempting Drafting.

The Green Shell is also included in a Lucky 7 Item in Mario Kart 7 as one of the seven usable Items circling around the racer. It has the same effect as a regular Green Shell, and can be used when it is in front of the Kart, or simply to ram into an opponent racer to knock them over.

In Mario Kart 8, the Green Shell is now an Item member of a Crazy 8 Item. Once again, it's one of the Items, now eight of them, as the name implies, spinning around the driver and can be deployed when it is in front of the racer, or crashing into another driver.

Gallery[]

Trivia![]

  • The Green Shell is one of six items that has been in every single Mario Kart game, the other five being the Red Shell, Banana, Mushroom, Star, and Lightning.
  • In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, forward thrown Green Shells are believed to consistently ricochet off walls in a weird way to hit racers driving by them. This behavior is called Smart Bouncing by the community, and this behavior makes Green Shells a pain to dodge should the track does not provide enough space for the racer to get out of the way. However, this has not been proven and remains speculation.
Super Mario Kart items
Regular Items BananaGreen ShellRed ShellMushroomLightningStarmanFeatherCoinBoo
CPU-only Items Poison MushroomYoshi EggFireball
Mario Kart 64 items
BananaBanana Bunch* • Green ShellTriple Green Shell* • Red ShellTriple Red Shell* • Spiny Shell* • Fake Item Box* • MushroomTriple Mushroom* • Golden Mushroom* • LightningStarmanBoo
* - New to the series.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit items
BananaGreen ShellTriple Green ShellRed ShellTriple Red ShellSpiny ShellMushroomTriple MushroomLightningStarmanBoo
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! items
Regular Items BananaGreen ShellRed ShellSpiny ShellFake Item BoxMushroomTriple MushroomsLightningStarman
Special Items FireballHeart* • Yoshi EggBirdo's Egg* • Chain Chomp* • Golden MushroomTriple Green ShellsTriple Red ShellsGiant Banana* • Bowser Shell* • Bob-omb*
* - New to the series.
Mario Kart DS items
BananaTriple Bananas* • Green ShellTriple Green ShellRed ShellTriple Red ShellSpiny ShellBob-ombFake Item BoxMushroomTriple MushroomGolden MushroomBullet Bill* • Blooper* • LightningStarmanBoo
* - New to the series.
Mario Kart Wii items
BananaTriple BananasGreen ShellTriple Green ShellRed ShellTriple Red ShellSpiny ShellBob-ombFake Item BoxMushroomTriple MushroomGolden MushroomBullet BillBlooperLightningStarmanMega Mushroom* • Thunder Cloud* • POW Block*
* - New to the series.
Mario Kart 7 items
BananaTriple BananasGreen ShellTriple Green ShellRed ShellTriple Red ShellSpiny ShellBob-ombMushroomTriple MushroomGolden MushroomBullet BillBlooperLightningStarmanFire Flower* • Super Leaf* • Lucky Seven*
* - New to the series.
Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) items
BananaTriple BananasGreen ShellTriple Green ShellRed ShellTriple Red ShellSpiny ShellBob-ombMushroomTriple MushroomGolden MushroomBullet BillBlooperLightningStarmanFire FlowerBoomerang FlowerPotted Piranha PlantSuper HornCrazy 8CoinFeather*/** • Boo*
* - Exclusive to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. • ** - Only available in Battle Mode.
Mario Kart Tour items
Regular Items BananaGreen ShellRed ShellSpiny ShellBob-ombMushroomBullet BillBlooperLightningStarman** • Mega MushroomSuper HornCoinFeather***
Special Items Boomerang FlowerBubble* • Triple Green ShellsDouble Bob-ombs* • Dash Ring* • Giant BananaHeartFire FlowerYoshi's EggTriple MushroomsIce Flower* • Giga Bob-omb* • Bowser ShellBanana Barrel* • Lucky SevenBob-omb Cannon* • Birdo's EggHammer* • Mushroom Cannon* • Triple BananasCoin Box* • Super Bell* • Super LeafCapsule*
* - New to the series. • ** - Exclusive as an Item in some Challenges and in Multiplayer.*** - Only available in Battle Mode.
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