Mario Kart 8

Information
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii U
Released	May 29, 2014 May 30, 2014 May 30, 2014 May 31, 2014
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Everyone

Mario Kart 8 (abbreviated to MK8) is a kart-racing game exclusive to the Wii U. It is the eighth Mario Kart game in the series (eleventh overall if including the arcade games). It was released on May 29, 2014, in Japan, May 30, 2014, in North America and Europe and May 31, 2014, in Australia. . A new feature, anti-gravity (like the hover-converted DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine), is introduced to the Mario Kart series while past gimmicks such as gliding, underwater, and bikes return.

Gameplay

In the eighth installment of the Mario Kart series, anti-gravity is introduced. Via sensors, it enables players to drive on surfaces that are upside-down or tilted at a steep angle. This is one of the main focuses of the game, the feature being used in every new course. Gliding and underwater features return from Mario Kart 7 also, working the same way, as do coins. Kart customization also makes a return, with bikes added into the mix as well. ATVs are also new types of vehicles. As with its predecessor, it brings back 16 old courses and 16 new courses which the total sum of that is 32 tracks. Battle mode returns, but battling is done on race tracks now, unlike it was in previous Mario Kart titles. Time Trials and single-player VS mode return after an absence in Mario Kart 7. Stamps are also a new feature in the game, being collectible based on fulfilling certain criteria. They can be posted to Miiverse. Also, online modes return, being playable with up to two people on the same console. Also in this game is Mario Kart TV, where players can watch highlights from various races and battles. They can also share them to Miiverse and YouTube.

Modes

Grand Prix

N64 Rainbow Road Mario kart 8

Grand Prix mode in action.

In Grand Prix mode, twelve players compete for first place in cups of four races. They are awarded with points based on their placements at the end of races, and the racer with more points at the end wins. This mode can be played with more than one player.

Time trials

Koopa Troopa does a time trial on N64 Royal Raceway.

Time trials allow players to race for the best time possible, either on their own or against a ghost. It is not possible to play this mode with more than one player.

VS

Bowser doing a VS race at 3DS Music Park.

VS allows players to race, but with their own custom rule sets set such as difficultly. It makes a return to single player from Mario Kart 7, when it was only available in multiplayer mode. Here, it can be played alone or with up to four people.

Battle

Ludwig von Koopa competes in a battle on Wii Moo Moo Meadows.

In battle mode, players must attack each other with items to make them lose balloons and gain a point. If players lose all of their balloons, they are eliminated. They can still play, but cannot win. They are invisible while defeated. This can be played with up to four people.

Online

A player setting up an online race.

Players can race and battle online, alone or with another player.

Characters

Thirty characters are playable in this game (including Mii) making this the most amount of playable characters a Mario Kart game has ever had. Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach are introduced to the overall Mario series in this game. The Koopalings, consisting of Larry, Lemmy, Wendy, Ludwig, Iggy, Roy and Morton become playable for the first time ever. Baby Daisy and Shy Guy, for the first time in the series, do not need to be unlocked and are playable from the start.

Lightweight

Baby Mario	Baby Luigi	Baby Peach	Baby Daisy	Baby Rosalina
Toad	Toadette	Shy Guy	Koopa Troopa	Lakitu
Larry Koopa	Lemmy Koopa	Wendy O. Koopa	Isabelle	Villager

Middleweight

Mario	Luigi	Peach	Daisy	Yoshi
Ludwig von Koopa	Iggy Koopa	Tanooki Mario	Cat Peach

Heavyweight

Wario	Waluigi	Donkey Kong	Rosalina	Bowser
Roy Koopa	Morton Koopa Jr.	Metal Mario	Pink Gold Peach	Dry Bowser
Link

Any

Mii

Bold denotes unlockable character

Italic denotes downloadable character

DLC

On August 26, 2014, six characters were confirmed to be downloadable, including three from other series. These characters would be come in forms of 2 themed DLC Packs containing a total of eight vehicles (with seperate vehicle parts) and four cups consisting of four tracks each.

Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 DLC

Characters:

•  Link
• Tanooki Mario
• Cat Peach

Vehicle Parts:

• Blue Falcon (vehicle)
• B Dasher (vehicle)
• Master Cycle (vehicle)
• Tanooki Kart (vehicle)
• Triforce Tires
• Hylian Kite

Tracks:

• GCN Yoshi Circuit (Egg Cup)
• Excitebike Arena (Egg Cup)
• Dragon Driftway (Egg Cup)
• Mute City (Egg Cup)
• Wii Wario's Gold Mine (Triforce Cup)
• SNES Rainbow Road (Triforce Cup)
• Ice Ice Outpost (Triforce Cup)
• Hyrule Circuit (Triforce Cup)

Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 DLC

Characters:

• Dry Bowser
• Villager
• Isabelle

Vehicle Parts:

• City Tripper (vehicle)
• Streetle (vehicle)
• P-Wing (vehicle)
• Bowser Trike (vehicle)

Tracks:

• GCN Baby Park (Animal Crossing Cup)
• GBA Cheese Land (Animal Crossing Cup)
• Nature Road (Animal Crossing Cup)
• Animal Crossing (Animal Crossing Cup)
• 3DS Neo Bowser City (Bell Cup)
• GBA Ribbon Road (Bell Cup)
• Lingling Metro (Bell Cup)
• Big Blue (Bell Cup)

It was also confirmed that 8 other colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy would be included as well to include immediately. The colors are, red (not for Shy Guy), orange, yellow, green (not for Yoshi), light blue, blue, purple, black, and white.

Unlocking criteria

Unlike how previous games have done, characters will unlock at random each time a cup is won. Also, characters that are not yet unlocked appear as CPU characters during races, unlike previous Mario Kart Games.

Kart parts

Karts

Name	Picture	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Standard Kart		0
Steel Driver		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.5	+0.5
Pipe Frame		0	+0.25	-0.25	+0.5	-0.5
Mach 8		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Trispeeder		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.5	+0.5
Circuit Special		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Cat Cruiser		0
Badwagon		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.5	+0.5
Prancer		0
Landship		-0.75	+1.25	-0.5	+0.5	-0.25
Biddybuggy		-0.75	+1.25	-0.5	+0.5	-0.25
Sports Coupe		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Sneeker		0
Gold Standard		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
B-Dasher		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Blue Falcon		+0.25	+0.25	+0.25	0	-0.5

Bikes

Name	Picture	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Standard Bike (default)		0	+0.25	-0.25	+0.5	-0.5
Sport Bike (default)		0	+0.75	-0.25	+0.75	-1.25
Mr. Scooty		-0.75	+1.25	-0.5	+0.5	-0.25
Jet Bike		0	+0.75	-0.25	+0.75	-1.25
Flame Rider		0	+0.25	-0.25	+0.5	-0.5
Varmint		0	+0.25	-0.25	+0.5	-0.5
The Duke		0
Comet		0	+0.75	-0.25	+0.75	-1.25
Yoshi Bike		0	+0.75	-0.25	+0.75	-1.25
Master Cycle		+0.25	0	0	+0.5	-0.75

ATVs

Name	Picture	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Standard ATV (default)		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.5	+0.5
Wild Wiggler		0	+0.25	-0.25	+0.5	-0.5
Teddy Buggy		0

Wheels

Name	Picture	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Standard		0
Slim		+0.25	-0.25	0	+0.25	-0.5
Roller		-0.5	+1	-0.5	+0.25	-0.25
Monster		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.75	+0.75
Slick		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Off-Road		0
Metal		+0.25	-0.5	+0.5	0	-0.5
Button		-0.5	+1	-0.5	+0.25	-0.25
Wood		-0.25	+0.25	-0.25	-0.25	+0.5
Sponge		-0.25	+0.25	-0.25	-0.25	+0.5
Cushion		-0.25	+0.25	-0.25	-0.25	+0.5
Blue Standard		0
Hot Monster		0	-0.5	+0.5	-0.75	+0.75
Cyber Slick		+0.5	-0.25	+0.25	0	-1
Crimson Slim		+0.25	-0.25	0	+0.25	-0.5
Azure Roller		-0.5	+1	-0.5	+0.25	-0.25
Retro Off-Road		0
Gold Tires		+0.25	-0.5	+0.5	0	-0.5
Triforce Tires		+0.25	-0.5	0	+0.25	-0.5

Gliders

Name	Picture	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction
Super Glider (default)		0
Parachute (default)		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Parafoil (default)		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Cloud Glider		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Flower Glider		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Wario Wing		0
Waddle Wing		0
Bowser Kite		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Plane Glider		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Peach Parasol		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
MKTV Parafoil		0	+0.25	-0.25	0
Gold Glider		0
Peach Parasol		0	+0.25	-0.25	0	+0.25	-0.5

Items

Items found on the track

Name	Picture	Function
Coin		Coins give players a slight boost in speed for each that is collected, the max allowed being ten. Coins are found on the track in groups.
Item Box		Item Boxes are found in groups, providing players with a random item based on their place in the race. Lower ranks give more powerful items, and vice versa.

Returning items

Name	Picture	Function
Banana		Bananas can be dropped on the course and will make any racers who run into it spin out.
Triple Bananas		Three Bananas rotate around the kart instead of staying in a line behind it as in previous games. They can be dropped one by one.
Green Shell		Green Shells can be shot along the track and can bounce on the walls until it hits a racer.
Triple Green Shells		Similarly to Triple Bananas, three Green Shells rotate around the kart and can be used one by one.
Mushroom		Mushrooms give players speed boosts that can be used to cross off-road terrain.
Triple Mushrooms		Three Mushrooms can be used one by one, for three speed boosts. Three Mushrooms are given automatically in time trials.
Bob-omb		Bob-ombs can be thrown similarly to shells, but cause massive explosions that makes karts completely flip out.
Coin		In addition to being found on tracks, two coins can be given to players via item boxes.
Red Shell		Red Shells act like Green Shells but home in on opponents, and are destroyed if they hit walls.
Triple Red Shells		Just like Triple Green Shells, but with Red Shells instead.
Blooper		Bloopers shoot ink on all the players ahead of whoever used it, obstructing vision. While it disappears after a few seconds, it can be removed early with a Mushroom going underwater or boost pad.
Fire Flower		Fire Flowers allow players to shoot fireballs for a certain amount of time. The fireballs make players spin out and can be deadly weapons in close races.
Star		Stars allow players to be invincible, travel off-road without losing speed, and run through racers without any impairment at all for a short time.
Golden Mushroom		Golden Mushrooms give players unlimited speed boosts for a few seconds.
Lightning		Lightning strikes all racers, making them small. The racers in lower positions are first to return to normal, while higher-ranked ones are the last.
Spiny Shell		Spiny Shells travel on the ground in pursuit of the racer in first place, able to knock out any racers in its path. It can only be blocked with the Super Horn or avoided by using Mushroom at precise time.
Bullet Bill		The Bullet Bill allows racers to become a giant Bullet Bill, giving them effects similar to that of a Star, but they cannot control themselves. Rather, they are automatically steered at fast speeds for a few seconds.

New items

Name	Picture	Function
Boomerang Flower		The Boomerang Flower allows players to shoot three Boomerangs to attack other racers, having effects similar to those of bananas.
Potted Piranha Plant		The Potted Piranha Plant sits in front of a kart and can be used to attack other players similar to how a Super Leaf worked in Mario Kart 7.
Super Horn		The Super Horn can be used to block incoming projectiles, including the elusive Spiny Shell, which could not be blocked in any previous game.
Crazy 8		The Crazy Eight is very similar to the Lucky 7, adding only a coin item to the seven items that circle around the kart. They consist of a Green Shell, a Red Shell, a Banana, a Bob-omb, a Blooper, a Star, a Mushroom, and a Coin. You use the items in the Crazy Eight if the certain item is in front of your kart.

Courses

New courses

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Mario Kart Stadium	Mario Circuit	Sunshine Airport	Cloudtop Cruise
Water Park	Toad Harbor	Dolphin Shoals	Bone Dry Dunes
Sweet Sweet Canyon	Twisted Mansion	Electrodrome	Bowser's Castle
Thwomp Ruins	Shy Guy Falls	Mount Wario	Rainbow Road

Retro courses

Shell Cup	Banana Cup	Leaf Cup	Lightning Cup
Wii Moo Moo Meadows	GCN Dry Dry Desert	DS Wario Stadium	DS Tick Tock Clock
GBA Mario Circuit	SNES Donut Plains 3	GCN Sherbet Land	3DS Piranha Plant Slide
DS Cheep-Cheep Beach	N64 Royal Raceway	3DS Music Park	Wii Grumble Volcano
N64 Toad's Turnpike	3DS DK Jungle	N64 Yoshi Valley	N64 Rainbow Road

Downloadable courses

Egg Cup	Triforce Cup	Crossing Cup	Bell Cup
GCN Yoshi Circuit	Wii Wario's Gold Mine	GCN Baby Park	3DS Neo Bowser City
Excitebike Arena	SNES Rainbow Road	GBA Cheese Land	GBA Ribbon Road
Dragon Driftway	Ice Ice Outpost	Wild Woods	Super Bell Subway
Mute City	Hyrule Circuit	Animal Crossing	Big Blue

Battle stages

In Mario Kart 8, unique battle stages are not present. The mode is instead played on race courses rather than enclosed arenas. All battle courses are playable from the start; regardless of whether the cup they appear in is or not. The only playable battle mode is Balloon Battle.

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

Development

Development started in 2012.

It was announced in the Wii U Nintendo Direct on January 23, 2013. Nintendo presented more information at E3 2013.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart 8.

Soundtrack

For this game's soundtrack, see [[{{{1}}}]].

Downloadable content

Japanese owners of Mario Kart 8 can download a free Mercedes Benz GLA. The unique vehicle pack has been announced for the US and Europe which will be released for these regions on August 27th 2014. The pack includes three unique Mercedes Benz cars which are named, '1957 300 SL Roadster sports car', '1934 W 25 Silver Arrow formula racing car' and finally, 'Mercedes-Benz’ new compact SUV, the GLA'. It also comes with an option to toggle on/off on-screen maps of the tracks. You can find out more information here at the source for this information. Two separately-released DLC packs can also be pre-purchased on the Nintendo Wii U E-Shop. Each one pack includes 3 new characters, 4 new vehicles and 8 new courses. Here are some details of the new pack:

Pack 1: The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8

• Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach and Link.
• Vehicles: Blue Falcon, B Dasher Master Cycle, Tanooki Kart
• Wii Wario's Gold Mine, SNES Rainbow Road, GCN Yoshi Circuit, Excitebike Arena, Ice Ice Outpost, Dragon Driftway, Mute City, Hyrule Circuit

Pack 2: Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8

• Characters: Villager, Isabelle and Dry Bowser.
• Vehicles: Streetle, City Tripper, P Wing, Bowser Trike.
• Courses: GCN Baby Park, GBA Cheese Land, 3DS Neo Bowser City, GBA Ribbon Road, Animal Crossing, Big Blue, Super Bell Subway, Wild Woods.

Trivia

• In the E3 demo, Donkey Kong's standard bike color was brown, but in the final build it was yellow. 
• On the koopalings artwork, Morton's ATV color was black when in the final version it was green. The artwork is still used in the actual game though.
• When you're in first place, a beat has been added to the music. This also happens in Mario Kart 7.
• At the startup screen of Mario Kart 8, engine sounds can heard. This originated in Mario Kart 64's start up screen.
• At the course selection screen, the courses can also be recognized by pictures on top of the name. This is a possible reference to Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as in that game there are pictures of the character it is based on (if any), a little background, and the name. These pictures are used as recognition of the tracks in online mode and names are not included underneath in online mode.
• This is the first game to not have an Award Ceremony after a Grand Prix.
• This is only the fourth game to feature only one battle mode; Balloon Battle, as well as the first since Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
• This is the first game in the series to support Downloadable Content, a Cup where retro tracks meet up with new ones, game crossover, and Rainbow Road does not appear as final track in Cup.
• This is the first game to have three Rainbow Road tracks.
• It has been confirmed that an update that is set to come on the 23rd of April will add 200cc as an extra engine class.