Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is the eighth installment in the Mario Kart franchise (10th including the arcade games.) It was released on May 30th for the Wii U game system. The game primarilaly focuses on the new anti gravitational mode added into it.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to most traditional Mario Kart games. The main karts use a similar design from Mario Kart 7. Along with the design, gliders return along with the vehicles being able to ride underwater. Bikes, which were introduced in Mario Kart Wii, are also back but cannot do wheelies voluntarily (they happen automatically when driving over a boost pad or using a Mushroom) like before. Also, ATVs join karts and bikes as a new vehicle class. The game introduces anti-gravity tracks that allow the players to race on vertical and upside-down roads, and if two anti-gravity racers bump into each other, they will both spin around and recieve a burst of extra speed. The tracks are also more narrow than other courses. Coins also return, but like Mario Kart 7, players can only carry 10 at a time.

Twelve racers at a time return from Mario Kart Wii. As a new addition, bike and kart headlights turn on when the player is in a dark area. In an interview, a producer of the game, Hideki Konno, has said that a Mario Kart Double Dash!! style mode was under consideration, which means two racers can ride on one vehicle. In the final version, players hold items like they do in ''Mario Kart Double Dash!!. ''However, if the player has a triple item behind or around them, they cannot pick up another item at the same time.

Battle mode is also changed, as it uses race tracks instead of the normal battle courses because of time constraints. Coin Runners was also removed, with Balloon Battle being the only battle mode present in the game.

Characters
There are 30 playable characters in the game, with sixteen characters are available at the start while fourteen are unlockable. There are also different classes that each character is in. Unlike the previous installments, random characters will be unlocked when players win cups, except the Mii which is always the 8th character unlocked. In addition, six more characters were added as part of DLC.



Lightweights

 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Shy Guy (including seven different colors if both DLC packs were preorderd)
 * Baby Mario
 * Baby Luigi
 * Baby Peach
 * Baby Daisy
 * Toadette (Unlockable)
 * Lakitu (Unlockable)
 * Baby Rosalina (Unlockable)
 * Lemmy (Unlockable)
 * Larry (Unlockable)
 * Wendy (Unlockable)
 * Isabelle (DLC)
 * Villager (DLC)

Mediumweights

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Peach
 * Princess Daisy
 * Yoshi (including seven different colors for their skins)
 * Iggy (Unlockable)
 * Ludwig (Unlockable)
 * Tanooki Mario (DLC)
 * Cat Peach (DLC)

Heavyweights

 * Bowser
 * Donkey Kong
 * Wario
 * Waluigi
 * Rosalina (Unlockable)
 * Metal Mario (Unlockable)
 * Pink Gold Peach (Unlockable)
 * Roy (Unlockable)
 * Morton (Unlockable)
 * Link (DLC)
 * Dry Bowser (DLC)

Any

 * Mii (Unlockable; also with the following costumes from amiibo access:)
 * Mario (First set)
 * Luigi (First set)
 * Peach (First set)
 * Bowser (Second set)
 * Donkey Kong (First set)
 * Yoshi (First set)
 * Toad (Second set)
 * Wario (Second set)
 * Rosalina (Second set)
 * Link (First set)
 * Kirby (First set)
 * Samus (First set)
 * Captain Falcon (First set)
 * Fox (First set)
 * Sonic (Second set)
 * Pac-man (Second set)
 * Mega-man (Second set)
 * Villager (Second set)
 * Olimar (Second set)

Karts

 * Standard Kart


 * Pipe Frame


 * Mach 8


 * Steel Driver


 * Cat Cruiser


 * Circuit Special


 * Tri-Speeder


 * Badwagon


 * Prancer


 * Biddybuddy


 * Landship


 * Sports Coupe


 * Gold Standard


 * GLA (DLC)


 * W 25 Silver Arrow (DLC)


 * 300 SL Roadster (DLC)

Trivia

 * This game marks the first time the Koopalings are playable in the Mario Kart series.
 * This also marks the first time that the Koopalings are playable in the Mario series all together.
 * This is the first Mario Kart game to have battle mode on a regular race track.
 * On April 23, 2015, the game received an update allowing a new Engine Class speed, which is 200cc.
 * Unlike several previous installments of the Mario Kart series, the retro courses use their respective Mario Kart logo, excluding the DLC tracks GCN Yoshi Circuit, GBA Cheese Land, and GBA Ribbon Road; the tracks from SNES to GCN use an updated version of the classic logo, while the tracks from DS to 3DS, and the three DLC tracks mentioned, use the current logo.
 * This is the first main series Mario Kart game for which each playable character does not receive official artwork.
 * Wherever text appears in the background elements of the game's racetracks (notably in 3DS Neo Bowser City and 3DS Music Park), it is generally written in American English, regardless of the language or region of the game itself. This was done intentionally for online play purposes.
 * This is the second Mario Kart game where the title has a number, along with Mario Kart 7.

Gallery
マリオカート8