Item Boxes are a recurring object within the Mario Kart series. They first appear in Mario Kart 64, and have since replaced ? Panels from Super Mario Kart.
Effects[]
An Item Box contains random items that are available as the racer drives through a block, though the item depends on the racer's position in the race. An Item Box's appearance can be compared to Exclamation Blocks as they have a question mark on them. There is also a Fake Item Box that is one of the items.
Mario Kart 64[]
In Mario Kart 64, the boxes are orange and blue (and now they are 3D), and are sort of diamond shaped. It is impossible to tell from a distance if a Fake Item Box is really an item box, because a Fake Item Box looks exactly the same as an item box except for a barely noticeable upside-down question mark. There are still question marks in the middle, and the boxes rotate. They must be driven through rather than over.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit screenshot of an item box in an off-course area of Mario Circuit 1
Item boxes are box-shaped, 3-D, and cycle through a rainbow palette. They rotate horizontally and make roughly the same sound when they are hit as they do in Mario Kart 64.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!![]
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the item boxes are a lot different, with an alternate design and are not as much of a diamond. They are now cubes with little squares all around them. The cubes do turn like they do in Mario Kart 64, but the question marks now have a part in the animation. The question marks bounce every time the cubes turn. Also, it is now easier to distinguish Fake Item Boxes from real ones due to their red color. Whichever item is obtained from an Item Box is both carried and used by the rear driver.
The game also introduces Double Item Boxes, which gives an item to both the front and rear driver each. Subsequent Mario Kart installments do not allow for two racers to drive together, so Double Item Boxes rarely made any reappearances.
Mario Kart DS[]
In Mario Kart DS, Item Boxes are practically exactly the same as they are in Double Dash!!. They appear as rainbow squares on the touch screen. Fake ones are also the same and they're represented by a red square on the touch screen.
Mario Kart Wii[]
In Mario Kart Wii, the item boxes aren't too different, except that the square pattern was changed with a circle pattern on the cubes. The cubes are still animated the same as in Double Dash!!, and the Fake Item Boxes are still red with the same design as in Double Dash!!. But what's different is that the Fake Item Boxes twirl around.
Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8[]
Item Boxes reappear in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, acting the same as before. However, Fake Item Boxes do not appear in those games.
Gallery[]
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