Template:Game infoboxMario 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.
The full character select screen, with all characters unlocked.
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)
Vehicles, Tires, and Gliders
Karts
- Biddybuddy
- GLA (DLC)
- W 25 Silver Arrow (DLC)
- 300 SL Roadster (DLC)
Courses
New courses
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| Mushroom Cup | Flower Cup | Star Cup | Special Cup |
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| 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
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| Shell Cup | Banana Cup | Leaf Cup | Lightning Cup |
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| 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 |
DLC courses
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| Egg Cup | Triforce Cup | Super Bell Cup | Animal Crossing Cup |
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| GCN Yoshi Circuit | Wii Wario's Gold Mine | 3DS Neo Bowser City | GCN Baby Park |
| Excitebike Arena | SNES Rainbow Road | GBA Ribbon Road | GBA Cheese Land |
| Dragon Driftway | Ice Ice Outpost | Super Bell Subway | Wild Woods |
| Mute City | Hyrule Circuit | Big Blue | Animal Crossing |
Trivia
- This game marks the first time the Koopalings are playable in the Mario Kart series. x
- 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 .
Trailer
Mario Kart 8 All 32 Tracks! (Full Race)
Gallery
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To view Mario Kart 8's image gallery, click here.
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| Main Games | ||
| Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES) · Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64) · Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001, GBA) · Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GameCube) · Mario Kart DS (2005, DS) · Mario Kart Wii (2008, Wii) · Mario Kart 7 (2011, 3DS) · Mario Kart 8 (2014, Wii U) · Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017, Switch) | ||
| Arcade Games | ||
| Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005, Arcade) · Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007, Arcade) · Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013, Arcade) · Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017, Arcade) | ||
| Mobile Games | ||
| Mario Kart Tour (2019, iOS/Android) | ||
| Toys | ||
| K'NEX · Hot Wheels | ||