96 Fun Facts About Mario Kart

Which Double Dash!! course is a short oval raced for seven laps instead of the usual three?

Baby Park is so short that Double Dash!! runs it for seven laps instead of three, which lets racers lap each other again and again around its tiny oval.

Which of these tracks was added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the Booster Course Pass DLC?

Singapore Speedway began in the mobile Mario Kart Tour as three separate routes; the Booster Course Pass version stitches them into one race, so each lap heads through a different part of the city.

Which Mario character referees Mario Kart races and fishes fallen karts back onto the track?

Lakitu has refereed every Mario Kart since 1992, hauling stranded karts back with his fishing rod; in 2011 a Lakitu finally joined the racers as a playable driver on the 3DS.

Which Mario Kart item makes a kart invincible and faster for a few seconds?

The Super Star makes a kart invincible and faster for several seconds, knocking over anyone it touches; it has been an item in every Mario Kart since Super Mario Kart in 1992.

Which Mario Kart 64 course sends racers down a night-time public highway full of trucks and cars?

Toad's Turnpike is Mario Kart 64's night-time highway of trucks, cars and buses; in the mirrored Extra mode the traffic turns round and drives head-on at the racers.

Which character made their debut as a playable racer in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!?

Toadette was new in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: the developers wanted Toad in the game but had nobody suitable to share his kart, so a partner was added for him.

Which Mario Kart 8 racer became a 2014 internet meme for the 'death stare' he gives passing rivals?

Luigi's 'death stare' spread through viral clips and GIFs within days of launch; the cold sideways glare is automatic, an expression the game gives him whenever he hits or passes a rival.

Which of these items has appeared in every mainline Mario Kart game since its debut in Super Mario Kart?

Lightning has been in every Mario Kart since Super Mario Kart in 1992; it shrinks every rival at once, and in several games a full-size kart can then squash them flat. The other three options skipped games or arrived later.

What is the primary effect of a Blooper item when used against other racers?

The Blooper covers their screen with ink, squirting every racer ahead of its user; computer-controlled drivers have no screen to blot, so they swerve about instead. A Mushroom boost shakes the ink off early.

Mario Kart 8's developers scrapped a kart that drills underground in favour of which headline feature?

Anti-gravity won out: early in Mario Kart 8's development the team considered a drill for burrowing into the ground, but judged it less interesting than driving up walls and across ceilings.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the series' first handheld entry, ran on which system?

Game Boy Advance owners could race four-up from a single cartridge, though the guests were all limited to one character in different colours; it is also the only Mario Kart made by Intelligent Systems.

Which of these racers has to be unlocked in Mario Kart Wii?

Bowser Jr. is locked at first in Mario Kart Wii: he appears after a one-star rank in every 100cc retro cup, or after 3,450 races. Baby Peach, though new to the series, is playable from the start.

What did Mario Kart 8 Deluxe add to item play that the Wii U original lacked?

A second item slot: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe lets a racer carry two items at once and brought back Double Item Boxes, last seen in Double Dash!! on the GameCube.

Which Mario Kart 64 item makes you temporarily invincible and steals an opponent's item?

Boo turns its user into a see-through ghost that shells and rival karts pass straight through, while it flies off to steal a rival's item; if nobody is holding one, it steals nothing.

Which heavyweight has raced in every mainline Mario Kart since the 1992 original?

Bowser has raced as a heavyweight since Super Mario Kart in 1992; Wario looks like a fixture too, but he only arrived in Mario Kart 64, taking a seat from one of the original eight.

Which Mario Kart Wii item works like a hot potato, shrinking its holder unless bumped onto a rival in time?

Mario Kart Wii's Thunder Cloud gives its holder a speed boost and full speed off-road, but after about ten seconds it strikes and shrinks them unless they have bumped a rival to pass it on.

What is the recurring final Mario Kart track known for its tough turns and lack of guardrails?

Rainbow Road closes the Special Cup as the final course of each main game; the Mario Kart 64 version breaks the pattern, with star-shaped guardrails along the entire track.

In Double Dash!!, which pair's special item is a Chain Chomp that drags their kart up the track?

Baby Mario & Baby Luigi get the Chain Chomp, which hauls their kart along at breakneck speed and bowls rivals aside until it breaks loose.

Which Mario Kart item homes in on whoever is in first place, no matter who fired it?

The Spiny Shell, the notorious blue shell, hunts down whoever is leading; in its Mario Kart 64 debut it slid along the ground and flung aside every kart in its path on the way.

Which Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track runs through a castle hall where the Master Sword rests?

Hyrule Circuit, set in The Legend of Zelda's kingdom, hides a trick in its castle: hit all three crystals on the way in and a boost ramp opens up at the Master Sword.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, who is Birdo's default kart partner?

Yoshi is Birdo's default partner in Double Dash!!; their special items are eggs that roll down the road, home in on the kart ahead and burst into three more items when they hit.

Mario Kart 8's 200cc class is so fast that Nintendo said which technique mattered more than ever?

Braking, rarely needed at lower speeds, is the skill 200cc demands: Nintendo said the class, added to every track in a free April 2015 update, made it more important than ever.

Which Mario Kart 8 Deluxe feature helps novices stay on the track?

Smart Steering pulls a kart back from the edge of the road, with an antenna on the back to show it is on; the price is speed, because with it enabled a drift can never charge to the top-level ultra mini-turbo.

Which common Mario Kart item, left on the track, spins out any racer who drives over it?

The Banana spins out any racer who drives over it, and it doubles as armour: held behind the kart, it takes the hit from an incoming shell.

Which of these Mario Kart 8 racers competes in the heavyweight class?

Waluigi races as a heavyweight in Mario Kart 8, though the lanky villain began as a middleweight in Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS; Mario Kart Wii was the game that moved him up a class.

Which returning Booster Course Pass track in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ends with racers dodging cars in a car park?

Coconut Mall's two cars sat frozen when the track arrived in the Booster Course Pass; a later update set them rolling back and forth and spinning doughnuts, so they once again spin out any kart they touch.

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a Rocket Start is timed from which number of the starting countdown?

'2' is the cue in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: start holding the accelerator on it and the kart rockets off the line. Press too early and the engine backfires and stalls for a second or two.

Which Mario Kart item homes in on the racer directly ahead of whoever fires it?

The Red Shell locks onto the racer immediately ahead of its user and chases them down; an item held behind the target's kart will take the hit instead.

Which Super Mario Kart racer was dropped for Mario Kart 64 and only returned in the mobile Mario Kart Tour?

Donkey Kong Jr. raced in 1992, then lost his place when Donkey Kong arrived in Mario Kart 64; Mario Kart Tour finally brought him back in 2020, as the 16-bit sprite from the original game.

What is the primary function of a Mushroom item in Mario Kart?

To gain a temporary speed boost is the Mushroom's whole job, and the boost holds its speed over grass and sand, which is what turns off-road corners into shortcuts.

Which Mario Kart 64 debut did the mainline series drop after Mario Kart Wii?

The Fake Item Box, a booby trap dressed up as a real item box, lasted four mainline games before Mario Kart 7 left it out; it made a poor shield, since after Mario Kart 64 an incoming shell passed straight through it.

Which bony racer made his first-ever playable appearance in Mario Kart Wii?

Dry Bowser was born in New Super Mario Bros., rising as a skeleton after Bowser was dropped into lava; Mario Kart Wii then made him a playable racer for the first time.

Which item lets a racer use mushrooms continuously by repeatedly pressing the item button?

The Golden Mushroom gives a fresh boost with every press of the item button for a few seconds; it is a catch-up item, handed mostly to racers near the back so that frantic tapping can haul them into the pack.

Which item returned in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe but can only be obtained in Battle Mode?

The Feather, unseen since Super Mario Kart, returned in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a Battle Mode-only item: it springs the kart over walls and rivals, and colliding with an opponent mid-jump steals one of their balloons.

In Mario Kart, what is another name for slipstreaming, gaining a speed boost by driving directly behind an opponent?

Draft, or drafting, is the slipstream boost earned by tucking in behind a rival for a couple of seconds before slingshotting past; Mario Kart DS made it a prominent mechanic in 2005.

Which Mario Kart 8 item sends out a shockwave that destroys nearby items and flips rival karts?

The Super Horn's blast of sound flips nearby racers and wipes out every item in range, which made it the first item in the series able to destroy an incoming blue shell.

Which of Super Mario Kart's original eight racers sat out Mario Kart 64 but returned in Double Dash!!?

Koopa Troopa was one of the eight drivers of 1992 but was left out of Mario Kart 64, where Wario took a seat; he came back in Double Dash!! with a winged Paratroopa as his partner.

Which Mario Kart DS technique chains mini-turbos by drifting left and right down a straight?

Snaking strings one mini-turbo onto the next by drifting left and right even down a straight, so the kart never drops back to normal speed; the trick spread through Mario Kart DS's online races.

Which Mario Kart item turns a trailing racer into a rocket that steers itself up the field?

The Bullet Bill turns its user into a giant bullet that flies along the track on autopilot, knocking aside any rival in the way; the rider keeps just enough steering to swerve into one.

Which retro Mario Kart track has racers dodging a steam train at two level crossings?

Kalimari Desert, from Mario Kart 64, crosses a railway twice per lap where a steam train can block the crossing; its Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remake reroutes later laps along the railway itself.

In Mario Kart 64's Battle Mode, what does a player become after losing all three balloons?

A Mini Bomb Kart: in three- and four-player battles a knocked-out player came back as a bomb on wheels, able to ram one survivor, cost them a balloon and then bow out for good.

A designer's sketch of which animal driving a truck led Mario Kart World to make track obstacles playable?

Cow, a bystander from Moo Moo Meadows, was sketched at the wheel of a truck by one of the artists; the producers liked the joke so much that Cow joined the roster, and other course obstacles followed.

Which item makes its first main-series Mario Kart appearance in Mario Kart World?

The Coin Shell is new in Mario Kart World: thrown, it speeds along the course crashing into drivers and leaving a trail of pickups for anyone to grab; the other three options all come from earlier games.

Which Mario Kart World mode is one continuous race across the map, with no breaks between courses?

Knockout Tour sends 24 racers across the open world without a pause, cutting the last four at every checkpoint until four are left to fight over a single final lap.

Which of these retro tracks returned in Mario Kart World's launch lineup?

Airship Fortress, first raced in Mario Kart DS, is in Mario Kart World's launch lineup; in the original a cannon on the airship's deck fires racers across the sky into a tower for the final corkscrew.

By the end of 2023, what had the Booster Course Pass done to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's 48-course lineup?

Doubled it: the pass took the game from 48 courses to 96, and players did not even have to buy it, since Nintendo also unlocked every wave for members of its Expansion Pack subscription.

Which classic Mario enemy, usually just a track hazard, is a playable driver in Mario Kart World?

Goomba, the first enemy most players ever stomped, is one of Mario Kart World's 'NPC drivers', course creatures promoted to the roster; one item can even turn rival racers into them in the middle of a race.

Which item trails automatically behind your kart in Mario Kart World as a shield?

In Mario Kart World a Green Shell trails behind the kart on its own as a shield, then fires straight ahead on a tap; earlier console games made the player hold a button down to keep it there.

Super Mario Kart began life as a multiplayer prototype of which 1990 SNES racing game?

Super Mario Kart started as a two-player version of F-Zero; the split screen could not handle F-Zero's speed and long tracks, so the team slowed things down and put Mario in a kart.

In the Japanese Super Mario Kart, what does a victorious Princess Peach do that Nintendo redrew for the West?

Drinks champagne: in the Japanese game Peach sips from her winner's bottle and turns visibly tipsy, but Nintendo of America's rules barred alcohol use, so Western versions show her tossing and catching the bottle instead.

Which Sega kart racer arrived in 1994 as one of the first attempts to copy Super Mario Kart?

Sonic Drift reached the Game Gear in 1994, less than two years after Super Mario Kart, but only in Japan; the West had to wait until it resurfaced as a bonus in Sonic Adventure DX in 2003.

Which Mario Kart 8 item rides on the front of the kart and bites nearby rivals?

The Piranha Plant, new in Mario Kart 8, sits in a pot on the front of the kart and lunges at rivals, items and obstacles; every lunge also gives its owner a small burst of speed.

Which city's district court ordered go-kart firm MariCar to pay Nintendo ¥10 million in 2018?

The Tokyo District Court ruled for Nintendo in 2018, ordering MariCar to stop renting Mario character costumes to its street go-kart customers and pay ¥10 million in damages.

What did Mario Kart DS bring to the series for the first time in 2005?

Online play arrived with Mario Kart DS through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, with up to four racers a match; Nintendo switched the service off in May 2014.

A Mario Kart ride where passengers fire shells through headset visors first opened in 2021 at which theme park?

Universal Studios Japan opened the ride in Osaka in March 2021: each rider wears a headset clipped to a Mario-cap visor, which overlays the race on the sets and lets them fling virtual shells at rivals for points.

Which vehicle type joined karts for the first time in Mario Kart Wii?

Bikes debuted in Mario Kart Wii and can pop a wheelie for a burst of straight-line speed, at the cost of steering; a bump from a rival in mid-wheelie kills the boost.

Which 1994 platformer is one of only three SNES games to outsell Super Mario Kart?

Donkey Kong Country sold about 9.3 million copies to Super Mario Kart's 8.76 million; Rare built its apes as 3D models on Silicon Graphics workstations, then converted them into sprites the SNES could draw.

What did Mario Kart Tour remove in 2022 after criticism?

Mario Kart Tour retired its gacha and loot-box mechanics, the random 'pipe' pulls, in October 2022 after criticism, replacing them with a Spotlight Shop where drivers and karts are bought directly.

Donut Plains and Choco Island in the 1992 SNES kart racer come from which platformer?

Super Mario World's map supplied the settings, Donut Plains among them, and the kart racer borrowed the platformer's enemies as hazards too: its Cheep Cheeps flop about on the beach tracks.

Which SNES graphics feature let Super Mario Kart rotate and scale its flat track into pseudo-3D?

Mode 7 lets the SNES rotate and scale a single flat background layer, which is why Super Mario Kart's track is one flat plane and even its item panels lie flat on the road; a DSP-1 chip in the cartridge helped with the maths.

Which gang of seven boss characters made their Mario Kart debut together in Mario Kart 8?

The Koopalings joined Mario Kart 8 all at once; the gang got their names from a Nintendo of America staffer, who called most of them after musicians such as Iggy Pop, Roy Orbison and Motörhead's Lemmy.

In Super Mario Kart's Grand Prix, what does finishing fifth or lower cost the player?

A life: finish fifth to eighth and you are 'ranked out' and must replay the race from a small stock of retries, with the game over when they run out. Only the top four score, earning 9, 6, 3 and 1 points.

Mario Kart 64's working title was 'Super Mario Kart' plus which letter, a nod to its new graphics?

R, for 'rendered': Super Mario Kart R was shown at Nintendo's Shoshinkai show in November 1995, and the finished game still drew its racers as pre-rendered 2D sprites on 3D tracks.

Which villain appeared in a pre-release Mario Kart 64 roster before being dropped?

Kamek, the Magikoopa from Yoshi's Island, appeared in early Mario Kart 64 footage and screenshots but was replaced by Donkey Kong before release.

Mario Kart 64 is the Nintendo 64's second best-selling game, behind which title?

Super Mario 64 beat it in more ways than one: Mario Kart 64 was meant to launch with the console too, but Shigeru Miyamoto pulled staff off the kart team for his platformer, and the racer slipped by months.

Which guest racer joined Mario Kart 8's first DLC pack with Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach?

Link joined Mario Kart 8 in its first DLC pack in November 2014 with a ride of his own: the Master Cycle, a motorbike shaped like a horse because Link travels on horseback in his own games.

Mario Kart 7 sent karts underwater for the first time and added which other new way to travel?

Hang gliders unfold from the kart at blue ramps in Mario Kart 7, adding stretches of flight to the tracks; taking a hit in mid-air folds the glider away and drops the kart.

Which Mario Kart hides every course from the 1992 original inside it as unlockable extra tracks?

Mario Kart: Super Circuit packs in all twenty tracks from the SNES original as unlockable Extra cups, and the idea stuck: Double Dash!! skipped it, then Mario Kart DS made returning courses a series fixture.

Double Dash!!'s 16-player LAN mode needed which add-on plugged into every GameCube?

The Broadband Adapter joined up to eight GameCubes for the mode, with one catch: nobody could pick a favourite racer, because LAN play dealt out everyone's characters at random before each race.

Which Double Dash!! battle mode is won by holding a single Shine Sprite when the timer runs out?

Shine Thief, introduced in Double Dash!!, has everyone fighting over one Shine Sprite: holding it runs the timer down, but any item hit knocks it loose for someone else to grab. It returned in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Double Dash!! was first shown at E3 2001 as a video clip of what length?

Double Dash!! first appeared at E3 2001 as a clip of roughly seven seconds: the two Mario brothers, each alone in a plain kart, slid across a bump-mapped surface with no background, under the working title Mario Kart.

Double Dash!! is the second best-selling GameCube game behind which title?

Super Smash Bros. Melee was built in a 13-month crunch that its director, Masahiro Sakurai, said left him no holidays and barely a weekend; it went on to outsell Double Dash!! as the GameCube's top seller.

In Double Dash!!, what can a kart's two riders do at any moment at the press of a button?

Swap places: one rider steers while the one on the back handles the items, so trading seats decides which character's item, and whose special, is ready to fire.

Which NES-era accessory is an unlockable racer in Mario Kart DS?

R.O.B., the Robotic Operating Buddy, is Mario Kart DS's last unlockable racer; Nintendo built the robot in 1985 to sell the NES as a toy to Americans wary of video games after the 1983 crash.

In Mario Kart DS Download Play, guests without a cartridge race as which character?

Guests joining Mario Kart DS by Download Play without a cartridge all race as Shy Guy; the masked racer could not be picked from a normal roster until the 3DS sequel six years later.

Which game edged out Mario Kart DS for second place on the handheld's best-seller list?

Nintendogs finished on 23.96 million to Mario Kart DS's 23.6 million, though with a head start: its total adds together every breed edition of the puppy game.

Which of these racers made her Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Wii?

Rosalina arrived in Mario Kart Wii months after her first appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, and the two games talk to each other: with a Galaxy save file on the console, she unlocks after just 50 races.

Collecting up to ten of what per race raises a Mario Kart 8 kart's top speed?

Coins litter every Mario Kart 8 course; each one collected, up to ten, raises top speed slightly, and the running total unlocks new kart parts.

Mario Kart Wii is the Wii's second best-selling game, behind which title?

Wii Sports came in the box with the console in most countries, which carried it past 82 million copies; Mario Kart Wii followed with 37.38 million and was the best-selling game of 2008.

Which outside developer did Nintendo bring in to help finish Mario Kart 7 in time for Christmas 2011?

Retro Studios of Austin, Texas, the Metroid Prime developer, joined because Nintendo's own team was short of staff; the Texans started by rebuilding the classic courses from earlier Mario Karts.

Which item, new on the 3DS, surrounds the kart with a ring of items?

The Lucky Seven circles the kart with seven different items at once; pressing the button fires whichever one happens to be passing the front, and rivals who stray too close are hit by the ring.

The '8' in Mario Kart 8's logo was designed to resemble what?

Mario Kart 8's '8' is drawn as a Möbius strip, a loop with a half-twist that leaves it only one side; the game's Mario Circuit is laid out in the same shape, a single ribbon of road that doubles back on itself.

Which carmaker's vehicles were added to Mario Kart 8 as free DLC karts in 2014?

Mercedes-Benz supplied the GLA, 300 SL Roadster and Silver Arrow as free Mario Kart 8 DLC karts in 2014, tying in with Japanese GLA commercials starring Mario, Luigi and Peach.

Which Mario Kart 8 Deluxe battle mode is inspired by cops and robbers?

Renegade Roundup, new in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, splits players into Authorities, who capture rivals and send them to floating cages, and Renegades, who free teammates by driving over the switch beneath a cage.

A post-launch patch altered a victory gesture by which Mario Kart 8 Deluxe racer?

Inkling Girl's victory pose, a hand on a flexed bicep as the fist pumps upwards, was redrawn in an early Mario Kart 8 Deluxe update because in parts of Europe it reads as an obscene 'up yours'.

Which Booster Course Pass Wave 2 course was built new rather than revived?

Sky-High Sundae, released in Wave 2 in August 2022, was the first Booster Course Pass track built new rather than revived, racing over giant ice-cream sundaes and popsicles.

Which of these racers was added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by the Booster Course Pass?

Pauline, the captive Mario rescued in 1981's Donkey Kong, joined in the pass's final wave in November 2023, having first raced in the mobile Mario Kart Tour; the pass added eight drivers in all.

Which Mario Kart 8 Deluxe battle course is set on a Splatoon stage?

Urchin Underpass, borrowed from Splatoon's multiplayer maps, keeps the shooter's mess: splotches of green and purple ink lie across the arena, and driving through them costs a kart its grip.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit races a camera-carrying toy kart around your living room using which technology?

Augmented reality: the toy kart's onboard camera streams your floor to the Switch, which paints rivals, items and a course on top; take a hit from a virtual shell and the real kart stops for a moment.

Nintendo named its 2025 open-world Mario Kart 'World' instead of which expected title?

Producer Kosuke Yabuki said the team set aside the name Mario Kart 9 because 8 Deluxe had perfected the old formula, and the open-world game needed a title signalling a fresh start.

Mario Kart World's $79.99 US price dropped to an effective $50 for buyers who did what?

Bought it in a console bundle: with the game in the box the console cost $50 more, against $79.99 for the game on its own, a price $20 above the usual for original Switch games.

Sidestepper, a crab driver in Mario Kart World, debuted as an enemy in which arcade game?

Sidestepper scuttled out of the sewer pipes of 1983's Mario Bros.; in earlier Mario Karts the crab was only a beach hazard that spun out anyone who touched it, until Mario Kart World put one behind the wheel.

Which Pac-Man ghost is a playable racer in the original Mario Kart Arcade GP?

Blinky, the red ghost, joined Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on the 2005 cabinet because Namco, Pac-Man's maker, built it for Nintendo; eight Mario characters filled the rest of the grid.

Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 added a guest racer from which 1990s virtual-pet craze?

Tamagotchi's mascot Mametchi joined Arcade GP 2 in 2007 for a reason: Bandai, the toy's maker, had merged in 2005 with Namco, the company building the cabinets.

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR is played through which headset?

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR runs on the HTC Vive headset with a Vive Tracker strapped to each hand so players physically grab and throw items; it debuted at Bandai Namco's VR Zone Shinjuku in 2017.

Which arcade board, built jointly by Nintendo, Sega and Namco, powered the first Mario Kart Arcade GP?

Triforce, built jointly by Nintendo, Sega and Namco around the GameCube's architecture, powered the first Arcade GP; the deal let Sega and Namco make arcade games with Nintendo's characters.