40 Fun Facts About Mario Kart Tour

Which famous character could not be unlocked in Mario Kart Tour at launch, despite driving in its trailers and tutorial?

Luigi drove in the trailers, the tutorial and the beta, yet players had to wait about a month, until the 2019 Halloween Tour, to unlock him. Critics counted his absence among the launch's letdowns.

Which mayor of New Donk City made her Mario Kart debut as a High-End driver in Mario Kart Tour?

Pauline was officially confirmed only a day before release, though her name had slipped out on the game's App Store page almost a month earlier.

Which broom-riding villain, cut from Mario Kart 64 before release, at last became playable in Mario Kart Tour?

Kamek sat on an early Mario Kart 64 character-select screen before being swapped out, then waited until 2021 to race, in a tour named after him.

Which racer from the 1992 original returned in Mario Kart Tour as a flat 2D sprite, his first series drive since?

Donkey Kong Jr. came back in his 16-bit look for the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary, racing as a pixel sprite among fully 3D rivals.

In Mario Kart Tour, holding three identical items at once triggers which invincible state of unlimited item use?

Frenzy lets a driver fire the same item again and again while invincible for a few seconds. A single race allows at most three of them.

Which city gave its name to Mario Kart Tour's first tour and to a launch course subtitled Minute?

New York hosted the opening tour in September 2019. Its city course later grew to four routes, a joint record for the game.

Which High-End launch driver in Mario Kart Tour is really Toadette transformed by the Super Crown power-up?

Peachette made her Mario Kart debut here as a character separate from Toadette, so the two can line up on the same starting grid.

Which gems, swapped in for the beta test's emeralds, served as Mario Kart Tour's premium currency?

Rubies could be bought with real money or earned from daily logins and level-ups. In the beta, when they were green, they could not be purchased at all.

Which newcomers joined Mario Kart Tour in March 2022, each of their racing suits carrying its own special skill?

Miis arrived with a tour of their own and a free red racing suit for every player. Sixty-five suits were released in all.

Which feature did a July 2020 update add to Mario Kart Tour, ten months after launch?

Landscape mode arrived on July 21, 2020, with a new control layout. Until then the game could only be played with the phone held upright.

Which Super Mario 64 boss, the first one fought, made his first playable appearance anywhere in Mario Kart Tour?

King Bob-omb became playable in the 2020 Pirate Tour, and his special item suits him: a giant bomb that bounces three times before it blows.

Which bow-wearing, egg-firing character returned in Mario Kart Tour for her first playable drive since Mario Kart Wii?

Birdo came back in the 2019 Holiday Tour and went on to race in nine colors, from light blue to black and white.

Which classic Mario Kart feature reached Mario Kart Tour in October 2022, alongside the removal of its gacha?

Battle Mode came in the same update that scrapped the random-draw gacha for a regular shop, and it let players customize the balloons on their karts.

Which engine class in Mario Kart Tour could only be raced by players paying for the monthly Gold Pass?

200cc, which the game itself labels too fast, stayed behind the Gold Pass subscription until Nintendo opened the perks to everyone in the game's final weeks.

Which spotted dog from the Yoshi games became a High-End driver in Mario Kart Tour's 2023 Yoshi Tour?

Poochy joined as a Large-class driver in April 2023, among the last brand-new characters added before new content stopped that October.

Before a 2022 overhaul, Mario Kart Tour's random drivers, karts and gliders were fired out of which object?

A pipe usually came up green, but a golden one meant a High-End prize was about to launch. Each draw cost premium gems until a shop replaced the system.

Which masked Mario character races in Mario Kart Tour in Pastry Chef, Gold and Explorer outfits?

Shy Guy has six High-End variants in all, on top of a rainbow of plain recolors. The basic red one was a launch driver.

Which European capital hosts the Mario Kart Tour city course named Promenade, known for its compact, overlapping routes?

Paris has an unusually small city course that starts on the Champs-Élysées facing the Arc de Triomphe, then glides racers under the Eiffel Tower.

Which Mario Kart referee, who fishes fallen racers back onto the track, is himself a playable Mario Kart Tour driver?

Lakitu became playable in the game's second tour, and his festive referee outfit later raced as a High-End variant called Party Time.

Which paid bonus round in Mario Kart Tour puts every player in the seat of magnet-like Gold Mario?

Coin Rush cost premium gems to enter, and until 2023 it was the only place Gold Mario could be driven at all.

Which plant boss from Super Mario Sunshine returned in Mario Kart Tour, his first playable drive since the GameCube era?

Petey Piranha arrived in 2022 as a Large High-End driver with a tour themed around his species, and a gold version of him followed that Halloween.

Which feline form of Bowser, the final boss of Super Mario 3D World, races as a High-End Mario Kart Tour driver?

Meowser debuted in the New Year's 2022 Tour beside a cat-suited Rosalina, and he keeps the standard Bowser insignia on his karts.

Which bag-carrying thief from New Super Mario Bros. U made his playable Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Tour?

Nabbit raced from the 2020 Wild West Tour, and his first spotlight paired him with a Carrot Kart, a nod to his rabbit looks.

Which power-up is the special item of Mario Kart Tour's cat-suited drivers, knocking nearby karts and items away?

Super Bell is the Super Mario 3D World item that turns Mario and friends into cats. In a race it chimes three times in a row, spinning out rivals around Cat Peach and Cat Toad.

Which special item, new in Mario Kart Tour, do the doctor versions of Mario, Peach and Bowser throw at rivals?

Capsule puts three colorful pills around the kart that bounce toward opponents when thrown, a nod to the puzzle game where Dr. Mario drops them on viruses.

Which special item surrounds King Boo's kart in Mario Kart Tour with a whole set of different items, all used at once?

Lucky Seven first appeared in Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart 8 answered it with the Crazy Eight, which adds one more item to the set.

Which city's Mario Kart Tour course, subtitled Blur, starts its standard layout on the Rainbow Bridge?

Tokyo was the game's second city, arriving two weeks after launch, and its course eventually offered four different routes.

Mario Kart Tour's city tracks reached the Nintendo Switch in 2022 through which paid add-on for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe?

Booster Course Pass added 48 tracks in six waves through 2023, and all fourteen of the mobile game's real-world city courses made the jump to the console.

Which unlockable Mario Kart 7 racer, left out of Mario Kart 8's original roster, returned in Mario Kart Tour in 2023?

Wiggler came back as a High-End driver whose in-game model has three body segments, one fewer than the official artwork shows.

Which of Bowser's Koopalings shares the protective Heart special item with Peach and Daisy in Mario Kart Tour?

Wendy carries the Heart, a shield that soaks up a hit, and Mario Kart Tour is also where the logo of her car-interiors company first appears.

Which Mario enemy made his Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Tour alongside Boomerang, Fire and Ice versions of himself?

Hammer Bro got a whole tour named after him in March 2020, when all four helmeted Bros joined the roster on the same day.

Chargin' Chuck, a Mario Kart newcomer in Mario Kart Tour, charges into races wearing the gear of which sport?

Football pads and a helmet have been Chargin' Chuck's look since Super Mario World, and a later variant of the driver swapped in a golden helmet.

Which burrowing Mario enemy made his official playable Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Tour's 2020 Flower Tour?

Monty Mole had been a trackside hazard since the very first game, where the moles latched onto passing karts and slowed them down, long before he took the wheel himself.

Which classic power-up gives Tanooki Mario a wagging tail in Mario Kart Tour that swats rivals and gathers loot?

Super Leaf joined in the 2021 Autumn Tour with Tanooki Mario and Tanooki Rosalina, and an upgraded version also speeds the kart up while the tail wags.

Critics noted Mario Kart Tour's $4.99 monthly Gold Pass cost the same as which subscription launched days earlier?

Apple Arcade had arrived only days before, and many reviewers argued it gave subscribers far more content for the same monthly price.

Which Japanese mobile firm, Nintendo's smartphone partner since 2015, helped develop Mario Kart Tour?

DeNA teamed up with Nintendo in March 2015 to bring its characters to phones, and the two later founded a joint venture called Nintendo Systems.

In the year to March 2021, which was the only Nintendo mobile game to out-earn Mario Kart Tour?

Fire Emblem Heroes took in about $163 million over those twelve months against the racer's $93 million, even as Mario Kart Tour passed 200 million downloads.

Hang gliding and underwater driving in Mario Kart Tour were both introduced to the series on which console?

The 3DS hosted Mario Kart 7, whose mechanics the mobile game is built on. The phone racer also went back to that game's eight-driver grid.

Which Canadian city hosts the Mario Kart Tour course named Velocity, one of fourteen real cities in the game?

Vancouver got its tour in February 2020, which also introduced a hiking Wario and an aurora-themed Rosalina.

Which special item of Baby Peach and Lemmy in Mario Kart Tour lifts the kart into the air inside a protective shield?

Bubble wraps the kart for a short time, giving it a speed boost while it floats, and pops the moment it takes damage.