Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8
Developer	Nintendo EAD Namco Bandai
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Wii U
Release Date	JP May 29, 2014 US/EU May 30, 2014 AU May 31, 2014
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Kart 8 is a kart-racing game that was released for the Wii U in 2014. It acts as the eighth game of the Mario Kart subseries (twelfth if counting the arcade games).

Gameplay

This game follows the standard gameplay for a Mario Kart game, with standard modes such as Grand Prix, VS, Time Trials and Battle Mode. It features a number of different racers and karts to choose from, and it retains a number of features from the previous two installments such as the presence of motorcyles, vehicle customization, underwater racing, hang-gliding and twelve-player racing. This installment adds the concept of anti-gravity racing, which entails segments where racers race along walls and ceilings. This game also introduces a variety of new characters and items to the series.

Mario Kart 8 features online connectivity, with up to twelve players and limited voice chat options. Prior to the discontinuation of Miiverse, the game also had features involving the option to share gameplay videos, the ability to make tournaments with custom rules and collecting stamps to use for Miiverse. This game was also the first Mario Kart game to feature DLC. Its DLC included new tracks and characters, including characters from other series such as Link and the Villager.

The game also featured amiibo functionality. Scanning amiibos could unlock new costumes for Mii characters.

Playable Characters

The following characters make up the starting roster:

• Mario
• Baby Mario
• Luigi
• Baby Luigi
• Peach
• Baby Peach
• Daisy
• Baby Daisy
• Yoshi
• Toad
• Koopa Troopa
• Shy Guy
• Bowser
• Donkey Kong
• Wario
• Waluigi

In this game, characters are unlocked at random upon the completion of a cup (with the only exception being that Miis would be the eighth character to be unlocked). The following characters are unlockable:

• Metal Mario
• Pink Gold Peach
• Rosalina
• Baby Rosalina
• All seven of the Koopalings (Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, Larry, Wendy, Ludwig and Morton)
• Mii

The following characters were made available through DLC:

• Tanooki Mario
• Cat Peach
• Link
• Dry Bowser
• Villager (male and female)
• Isabelle

Eight color variations for Yoshi and Shy Guy were also available through DLC. The characters of Pink Gold Peach and Baby Rosalina were created for this game, and this was also notable as the first playable appearance by the Koopalings as well as their first appearance in any of the Mario spin-off games in general.

Legacy

It was notable as being the best-selling game of the Wii U.

Ports/Remakes

• In 2017, it was remade for the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This installment included all of the DLC from the original game as part of the base game and featured various other modifications to the original game. Deluxe also received its own DLC years after its release, resulting in the content of Mario Kart 8 continuing to expand almost a decade after the original game's release.

Sequels

Aside from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the next Mario Kart game to be released would be Mario Kart Arcade VR, which was the first virtual reality Mario Kart game.