Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Developer	Nintendo EPD Namco Bandai
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo Switch
Release Date	April 28, 2017
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a kart-racing game that was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It is an enhanced remake of the original Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U.

Gameplay

The game largely acts as a port of the original game, but it also features various additions and modifications. All of the DLC from the original game is included as part of the base game, including guest characters like Link and Villager. This game also adds seven new characters to the roster in addition to several more vehicle parts and amiibo-unlocked Mii Racing Suits. It also added two items from previous games: the Boo and the Feather. Deluxe also altered the statistics and weight classes of the game's characters. The game included various other gameplay tweaks, such as a new level of Mini-Turbo boosts and the ability to carry two items at once (including the return of Double Item Boxes from Double Dash!!).

One of the biggest differences was that this version overhauled the game's Battle Mode. It was made to be arena-based, like past games, and it gave players five balloons instead of three. The Battle Mode featured five different types of matches and eight battle courses, five of which were new courses, while the other three were taken from past games.

Like the previous version, Deluxe features online gameplay. It only omits the Miiverse features from the original game due to the service's discontinuation. A 2018 update later added compatibility with the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Motorbike.

Playable Characters

As mentioned above, this game features all of the characters from the original Mario Kart 8, including the DLC characters, and it adds seven new characters. Every character is also part of the starting roster with the exception of one unlockable character: Gold Mario.

The new characters brought into this game are the following:

• Bowser Jr.
• King Boo
• Dry Bones
• Gold Mario
• Inkling (Girl and Boy variants)
• Champion's Tunic Link (Link as seen in Breath of the Wild)

Overall, this brought the total number of characters up to 42, the largest roster of any Mario Kart game outside of Mario Kart Tour, and the number would increase with the DLC.

DLC

Nintendo began releasing purchasable DLC for the game in 2022, five years after the game's release. Known as the Booster Course Pass, this DLC added more tracks to the game that were taken from previous Mario Kart games, including tracks from Mario Kart Tour, along with several original courses. There were a total of 48 tracks that were released in six waves, with the first wave coming in March 2022. Players could buy the DLC or receive it with no additional cost through a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership.

Although it initially appeared that the Booster Course Pass would only contain new tracks, it ultimately turned out that several racers would be added as well, expanding the game's roster of characters even further.

• Birdo
• Kamek
• Petey Piranha
• Wiggler

Legacy

Sequels

While another mainline Mario Kart game has yet to be made, the next Mario Kart games to be made would be Mario Kart Arcade VR and Mario Kart Tour. Content from the latter game would later be incorporated into the DLC of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit was also released for the Switch in 2020.