Mario Kart Universal

Mario Kart Universal
Developer(s)	Nintendo, Retro Studios
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii U, 3DS
Genre(s)	Racing, Action
Release Date(s)	TBA 2015
Mode(s)	Singleplayer Multiplayer Online
Age Rating(s)	ESRB- E PEGI- 7+
Media Included	Wii U Disc, 3DS Cartridge

Mario Kart Universal is the newest installment in the Mario Kart series. It is being released for the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS and is set for a 2015 release. It is considered a sequel to Mario Kart 8.

Gameplay

Most of the gameplay is taken from Mario Kart 8, such as anti-gravity, coin collecting, hang gliding, and underwater racing. Also, more than 10 coins can be collected, but the first 10 are the only ones to give speed boosts.

Like in Mario Kart 7, customizable Kart pieces return for this game. Over 150 pieces will be in the game.

New to this game are slightly longer tracks and the biggest character roster of any Mario Kart game. Bikes are now customizable. Also, up to 16 racers can be in a race and four new items are added. A new stat is added to the series, Luck. Luck affects the items the player collects. Finally, three Comet Medals are added to each track in Singleplayer only.

Controls

Wii U Gamepad

• Left Analog Stick/Tilt- Steer

• Up D-Pad- First-Person

• Down D-Pad- Third-Person

• A- Accelerate

• B- Brake

• X- Drift

• Y- Use Item

• L- Use Item

• R- Drift

• ZL- Trick

• ZR- Front View

• +- Pause

• Home- Home/Snapshot

Wii U Controller Pro

• Left Analog Stick- Steer

• Up D-Pad- First-Person

• Down D-Pad- Third-Person

• A- Acceleration

• B- Brake

• X- Drift

• Y- Use Item

• L- Use Item

• R- Drift

• ZL- Trick

• ZR- Front View

• +- Pause

• Home- Home/Snapshot

Wii Remote (Automatic)

• Tilt- Steer

• Shake- Trick

• Up D-Pad- First-Person

• Down D-Pad- Third-Person

• A- Front View

• B- Use Item

• 1- Brake

• 2- Accelerate

• +- Pause

• Home- Home/Snapshot

Wii Remote (Manual)

• Tilt- Steer

• Shake- Trick

• Up D-Pad- First-Person

• Down D-Pad- Third-Person

• Left D-Pad- Use Item

• Right D-Pad- Use Item

• A- Front View

• B- Drift

• 1- Brake

• 2- Accelerate

• +- Pause

• Home- Home/Snapshot

Modes

Singleplayer

Grand Prix

Race in four different races in a single cup with CPU racers. Twelve cups are being featured in Mario Kart Universal, unlike the usual eight. A trophy is awarded after beating a cup and characters can be unlocked. Three different modes are in the Grand Prix. 50cc, the easy mode, has slower speeds for characters and a decreased AI. 100cc, the medium, has average speeds and normal AI. 150cc, the hard mode, has high speeds, intelligent AI, and complicated Kart combinations.

Single Match

In this mode, the player races CPU racers like in Grand Prix. Instead of playing on four tracks, the player can select any track as long as it is unlocked without having to race though the other tracks in the cup. This mode can be played solo or in teams.

Battle

In Battle Mode, the player fights AI racers in two different modes. The matches take place on Battle Tracks instead of regular tracks. The player can fight all the AI racers or join a team, with 8 players on each team.

Balloon Battle

In this mode, all racers start with three balloons. When all three balloons are gone, the racer is out of the match. In order to lose a balloon, a racer must get harmed by an obstacle or item. Another racer can also "steal" a balloon. In order to do this, the racer must boost using a kind of Mushroom into another racer.

Coin Collecting

In this mode, racers must collect coins scattered around the stage. The racer (or team) with the most coins after two minutes wins the match. When a racer is hit, they drop a few coins. Unlike in racing matches, coins do not offer speed boosts.

Multiplayer

Grand Prix

Grand Prix now can have up to five players at once racing each other and the AI.

Single Match

Single Match now can have up to five players at once racing each other and the AI.

Battle

Battle now can have up to five players at once battling each other and the AI.

Double Trouble

Double Trouble is playable with an even number of players. Instead of 16 karts, 8 is racing at once. However, two characters are in a kart as once, similar to Mario Kart: 'Double Dash. Bikes are extended to two seats in this mode. One player controls the car, and the other uses items and tricks. Otherwise, it follows the same formula as Single Match.

Characters

Mario Kart Universal has 47 characters in total,19 starting characters, 22 unlockable characters, and 6 downloadable characters.

Starting Characters

Image	Name	Class	Stats	Description
	Baby Mario	Feather	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 3.5 Handling: 3 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 1.5 Luck: 3.5	Baby Mario is a younger version of the famous plumber. Just don't underestimate him! His luck and acceleration is amazing.
	Baby Peach	Feather	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 1.5 Handling: 3.5 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 1 Luck: 2.5	Baby Peach is a young version of the princess. She makes up for what Baby Mario misses. You could say the two of them are a perfect match.
	Goomba	Feather	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 4 Drift: 3 Handling: 2.5 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 2 Luck: 1.5	Goomba is tired of being stomped on! Goomba has decent stats. How he steers is a true mystery.
	Kiddy Kong	Feather	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 1.5 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 2 Luck: 3	Kiddy Kong makes his debut in the races! Though not the best at drifting, his luck makes up for it.
	Koopa Troopa	Light	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 3.5 Handling: 4 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 2 Luck: 2.5	The Koopa Troopa returns with a bang. He isn't a coward like people say he is!
	Toad	Light	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 2.5 Handling: 3 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 4	Toad is an ally of the Mario Bros. but also enjoys a race or two. His luck is very good.
	Shy Guy	Light	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2 Handling: 2.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 1.5 Luck: 3.5	Shy Guy is a returning racer from the handheld games. Will we finally be able to see his true face?
	Mario	Medium	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2 Handling: 2.5 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 2.5	Mario is the famous plumber of the Mushroom Kingdom! He is balanced stats.
	Luigi	Medium	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 3 Handling: 2.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 2.5	Luigi is Mario's younger brother. He has balanced stats like Mario, but has different strengths.
	Peach	Medium	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 3.5 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 3	Peach is the princess of the Mushrom Kingdom. She has decent speed and a good drift.
	Yoshi	Medium	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2.5 Handling: 3 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 2 Luck: 1.5	Yoshi is back in the game with interesting stats. It has a surprising speed but bad luck.
	Hammer Bro.	Cruiser	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 2.5 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 3 Luck: 3	Hammer Bro. makes his big debut in Mario Kart with very good stats. He has pretty balanced overall.
	Waluigi	Cruiser	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 3 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 4 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 3.5	Waluigi is a very interesting character with weird stats to match his personality. It truly is Waluigi time.
	Donkey Kong	Cruiser	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 2 Handling: 1.5 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 4 Luck: 4	Coming from the jungle, DK is a fast racer! He has great luck and speed, but has bad handling and drift.
	Bowser	Heavy	Speed: 4 Acceleration: 1.5 Drift: 3 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 4.5 Luck: 2.5	King of the Koopas, Bowser is a threat to all racers. His speed and weight is great for bumping people around. What a brute!
	Wario	Heavy	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 2 Handling: 2.5 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 4 Luck: 2.5	Mario's strange double, Wario is ready to take on the competition head-on with his weight, speed, and handling.
	Boom Boom	Heavy	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 3 Handling: 1.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 4	Boom Boom, making his racing start, has good weight, drift, and speed.
	Mii Outfit A	Various	Various	Mii's stats all depend on its size and width. Choose carefully to suit your play style!

 Unlockable Characters

Image	Name	Weight	Stats	Description	How to Unlock
	Baby Luigi	Feather	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 4 Drift: 2 Off-Road: 1.5 Weight: 1.5 Luck: 4	Baby Luigi is the third of the baby trio. He also has the best luck and speed.	Unlock 5 Expert Ghosts or play 150 races.
	Toadette	Feather	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 1.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 2 Luck: 3.5	Toadette is the counterpart to Toad. Although their relationship is unknown, she has stats similar to him.	Beat the Mushroom Cup 150cc or play 50 races.
	Baby Wiggler	Feather	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 2.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 1 Luck: 2.5	Baby Wiggler is a new character to the entire Mario series. She has good speed and acceleration.	Beat the Flower Cup 150cc or play 200 races.
	Dry Bones	Feather	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 4.5 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 1.5 Weight: 1.5 Luck: 2	Dry Bones returns from Mario Kart Wii for one more race. Dry Bones has surpreme acceleration and drift, but fails in luck and off-road.	Beat the Shell Cup 150cc or play 75 races.
	Fly Guy	Light	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 1.5 Off-Road: 2.5 Weight: 2 Luck: 3.5	Fly Guy goes to the ground to drive for the first time. Fly Guy has good acceleration, speed, and luck.	Beat the Blooper Cup 150cc or play 125 races.
	Paratroopa	Light	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 3.5 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 2 Luck: 3	Paratroopa wears a yellow shell, uncommon for Koopas. He has great drift, off-road, and acceleration.
	Dixie Kong	Light	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 1.5 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 1.5 Luck: 4	Dixie Kong is the newest Donkey Kong racer. She has balanced stats and is weak in weight and drift.	Collect 100 Coins.
	Bowser Jr.	Light	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 2.5	Bowser Jr. is Bowser's eighth child. He has far different stats than his father with good acceleration, handling, and off-road.	Collect 250 Coins.
	Birdo	Medium	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 1 Weight: 2 Luck: 2.5	Birdo is the strange Subcon creature. She is balanced stats, similar to Mario and Luigi.	Play 250 races.
	Diddy Kong	Medium	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 1.5 Weight: 2 Luck: 3	Diddy Kong is DK's nephew. Diddy is faster and lighter than his uncle. If only he had his peanut guns...	Beat the Banana 150cc cup or play 300 races.
	Kritter	Medium	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2 Off-Road: 4 Weight: 3 Luck: 2	The Kritter is King K Rool's henchman. He has good acceleration and weight, with off-road to rival those of Waluigi and Donkey Kong.	Beat the Star Cup 150cc or play 750 races.
	Magikoopa	Medium	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2 Off-Road: 1.5 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 1.5	Magikoopa has great speed and acceleration, but has bad luck and off-road. He was orginally going to be in Mario Kart 64, but was scrapped. But that didn't keep him out of the game!	Beat a Regular Ghost.
	Daisy	Medium	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 2 Luck: 3.5	Daisy has similar stats to Peach, but has better drift, off-road, and luck.	Collect 150 Coins.
	Rosalina	Cruiser	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 2 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 4	Rosalina is a good character overall. With good stats, she is ready to race for the gold trophy!	Beat the 150cc Special Cup or play 3,000 races.
	Wiggler	Cruiser	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 1.5 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 2.5	Wiggler returns from Mario Kart 7 with good stats. She has several good sides to her and some bad sides too.	Beat the Bob-Omb Cup 150cc or play 300 races.
	Boomerang Bro.	Cruiser	Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 2 Off-Road: 3 Weight: 3 Luck: 4.5	Boomerang Bro. is actually a surprisingly good racer! He seems to have no weak points to him except from his drift.	Beat the Leaf Cup 150cc or play 325 races.
	Pom Pom	Cruiser	Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 2.5	Pom Pom couldn't be left behind by Boom Boom! She has good speed and off-road, but a bad acceleration and drift.	Unlock 10 Expert Ghosts.
	Honey Queen	Heavy	Speed: 3.5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 2.5 Off-Road: 2 Weight: 4.5 Luck: 3.5	Honey Queen is surprisingly small compared to the Galaxy games. She has good weight and luck. Plus, a good acceleration compared to other Heavys.	Collect 500 Coins.
	Sumo Bro.	Heavy	Speed: 4 Acceleration: 1 Drift: 3 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 4 Luck: 3	Sumo Bro. is ready to show his strength! He has good speed, off-road, and luck.	Collect 1,000 coins.
	King Boo	Heavy	Speed: 4.5 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 4 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 4 Luck: 2.5	King Boo is surprisingly heavy for a ghost. This, his drift, and his speed makes him good for not being pushed off the track.	Beat an Expert Ghost.
	Dry Bowser	Heavy	Speed: 5 Acceleration: 3 Drift: 3.5 Handling: 2 Off-Road: 3.5 Weight: 4.5 Luck: 4	The final racer, Dry Bowser has a bone to pick with the competition. He has excellent speed, off-road, and even has a good acceleration.	Get 1st Place on all tracks or play 5,000 races.
	Mii Outfit B	Various	Various	Mii's stats all depend on its size and width. Choose carefully to suit your play style!	Collect all Comet Medals.

 DLC Characters

Image	Name	Class	Stats	Description
	Paper Mario	Feather	Speed: 2 Acceleration: 3.5 Drift: 3.5 Handling: 3 Weight: 0.5 Luck: 2.5	Paper Mario, being made of paper, is the lightest character in the game. However, he has good drift and acceleration.
	Donkey Kong Jr.	Light	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 2 Drift: 2 Handling: 3 Weight: 3.5 Luck: 3	Donkey Kong Jr. makes his long-awaited return! He comes back with very good stats overall.
	Banjo- Kazooie	Medium	Speed: 2.5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 2.5 Handling: 2.5 Weight: 2.5 Luck: 2.5	The fifth third-party character in the series, Banjo-Kazooie is the defintion of all-round character. Looks like the duo finally get to meet Mario!
	Pianta and Noki	Cruiser	Speed: 3 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 1.5 Handling: 2 Weight: 3 Luck: 2.5	Pinata and Noki are two Sunshine characers in one! The two balance each other out in stats.
	Metal Mario	Heavy	Speed: 5 Acceleration: 2.5 Drift: 2 Handling: 1.5 Weight: 5 Luck: 3	With amazing speed and weight, Metal Mario is a very good character for those who want to push people around.
	Mii Outfit C	Various	Various	Mii's stats all depend on its size and width. Choose carefully to suit your play style!

Tracks

To see more, look at Mario Kart Universal/Tracks.

DLC

Extra Characters

This pack will be released along with the release of the game. All the characters have been confirmed and the pack will cost $3.99.

Extra Tracks

This pack will be released in late 2015. No news about the tracks have been released, but screenshots of Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 in HD has spread across the Internet, making some fans think this stage will be a DLC stage and others thinking it is a hoax. Nintendo has made no statement about the image, but revealed the pack will revolve around the DLC characters and some retro tracks.

Items

Collectable

Item Box

Coin

Red Coin- Worth 3 Coins

Blue Coin- Worth 5 Coins

Purple Coin- Worth 7 Coins

Comet Medal

Item Box Rewards

Green Shell

Triple Green Shell

Red Shell

Triple Red Shell

Banana

Triple Banana

480px-Mushroom2.png

Mushroom

Triple Mushroom

Bob-ombAl.png

Bob-Omb

Super Star

Lightning

Super Leaf

Blooper

114px-FireflowerNSMB2.png

Fire Flower

Fake Item Box

Mega Mushroom

Ice Flower- Shoot 3 iceballs that freezes racers for 3 seconds

Magnet- Drag in nearby Coins for 10 seconds.

Capef.png

Cape Feather- Quickens drift speed andlets racers gently float as they fall.

Cloud Flower- Allows the user to create four cloud barrier behind them, causing racers to slow down

Trivia

• Magikoopa was orginally going to be in Mario Kart 64 but was scrapped.

• Mario Kart Universal is the first game since Mario Kart: Super Circuit to use ten cups.

• Mario Kart Universal was orginally planned to be for the eighth-generation consoles, but was brought back to seventh-generation consoles with Mario Kart 8.

• Mario Kart Universal is the first Mario Kart game to be released on two systems on release.