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Mario Kart Switch
Mariokartswitch boxart
Mario Kart Switch
Developer(s) Nintendo logo
Publisher(s) Nintendo logo
Platform(s) NintendoSwitchLogo
Genre(s) Racing
Predecessor Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Release Date(s) Black Friday 2021
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer, online
Age Rating(s) ERating3RatingUSK6OFLC-GCERO A
Media Included Nintendo Switch Catridge
Media DL icon Digital Download

Mario Kart Switch is the next game in the Mario Kart series. It follows Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second game in the series released for the Switch, however the gameplay has been drastically changed from its predecessors as it marks the return of the "Double Dash" mechanic as a main feature. It is set to double the size of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as expand the concept of Battle Mode. The game is set to release in late 2021.

Gameplay[]

Like the other games in the franchise, MKS is a Racing game where the goal is to be the first to cross the finish line in (usually) 3 lap races with 12 players each around varied tracks, all of which have their own gimmicks to them, along with items found in item boxes along the way to make the game more challenging. MKS brings back the Double Dash mechanic from the 4th game in the franchise, which allows you to choose two players in a kart instead of one, allowing you to bring out a whole new array of tricks and fun into the game.

Gliding and Underwater Racing as well as Anti-Gravity return from Mario Kart 7 and 8 respectively, allowing tracks to go where they never have before. The game's tracks are closer to Wii's designs, however, with the shortcuts being more risky and more "open" so to say, with high risk, high reward kept in mind.

Grand Prix is the "normal mode" so to say, which allows players to compete against CPUs in 4 track cups for first place based off of a points system, which rewards points based on your placing in the races. The character with the most points at the end of the Prix wins.

Time Trials allows players to go on any track they want (of course if they're unlocked) and compete for the best time globally on the track. IF you rank in the top 10 times globally, you will have your replay checked by Nintendo to ensure you aren't cheating.

Versus is similar to Grand Prix where you can play races against CPUs for the best ranking, however multiplayer is available and the rules are completely changeable, allowing for a truly customizable Mario Kart experience.

Online also returns in this game, allowing players to play in online matches with other players, to increase their Global VR, a system which shows the best players online across the globe. Both Vs. and all Battle modes are available online, as well as Tournaments which are created by players, which, once joined, will make you join a team to face off in matches to earn the most points for yourself or your team in a period of time.

Mission Mode returns, last being seen in Mario Kart DS. There's 100 missions, divided up into 10 "worlds", one being an extra one. Each has a miniboss and a boss too.

The Garage allows you to customize your cart, allowing you to save presets to instantly click to on the Customization screen, as well as apply stickers and such to the aforementioned Karts.

Missions[]

Mission Mode
1-1 Drive through all Numbered Gates in order! Luigi Land 0:35 Mario & Baby Mario
1-2 Collect 20 Coins Second-Level Caverns 0:30 Peach & Yoshi
1-3 Complete a lap without touching a Goomba Mario Circuit 2:00 Luigi & Mario
1-4 Steal the Shine from Wario and Waluigi Battle Course 2 1:00 Toad & Luigi
1-5 Use the Super Bell to sift through a pile of Bananas for the Mission Flag Choco Island 1 1:00 Donkey Kong & Diddy Kong
1-MB Beat The Ghostly Racer in a 3-Lap Race. Power-Up Palace N/A Your Choice!
1-6 Find five sheep and return them to Koopa before Bowser and Jr. steal them! Pizza Place 2:00 Toad & Mario
1-7 Drive through every Numbered Gate in order. Bowser Castle 2 1:30 Bowser & King Boo
1-8 Preform 10 Mini-Turbos before the time runs out! Double Deck 0:40 Peach & Shy Guy
1-9 Complete the lap without hitting a Banana Goomba's Giant Gym 1:30 Baby Mario & Spike
1-B Beat Madame Brood Cascade Arena N/A Your Choice!
Level 2
2-1 Pop 5 Balloons. Double Deck 1:00 Bowser & Pauline
2-2 Squish 5 opponents with the Mega Mushroom. Frappe Snowland 0:30 Baby Mario & Baby Daisy

  • MB means Miniboss
  • B means Boss

Battle[]

Battle modes are completely separate from the races. They come in many different modes in special tracks, where players will compete in arena matches against each other and many CPUs for the best score in the games. All of these games are available in Singe Player, Multiplayer and Online and are also fully customizable in offline games, including Team Battles. The battle modes are listed below-

  • Balloon Battle- An all out classic war between teams or players. If you hit someone with an item, they lose a balloon and you get a point. Run out of Balloons and you're sidelined, and lose half of your points. Press on the C-stick and you blow up an extra balloon from the points you've collected, but doing so will remove a point. Most points before the game ends wins.
    • Balloon Battle (Classic)- All the same rules apply as they do in normal Balloon Battle, however if you get sidelined, you're out. When sidelined, you get to be transformed into a bomb kart.
  • Coin Runners- A collectahon- literally. The players drive around collecting coins around the battlefield, dropping them if they get hit. You may carry infinite amounts of coins instead of the normal 10, and the number will be displayed above your kart. Whoever has the most coins at the end of the round wins. Coins now respawn over time, like in Mario Kart Wii.
  • Bob-Omb Blast- A subtype of Balloon Battle. Driving into an Item Box will instantly give you an extra Bob-Omb, which you can have 10 of at most. Bombs work differently in this mode- tapping slightly will only throw them in front of you, while holding down the item button before throwing will throw it like normal, and making it explode on contact with the ground. Otherwise, the game works the same as Balloon Battle. Oh, and Double Item Boxes show up in the last minute of the game.
  • Shine Thief- A shine spawns in the middle of the map, take it and a counter will appear. Getting hit by an item will cause you to drop the shine, and someone using a Mushroom, Star or a well-timed Cape Feather can steal your shine! Keep the shine in your grasp for 20 seconds in total to win! Your kart slows down when holding the shine, though, so stay cautious!
  • Renegade Roundup- 2 teams of 6, Renegades and Sherrifs- the Renegades must avoid being captured by the Sherrifs, who are armed with Piranha plants. The renegades must prevent their whole team from being captured by avoiding the Sherrifs and driving over P-Switches, which hold the jail cells where caught renegades are kept in, thus releasing every caught racer in that cell. The sherrifs' goal is to catch every renegade and have them all in prison at the same time. If the renegades escape for 5 minutes, they win!
  • Cloudy Forecast- A hot-potato game using returning item Thunder Cloud. One player is assigned the Thunder Cloud, and must pass it on before it strikes the player its under. If you get struck, you're out and put in as a Bomb-Kart. The time you have to pass it on decreases each time someone is disqualified. Items ARE usable with the Thunder Cloud, as it is specifically edited for this Battle Mode, and the slight speed boost given during it is slightly boosted. Once a player is shocked, another random player is selected as the Cloud Carrier.
  • Viral Racing- A game similar to Shine Thief and Cloudy Forecast, Viral Racing selects one person to start off the game as "it", sort of like tag. The player has a red virus from Dr. Mario on the top of its screen, and its goal is to infect people by touching them, and then making them join his team. Infections mean you get a slight speed boost but a debuff in item reception. Other players must try to escape the virus- if every player is succesfully infected in the time limit, the one player as the first virus wins, if at least 1 player is still uninfected, they win. The virus gets faster as time goes on, so be careful!
  • Star Ball Scuffle- A bumper cars-like game, where everyone's kart is permenately stuck on top of a Star Ball from Mario Galaxy. All arena walls have been removed, and many things have been removed in place for out of bounds territory. The goal of the game is to knock people off the arena, gaining the star from their star ball, adding it to your collection in your ball. If you fall, you'll respawn but lose half of your stars, giving them to another player. The controls are similar to the Monkey Ball series. Stars gained appear in your ball, making your kart faster and harder to handle. Most stars by the end of the match. Oh, and like Super Smash Bros., items will make victims' percent rise based on the item, which'll make them easier to be bounced around. % is displayed above the kart and above the character's head on the minimap.

Battle Arenas[]

Nitro
Retro
Mushroom Canyon
SNES Battle Course 2
Pizza Place
N64Double Deck
Tropical Mall
GBABattle Course 2
Pipe Zone
GCNTilt-a-Kart
Nintendo Switch
DSTart Top
Beat Block Arena
WiiChain Chomp Roulette
Big Ol' Barnyard
3DSHoneybee Hive
Honeylune Ridge
DeluxeDragon Palace
  • Mushroom Canyon- A rectangular battle field seperated by a large cliff. This cliff features an army of bouncy red mushrooms, normal green mushrooms and glider blue mushrooms- use these to get to the other side. A large green Mushroom in the middle is a hectic area full of item boxes, so go there with cautions. On the cliff sides, many trees and rocks will get in your way. Battle carefully.
    • (SNES) Battle Course 2- Now a floating battle course on an ocean, Battle Course 2 says mainly the same as its Super Mario Kart counterpart, other than the obvious graphical differences and a third dimension being added to the course. The course has palm trees and other floral decorations added around. The main difference is being able to go underwater, and anti-grav under the entire course- which has holes shaped in the walls on the other end, allowing you to fall into them and pop out on the other side by either feathering or by just driving into them on the flipside.
  • Pizza Place- A large, circular battlefield on top of a pizza. The arena is cut into 10 triangular sections, which randomly fall into the abyss and respawn momentarily. There are many toppings such as pepperoni and sausage to do tricks off of. Some cheese gets hot, so try for your kart not to be burned.
    • Double Deck- The course has now, of course, been designed to fit an HD enviornment. It has been enlargened and the map has been made taller to fit that the new top deck has support underneath and is not just a thin, two dimensional platform. The white walls have been made into a brick color and texture, and the colors of the space have now been made into brighter colors. The map is now at night and neon lights surround the edges of the course. In the middle of the top deck, the two sides of it now have a glider ramp. The center square in the bottom deck that was originally blocked off now is a half-sphere fountain.
  • Tropical Mall- The Tropical Mall is a large, maze-like mall full of shops, based off of Coconut Mall. There are many hallways and paths to take, as well as corners and Anti-Gravity walls. The place is very reflective and futuristic. Obstacles include support beams, and palm trees, as well as a fountain you can go in underwater. The mall's superstore is somewhere you can drive, and there is many aisles and clothing racks to hide in. This map is one of the largest maps in the game.
    • (GBA) Battle Course 2- The other Battle Course 2. The new version of this track obviously has a visual upgrade, with the track being made of a darker brick, and the fire glowing brighter. It now looks more like a castle, with chains hanging from the ceiling and visible walls. The corners of the track are tilted and in Anti-Gravity. The bridges in the middle are now raised going towards the center platform, which now has Lava Bubbles jumping in and out of it. There's also Bowser Statues which will raise halfway through the match, shooting fire at nearby racers.
  • Nintendo Switch- A map set literally on a giant Nintendo Switch floating in space. A large rectangular that's set into 3 parts- the Joycon(L), the Screen, and the Joycon(R). The Joycons will randomly detach (with a warning of course), which will cause all battlers on that joycon to go out of bounds. The whole track's an anti-gravity zone, and you can drive on the backside of the Switch, too. There's very little obstacles, being the Joysticks, the plus/minus, and the vents. The directional and letter buttons are bouncy instead of plain obstacles.
    • Tart Top- A circular map where everything's made out of food. The map is now made in the same aesthetic of Mario Odyssey's Luncheon Kingdom, with many of the colors being neon and everything being subtley polygonal. The fork creatures from said kingdom now watch the battle as the audience, and you can see Mount Volbono in the distance. The walls are now anti-gravity walls, though. The bouncy strawberries and blinding cream puffs return. Otherwise, the map doesn't change much gameplay-wise.
  • Beat Block Arena- BBA's background track has beeps to go along with the music, which play a role in the stage. The stage is a simple arena suspended in space, filled with red and blue blocks known as Beat Blocks. These Beat Blocks will switch out to the beat- the blue and red alternating. As the "beeps" play, the blues will disappear and the red ones will reappear, and vice versa. The layout of the Beat Blocks changes each time you play.
    • Chain Chomp Roulette- Set in a casino, the Chain Chomp Wheel remains much the same. Players still drop into the ring when the battle starts, however there is also a glider ramp at the end of them, this time. The Chain Chomp rolling around the stage will crush people who go under it. Now, when there's only one minute left, the Roulette will both reverse and speed up, making the game many more times as hectic. The "aquarium" on the sides, although a subtle detail, is now much more detailed, with many more aquatic life from games such as Odyssey joining the aquarium.
  • Big Ol' Barnyard- This track takes place on a Moo Moo Meadows-like field, with a huge barn in the middle of it. Players fight in the field, a large open space with little obstructions- making it a truly hectic fight. You will find Moo Moos, Oink Oinks and Neigh Neighs (don't ask) grazing in the field, with will cause you to spin out if hit. This map also has a day/night cycle, with a cycle happening each 60 seconds. At night, Swoopers will come in, who will act as obstacles. In the center, a large Barn with four entrances (one on each side) resides. You can use Anti-Gravity to reach a second floor, with a glider ramp to fly out above the competition.
    • Honeybee Hive returns from Mario Kart 7, with little changes. However, one graphical change is that, outside of the honey hive, instead of there being an outside sky, there is revealed to be a huge, sprawling metropolis of beehives, with honey waterfalls and Stingbys flying around, as well as other nests in the distance.
  • Honeylune Ridge is fought on an almost 1:1 replica of Honeylune Ridge from Odyssey. You can use Anti-Gravity to drive along the side of the church, as well as ramps that's effects are amplified by the low-gravity aspect of this map, allowing you to fly super high up into the air. Star Bits replace coins, and you might look out for the Moon Frogs that hop along the map without a care in the world.
    • Dragon Palace is mostly unchanged from it's incarnation in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Miscellaneous Changes to Gameplay[]

These are minor, mostly QOL changes to the game since MK8D that do not warrant their own header.

  • Now, instead of continuing to drive around the track after victory, the characters will simply stop in place, get out of the car and do a pose based on the character and placing. Characters who place 1 will catch a Trophy dropped in, and shake it around, while 2-5 emote happily. 6-8 appear disappointed, while 8-12 depends on the character (whining, bad manners, or stuff like sadly slumping next to the car).
  • There is a minor, toggle-able motion blur that plays when you use a speeding-up item or run over a boost panel.
  • The "Car Horns" can now be heard by other players in the lobby.
    • On top of this, characters now do a small taunt while using the horn
  • Oil Slicks and similar objects now cause you to lose traction instead of immediately slowing to a halt.

Characters[]

Characters are split into 3 categories- Light, Medium, and Heavy- in which Light generally are the slowest but have the best traction, Medium are in between, and Heavy usually have high speed but low traction. Heavier and Lighter characters are sorted into 4 subcategories- Heavy (heaviest), Cruiser (heavier), Light (lighter), and Feather (lightest).

Due to the Double Dash mechanic in this game, characters are sorted into their default teams- however these teams are completely changeable. Teams are every 2 characters below.

Default[]

Unlockable[]

* denotes no default partner for this character

Downloadable[]

  • Cyan denotes Crazy 8 pack character.
  • Pink denotes Kirby x Mario Kart Switch pack character.

Alternate Costumes[]

All alternate costumes are unlockable in this game, mostly randomly through wins.

Orange denotes downloadable in Halloween Pack

Costume Mario[]

These costumes for Mario are given to you if you own the game Super Mario Odyssey.

Unlocking Criteria[]

  • Rosalina & Luma- Complete the 150cc Mushroom Cup
  • Lakitu & Wiggler- Complete the 150cc Flower Cup
  • Nabbit & Bandit- Complete the 150cc Star Cup
  • King Boo & Petey Piranha- Complete the 150cc Special Cup
  • Dry Bowser & Dry Bones- Complete the 150cc Leaf Cup
  • Toadsworth & E. Gadd- Beat Boohemoth in Mission Mode
  • Red Lakitu & Wiggler- Complete the 150cc Shell Cup
  • King K. Rool & Kritter- Complete the 150cc Banana Cup
  • R.O.B- Beat all 150cc Staff Ghosts

Items[]

Like in other games, items are a crucial part to Mario Kart Switch. Items are found in Item Boxes around the track, and will give you a random item when driven through. Mario Kart Switch features a rebalanced item system, as well as the return of double items.

Items are used by the character currently in the back of the kart- and only the characters in the back of the kart can get their own special items. However, it's always possible to switch characters. You can also hold two items in this game like in Deluxe, with one being held by the driver and the other by the thrower- and you must switch to use both.

Exclusive items also return in this game, which make your choice of characters more important.

Items found on Track[]

These items are only found on the track.

Item Description
ItemBoxMK8
Item Box
When driven through, it'll give you a random item. Can also be found in their Double variant, which will give you two items for the price of one!
Coin
Coin
Found on the track, when driven through gives a small boost and a slight boost in speed- 10 coins maximum and 3 coins drop when hit by an item.

New Items[]

Item Description Item Description
SuperBellSM3DW
Super Bell
Causes a bell to attach to the back of your kart. This bell emits a magnetic repulsion field, which will push away any racers or items (barring a few like the Blue Shell) that get near you. Many projectiles, such as Red Shells, will instead go around you and target another racer. Doesn't last very long though!
Ice Flower SMWU
Ice Flower
Allows the user to shoot frozen balls, which will freeze victims in a block of ice. These people will keep their momentum but slide forward for a small while, like the freezies in Mario Kart: Double Dash. Otherwise, it is the same as the Fire Flower.
Cannon Box - Super Mario 3D World
Cannon Box
The cannon box puts a cannon on the player's head, which automatically shoots cannonball projectiles directed at enemies- it lasts a small while, and can manually be fired too. The cannonballs don't home in on other players, however, and break when they hit a wall.
Messy Watermelon
Messy Watermelon
A projectile item based on the Pie from the arcade series- the Watermelon is thrown overhand or rolled backwards- when thrown forward, it'll fly through the air and break when hitting the ground, causing a small explosion that causes players to lose traction and get their screen covered in pink goop, as if they got hit with a Blooper. It will also leave a small spot on the ground that will cause you to slow down in. Rolling it behind you will cause it to burst when it hits a wall or an object.
GreenStarSM3DW
Green Star
Star Ball Scuffle Only
Retrievable from item boxes only in SBS, the Green Star will gradually decrease your % as it lasts, as it is held over your head. However, it doesn't last very long and slightly slows you while using it.
Poochy plane
Poochy Pilot
N'aww, its a Poochy! But even better, its a little pilot in a biplane! Aww! When using this item, you can target a player on your screen to tap (or use the C stick to move between players and the item button) on them, and a tiny Poochy Plane will go on its way! It acts like a mix of a Blue Shell and Smash's Nintendog assist- Poochy will play with the driver, which would be a delight anywhere else but not when it slows you down slightly and covers your screen for a few seconds before flying off. However, it can only be found in lower places and you can only target people on your screen at the moment.
120px-1upmushroomNSMB2
1-Up Mushroom
BB, BBB, CF and VR Only
In Balloon Battle and Bob-Omb Blast, it gives you an extra balloon, in Coin Runners it lets you recover all coins when hit, in Viral Racing it will let you knock into one infected person to cure them (when your team is in a pinch) and in Cloudy Forecast it lets you instantly transfer the Cloud to someone else. It is the rarest item in Battle Mode and only retrievable when you or your team is doing very poorly. It is a key component of Viral Racing.

Mission Flag
Mission Mode Only
Acts as the "goal" in some missions, where you may have to find, steal, or save it. Grabbing it will promptly end the mission.
MinigameKey SM64S
Phanto Key
credit to Ziegs (tbc) for the art.
The Phanto Key is an item dropped behind or thrown in front of the character, like the Banana, however it is more close to the Thunder Cloud than anything. Instead of attacking the person retrieviving the item, it will lay on the ground waiting for a poor driver to pick it up. Once picked up, the driver will be persued by a Phantom who will fill the item spot and slow down the driver until the key disappears- however, you can get rid of it quicker by passing on the key (which hovers over your kart) to another driver.

Returning Items[]

Item Description Item Description
MushroomMK8
Mushroom
Gives the user a small boost of speed.
TripleMushroomMK8
Triple Mushroom
Gives the player 3 mushrooms which circle around the kart.
GoldenMushroomMK8
Golden Mushroom
Gives the player infinite boosts for a limited amount of time.
MegaMushroomSM3DW
Mega Mushroom
Makes the player invincible and HUGE, allowing them to go very fast and squish players. It is more powerful than the Star, but that's traded off for less duration. If Lightning is used, they'll revert to their normal size.
GreenShellMK8
Green Shell
A durable, rebounding projectile which travels in a straight line. While less practical than the red counterparts, the Green Shell is a good way to keep opponents on their toes, due to their chaotic nature. They can also be held and thrown behind you.
TripleGreenShellsMK8
Triple Green Shells
3 Green Shells that orbit your kart, which you can use as shields or to throw at opponents like normal Green Shells.
RedShellMK8
Red Shells
Red Shells, unlike Green Shells, are less durable and cannot bounce off walls. However, the Red Shell follows your opponent's every move!
TripleRedShellsMK8
Triple Red Shells
3 Red Shells that orbit your kart, which you can use as shields or to throw at opponents like normal Red Shells.
BlueSpikedShell
Spiny Shell
The bane of every Mario Kart master's existence, the Spiny Shell will speed down the track at miraculous speeds, bulldozing any poor player in its way, and then landing and exploding on top of the frontrunner's kart. The poor victim has to take extra long to get back to top speed. But the Spiny Shell CAN be dodged- by a well-timed Mushroom- or destroyed by the ultra rare Super Horn. In Battle Mode, the Spiny Shell grows its wings from the 4th, 5th and 6th games, which will only target the player doing the best, or the person carrying the Shine, or the renegade closest to the cage.
SuperHornMK8
Super Horn
If you thought normal car horns were loud, you haven't seen this. This horn goes be-beep SO LOUD that it causes a shockwave, removing any roaming items from the track in a small radius INCLUDING the Spiny Shell- which means yes, you can get this item in first place! It's VERY rare though, so use it wisely.
BobOmbMK8
Bob-Omb
The self-destructing species Bob-Omb earned a place in the race during Mario Kart Double Dash, all under the control of greedy Wario and his partner Waluigi. But since then, Bob-Ombs have been a part of the race, causing chaos around every corner. The Bob-Omb is thrown either before or behind you, and when something drives into their explosion radius, or the fuse runs out, a large explosion will occur in its place.
BananaMK8
Banana
A classic slip & slide item- a small "landmine" that will spin you out if you touch it. Throw it forward or toss it backward, but it also makes for a great shield.
TripleBananasMK8
Banana Bunch
3 Bananas that orbit your kart.
Poison Mushroom
Poison Mushroom
An item unseen since the classic Super Mario Kart, where it was restricted to CPU characters, the Poison Mushroom makes a return in this game. Taking its appearence from the Super Smash Bros. games, it takes the place of an ordinary mushroom sitting on the ground. However, touching it will shrink you- look out for the mean eyes and faded cap.
StarMK8
Super Star
In a blast of rainbow color, the Super Star speeds up your kart and makes you invincible for a short amount of time. The mighty star can knock over even a Bullet Bill. Using it will let you go offroad with no consequences.
MK8 Deluxe Art - Boo
Boo
The effects of the boo are similar to the Star's- it makes you invisible and invernurable (though you can't knock other racers over), allowing you to phase through other racers and drive offroad without consequences, however the main gimmick of the item is the helper Boo that shows up to steal an item for you.
FireFlowerMK8
Fire Flower
Allows you to throw as many fireballs as you want in an amount of time. Throwing Fireballs decrases the time, too.
BoomerangFlowerMK8
Boomerang Flower
Allows you to throw a boomerang thrice- a projectile that pierces through enemies and will return to you. On the contrary to MK8 Deluxe, throwing the boomerang leaves a placeholder in your inventory so another item doesn't take its place. The third time thrown, the boomerang goes twice as far but doesn't return.
Fake Item Box MKACL
Fake Item Box
The Fake Item Box is similar to a Banana, where it can be thrown before or behind you. The fib, as fans affectionately call it, disguises itself as a normal Item Box, just with a slightly diferent color scheme and upside down ?, but when players ride over it? Z-ZAP! They don't get shrunk, but they lose all speed they have gained. It doesn't block incoming items, though. A rarer version mimicing the Double Item Box appears too, which can not only trick more players but can block items, too!
MK8 Deluxe Art - Cape Feather
Cape Feather
Battle Only
A short jump which allows you to jump over most obstacles, steal the shine or coins from someone's head, or make a quick escape through parts in the course edited to fit the feather.
Thunder Cloud
Thunder Cloud
Battle Only
Hovers above your kart threatening to strike you with shrinking lightning. Pass it on before it zaps- a speed boost is there to help you. Cloudy Forecast is centered around this item.
Super Leaf NSMB2
Super Leaf
Battle Only
For a limited time, press the item button to deflect incoming projectiles and items on the road, as well as characters. Also gives you a slight speed boost when in the air.
BulletBillMK8
Bullet Bill
Your kart transforms into a Bullet Bill, causing you to tear through the track, with no regard for what's in your way for a little while. It's only found if you're doing poorly in a race.
BlooperMK8
Blooper
A blooper attacks anybody in front of you, blinding them with goopy ink and making their kart slippier until you go off a boost, into water or after a few seconds.
PottedPiranhaPlantMK8
Potted Piranha Plant
This feisty plant was put in a pot to be used during races- for the duration of the power-up, this thing will bite in front of you, giving you short speed boosts- it will also bite coins, shells, bananas and bloopers out of play. Its main feature is that it can bite other players, too- this biting is automatic but pressing the item button will bite manually. Each bite decreases the duration.

Special Items[]

Item Description Character(s)
FLUDD NSMBDIY
F.L.U.D.D
Allows you to shoot bursts of water at enemies to push them away and leave a slippery trail of water in the place you sprayed by presssing the item button up to 5 times- using behind you acts as a boost but uses up 2 bursts.
  • Mario
  • Metal Mario
Magnet NRI
Magnet
Attaches to the front of your kart and draws nearby coins and karts towards you- karts will fall behind while coins will be collected- for a limited time only! Wario once tried to sell it in stores around the Mushroom Kingdom, but who would buy a magnet for 100$?
  • Wario
  • Waluigi
Poltergust 3000 Brawl
Poltergust
10 Red Boos appear on the track, and a vacuum attaches to the front- each Boo you catch will give you a slight boost in speed until you get hit by an item, like coins. You can also bring players in, albeit less strong and slower than the Magnet Wario and Waluigi own
  • Luigi
  • Professor E. Gadd
PollutedPiranha
Goopy Piranha Plant
This item works almost identically to the normal Piranha Plant, but when using it, you leave a trail of goop. This goop will stay for a while but will slowly despawn- driving through it will slow you down. Petey's is brown, but Inklings have ones with special goop colors, depending on the color of the Inkling's ink.
  • Petey Piranha
  • Inkling Boy
  • Inkling Girl
  • Spewart
HeartSMSJ
Heart
Surrounds your Kart with 2 hearts, allowing you to steal 1-2 items (depending on empty slots) by knocking into other players, or stealing items straight off the road (including the Blue Shell (which you can't steal when its targeting above you)). You can even steal Special Items (other than the Bitsize, which will be recieved as a Golden Mushroom). After stealing someone's item, they're slowed down for a short time, too!
  • Peach
  • Baby Peach
  • Pink Gold Peach
Power Flower2
Power Flower
The Power Flower will let the player shoot 2 flower vortexes, which are small tornados of orange petals which will draw players in to them, and cause them to spin out. The vortexes follow the track, and push obstacles out of the way.
  • Daisy
  • Baby Daisy
  • Rango
MP9 Chain Chomp Bust
Chain Chomp
An item similar to the Bullet Bill. A Chain Chomp pulls the player behind on a chain, ramming into opponents on its way. While slightly slower than the bullet, it can be controlled as if you are water skiing. After a little while, the player will let go, allowing the chomp to follow the track on its own before jumping away. When playing as a character owning this item, you can't get the Bullet Bill
  • Baby Mario
  • Baby Luigi
  • Iggy
Acts almost identically to a Red Shell, however behind the person spinning out a random assortment of 3 items from these 5- Blooper, Star, Mushroom, Banana and Bob-Omb (rarest) pop out of the shell on the track.
  • Yoshi
  • Birdo
ClassicMushroomEJ
Bitsize 'Shroom
The entire car becomes a giant 8-bit version of the character who used it for a short time, which makes it recieve a speed boost and also gain 5 coins on the way, as well as invincibility, though it's hard to control and does not knock over players it hits. The Bitsize Shroom also makes a small area of effect around it which slightly slows racers inside it, though it is one of the rarer items in the game.
  • Toad
  • Toadette
  • Toadsworth
  • Pauline
  • Cappy
Bowser Shell
Bowser Shell
The Bowser Shell is, simply put, a much larger and much more powerful version of the Green Shell. As it is twice as durable as a Green Shell, it sends victims flying into the air, bounces around twice as much, and can ram through as many people and items as it wants before it disappears. It doesn't stop for anything, except the Super Horn, Spiny Shell, or a Banana of equal size. I wonder where you'll find one of those.
  • Bowser
  • Bowser Jr.

Bony Bowser Shell
The Bony Bowser Shell is a variation of the normal Bowser Shell- unlike its living variant, this one bounces off of two walls, or knocks through one opponent before splitting into three Bony Shells, which are just reskinned Green Shells. Otherwise, its almost identical to the Bowser Shell.
  • Dry Bowser
  • Dry Bones
Spiked Ball Art
Ball n' Chain
The Ball n' Chain spins around your Kart, knocking over any person who dares to get in your way. While it might slow you down just a little bit, it deflects all incoming projectiles, too! Release it by pressing the item button, and it will roll away and act as a slow but powerful projectile.
  • Morton
  • Spike
  • Lemmy
  • Hariet
  • King K. Rool
Gold Shell Artwork - New Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Shell
The Super Shell, also known as a Gold Shell, acts like a mix between the Red Shell and the Super Bell. Not only will it home in on opponents, but it will make a small forcefield that will destroy obstacles like Bananas in the road that would otherwise destroy it, making it avoidable only with a Super Horn or similar. However, they are slightly slower in trade for that, and also rare.
  • Koopa
  • Paratroopa
  • Topper
Pull Star
Pull Star
This item, similar to the Chain Chomp, pulls you behind an object for a while, like you were on water skis. However, this one attaches to the player in front of you, pulling you towards them as they drive (as well as being pulled as if you were attached by chain) until you get very close behind them- the pull is almost unbreakable, but if your victim is holding a Super Horn or gets hit with an explosion, tough luck.
  • Rosalina
  • Luma
Galaxy Tweester
Tweester
The Tweester is a projectile item that doesn't have the best range and can only travel forward like a green shell. However, what it does is pick up a caught opponent, stop and lift them off the ground for a bit, making their efforts useless. If it catches someone, it then acts as a roadblock for its duration, picking up any other unfortunate souls to touch it.
  • Tostarenan
  • Roy
  • Boom Boom
Giant Banana
Giant Banana
A huge banana that will not only spin out opponents but split into 3 smaller bannanas when touched, making it the perfect roadblock.
  • Donkey Kong
  • Diddy Kong
  • Dixie Kong
  • Funky Kong
  • Kritter

Korok seed
Delfino Seed

AppleAC
Apple

This tossable item summons a temporary palm tree where it lands. The user can phase through it, but it acts as a roadblock for other characters. It also drops 2 coconuts before it disappears, which don't really do much, cracking when they hit the ground but they will do a lot to poor racers driving too close to it. When Villager or Isabelle use it, instead of a palm tree, an apple tree in the Animal Crossing style will appear, which drops apples instead of coconuts.
  • Pianta
  • Noki
  • Villager
  • Isabelle

Hammer
The Hammer is an item which allows the user to swing a Hammer as a melee weapon for a short period of time, causing people who are whacked to spin out, similar to the Super Leaf, however it also gives a little bit of knockback which will disorient them. When Kirby or King Dedede use it, it takes on their respective hammer's designs.
  • Hammer Bro.
  • Larry
  • Wendy
  • King Dedede
  • Kirby
  • Waddle Dee
MagicWand
Magic Wand
A wand which gives the player a temporary swirling barrier of assorted shapes and colors which will turn racers who touch it into stone, which lasts about half a second. The barrier only lasts about 5 seconds, so use it wisely.
  • Kamek
  • Ludwig
Lakitu Cloud
Rain Cloud
A tossable cloud similar to Splatoon's Ink Storm, in that it will cause a medium-sized, stationary, temporary rain cloud to appear above the track, which will cause the track to be slippery and slightly slow down other racers. It's a fairly rare item though, and only lasts 7 seconds before dissipating.
  • Lakitu
  • King Boo
  • Whittle
Vanish Cap
Vanish Cap
An item similar to a boo, though it lacks the stealing quality, the speed boost it gives to your kart is more, and you are completely cloaked. Red Shells cannot target you for this time. Also, if you knock into someone, you'll steal their item automatically, though you can only do this once during this item's duration.
  • Shy Guy
  • Bandit
  • Nabbit
  • Meta Knight

Tracks[]

There are a total of 40 non DLC tracks in Mario Kart Switch, each with their own gimmicks and special features. The tracks in this game, along with the returning gimmicks of Gliders, Underwater Racing and Anti-Gravity also return the Pipes from Double Dash, used in shortcuts. 2 more cups, the Spiny Shell and Super Horn cups are being released free with the release of the game, where a ballot was held for the community's favorite retro course from each game.

60px-MK8 MushroomCuptv.svg
60px-MK8 FlowerCuptv.svg
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60px-MK8 SpecialCuptv.svg
Luigi Land
Goomba's Giant Gym
Warp Pipe Plunge
Blizzard Bay
Birds-Eye Peaks
Second-Level Caverns
Hedges of Illusion
Mario Circuit
Boardwalk Boomerang
Cascade Cruise
Power-Up Palace
New Donk Parade
Waluigi Casino
Ninji's Jungle Fortress
Bowser's Castle
Toadette's Pink Rink
Sashimi Square
Delfino Plaza
Bob-Omb Factory
Rainbow Road
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60px-MK8 BananaCuptv.svg
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SNES Choco Island 1
WiiU Shy Guy Falls
Wii DK Summit
GBA Broken Pier
DS Mario Circuit
Wii Toad's Factory
GCN Mushroom City
N64 Choco Mountain
3DS Wario Galleon
Wario Shipyard
SNES Vanilla Lake 2
GBA Riverside Park
3DS Wuhu Loop
SNES Bowser Castle 2
Wii Moonview Highway
WiiU Mount Wario
DS Shroom Ridge
N64 Wario Stadium
GBA Sunset Wilds
GCN Bowser Castle
GBA Rainbow Road
BlueSpikedShell
SuperHornMK8
SNES Bowser's Castle 3
DS Waluigi Pinball
N64 Kalamari Desert
Wii Koopa Cape
GBA Sky Garden
3DS Shy Guy Bazaar
GCN Daisy Cruiser
WiiU Sunshine Airport
HeartSMSJ Lakitu Cloud
Fantasy Meadows GCN DK Mountain
Amigurumi Avenue Halberd
SNES Koopa Beach 1 Cookie Path
Checker Knights 64 Frappe Snowland

There's also another 2 cups named the All Cup Tour- which'll bring down a dropdown menu allowing you to choose between Nitro, Retro or Full-on. Nitro plays Mushroom, Flower, Egg, Star and Special, the Retro plays Shell, Banana, Bell, Leaf, and Lightning, and Full-on does all 10 in the base game.
MushroomMK8Mushroom Cup

Luigi Land is a simple track themed after Luigi, or to a lesser extent Mario and Luigi: Dream Team. The land takes place in a large cloudy land with clear, sunset colored skies. Many Luigi-themed decorations are found around, and at one point you ride up the back of a giant Luigi statue. Pillow People can be seen watching from a distance. Bouncy Clouds are exclusive to this track, though they act exactly the same as Bouncy Mushrooms. As this is the first track in the game, it does not have many sharp turns. The music is a remix of Wii's Luigi Circuit.

Second-Level Caverns takes place in a cavern designed after New Super Mario Bros. U, with multicolored crystals being scattered around, and a blue pathway allowing characters to drive without having to hit the darker blue offroad. Fans watching are traditional underground enemies as you wind through these caves, with blue piranha plants scattered around. There are many offroad areas, which allow you to cut through them, but otherwise its a pretty simple track. There is a section where you must avoid shifting crystals while gliding down, but the more skilled racers can try and to a well timed trick to maintain their speed.

Power-Up Palace is a large castle turned museum, showcasing many items that the Mario Bros. have used in both their adventures and racing tournaments in glass boxes. The track is simple but winding, not having much obstacles other than the occasional Goomba but requiring a bit of drifting here and there. Racers drive on a wide pathway throughout the castle, with a white floor acting as the "offroad". Item boxes near certain showcases have a higher chance of containing the respective item. The outside portion connects the rear of the castle to the front side and makes it a true circuit.

Toadette's Pink Rink is a racetrack built into a hockey stadium. Racers drive through the outskirts of the arena, where food vendors sell their goods, and then can choose a pathway. The bottom pathway requires racers to race through the ice, where they must avoid Skate Guys, pucks and more, making it the quicker but more challenging route, or the top route through the seats, where it takes slightly more time but is a pretty safe route. The place is themed after Toadette, where a statue of her can be spotted, and a logo in the shape of her head is the main hockey team's logo.

FireFlowerMK8Flower Cup

Goomba's Giant Gym stays true to its name- it's a very large gym, full of Goombas! These Goombas are training for their next raid of the Mushroom Kingdom. In the background, you can see comical events like Goombas wearing headbands attempting to lift weights, or trying to run on a treadmill, falling and getting back up again. Anyways, it's quite a simple track in its shape, but it also has a lot of obstacles- obviously, you might see some goomba's running to and fro, fitness balls that roll down the track randomly, and more. You can also drive upon the walls, which is a bit quicker though you might need to avoid some cabinets and gym supplies.

The Hedges of Illusion are a legendary hedge maze in the heart of the Forest of Illusion. Like early course Yoshi Valley, this maze has many twists and turns and alternate routes. Routes include a straight-forward, easy one, a hidden one with a fake wall, and another one which allows you to anti-gravity it up! The course is pretty long, though, so the course is sectioned, and ends when you exit the maze. On this course, your placing will always display as ?.

New Donk Parade is a yearly festival based upon the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New Donk City, set at night. Here, you'll drive on the side of buildings, on top of floats, and glide around large balloons in the large city. The parade is on the main street only, while the track goes both through it but sometimes out of it. There's a point where you must drive up the side of a building, and then glide around Mario-themed balloons to another building, and through a fountain with your underwater capabilities.

Sashimi Square ends the Flower Cup with a "Japanese Village"-type look similar to 8's Dragon Driftway, where the road full of twists and turns takes you through a brick path in a village, and around classic cherry blossoms. The place also has a prominent "sushi" theme, with one of the main obstacles being in a glider path, where a large pair of chopsticks contain an item box, but will spin you out if it closes on you. It also has a new enemy, Sushies, which are designed after Salmon Rolls, which will chase racers that get too close. You can also take a detour on the side of a series of buildings, or even cut through a little restaurant as a shortcut!

YoshiEggNSMBWEgg Cup

Warp Pipe Plunge starts off the Egg Cup with an overworld-themed world, similar to Mario Kart 7's Piranha Plant Slide. Drivers must go through many Warp Pipes which will teleport them to other areas of the track. Though not a maze track, since the pipes will ultimately lead to the same area after every single one, many of them will lead out over the track into gliding sections, while others will go underground, etc. The trick is that each set of pipes will randomly be picked. Each pipe has an assigned "letter", being A, B, C, or D. A will match up to A, etc. but the exit pipe of A will change each time, making each race a new experience. However, each pipe is set to default permanently in Time Trials.

Mario Circuit is the poster child (other than Rainbow Road) of the Mario Kart series, and has found itself in every installment of the game. This new track is found smack-dab in the middle of the Nitro cups, and is a perfect "Goldilocks-Zone" track. The track is set, like tradition, on Peach's Castle's grounds and surrounding areas, but now at night. As you drive through Toad Town, you find yourself going downhill through the main street of the town. As you exit Toad Town, you get the choice to go underwater and underground for a short section, or keep above ground and avoid a bunch of Goombas. When you near the castle, you hit a glider ramp which will take you on top on the roof through the classic cannon, where you'll then go up with anti-gravity to the tippy top, and glide of it back to the start of the course.

Waluigi Casino is a track in a big casino run by Waluigi, and has a bunch of coins and roulettes, with a purple theme. You wind through the different alleys of the casino, and find some oversized coins and a giant roulette for you to drive on. The obstacles you may find things like giant rolling Chain Chomp balls, and a giant statue of Waluigi that will wave its fist on the track, causing small shockwaves. The aesthetic is similar to Waluigi Pinball's. At one point, you drive outside of the casino and into the giant Waluigi statue outside the building's mouth, taking you to a secret room full of gold coins.

Delfino Plaza takes place in a slightly edited version of Super Mario Sunshine's area of the same name. It starts in the northwestern corner of the island, where there's only a little bit of driving before a ramp throws you on top of the long building that bridges over the water. When you drive off of it and fall onto the ground below, the track takes an immediate U-Turn, making you go through the pathway directly beside the building you just drove on. You then take a right and go on the straightaway, where you then take a left to the wide section. On top of the star artwork, an item box with a boosted chance to get a star resides. You can then either go through the pathway featuring the red-roofed buildings, or use anti-gravity to use a risky shortcut on top of the brown-roofed buildings which requires a mushroom, by jumping from one house to the other and then skipping a small portion of the course. Once you're on the now-trackified beach, you need to take a left then a right then plunge into the water with your water capabilities, which calls for you to avoid bloopers which will ink you, and cheep-cheeps who only act as dumb obstacles. When you get out of the water, you're at the end of the beach, where you drive out of the sand and go to the normally-graffitied statue which now is converted into a glider ramp, which will take you up into the air and through the shine statue tower (which will spin when touched) and to a path behind it, which will take you straight to the finish line.

StarMK8Star Cup

Blizzard Bay takes place near the Seaside Kingdom (you can tell by the snail creatures), however it's having very unusual weather. Taking place during a snowstorm, the track is mostly simple. You start out on the beach, covered in snow, where you take a right and wind through a palm forest covered in snow. Then, out of the forest you go across a wide part across frozen-over ice, which is a bit slippery. Then, you fall into a great crack in the ice. You fall down into a sand road underwater, where you've got to avoid Eels and wind around clams and corals to get across to shore.

Boardwalk Boomerang takes place at a boardwalk amusement park/fair, which is full of the "Bro." species (Hammer, Boomerang, etc.) as the parkgoers. The track is sorta a large oval, though not completely as it is a bit misshapened. The boardwalk's night setting is complimented with the huge moon staring at you from the background. There's a little dip into the water where your aquatic propellers are used. You might need to watch out for the illuminated roller-coaster which sometimes dip down to knock out uncareful racers. When the 3rd person reaches lap 3, Gooper Blooper will pop out of the water and pull the deck down, spraying goop everywhere. The track is tilted at this point and all the coins fall towards the tilt, and some goop will slow you down. On Time Trials, Gooper Blooper won't appear

Ninji's Jungle Fortress, a fortress in a poisonous jungle. You drive through a windy jungle to start, where you avoid purple piranha plants, and wind through the trees and into a large jungle fortress full of Ninjis. The Ninji's base is largely themed after Super Mario Bros. 2 and its enemies, with paintings of the Shy Guys, Tweeters, Pidgits, and Phanto suspened on the wall. The climb up the fortress is corner-sharp turns and stairways, while avoiding obstacles such as Ninjis or even an 8-bit Mouser who will toss bombs at you through a Super Mario Odyssey-esque mural. Once you reach the top of the castle, a glide down to the ground while dodging Pidgits will do.

Bob-Omb Factory is the place where Bob-Ombs are made. Well, artificial Bob-Ombs, the ones used in races. The Bob-Ombs that aren't part of Bowser's troop or used in sports games aren't robots. Inside, a very explosive winding track is found, based off of classic steampunk. Many obstacles are, obviously, found here, and many are equally as explosive as they are avoidable, so keep caution. Winding up a spiral up the factory is a big part of the track, and driving on Tick-Tock Clock inspired gears keeps your gears grinding, pun intended. Pistons will also crush you, so stay aware. Most of the track is on grates and in the final lap, those grates start to fall through due to explosion damage, which'll make the track tougher than it is.

Special CupSpecial Cup

Birds-Eye Peaks takes place high up in the mountains, with an aesthetic similar to World 6 from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The winding and windy pathway around the cliffs is very treacherous, and while there's many wider sections with offroad and regular road, you might want to look out because, if you're not careful, you might fall off. There are a couple rope bridges which have no railings but are wider than DK Mountain's, which connect cliff areas. Going into anti-gravity, you can drive on the side of a cliff edge for a portion of the track, where a bridge has collapsed. There is a spiral down the edge of the mountain, with half of it outside and the other half inside the cave. You should look out for Piranha Plants, Monty Moles, and even the wind itself. As the race goes on, the wind gets stronger and causes a blowing effect as well as another bridge to collapse, and a glider panel to open up which will allow you to glide across the large gap.

Cascade Cruise takes place in the Cascade Kingdom. A short but hard track, Cascade Cruise has you winding around cliff's edges and over rivers. Unlike Delfino Pier, Cascade Cruise's map does not take shape in Super Mario Odyssey's Fossil Falls and instead is in an unnamed location of the kingdom. As you wind and drift across and through giant waterfalls, eventually behind one you'll find a cave which will have you swinging through it up to the top of a cliff which houses a glider ramp. Throughout the map, you'll find dinosaur fossils to trick off of, and even drive through one as an offroad shortcut. There's also grazing Apatosaurus and Triceratops, which will sometimes walk in front of the track and block part of it. However, your biggest problem is the T-Rex, which will roam down the track, and bite your kart if you get in its way, causing you to spin out.

Bowser's Castle is set in the namesake's Kingdom, a Japanese-themed kingdom surrounded with multicolored clouds. The large castle is modeled after a Japanese temple, likewise. Bowser's Castle is a 3-section track that has you traversing the full length of the castle, from the ceiling to the basement. The first part of the track takes place in the "living" area of Bowser's Fortress, and while dark and sinister, are carpeted and roomed, with statues of Bowser as well as folding screens and such. Thwomps make an appearance on this floor, and as you traverse to the other side of the castle which holds the stairs and the entrance to the second segment, you'll find yourself avoiding Thwomps as well as Stairface Ogres. The stairs are held in a courtyard placed inside the castle, with a Piranha Plant among the flowers spitting fire at the racers. Soon, the stairs will take you to the Kingdom's infamous roofs, which are slightly slanted. On the roof, you'll have to drive around many walls and such as to not fall into the castle, which is now out of bounds, and find the pipe which will take you to the basement. The basement is the final section, and is THE stereotypical "Mario Kart Bowser's Castle", with walls and pools of lava and a gravely road. As you drive through it, avoid getting hit by Podobos which jump while you glide over lava, and go anti-gravity to corkscrew around a Banzai Bill launcher. A spinning cylindrical platform over lava is also found here. Soon, as you race up stairs with Bowser paintings placed up the walls, the large Bowser statue will spit giant Mario Kart Wii-esque fireballs, which you can dodge by going to the side or hoping that there will be one of the "fireball ramps" which will make the ball jump above you. When you finally exit the castle up the stairs, your finish line lies behind a bunch of lava fountains.

Rainbow Road, the poster child of the Mario Kart series, is traditionally the last race in the Nitro cups. Rainbow Road, like always, takes place in space. This time, the track is all anti-gravity, and the developers decided to go crazy with it. Zooming around asteroids while corkscrewing at a tilted angle on a rainbow, with a sideways loop-de-loop around a planet. Players must race around stars and zip around holes in the track, as well as trick off of wavy sections of the track. The only pause in Anti-Gravity is the glider part, which has you avoiding comets to get to the other end. A hazard on this track is the lack of railings, which will cause you, like tradition, to fall off a couple times at least. The track has an abundance of speed panels and even a couple Thwomps and Octogoombas thrown in there. On this track, Star Bits replace coins. On this track, the final spiral section of the track is accompanied by an alien spaceship on the third lap, which will set up on top of the long spiral and cause the track to gain holes and Octogoombas to start roaming it.



GreenShellMK8Shell Cup

Choco Island 1 has been treated like the GBA tracks in Mario Kart 8- it has been lengthened and terraformed. However, many other aspects of the track remain the same. The mud now is replaced by drivable Chocolate Milk, being fountained out from a straw in the middle of said pool. Instead of small pools of the milk, the whole section they are found in is submerged. The first bend of the course is now on the side of a cliff in Anti-Gravity. Goombas are the only major obstacle in this course, along with some small piranha plants that don't bite, but spin you out when hit.

Toad's Factory is very changed from its appearance in Mario Kart Wii. The outside section with the swaying platforms now features a small glider ramp which opens on the second lap. As you reenter the building, it is now an anti-gravity section as the course now is tilted. The conveyors now also have anti-grav pillars in the middle of them, and the track twists back to normal in the siren section. As you jump out the building, the small out-of bounds water section's shortcut has now been made official, as there is a ramp floating in the lake. The sides of the machinery are now anti-gravity, which allows players to jump from one to another. The booster ramp is now a glider ramp which takes you to the finish line.

Riverside Park takes place in a tropical jungle, with a large river flowing through it. The track, like all GBA and SNES tracks, recieves a major overhaul and enlargement, with not only the graphics changing but the flatness of the track being reverted. The first curve of the track is now slanted higher up on a hill, with overgrowth on the sides of the track blocked off by a fence. As players drive down the hill, the next straightaway is now faced behind a waterfall in anti-gravity. The bridge shortcut has been removed. The next turn stays mostly the same save terraforming, but the ramp and the first part of the next straightaway has been replaced with a muddy underwater section with the same boost panel. The next couple turns have now been filled with trees you must avoid, but the second water shortcut can be performed over the now-poisoned section of the water if you have a mushroom. The bridge is now arched, and the following spiral now isn't a ramp and instead goes under the track.

Shroom Ridge, while recieving a large graphical upgrade with more flora and texture quality, remains mostly the same. Some of the "Ridge" parts are slanted to make them Anti-Gravity, but otherwise it remains the same. It also has a couple glider cars, surfboard cars, and other cars that appeared in Mario Kart 8.

BananaMK8Banana Cup

Shy Guy Falls remains exactly the same as the Wii U version, bar from the shortcut during the final turn being harder to preform and some wet spots found on the track, as well as Monty Moles being found as a stage hazard.

Mushroom City, other than a large graphical update which now sets it in a larger, jarring city in the style of Tokyo, the layout of the track is mostly similar, down to the pink shortcut which allows you to cut across a part of the track. However, many anti-gravity sections have been added on the walls of buildings, allowing you to avoid dangerous cars, including the fabled Bomb Car. The gap before the finish line now has a glider ramp, which you can use to fly above as a shortcut, however be weary of the Wiggler Monorail that will knock you out of the sky if your timing's off.

Wuhu Loop stays massively unchanged from its 3DS counterpart. However, now the ramp shortcut suspended in grass in the first section of the track is a glider ramp. Also, in the tunnel in the second section, you can wall ride.

Wario Stadium has recieved a large overhaul. Other than the inevitable graphical update, which now places it in a larger, more developed stadium not unlike 8's version of the DS rendition of a similar track, the glitch at the beginning has been removed. The large bumpy section in the middle of the track now has a glider ramp on the first one. The portion here is now a transition to anti-grav, where the track will slant to the right wall and will continue like that with gravity-bumpers until the next bumpy section. The chance to fall off the ramp and lose progress has been removed, and you will now only get saved by Lakitu when falling off. Also, there's a glider ramp at that jump, which extends the gap and allows you to catch speed by gliding through rings. There are now spotlights placed around the stage which move around. The spotlights each hold an Item Box which you can grab. Lastly, the track now lasts only 2 laps.

SuperBellSM3DWBell Cup

DK Summit, also known as DK Snowboard Cross in PAL regions, is a stage returning from Mario Kart Wii. This track has received a massive overhaul in graphics. During the part with the snow bumps in the road, one of the ramps has been replaced with a Glider Pad to soar above the competition. Likewise, over the stretch with snowboarding Shy Guys, while the half pipe ramps return, there is also a glider pad which allows you to avoid this entirely- however, you should look out for another newly added Lift that goes above the half pipe which will spin you out if you hit it.

Choco Mountain makes its grand return after 15 years of absence. Choco Mountain, obviously, has received a graphical update, with areas in the background showing donuts and other chocolatey treats. The stretch with the chocolate tunnel now has a larger hole in the center instead of two smaller ones, added alongside a Glider Ramp which allows skilled players to fly in and grab an item box while they're at it. The drive around the lake still has the chocolatey boulders, however another method of traveling is taking a sharp right to fall into a secret tunnel next to the water on the left side of the lake, a secret crevice where you can drive through to avoid boulders. It will spiral upwards after the journey on the side of the lake and pop out to the right side of the lake. Be careful though, since the right side of the tunnel is open and the track is thin you can still fall in if you're not careful enough. The lake has now been considerably upsized.

Bowser's Castle 2 is extremely redesigned, with terraforming all around to make it more modern than flat. The lava is now not exposed, instead being hidden behind stone walls. The track is also scaled up extremely to suit the larger models. The "dead end" now has a secret trick similar to Hyrule Castle from Mario Kart 8's. The track becomes anti grav after the second turn, slanting towards still-exposed lava, and hitting 3 "spinny" things allows a hidden wall to open up in the "dead end", allowing racers to pass through. The wide "maze-like" area's blocks of exposed lava now are replaced, with girders on the grown suspended over lava. Magmaws will shoot out of the lava and swim through the girders. This is telegraphed, so you have to get out of the way in time before your butt is toast!

Sunset Wilds has obviously gotten the terraforming, the graphical upgrades, and other modernization, but otherwise the track hasn't changed much. When night falls, stars will fall on the track, which will damage you if they land on you.

Super Leaf NSMB2Leaf Cup
LightningBoltMK8Lightning Cup
BlueSpikedShellSpiny Cup
SuperHornMK8Horn Cup
HeartSMSJHeart Cup
Lakitu CloudCloud Cup

Karts[]

The karts return the customization feature from Mario Kart 7. They are divided into three categories-

  • Bodies- The "Body" of the kart
  • Wheels- The wheels of the kart
  • Glider- The glider that unfolds when driving over a glider ramp.

Alongside this, you can now save your kart combination in the Garage.

Bodies[]

Karts and Bikes have a number of differences-

  • Karts all outward drift, while some bikes have an inward drift.
  • Some characters have an alternate outfit for riding bikes.
  • Bikes preform wheelies when using a boost, but it's purely visual.

An ATV is a cross between the two, which is functionally the same but some characters wear their alternate costumes, and the wheelies carry over. A random kart part is unlocked every 50 coins collected.

Body Description Body Description Body Description
Standard Kart
The standard from 8, fitted to match the Double Dash mechanic. A small platform has been added behind the kart for the second driver to stand, making it look like Double Dash's Toad Kart. It has no highs or lows.
Golden Kart
A kart unlocked after beating every 150cc and Mirror cup with at least one star. It is practically the exact same thing as the Standard Kart, and is just here for a trophy.
Piranha Pipes
A kart returning from Double Dash, this car has two seats, the bigger one holds the driver and the smaller one carries the attacker. It's a slower kart which exceeds in acceleration. It is Petey Piranha's signature kart.
Standard Bike
A very standard bike, similar to the one in Mario Kart Wii of the same name. A small sidecar, like all bikes, has of course been added, which is designed after the standard kart.
Mach Bike*
A slick racing bike with a faster approach to racing. This bike succeeds in making perfect, quick turns, though its off-road capabilties aren't anything to be proud of. Its sidecar is a homage to Mario Kart Wii's standard kart, with the front half being turned backwards and used as one.
Yoshi n' Egger*
Yoshi's signature bike, it is a modified version of Mario Kart 8's Yoshi Bike- though, hence the "Egger", it has a large, plastic Yoshi Egg split in half as its sidecar. It has high speed but its a bit hard to slow down.
Cop Cruiser
A kart based off of a cop car. While it has a higher handling and speed, it takes a while to accelerate with it.
The Mini-Odyssey
A kart designed after the Odyssey from the game of the same name. The driver sits in a seat on the top of the top hat, while the second driver stands on the deck. It is Mario's signature kart. Slower speed, high traction.
Bullet Blaster
A really quick, bulleting kart which belongs to Baby Mario, which is designed after a bullet bill. Its low traction and acceleration is a tradeoff for one of the fastest karts in the game.
Magikruiser*
Kamek's signature bike, designed after the Magikoopa, it's a truly magical ride with a galaxy-themed sidecar. It's actually pretty solid, but it really suffers in its light weight which allows it to be bounced around a lot.
Wild Wing
A kart straight from Mario Kart Wii modified to fit 2 players. This classic racecar, due to its wings, has a specially high gliding speed but has a lower land speed in turn.
Soda Rocket
A bike resembling a backwards soda bottle. A small, emptied out soda can is the sidecar. It's very fast but can't handle with tight turns
Fruit Tooter
A fruit-themed kart. The exhaust pipes are bananas, the kart itself looks like a jumble of apples, oranges, and all the tasty fruits you can think of. It's not very fast but it's reliable, definetly.
Cloud 9
Cloud 9 is the signature kart of Lakitu, though it can be used by any other racer. Its design resembles Lakitu's classic smiley cloud almost exactly, as it returns from Mario Kart 7. Though there is an added backbar, and the wheels have been moved under, it has remained mostly unchanged- and still has extremely high handling.
Koopa Clown
Bowser Jr.'s, and by extension every Koopaling's signature kart. It resembles the clown car from Super Mario World, and accelerates very well, even if it doesn't get to very high speeds
Wild Wiggler
An ATV designed after a Wiggler, with an emptied out segement in the rear for the secondary driver to stand. It is pretty good at recovering and can drive at high speeds, but don't expect to be making very sharp turns.
Circuit Special
A classic, all-around racing car with a sleek design. Even though it is given as "all-around", its a bit faster than the standard kart though its lighter.
Blue Falcon
A super fast kart, designed after the legendary Captain Falcon's signature car! Since it's very, very fast, it has a pretty bad drift, unable to make super tight corners.
Jaxi Cab
An ATV designed after Mario Odyssey's Jaxi, shaped like one though silver in color. Since it's designed after a Jaxi it has amazing off-road and okay speed, but bad traction and mini-turbo
Coffin Cruiser
A literal coffin on wheels, and King Boo's signature kart. Being a literal coffin, it's very heavy and has an above-average mini-turbo but its speed isn't stellar.
Clockwork Crasher
A heavy, wind-up themed car. The gold and silver parts to this car compliment the steampunk design, which also increase its speed while lowering its traction and handling.
Shopping Kart
What is with these karts and their rediculous designs? This one is a shopping cart motorized, with the front modified so it can sit a person. The back person rides on the little ledge below where you push. This shopping cart has great acceleration though bad traction.
Motor Mower
The Motor Mower is based off of a ride-on mower, and judging by how they are you can guess its stats. Being large and bulky, it is very slow, though it has extremely high weight, traction and off-road capabilities. Handles well, too, just like a certain Texan would love it.
Sandwich Speeder
A long kart that's literally a submarine sandwich modified to fit karters. With its special, long and aerodynamic design, it is the fastest glider in the game, and a pretty good land racer too, though the same cannot be said with its water speed, and weight.
Rootin' Tootin'
An interesting, cowboy-themed car which is shaped in the front like a horse and in the back like a sherrif's car. So a Cartaur? Or a Cencaur? Either way, it's known for its offroad and speed though not much for its handling.
Tiny Buggy
A hilariously small car that'd I'm sure would hold about 100 clowns. Tiny and speedy, the car gets by in speed though bad in its weight, which will send it flying if it hits a heavier car. Bone Rattler The Bone Rattler ATV returns from Mario Kart 8, retaining similar stats to the aforementioned Kart.

* denotes Inside Drift

Wheels[]

The wheels usually buff the stats given by the Kart, and usually deal with offroad, weight and speed.

Wheel Description Wheel Description Wheel Description
Standard The classic wheels are just normal, run of the mill tires. They're all-around, and aren't notable at much anything. Monster These Monster-Truck style wheels are large and weighty- they decrease acceleration but raise Off-Road and Weight. Roller The Roller wheels are the polar opposite to Monster wheels. These tiny wheels are light and are great with Handling and Acceleration, but have lower Off-Road and Weight.
Blue Standard A slightly faster but more slippery variant of the Standard Tires, these cool-as-ice blue wheels have a great look. Hot Monster Like how the Blue Standard is to the Standard, the Hot Monster are a bright red-orange variant of Monster, which are weightier and better at offroad which won't go very fast. Slim These skinny wheels are just classics. Have decent speed and great handling, but going off road will have you stuck in the mud.
Slick The slipperiness of these awesome tires reflects its name. Its excelling in speed and acceleration but mediocre in every other category. Button These cute little wooden tires are similar to the Rollers, though they have exerted stats, being twice as good at the Roller's good qualities but twice as bad at its faults. Cushion The cartoony Cushion wheels are inflatable, multicolored Monster Wheels. While they're the lightest Monster Wheels, they are better than Monster at acceleration but the Off-Road is lowered.
Cyber Slick This clone of the Slick tires, they have a nice Purple-and-Green color scheme that will put everyone else in the dust! Crimson Slim Another clone, this time being the Slim. The Crimson Slim, like its name suggests, have a white and crimson look to them. Spiked Monster These spiked tires are like Monsters but with small spikes on the end. This spikes help greatly with traction and off-road skills, making your ride a fine-tuned, respectable machine, though the same can't be said about its overall speed.
Clover Standard These green, special tires are different than all others- these tires, while having below average stats on everything, have a special trait- this trait allows you to get better items easier! Scuba Rollers This light blue Roller-type specializes in underwater speed, making you speed faster than any other underwater. Being water-based, though, they don't preform as well on land. Bob-Ombers These black wheels are designed after what a Bob-Omb would look like if a thwomp crushed it face flat. It is round and has two eyeballs, and has great weight yet not-so-explosive handling
Bubbles Translucent, shiny wheels with a bit of sparkle. They glide really well but are super lightweight. Invisi-Wheels Magical wheels that turn invisible once the race starts. Use them to make your Kart look like it's floating. They are medium weight and have almost identical stats to the Standard. Gold Wheels Clones of the Standard Wheels. Slightly faster but with less traction, however. They're gold, and exclusive for racers who have made their marks on the Grand Prix!

Gliders[]

Gliders only effect Air Speed, Air Control, and Air Time, which will effect how fast you go, how much control you have, and how much time you'll be midair respectively.

Glider Description Glider Description Glider Description
Standard Glider A normal, triangular glider sporting the primary driver's logo and color. It is average in every stat, and is a good middle ground. Cloud Balloons 2 Lakitu-based cloud balloons tied to a string that's tied to the kart. Boosts air time but isn't very speedy. Plane Glider Definetly not plain, this airplane-shaped glider is speedy but not very controllable.
Clothesline A silly glider, this glider unleashes a small clothesline attached to two sides, which has purple overalls, a yellow shirt and underwear with a Mushroom pattern. Wario seems to disapprove of this, but we have no idea why. It has slow air speed but can change directions in all directions fairly easily. Peach Parasol Peach's Parasol, now in glider form! This glider has a slower descent but has faster speed. When playing a princess character, the colors will switch to their palette. Bunch o' Balloons A huge bunch of balloons tied to your kart, with different Mario-related designs encrested on them. You are floaty with this glider, but also can increase your upwards height more effectively.
Paper Plane The Paper Plane glider now boasts a different, non-Animal Crossing design. Using this makes you extremely fast but also not have much control midair. Paraglider Certain Hylians are skilled with using this glider. Falls slowly but can nosedive pretty fast. Requires the Crazy 8 pack. Bowser Kite A Koopa-made kite with Bowser's face on it. Like Bowser, it's weighty but fast.

Moons[]

These moons are collectible badges which will be earned by completing achievements. These moons have different colors based on the type of thing required to do. They will unlock palette swaps and stickers, as well as being added to the Moon Scrapbook to be looked in and found later.

  • Green- "Cup" achievements which will be earned through placing in Grand Prix cups.
  • Blue- "Time Trial" achievements, earned through beating Staff Ghosts or getting good times on courses.
  • Yellow- "Coin Collecting" achievements, earned with coin collecting milestones.
  • Red- "Online" achievements, earned through winning streaks and VR in online modes.
  • Purple- "Battle" achievements, earned with things like Balloon Popping milestones and such.
  • Orange- "Misc." achievements.
  • Pink- "Mission" achievements, earned through beating missions under certain conditions.

A list of all achievements can be found here.

Stickers[]

Stickers can be found and collected to be put on your Karts in the "Garage" section on the main menu screen, where decals of different Mario-related things can be found through Moon collecting and such. A list of achievements can be found here.

Emblems[]

Emblems return from Mario Kart DS in the Garage, allowing you to customize your emblem for the game. Now, instead of being limited to certain amounts of colors, you can use as many as you want. You can also choose the shape of your emblem (circle, square or rectangle) as well as upload some to the internet for others to use! You can report players who use inappropriate emblems on Nintendo Switch Online.

Downloadable Content[]

A series of Downloadable Content has been added to the game over time, the first pack being revealed before release.

Crazy 8 Pack[]

This pack is free and exclusive to owners of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and gives you 7 returning characters from Mario Kart 8. The pack was released upon the release of the game. Later in the game's lifespan, the pack was made buyable for 2.00$ USD.

Spooky Pack[]

Adds Halloween-themed costumes to some characters. Available for free only in October and early November.

Kirby x Mario Kart Switch[]

This pack adds 2 cups, 2 battle courses, and 6 new characters to race as, along with a bunch of new goodies! It is the first crossover pack released for Mario Kart Switch, featuring Kirby characters. It costs $3.50 USD to download. With the release of it, a new mode for online was added, which is a normal room that includes the new courses or battle courses.

Characters[]

Karts[]

New Courses[]

HeartSMSJ Lakitu Cloud
Fantasy Meadows GCN DK Mountain
Amigurumi Avenue Halberd
SNES Koopa Beach 1 Cookie Path
Checker Knights 64 Frappe Snowland

Amiibo[]

Amiibo are obviously compatible with this game- but for the first time in the Mario Kart series, it introduces its own line of custom Amiibo. 8 Amiibo- featuring the original 9 (Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Koopa, DK, Bowser and Wario (Luigi being included in the Mario & Luigi amiibo) characters in their signature karts with their partners (Luigi, Daisy, Birdo, Toadette, Paratroopa, Diddy Kong, and Waluigi).

Amiibo in this game work in a number of ways-

  • Non-MK Amiibo figurines like the Smash Bros. Most amiibo will unlock a Pixl and a Kart Sticker, but others will also unlock a Mii Outfit, or rarely a costume swap for a certain character.
  • Mario Kart series amiibo will work like in Smash, where you can train them to race like you do and participate in "Amiibo Tournaments"

Amiibo Mode[]

A new feature is the before mentioned "Amiibo Mode", where you can train your amiibo in special training sessions, where you will do a regular, chosen difficulty single race with your amiibo, where they will learn to race like you- for example, the better you aim your shell shots, your amiibo will do the same! You like item smuggling? Your amiibo does too!

Your amiibo will level up with you, and sometimes you will earn gifts like coin bonuses or even alternate costumes, and you can have up to 9 amiibo in your arsenal.

There are monthly "Amiibo Tournaments", where you enter your amiibo to race alongside other people's amiibo, and you can watch the race and cheer your amiibo on alongside a bunch the other racer's miis. Winning can give you in-game prizes, such as exclusive cosmetics, and a trophy for your amiibo to sport.

Mario Kart Channel[]

The Nintendo Switch app has a special section dedicated to Mario Kart Switch, called the Mario Kart Channel, which is the replacement to the Wii's app of the same name. It is a way for the player to view stats for the last 100 races, view AR shots with their unlocked trophies, and more!

Mario Kart Channel can....

  • View the stats of your previous 100 races, including the participants, your placing, highlights (such as shock and blue shell dodges), amount of items and coins used, etc.
  • Use unlocked trophies, used "Mario Kart" series amiibo, and your Mii (in a kart) in an AR Mode similar to Snapchat's, and send them directly to your photos.
  • Look at the stats of your friends, and ask them for a race from away from your Switch.
  • Compare your lifetime driving to real world locations, like SplatNet's similar feature.
    • 1400km- Distance in Europe east to west.
    • 5420km- Distance of US Route 20.
    • 15000km- Distance around Australia
  • View your last 6 replays, edit, save and upload them to Youtube as a replacement to Mario Kart TV.
  • Scan special promo codes.

Challenges[]

A feature returning from Mario Kart Wii, monthly Challenges appear aside from Missions, being lengthier than missions but with a reward for beating it, such as an Alternate Costume.

The first challenge was in December 2018, shortly after the game's release.

Challenges
12/2018 Overgrown Hedges A new maze has grown through the Hedges of Illusion- reach the goal of the maze before a minute and 30 seconds pass!
1/2019 Choco Mountain Avalanche Chocolate boulders are falling all throughout Choco Mountain as a result of a large megaphone accident. Finish an entire lap within a minute while dodging these boulders!
2/2019 Honeybee Drive The Honeybee Hive has been converted into a race course! Play a normal 150cc race on it and win.
3/2019 Slippery Skates on the Summit On DK Summit, the mountain has frozen over in a thick layer of ice, making it extremely slippy- complete 3 laps and win 1st place to complete it, but look out for Freezies!
4/2019 Drought on Wuhu Island Wuhu Loop has been experiencing a drought- a lot of the water has been soaked up, and the blazing sun will spit fire snakes at you! Try to get a good Time Trial on it in the blazing heat!
5/2019 A Fishy Black-Out Looks like Sashimi Square is having a black-out, and you'll be racing there at night. With only headlights to guide you, will you be able to get a good time?
6/2019 Explosive Escapade Looks like King Bob-Omb's been causing a ruckus in the Bob-Omb Factory, and its up to you to help! Avoiding his bombs that he lobs at you, deliver the key you're holding to the other side of the track (when you begin, the area behind you is barred off) to use the switch required to turn him off!
7/2019 Airship Panic Mario Circuit's been attacked by Bowser's troops! The landed airships modified the route, having you drive through and inside of them. Can you win a race against Bowser on this changed map?

Ballot[]

A ballot was released in May 21st, 2017 to find the tracks used in the Spiny Shell and Super Horn cups. See here.

Trivia[]

  • Some content, such as Mario Kart Museum and New Donk Parade, is taken from EnderLegends' cancelled project, DLC packs for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
  • Content and formatting is somewhat inspired by other fanon games such as Mario Kart 9, and other working titles (which I'll list when they get out of sandbox mode). I advise you check them out.
  • Second Level Caverns' name is based off of not only the fact that it's the second track in the game, but that the second level of nearly every sidescrolling Mario game is a cave.
  • The Koopalings' special items are inspired by their boss fights in earlier Mario games.
    • Iggy Koopa's New Super Mario Bros. 2 boss fight was a carriage pulled by a chain chomp.
    • Roy's special item, the tweester, is a reference to his desert world in New Super Mario Bros. Wii
    • Lemmy is associated with balls, hence the Ball and Chain.
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