Unlockable Characters | Courses | Battle Mode | Items | Karts | Mission Mode | Multiplayer | Decals
Characters So far 8 characters have been confirmed as playable from the start:
Mario
The king of the karts. The master of platforms. The plumber of drains. Our main man, Mario.
Luigi
A side-kick for far too long, he chose to branch out on his own. Tune in next year for Luigi Kart.
Bowser
Fear him, for those who don't soon fall fowl of his torturous schemes. The King of Koopas, Bowser.
Donkey Kong
Brute and brains in one (the brains being his kart designer). He may only wear a tie but he's got what it takes. Donkey Kong.
Wario
Wanting to win big so he can melt down the golden trophy and pay to fund his next mad game. Wario.
Yoshi
The most lovable character to ever be created. And the meanest driver ever to hit the roads. Yoshi.
Peach
She's a lady in a kart with a huge rear end. Stand up for her Royal Highness, Princess Peach.
Toad
His head may be made of mush but that only makes him more dangerous on the roads. Toad.
Shy Guy
He's new, he's fast, he's available for all and is in a mask. 3 cheers for the guy who is shy. (Only availbe in single cartridge donwload play).
Waluigi - Unlock by getting Gold in all the Retro Cups 100cc
He may be the sole product of a corporation who only designed him for a game of tennis, but his nose big too. Waluigi.
Dry Bones - Unlock by getting Gold in all the Nitro Cups 50cc
Old, dusty and falls apart at the slightest touch. An old skool SMB3 enemy who's back with a vengence. Dry Bones
Daisy - Unlock by getting Gold in all the Retro Cups 50cc
Princess or Sarasaland and now a regular feature in Mario's sporting game, this girl is no Peach. Daisy.
ROB - Unlock by getting Gold in all Nitro Cups Mirro Mode
On old NES peropheal that was cheap, tacky and made from plastic. ROB.
Other Unlockables
These unlockables (although likely true) are yet to be tested (same goes for the characters above)
Unlock a 3rd kart for each character by getting Gold in all the Nitro Cups 100cc
Unlock 7 karts for each character by getting Gold in all the Nitro Cups 150cc
Unlock Mirror Mode by getting Gold in all the Retro Cups 150cc
Unlock Lv7 Missions by gettin a 1-star ranking for all missions in level 1 to 6
WIth 8 cups and 32 tracks this version of Mario Kart has the largest selection ever (if you inclusde Mirror Mode). Mushroom, Flower/Shell & Banana are availble from the start in eahc difficulty, but you have to complete them to unlock the Star/Leaf cup. And then beat them to unlcok Special/Lightning.
Note: Tracks marked with a * are availbe online.
Nitro Grand Prix
The Nitro Grand Prix features all new tracks and the standard cups.
Mushroom Cup
*Figure-8 Circuit MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8 Img9 Img10 Img11 Img12 Img13 Img14 Img15 Img16 Img17 Img18 Img19 Img20 Img21 Img22 Img23 Img24 Img25
*Yoshi Falls MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6
*Cheep Cheep Beach MAP Img1 Img2 Vid1 Vid2 Vid3
*Luigi's Mansion MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8Vid1 Vid2
Flower Cup Img1 Img2
*Desert Hills MAP
*Delfino Square MAP Img1 Img2
Waluigi Pinball MAP Img1 Img2
Shroom Ridge MAP Img1 Img2 Vid1
Star Cup Vid1
*DK Pass MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8 Img9 Img10 Img11 Img12 Img13 Img14 Img15
Tick Tock Clock MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4
*Mario Circuit MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5
Airship Fortress MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4
Special Cup Img1
*Wario Stadium MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8 Img9 Img10 Img11 Img12 Img13 Img14 Img15 Img16 Img17 Img18
Peach Gardens MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7
Bowser's Castle MAP Img1 Img2 Img3
*Rainbow Road MAP Img1 Img2
Retro Grand Prix
The Retro Grand Prix features tracks from the previous Mario Kart games. Each of the new cups have the tracks in the order of the game they appear (SMK, MK64, MKSC, MKDD). The numbers in brackets represent what number they were in SMK or MKSC.
Shell Cup
*Mario Circuit 1 MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8
*Moo Moo Farm MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Vid1 Vid2
*Peach Circuit MAP Img1 Img2
*Luigi Circuit MAP Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5
Banana Cup
Donut Plains 1 MAP Img1
*Frappe Snowland MAP Img1 Img2 Vid1
Bowser's Castle 2 MAP Img1
*Baby Park MAP
Leaf Cup
Koopa Beach 2
*Choco Mountain
Luigi Circuit
Mushroom Bridge
Lightning Cup
*Choco Island 2
Banshee Broadwalk
*Sky Garden
*Yoshi Circuit
Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7
No Rainbow Road in the entire Retro Cup??? *Crosses fingers for Rainbow Cup*
Battle Mode has returned greater than ever before. With new arenas, new ways to play, single player mode and up to 8 players in a local game it is certainly going to be better than before.
Balloon Battle Vid1
The standard battle mode that has been in all Mario Karts. Each player has some balloons, once all your balloons are popped (by either being hit by items or falling off the track) you are out. Last player standing wins. You start with 1 inflated balloon and 4 in reserve. To inflate a reserve balloon either hold down select or blow into your mic (which is faster). You can only have 3 balloons inflate at any one time. When you loose all your inflated balloons you are out.
Shine Runners
Not to be confused with the Shine Thief in MKDD. Their are multiple shines on the stage. You must collect as many as you can. After each period the player(s) with the least amount of shines are eliminated. You can make people loose shines by hitting them with items.
Arenas
6 battle arenas are available from the start and more could be unlocked. We only know about 2 of
these arenas
so far.
Nintendo DS - Inspired from the Nintendo Gamecube track in MKDD, this level is set on top of a DS. The buttons and screen are all flat but the top half is tilted and you can drove on to it at the hinges. Also, unlike it's GC counter-part it has no walls so it's quite easy to drive off. Vid1
Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8
Twilight House - Nothing is known about this arena, even the name is unclear. From the image seen in a video it takes place in or at an old building.
Palm Shore - Small island themed stage. Features to strips of land and has water which you will need to drive through. Item boxes appear on a central island and in the water. The tide goes in and out so the water comes and goes. Img1
Tart Top - A circular arena set on top of a cake. The middle of the cake has a speed booster which allows you to get to the item boxes. Their are also blobs of icing on the cake that when hit causes small blobs to hit your screen, similar to the Blooper weapon.
Img1 Img2 Img3 Img4 Img5 Img6 Img7 Img8
Block Fort - Block Fort from MK64 is back. Considerbly smaller than the N64 version but it has not lost it's charm.
Pipe Plaza - Keeping with the theme of taking stuff from the old games, this one was in MKDD. People are upset that they chose this, but its not a bad ole track. Img1 Img2
One thing to note is that before entering battle mode you are not given your character stats. This probably means that in battle mode all characters are the same.
Items Certainly the very heart and sole of the previous Mario Kart games. The special items from MKDD have been removed but a couple have stayed around to be used by anyone.
Bob-omb
Banana
Banana Bunch (3 Bananas)
Blue Flying Spiked Shell
Lightning
Boo
Red Shell
Triple Red Shells
Green Shell
Triple Green Shells
Golden Mushroom
Mushroom
Triple Mushrooms
Star
Bullet Bill
Blooper
For detailed descriptions of the items visit our Items page.
At current each character has 2 karts and each of these karts have different stats. This means that the characters no longer have their own weights, but the karts do. Images of most of the karts have
appeared
and at current each character has a regular kart and a themed kart (Toad has a Mushroom, Luigi has a hoover, Yoshi has an egg etc.)
Each of the karts have 6 stats and these stats are marked out of 10 (including decimals). This is a far greater level of details ever given in a Mario Kart when it comes to stats. The stats are Speed, Acceleration, Weight, Handling, Skid & Objects (may change). Objects is very new as it now appears that some karts are better at getting the decent items. The stats for Luigi's 2 karts have been revealed but not to a clarity that I would be willing to post them at the moment.
A brand new feature to Mario Kart and one that i am certainly looking forward too. In mission mode you are given a character and a challenge. Most of the challenges known are drive through tires in order, collect all the coins or destroy a certain number of things. You are given a specific length of time to perform these missions. The missions section is broken into 6 (Levels 1 to 6) and each level has 9 missions making a total of 54 (so far). Each level has 8 standard missions and then a boss. Current confirmed ones are:
1-1 Drive through 5 tyres in order Img1 Img2 Img3
1-2 Collect 15 coins Vid1
1-3 Destroy 10 item boxes
1-4 Destroy 5 Cheep Cheeps while using a star
1-5 Drive through 6 tyres in order Vid1
1-6 Drive out of Luigi's Mansion in reverse
1-7 Collect 20 coins
1-8 Perform 4 power slide turbo boosts in 1 lap
1-B Use mushrooms to knock the Bully into the water Img1
2-1 Destroy 10 wooden crates
2-2 Collect 10 coins
2-3
Drive through 6 tyres in order
2-4 Destroy 5 item boxes
2-5 Collect 20 coins
2-6 Use Bob-ombs to destroy 5 Pokeys
2-7 Drive through 10 tyres in order
2-8
Perform 6 power slide turbo boosts in 3 laps
2-B Hit the Eyerok's eye with 3 shells
3-1 Destroy 5 item boxes
3-2 Drive through 5 tyres in order, backwards
3-3 Collect 15 coins while avoding the Chain Chomp
3-4 Race Yoshi to the finish
3-5 Drive through 8 tyres in order
3-6 Hit 5 monty moles with shells
3-7 Perfomr 10 power slide turbo boosts in 1 lap
3-8 Collect 20 coins
3-B Race Goomboss to the finish
4-1 Race DK to the finish
4-2 Destroy 20 crabs
4-3 Race the red car to the finish
4-4 Drive through 7 tyres in order
4-5 Collect 15 coins while avoiding the thwomp
4-6 Destroy 10 item boxes while avoiding the fakes
4-7 Drive through 10 tyres in order
4-8 Perform 9 power slide turbo boosts in 1 lap
4-B Collect 50 coins while avoiding King Boo
5-1 Reach the finish before the Chain Chomp
5-2 Collect 15 coin while driving in reverse and avoiding snowmen
5-3 Destroy 5 item boxes
5-4 Drive through 10 tyres in order
5-5 Complete 1 lap in the opposite direction
5-6 Collect 18 coins
5-7 Drive through 8 tyres in order
5-8 Race Mario to the finish
5-B Hit Big Bob-omb with 3 bob-ombs
6-1 Drive backwards over the spinning bridge
6-2 Destroy 15 rocky wrenches with a star
6-3 Collect 30 coins
6-4 Destroy 10 item boxes
6-5 Drive through 8 tyres in order
6-6 Perform 14 power slide turbo boosts in 1 lap
6-7 Collect 40 coins
6-8 Race Peach to the finish
6-B Use mushroom boosts to knock Chief Chilly into the water 3 times
7-1
7-2
7-3
7-4
7-5
7-6
7-7
7-8
7-B Race Wiggler to the finish
Mission mode is currently hinted as the way new karts will be unlocked.
Their are 3 separate ways to play multiplayer. I shall go through each of them and what you can do with that method. And if you are wondering, if their are 4 of you playing and you have 2 cartridges then that counts as Single Cartridge.
Single Cartridge - up to 8 Players
This is the way most multiplayer DS games are at the moment. One of you has the game cartridge and the other player(s) download from it. This method is limited, you can only choose from a few tracks and battle arenas (which ones are yet unknown). The player with the cartridge can choose from any players they have unlocked but the players downloading are forced to play as Shy Guy.
Multi Cartridge - up to 8 Players
This is when everyone playing has a version of the game. You can choose from any characters unlocked and any of the tracks/course that are unlocked. Their are still a few unknowns though. If one of you has an unlocked character but the others don't, can you still choose him/her/hit (same for courses). Also, can you get 2-player GP? Finally whenever you play someone they are added to your buddy list which you can use to find them online (60 maximum). You can also transfer ghost information when connected like this.
Online - up to 4 Players
This is the one. This is the big one. Nintendo's first real online game is going to be a Mario Kart...how about that?
Anyway, obviously you each need your own version of the game and you each need to be able to get online (either via home wireless router, local hot spot or the Nintendo USB
Wi-Fi connecter thingy, more details will be revealed how when available). When online you can again choose from any of the characters you have and any of the tracks. Battle Mode is for some unknown reason not available, which is a let down but at least you can still race.
When you play online you get a choice of what type of people you want to play against. In MKDS you can choose from.
Buddies - People who are on your buddy list. If you can't play them locally to get to your buddy list you can also ask for them to send you their key code which will allow you to add them manually.
Recent Opponents- Anyone whom you have played against recently.
Rivals - The game gives you a skill level and this will allow you to play people of the same level.
Regional Players - Anyone who is in the same country as you (regardless of skill)
World wide - Anyone, regardless of skill or location.
Nintendo themselves are setting up hotspots world wide which you can use to play online. But they are also using hotspots that are already up and running to widen the reach. They will
probably
release a list just before launch date so you can find the one nearest to you.
While online only 20 of the 32 tracks are available. These are:
Mushroom Cup
Figure-8 Circuit
Yoshi Falls
Cheep Cheep Beach
Luigi's Mansion
Flower Cup
Desert Hills
Delfino Square
Star Cup
DK Pass
Mario Circuit
Special Cup
Wario Stadium
Rainbow Road
Shell Cup
SNES Mario Circuit 1
N64 Moo Moo Farm
GBA Peach Circuit
GCN Luigi Circuit
Banana Cup
N64 Frappe Snowland
GCN Baby Park
Leaf Cup
N64 Choco Mountain
Feather Cup
SNES Choco Island 2
GBA Sky Garden
GCN Yoshi CIrcuit
by SmoothMunky and Charzendat