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Mario Kart

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File:Mariokartwii sslg3.jpg
A screenshot from Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from their trademark and highly successful Super Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games. At least one Mario Kart game is released for nearly every Nintendo console, often almost immediately after a release's corresponding console. To date, there have been seven Mario Kart games, with the latest installment, Mario Kart Wii, due for release in 2008.

Installments

  • Super Mario Kart is the original Mario Kart game. It was released in 1992 for Super Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The characters in the game are Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa, and Bowser.
  • Mario Kart 64 was released in 1996 in Japan, and in 1997 in North America and Europe for Nintendo 64. It was the first fully 3D Mario Kart game (although the characters are 2D sprites), and allowed four players to race and battle on the same screen. In the characters list, Donkey Kong Jr. and Koopa Troopa were replaced by Donkey Kong and Wario, respectively.
  • Mario Kart Super Circuit was released in 2001 for Game Boy Advance. It was the first portable version of Mario Kart and contained all the tracks from the original in addition to new ones. Up to four players could link up and play simultaneously using a single game cartridge. All the characters were the same as Mario Kart 64.
  • Mario Kart: Double Dash!! was released in November 2003 for GameCube. This game strayed away from the classic Mario Kart formula by omitting the jump action and changing the traditional karts into themed vehicles, seating two characters each. The game is LAN-enabled, such that a maximum of 16 players can play at the same time on four GameCubes, four copies of the game, four TVs, four Broadband Adapters, four ethernet cables, and an ethernet hub. In the characters list, Koopa Troopa returned, Toad became a hidden character and Princess Daisy, Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Toadette, Paratroopa, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Waluigi, Petey Piranha and King Boo were all added.
  • Mario Kart Arcade GP was released in fall of 2005 in Japan and North America. It is the first Mario Kart arcade game. It was developed by Namco and features the characters that appeared in Mario Kart 64, as well as Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Blinky.
  • Mario Kart DS was released in November 2005 for Nintendo DS. It was also the first Mario Kart game to expand the single player experience by adding the Mission Run mode, and allowed players to play VS and Battle mode against bots rather than real-life opponents. Mario Kart DS is also the first game to use Nintendo's online gaming service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It also features an assortment of tracks from previous Mario Kart games. The game features the cast of Mario Kart 64, as well as Princess Daisy, Dry Bones, Waluigi, and R.O.B. as unlockable characters. In single kart multiplayer mode, players without the game play as Shy Guy, who can only be played as in said mode. The game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for four players, and has an eight-player mode played over its wireless connection. There is an option to create an emblem that is seen by opponents on Wi-Fi battles right before a player battles them.
  • Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 was released in Japan in early 2007. It was developed by Namco Bandai, and features the characters from Mario Kart Arcade GP, as well as Waluigi and Mametchi.
  • Mario Kart Wii was announced at E3 2007 in a press conference on July 11, 2007. No exact release date has been announced yet; however, the game will be released during Q1 2008. Mario Kart for the Wii will include a steering wheel attachment for the system, known as the "Wii Wheel". The game has been confirmed to take use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It will support online battle mode, as well as an online racing mode with up to 12 participants. Shown in the trailer were some tracks from previous Mario Kart games such as Peach Beach and Yoshi Falls. Motorcycles have also been introduced as a new vehicle class.

Gameplay

In Mario Kart, the characters from the Mario series of video games get together and race go-karts around a variety of tracks. Players can obtain random items by driving through (or over in Super Mario Kart) question mark blocks, which can be used for either defense, offense or by powering up the engine for a short amount of time (boost). Each Mario Kart game hosts several gameplay modes, which can be played in both singleplayer and multiplayer.

In Time Trial the goal is to achieve the fastest time in the selected track. Players are usually given three mushrooms (speed boosts) which they can use any time during the trial. (There are exceptions, though. In Super Mario Kart, players receive no items, in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, players only receive two, and in Mario Kart DS one to three mushrooms are given depending on the selected vehicle's Item stat). Once a record is set, the game saves a "ghost", a replay of the set record, to compete against. In Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and Mario Kart DS, the developers put in their own "Staff Ghosts" for the player to race against. They must be unlocked by achieving a certain time which differs on each track. In Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mario Kart DS, it is also possible to download a ghost from friends. In Mario Kart DS, two ghosts (the player's own, and a friend's) can be saved.

In Grand Prix, the characters compete against each other in a themed Cup. There are usually four Cups: Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup and Special Cup.

  • Super Mario Kart features the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup in the three engine classes (50cc, 100cc, 150cc), and Special Cup in the 100cc and 150cc. 150cc mode must be unlocked by beating the 100cc cups first, while the player must clear each of the other cups to unlock the Special Cup. Each cup in this game holds 5 tracks for a total of 20 tracks in the game. It is the only Mario Kart game where Princess Peach is referred to as "Princess Toadstool" outside Japan, although she was only referred to as a "Princess" in the manual and in the game (this was fixed in the strategy guide), though later Mario Kart games call her "Peach" in all regional releases.
  • Mario Kart 64 has the Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special Cups available in all three (50cc, 100cc, and 150cc) classes. This game adds a Mirror Mode to the series (called "EXTRA" in this game) which is unlockable by beating the 150cc cups. This game also features four tracks to a cup, which has been repeated in each game since.
  • Mario Kart Super Circuit adds in a fifth cup (the Lightning Cup), which is between the Flower and Star Cups. The player must beat the four cups (Mushroom, Flower, Lightning, and Star) to unlock the Special Cup in that certain class. It also includes an "extra" version of each cup that features all the tracks from Super Mario Kart. There is no Mirror Mode in this game.
  • Mario Kart: Double Dash!! starts with Mushroom, Flower, and Star Cup, with the Special Cup unlockable. This game features an "All-Cup Tour" that has all sixteen tracks, which always starts with Luigi Circuit and ends with Rainbow Road, and the fourteen other tracks are mixed up in a random order. Like its console predecessor, it also features the unlockable Mirror Mode.
  • Mario Kart DS has two Grand Prix modes: The Nitro Cups (all-new tracks) and the Retro Cups (all classic remade tracks). Nitro Grand Prix features the four standard cups, Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special cups, while Retro Grand Prix features the Shell, Banana, Leaf, and Lightning Cups. The Retro mode features tracks from all four previous Mario Kart games. This game features 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and an unlockable 150cc Mirror Mode.

The player wins the cup by receiving the most points throughout the Grand Prix. Points are allocated based on the position the player finishes in. The most a player can get is 40 points, or ten points in each of the four courses in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS. In Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart Super Circuit, there was a maximum of nine points for each race. In addition, Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mario Kart DS features a rating system, which, from lowest to highest, is E, D, C, B, A, one star, two stars, and three stars.

Mission mode is only present in Mario Kart DS, and includes several levels, each of which contain nine challenges (one of which is a boss battle). These challenges range include collecting X number of coins, driving through X number of gates, destroying X number of enemies, and so-on. The player is given a grade upon completing a mission, with E being the lowest and three stars being the highest. There is only one mission level to start with, but by beating each mission level's boss players can reach level 6, and, by achieving a rank of at least one star in all missions, level 7.

In VS. mode, multiple players can compete against each other in a race. The one who crosses the finish line first wins. Depending on the platform, up to eight players can play simultaneously. In Mario Kart DS, players can race against CPU opponents for the first time.

In Battle Mode, every player is assigned a set of balloons that can be popped. The aim of battle mode is to pop the opponent's balloons by attacking them with items. Once all balloons are popped, the player loses. There have been several types of Battle Mode games.

Some items don't appear in Battle Mode because of the sheer advantage they give their users. This includes Spiny Shells, Bullet Bills, Chain Chomps, Thunderbolts (exception: Shine Runners), and triple red shells (before Balloon Battles had more than three balloons). Mushrooms were also out before the stealing of balloons was introduced in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Mario Kart DS is the only game where players can battle against CPU opponents.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

Main article: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

This mode was introduced in Mario Kart DS. Abbreviated as WFC, this mode allows players to use Nintendo's online gaming service to match up against other players elsewhere in the world, nationally, or with comparable skill levels. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Mode also includes a "friend's roster" which allows a player to play with a group of people he or she knows. Wi-Fi gameplay follows the same scoring as multiplayer VS matches, except with a limit of 4 players instead of 8. It has been confirmed by Nintendo at E3 2007 that Mario Kart for Wii will make use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Other appearances

A line of remote-controlled Mario Karts are available in stores. Each kart has a GameCube-shaped controller, and features forward driving and rotates when put in reverse, instead of steering. The current line-up of karts are Mario, Donkey Kong and Yoshi. Also, in the upcoming Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a stage based on Mario Kart is featured. Plus, there are two large karts that depict Yoshi and Mario. They are not controlled by a GBA-like controller, but instead, it is a GameCube Controller shape. In Nintendogs, one can find a remote-controlled Kart during walks. There are three different karts, the Mario Kart, the Bowser Kart, and the Peach Kart. Each version of Nintendogs has only one type of kart.

Playable characters

Racer Super
Mario Kart		 Mario
Kart 64		 Mario Kart
Super Circuit		 Mario Kart:
Double Dash
 Mario Kart
Arcade GP		 Mario
Kart DS		 Mario Kart
Arcade GP 2		 Mario
Kart Wii
Mario Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Luigi Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Peach Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Yoshi Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Bowser Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Toad Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Donkey Kong Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Wario Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Waluigi Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Daisy Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Red XN ?
Koopa Troopa Green tickY Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Birdo Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Baby Mario Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Baby Luigi Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY
Toadette Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Paratroopa Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Diddy Kong Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Bowser Jr. Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Petey Piranha Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
King Boo Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Dry Bones Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN ?
R.O.B. Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN ?
Shy Guy Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN ?
Donkey Kong Jr. Green tickY Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN ?
Pac-Man Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY ?
Ms. Pac-Man Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY ?
Blinky Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY ?
Mametchi Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY ?
Boo Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Green tickY

Recurring tracks

There are several types of tracks that have been featured in many of the Mario Kart games.

Circuits

Every Mario Kart to date has included several "circuit" courses, one of which serves as the starting course for the Mushroom Cup. Circuit courses are built to resemble actual raceways, with paved track, loose gravel or sand sides, and (in the 3D games) grandstands with onlookers, as well as signs and billboards scattered throughout the course advertising various imaginary racing products. These tracks range widely in difficulty, from simple turns to complex hairpins and banked curves. The particularly memorable circuit tracks are the Yoshi Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, which is designed in the shape of a large Yoshi (resembles one if seen from air) and Luigi Circut. In Mario Kart 64, Circuits are referred to as "raceways".

Public roads

In all 3D Mario Kart games, there are tracks that include other traffic to avoid. Mario Kart 64 had Toad's Turnpike, which has huge vehicles that go the same direction as the karts. (In the Extra mode, they come toward the karts, making it one of the most unpredictable and most difficult tracks). Mario Kart: Double Dash!! had Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City. They featured different kinds of cars, such as Mushroom trucks, the Wiggler vehicle, and Bob-omb cars. Mario Kart DS has Shroom Ridge, in which vehicles travel on the left-hand side of the road, much like the road system in Japan, Australia and the UK (in Mirror Mode they go on the right-hand side), set on road which winds around a mountain, and a slightly modified version of Mushroom Bridge. Public roads usually come in the middle of the game Flower cup or Star cup.

Deserts

There has been a desert track in each Mario Kart game since Mario Kart 64 (except for Arcade GP). Deserts usually feature quicksand and long stretches of bumpy terrain. In Mario Kart 64, there is the Kalimari Desert, in which a train crosses the track in two places. For Super Circuit, Yoshi Desert makes an appearance (the Sphinxes have Yoshi heads), and Double Dash!! with Dry Dry Desert has a sandstorm that makes any object fly into the air, plus an area with quicksand and a hungry Piranha Plant living at the bottom. The desert in Mario Kart DS(Desert Hills) includes Pokeys, which move from left-to-right, the Angry Sun, who rains fire down on the track, and a Super Mario Bros. 3 desert level-like theme.

Jungles

All games from Mario Kart 64 onwards featured at least one jungle type track. Mario Kart 64 had DK's Jungle Parkway, set atop a waterfall with a steamboat patrolling the river. Mario Kart Super Circuit had both Riverside Park and Lakeside Park, the latter featuring volcanoes which shot out lava balls that spun players out when hit. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! had both DK Mountain and Dino Dino Jungle. DK Mountain's centrepiece was a gigantic DK Barrel which shot players to the top of the mountain. They would then have to drive down the mountain, avoiding massive boulders and traversing a swaying bridge over a fast flowing river. Dino Dino Jungle, as the name suggests, had several dinosaurs stomping and flying around the course. Mario Kart DS had Yoshi Falls, set in a large valley and circling a lake. Yoshi Falls has also been seen in the Mario Kart Wii E3 Video suggesting that it may have Retro Cups Similar to Mario Kart DS.

Haunted tracks

Most Mario Kart games have had some courses with a spooky theme (one example that didn't have one was Mario Kart: Double Dash, but it did feature a battle course based off of Luigi's Mansion). Common themes in these 'haunted' tracks have included dark lighting, Boos, or (in the 2D games) railings which break upon impact. Boo Lake and Broken Pier (both from MKSC) are two examples of all these things. Luigi's Mansion in the Mario Kart DS (based on the GameCube game with the same name), includes a muddy swamp in which traction is lessened. While not strictly haunted, Airship Fortress (in MKDS) takes place in a crumbling castle. It is the only track in the game that includes Bullet Bills firing at players as a part of the level. Also in Mario Kart 64 there is a track called Banshee Boardwalk, which was later revamped in Mario Kart DS as a Retro Cup stage and is a haunted Boardwalk.

Stadiums

In three of the games (MK64, MKDD, and MKDS), there has been a stadium track, which takes place in a dirt arena surrounded by grandstands, similar to a Supercross track. Typically associated with Wario and Waluigi, they contain many jumps, bumps, turns, and (more recently) fire and oil. Stadium tracks are normally around the middle of the game in regards to difficulty, although the stadium in Mario Kart DS is among the most challenging tracks. The Wario Stadium track in Mario Kart 64 is notorious for a shortcut that can reduce the time a single lap takes to two seconds.

With the introduction of Waluigi in the Mario Kart series, there have always been two stadiums in the game. The alternate stadiums, instead of being dirt tracks, are mostly made of metal, with a definitive superstructure. The two metal cage tracks are Wario Colosseum (which comes after Waluigi Stadium in MKDD) and Waluigi Pinball (which comes before Wario Stadium MKDS).

Bowser Castles

Bowser Castles are particularly well known for unforgiving and straight 90-degree turns, lava pits, and Thwomps. Super Mario Kart features three Bowser Castle tracks, while Super Circuit has four; the rest only have one (Mario Kart DS has two but one is taken from Super Circuit). They are usually the penultimate tracks of the game, with the only track afterwards being Rainbow Road. Due to their stiff turns and obstacles, they are considered to be technically demanding. The name has also been spelled as Bowser's Castle; this name appears in Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Rainbow Road

Rainbow Road is the name for the final track in the last cup (the Special Cup) of every Mario Kart game to date. As such, it is considered one of the toughest tracks to master, as the track is suspended in space and generally has few or no rails to prevent the player from falling off of the edges during a turn. Mario Kart 64 is an exception, where guardrails are used for the entire track.

Other features of the Rainbow Road tracks include 90-degree turns and flashing Thwomps (Super Mario Kart), Chomps and steep drops (Mario Kart 64), speed boost panels, Jumps, Storm Clouds (Mario Kart Super Circuit), speed boost panels, a teleporting pipe (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!), and speed boosts panels, and a barrel roll and loop the loop obstacle (Mario Kart DS) that might either provide a helpful edge or cause a player to lose control and careen off the track. Double Dash!! features a set of hairpin turns, and also is the only game in the series to feature stars that occasionally land on the track and become a star power up for anyone who touches them.

Since Mario Kart 64, Rainbow Road is the only track to have the same music theme in every game (except for Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mario Kart Arcade GP - though they do have the same rhythm and style, albeit a more techno influenced tune on Arcade GP), though each one is remixed differently.

Items

File:GCN-MarioKart DoubleDash!!.jpg
Mario jumping to throw a banana in a beta verson of Double Dash!!.

In certain parts of the course, players can drive through an "item box" and receive a random item. There is an equalizer aspect: karts in lower positions get better items, while the higher position karts get worse items.

There are four categories of items: hazards (items such as bananas, items left on the track as an obstacle), projectiles (items such as shells fired at other players or obstacles), boosts (gives the kart more speed), and special (does not fit in to any of the three categories).

Some of the special items include Bullet Bills (provides a speed boost, and guarantees the user will gain at least one track position), Chain Chomps (similar to Bullet Bills, but much faster and more unpredictable) Lightning (zaps and shrinks all opponents ahead of the user), Stars (provides invincibility for a time) Boos (turns the character invisible and steals an opponent's item at random, if possible) and Bloopers (shoots ink at opponents, decreasing their field of vision). Hazards and most projectiles can be trailed behind the kart by holding the item button (except in "Super Mario Kart", and in Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS on the Nintendo Wi-Fi mode, where they cannot trail behind the karts). This serves as defense against opponent attacks. They are then activated once the player releases the item button.

In the original game, Super Mario Kart, each of the AI drivers had specific items that could be used against the opponents. While some use conventional items familiar to players (like the Star, used by Mario and Luigi), others have exclusive items (like Peach and Toad, who can send a mushroom that can shrink an opponent upon contact). Particularly, the Koopa Troopa always uses his Green Shell attack by lying it in his trail, never launching it forward. This trait, however, was not carried over for the rest of the series.

In Double Dash!!, each pair of characters has a character-specific special item. Like the regular items, the "best" special items can only be obtained when farther back in the standings.

Merchandise

Mario Kart has also had a range of merchandise released. This includes a Scalextric style Mario Kart DS Figure-8-Circuit. It came with Mario and Donkey Kong figures, while a Yoshi and a Luigi are available separately.

Tomy have also released some radio-controlled Mario Karts. The most top-selling 3 are Mario, DK and Yoshi. But other rarer ones include Bowser, Luigi, Peach and Wario.

Template:Mario Kart series

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