OLLIE: Just the prospect of a new Mario Kart, to be honest. It was all I really needed, and the small details suggest how this new entry could potentially differ from before. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve said before that it was kinda boring, and it was, but we know from past titles that it’s going to boast some weird and wacky new mechanic, and I can’t wait to see what it is.
MK9 would be far more interesting if it focused on a gimmick or a new mode rather than just giving me a playable Tingle…
GAVIN: We’ve had MK8 for so long, so the topic of the next Mario Kart has come up a lot already over the years and we’ve looked to Smash Bros. Ultimate as a possible model for where the series could go next. So, the first big question: Do you want MK9 to be the ‘Everyone is here’ of Mario Kart?
JIM: Honestly, no. It’s perfectly fun to picture a Mario Kart race with, I don’t know, Geno behind the wheel, but that simply ain’t going to grab me. I feel like we’re almost there already with the MK8 lineup, and Deluxe already gave us basically every track the series has ever offered. [Note. Not quite, but there’s a lot.] MK9, for me, would be far more interesting if it focused on a gimmick or a new mode rather than just giving me a playable Tingle…
OLLIE: DONKEY KONG LOOKS AMAZING THOUGH. Oh sorry, that wasn’t the question… Yeah, I’m with Jim to an extent. I’d rather MK9 focus on things that could make this entry stand out. That said, although the idea of seeing Samus lobbing a Blue Shell makes me feel a bit nauseous, I’d like to see a few more characters from the Mario universe. Deeper cuts, y’know? Maybe Don Pianta, Professor E. Gadd, or even Fawful. Could you imagine Fawful yelling “I HAVE FURY!” when he slips over a banana?
GAVIN: All I’m imagining now is Samus flinging a Blue Shell but it’s actually a Metroid chomping on the head of whoever’s in pole position. Alana?
ALANA: I’m with both of the lads, here. There’s an inherent level of goofiness to MK that Smash, while it does have, also has an edge to it. My bigger concern is that, with the prospect of getting new characters from Mario’s wider universe, there will be a bunch of the alt. characters from Tour. Who needs three variations on the Hammer Bro? On the other hand, Dixie Kong, Poochy, and King Bob-Omb are in Tour and they deserve to be playable in a console game.
GAVIN: Seems like we’re all on the same page in terms of ‘less is more’ rather than just throwing everyone in, although I would love to play as Olimar flinging Pikmin all over the track. I could stomach having Kirby and Samus too.
The other obvious, go-to evolution for any series is ‘Make it open world!!!’ There’s all sorts of potential there, but I wonder if that’s what people want from a pick-up-and-play party racer like Mario Kart.
OLLIE: Ehhh… Yeah, not really. More open tracks with alternative routes might be cool, but a full-on open world sounds a bit naff to me. Something that’s been nagging me, though, is the potential to instantly teleport between worlds, kinda like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on the PS5. I don’t know if the Switch 2 would be quite capable of something like that, but it could really open the game up in ways we haven’t seen before, zipping between different circuits on the fly.
I quite like the idea of…scavenging kart parts and attaching them, Ultrahand-style, for upgrades, like Banjo Nuts & Bolts with a little Mad Max mixed in
ALANA: If Nintendo were going to do open world, it’s going to be through some kind of ‘story mode’ like in Diddy Kong Racing or something. But a story mode hub in a racing game isn’t what I want in 2025.
GAVIN: I quite like the idea of a large BOTW-Hyrule-style Mushroom Kingdom, with circuits all over the land and you journey between them, scavenging kart parts and attaching them, Ultrahand-style, for upgrades, like Banjo Nuts & Bolts with a little Mad Max mixed in.
But people who pick up Mario Kart for a quick blast with friends won’t be bothered with that. Single-player isn’t the reason MK8D is Switch’s best-selling game, which is presumably what Nintendo is thinking about by highlighting this in the Switch 2 reveal.
JIM: Yeah, there’s the risk that an additional open world or a ‘story’ might not feel ‘Mario Kart’ enough. If it’s the next 3D Mario, sure — and throw in a skill tree for good measure… probably. But Mario Kart is best focused on the karting (shock) and as soon as you start fiddling about with stories and upgrades, that might get lost. That said, Smash has tried ‘story’ a few times. It never fully worked, but it tried.
ALANA: Gavin’s proposal sounds like a bit like LEGO 2K Drive!
GAVIN: Hmm, that came and went, didn’t it? Okay, so if none of us are enamoured with the idea of an open-world racer, how does MK9 push the series forward?
ALANA: This isn’t the revolutionary overhaul or unique idea we’re expecting here, but I can see an F-Zero 99-style elimination mode being incorporated (not 99 karts, though), particularly with the bigger tracks, a bigger roster of characters, and the presumably better online functionality of the Switch 2.
OLLIE: I actually want to point to The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a potential source of inspiration. The kart scene has really unique and weird vehicles, with characters moving between them at certain points. I wonder if something can be done with that. Perhaps you can jump between vehicles part-way through a race, or maybe steal parts from your opponents to give your own kart a bit of a boost.
JIM: I’m still recovering from the thought of a 99-player Baby Park, but yes, I totally see the vehicle-swapping idea. Looking at what the series has relied on so far, though, it’s way more likely that the karts would just ‘transform’ in some way. MK8 did the hover wheels, MK7 did the gliders, Wii did… something. There’s an appetite for Diddy Kong Racing out there, so I can see things going a little more vertical – ramps where your kart sprouts wings and entire sections are airborne, Chitty Chitty-style.
MK8 had the anti-grav sections, but ultimately, it was just a really solid racing game with minimal gimmicks. I do worry about Nintendo potentially making it a bit too weird.
ALANA: That is very Diddy Kong Racing or Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, though! It’ll be hard to predict because MK8 wasn’t at its core hugely different from 7. We’ve had courses that change every lap thanks to Tour. We’ve had transforming cars in some ways. I doubt it’ll incorporate a microphone or a mouse, because that’d lock elements out for some people.
GAVIN: That vehicle-switching idea has me thinking about some sort of team co-op where you have Double Dash-style passengers with specific abilities that must jump between karts. You have to pull up alongside other drivers to swap passengers for… some reason. I don’t know, something that switches up the interaction patterns from a straight old race to the finish line.
OLLIE: All of this speculation does make me a bit nervous, I must say… MK8 had the anti-grav sections, but ultimately, it was just a really solid racing game with minimal gimmicks. I do worry about Nintendo potentially making it a bit too weird.
GAVIN: They’re walking a very fine line between pick-up-and-play approachability for four-year-olds or non-core players and depth enough to keep everyone engaged. The video team discussed anti-grav sections in their video (see below) and, for me, the biggest thing the hover wheels added was not stopping dead when you hit other racers. That little boost mechanic was neat and non-punishing.
There’s loads of ways you could shake up the formula without some specific gimmick, though. Along the lines of vehicle/character swapping, what about pit stops or tag team races with added strategy? I was thinking about The Italian Job the other day (as you do) and started dreaming of a Mario Kart Heist mode or some sort of chase which isn’t just a race while lobbing banana skins.
ALANA: That sounds awesome, honestly. I would like some more variety in the multiplayer minigames that aren’t just coins or balloon-based.
GAVIN: What about tracks – specifically, returning tracks? Do you want to see old circuits back again?
JIM: Ahhh, it’s another one where I’ve got to go against the most obvious choice. No, I don’t want to see them back. The MK8 DLC waves were great, but we have driven around these tracks so many times now. At some point, we have to wipe the slate clean. MK8D is the ‘ultimate’ compilation, so gimme eight new Grands Prix with entirely new corners to learn. Please.
I can’t believe we haven’t seen Wario Stadium or Wario Colosseum come back. Still, I would absolutely take more unique Grands Prix.
ALANA: You mean you don’t want Figure-8 Circuit to return?
JIM: …no.
OLLIE: I agree. As much as I’d like to experience Baby Park with 24 racers, if Nintendo doesn’t add in some new mechanic that fundamentally changes the tracks we know and love, then I’d rather they just stay put on MK8D for now (which, of course, will likely be playable via backwards compatibility!). Let’s have something completely new.
ALANA: We are steadily running out of tracks that haven’t returned, discounting MK8’s. I can’t believe we haven’t seen Wario Stadium or Wario Colosseum come back. Still, I would absolutely take more unique Grands Prix rather than double them up with retro cups.
GAVIN: Ollie’s point is key for me – MK8D will almost certainly be playable on Switch 2. We all own it, there are 700 trillion copies of it out there, so if we want to play Baby Park or Yoshi’s Circuit or whatever, it’s already there. I’d rather fresh, tailor-made tracks designed around the new game rather than retrofitted returners.
Okay, we’ll be pulling up to the bumper soon, but what would you say if I dropped the words ‘Mario Kart Maker’ here?
OLLIE: I’d say I don’t have the creativity for something like that! I mean, it depends on how intuitive a track builder would be. It’d be a cool thing to have, but I imagine I’d just default to the standard, Nintendo-certified tracks.
GAVIN: This isn’t confirmed as a launch game, but it’s implied that we’ll be seeing it in the launch year, at least. And seeing as the ‘Mouse Mode’ could be Switch 2’s biggest new hardware feature, you’d imagine Nintendo will showcase it in a launch game. Could be handy for a custom circuit builder!