Few series inspire as much excitement in gamers from across every demographic as theMario Kartgames. While the games are heavily luck-based, they also have a strong skill-based component, especially on higher speeds. Even though theMario Kartseries has a huge number of entries at this point, it’s succeeded in staying fresh thanks to the introduction of new gimmicks. Far from the creative stagnation and poor reception many franchises experience on their 8th entries,Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis the Switch’s best-selling game. This is thanks in large part to the addition of gliding and diving fromMario Kart 7, and the addition of anti-gravity racing fromMario Kart 8.
Whenever Nintendo sees fit to releaseMario Kart 9, it will need to find some way to give the game a fresh gameplay experience. Still, not all potential gimmicks are created equal. Gliding, diving, and anti-gravity shake up the racing experience and enable novel course designs, but how can future gimmicks build on these ideas without becoming annoying? In order to find an answer, it’s probably best to look at why7and8succeed so well with implementing gimmicks - while also noting those gimmicks' shortcomings.
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Why Mario Kart 7 and 8’s Gimmicks Are Smart Additions
As obvious as it may sound,Mario Kartcourses can only take place on tracks that karts can traverse. As earlier franchise entries restricted racers to ground-based movement, racetracks had to be based on the ground as well. However, thanks to the new gimmicks, the series could add new designs that were previously impossible. These include highlights likeMario Kart 7’sWario Shipyard and Piranha Plant Slide, andMario Kart 8’s Electrodrome and mobius-strip-shaped Mario Circuit. Even fairly mundane concepts, like8’s San Francisco-inspired Toad Harbor, have becometop-ranked fan favoriteMario Kartcoursesthanks to the ability to drive up walls and explore the city in unusual ways.
Gimmicks do more than just enable exciting new courses; they breathe new life into returning retro courses as well. By turning bodies of water into fully explorable course routes, for example, diving makes water-heavy retro tracks likeDouble Dash’s Daisy Cruisermuch more dynamic and enjoyable for beginners. Even in their original appearances, almost everyMario Kartcourse is filled with exciting details and lush scenery. Because the series' gimmicks allow players to explore these background elements in new ways, adding gimmicks to retro tracks usually feels like a natural evolution.
Finally, the quirks of gliding, diving, and driving upside-down have major implications for high-level play. The over-the-top 200cc mode inMario Kart 8 Deluxemakes karts go so fast that the player must have complete driving mastery to stay on the track. As the physics for standard driving differ from those underwater or in the air, players must master every gimmick in order to have a shot at taking home gold medals from a 200cc cup. In the hands of Nintendo’s expert developers, tracks designed to be challenging are demanding but fair, such asMario Kart 8’s Bowser Castle course.
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Where The Gimmicks in Mario Kart 7 and 8 Fall Short
Not every gimmick implementation in the most recentMario Kartgames is perfect. At times, the developers seem to insert a gimmick for its own sake, rather than for the sake of a fun course. Some ramps, underground sections, and anti-gravity sections feel lazily shoehorned-in to otherwise-decent track design. This most often occurs when retro tracks have a small section tilted at an angle to justify an anti-gravity section, such asMario Kart 8’s GBA Mario Circuit and DK Jungle.Mario Kart 8is filled with many stellar course ideas, but not all of them need some form of off-road driving.Standout courses like Excitebike Arenadon’t have gliding, diving, or anti-gravity, ye they are thrilling nonetheless.
Also, anti-gravity segments don’t always feel very distinct from the rest of the course. The player rarely has the chance to see a zoomed-out view of each driver’s exploits; even if an anti-gravity section twirls spectacularly into the sky, its novelty is lost if the player doesn’t understand the driver’s surroundings. It’s clear that immersion heightens player enjoyment in theMario Kartgames. The success of theMario Kart GP VRexperience is based on a feeling of presence and immersion, for example, which isn’t always guaranteed in the series' mainline games.
Choosing The Right Gimmick for Mario Kart 9
To summarize the points made so far,Mario Kart 9should have a gimmick that can be easily applied to the game’s retro courses, while also enabling exciting new course designs. Ideally, a new gimmick should turn potential hazards into new paths, making courses more dynamic and approachable for beginners. At the same time, the gimmick shouldn’t disorient the player, or need to be carelessly inserted into levels that don’t benefit from it. There is a reason why aggressively gimmick-laden spin-offs likethe arcade-exclusiveMario Kart Arcade GPgamesremain obscure, with little demand to be ported to home console.
One possibility would be allowing karts to fly (rather than glide) in the airspace surrounding some tracks, in the style of a game likeSonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. This would enable a range of new paths for players to take, and would replace the tedium of waiting for Lakitu to retrieve characters who have fallen into the abyss. It would also be easy to apply something like this to retro courses; many classic tracks take place under wide-open skies, facilitating the organic addition of flight-based paths. Even the simplest throwback SNES retro courses could become all-new challenges by adding course elements in the airspace above the track.
Another possibility could be shrinking down in size using theMarioseries' Mini Mushroom power-up. If small puddles could become rivers that let players slip under barricades and take shortcuts, this could add life to anyMariocourse, old or new. Given the recent release ofMario Kart Live: Home Circuit, it is clear that players enjoy seeingMario contend with giant real-life cats, and shrinking sections would be a great way to integrate something similar into futureMario Kartgames.
Of course, it’s important that Nintendo implement any new gimmick with restraint.Mario Kartis popular because of its core gameplay formula, and straying from that formula is best done cautiously. But if done right, it could be a great way to excite Nintendo fans for another round of kart-racing action.
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