CameronL365
The Nintendo Tough Lover
- Pronouns
- He/him
- MarioWiki
- CameronL365
The title pretty much says it all. I'm just gonna list whatever ideas come to mind as to what I want to see in a new Mario Kart installment. More than likely, I'll be updating this page after it's created, so be sure to check back sometime.
General Stuff:
Gameplay Changes:
Mechanics:
I don't think things need to change much from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as that game boasts a pretty solid engine already. However, there's one big change I want to make to the Drifting mechanics. I'd like to see Automatic and Manual drifting return from Mario Kart Wii, but with some differences:
I would also like to explore the idea of karts being able to skim the surface of deep bodies of water, instead of just driving under them. Maybe there could be water sections where you can choose whether to drive on top or at the bottom, like by driving over certain panels or something.
Items:
Every item from the main installments would be brought back here, alongside the Hammer, Bubble, and Ice Flower from Mario Kart Tour. The only exception would be the Fireball, but that's only because already we have the Fire Flower. This would also include the Special Items from Double Dash, but unlike before, every item is universal. But since I still liked the concept of special items, I figured I'd compromise by taking a page out of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (that game's good, shut up); in this game, every character would be able to use every item, but the effects of certain ones would be improved if they're used by certain drivers. I'm not gonna bother listing all those effects here, but feel free to make some suggestions in the comments.
Double Item Boxes would be brought back from 8 Deluxe, but this time the player would be able to swap between their items if they happen to be carrying two at once, much like in Double Dash. Unlike that game, though, this mechanic would be available in both Normal and Double Dash Mode (see below). Oh, and I would also like to take a page out of Super Smash Bros. and add an item-editor, letting players choose which items will and won't appear during gameplay.
Finally, I would like to revert the way item impacts work to the way they were in Double Dash; the amount of invincibility frames you have upon getting hit would be increased, and you wouldn't lose as much of your speed.
New Items:
Changes made to existing items:
Miscellaneous:
Characters:
To keep things simple, let's just say almost every racer from the series' history would make a return, including the few new ones added to Mario Kart Tour. The only exception would be the Baby characters; adding Baby Mario and Luigi to Double Dash was a cool novelty at first, but they've greatly overstayed their welcome, and some of the babies were seemingly only made for Mario Kart, which just proves how pointless they are.
As much as I dislike Tour, I did like its idea to include palette swaps, but I want these to be accessible via drop-down menus that appear when selecting a character, like the colored Yoshis and Shy Guys. Plus, it would allow more than one player to pick the same character in local multiplayer for once, like in Smash. All characters that are just variants of existing ones would be listed under this category, including the two sexes of Villager and Inkling, the Koopalings (who would become palette swaps of Bowser Jr.), Dry Bowser, and the Metal characters. I don't care if their animations and stats are different; I don't want or need to have four Marios in my roster.
New Characters:
New Character Skins:
Vehicles:
Just like with the characters, I want every vehicle and kart part from series history to return, alongside a slew of new ones (I can't think of any right now, okay?). Kart customization would return once again, but this time with the ability to save part combinations.
Once again, every character would be able to use any vehicle combination from the get-go, although this time the vehicles have no stats and are purely cosmetic. Instead, the way each kart drives depends solely on the stats of the character inside it.
Tracks:
Again, all of them return from the previous installments, with the addition of at least 16 original ones. The Retro tracks would all have updated graphics and be revised to take advantage of antigravity, gliding, and underwater travel (assuming they haven't already). They would also be sorted into cups based on the games they came from, but with a scrambled order so you're not just playing the same cups as in the original games.
I also want to see the return of All Cup Tour from Double Dash.
New Track Ideas:
Modes:
I don't think any huge changes need to be made to the Grand Prix, Time Trial, or VS modes, so they'll be left out of this. Only change I'd make to VS mode is the removal of the mandatory race count. Instead, after each race, the players would go back to the character select screen. Custom rulesets and the option to race in teams would both return.
Double Dash Mode:
This would be an available feature for the Grand Prix, Time Trials, VS, and Battle Modes. As one could guess, it lets the player choose any two racers per kart, and all of those old mechanics that came with it... except for the slippery physics. In this mode, the player would have access to all of the game's tracks and battle maps, but to minimize the chaos, the amount of vehicles present in a race or battle would be reduced from 12 to 8, like in the original game.
Unlike in the original game, and since karts lack stats in this game, the vehicle's stats would change depending on which of the two characters is currently doing the driving.
Mission Mode:
Making a much needed return from Mario Kart DS, but it would be considerably longer and possibly harder. Maybe some of the new missions could require the Double Dash Mode?
Adventure Mode:
Taking a page out of both Diddy Kong Racing and The Subspace Emissary. The plot wouldn't be particularly deep, but it would have plenty of cutscenes. The player would have to drive through actual levels that don't lap (a la Mount Wario), and fight bosses with items. Completing this mode would also be an easy way to unlock most of the characters and kart parts, just in case a player doesn't feel like working too hard to do that.
Battle Mode:
Easily the most divisive aspect of the series, so here's hoping I can please everyone. We'll start with the Battle Mode from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a base, and simply add onto it. For one thing, we're gonna bring back the elimination style of Battle Mode from the earlier entries, but as an option for both online and offline play. There would also be options to adjust or shut off the time limit, and choose the number of CPUs.
Oh, and of course, all Battle Courses from the previous installments will return here, alongside some new ones.
As for the modes themselves...
Conclusion:
So, uh, yeah. That about wraps it up. Hope you all like my suggestions!
General Stuff:
- This game would be designed to cater to fans of all the previous installments.
- I'm not gonna bother listing what system this would appear on, given Nintendo's unpredictable nature as of late, but I can only assume there would be HD graphics, live recorded music, and online play.
- When we get to discussing things such as characters and tracks, I'm just gonna assume we're getting a "Mario Kart Ultimate" (an idea I'm honestly kind of indifferent to), since that would be easier than trying to curate two whole rosters. Original ideas will still be listed, however.
Gameplay Changes:
Mechanics:
I don't think things need to change much from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as that game boasts a pretty solid engine already. However, there's one big change I want to make to the Drifting mechanics. I'd like to see Automatic and Manual drifting return from Mario Kart Wii, but with some differences:
- Automatic: Drifting occurs automatically, just by turning, but instead of just screeching and stirring up dust like in Wii, it would instead form Mini-Turbos (including their Super and Ultra variants), behaving much like they do in that installment.
- Manual: Drifting behaves the same way it does in Mario Kart: Double Dash and Mario Kart DS, but with the added ability to perform Ultra Mini-Turbos.
I would also like to explore the idea of karts being able to skim the surface of deep bodies of water, instead of just driving under them. Maybe there could be water sections where you can choose whether to drive on top or at the bottom, like by driving over certain panels or something.
Items:
Every item from the main installments would be brought back here, alongside the Hammer, Bubble, and Ice Flower from Mario Kart Tour. The only exception would be the Fireball, but that's only because already we have the Fire Flower. This would also include the Special Items from Double Dash, but unlike before, every item is universal. But since I still liked the concept of special items, I figured I'd compromise by taking a page out of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (that game's good, shut up); in this game, every character would be able to use every item, but the effects of certain ones would be improved if they're used by certain drivers. I'm not gonna bother listing all those effects here, but feel free to make some suggestions in the comments.
Double Item Boxes would be brought back from 8 Deluxe, but this time the player would be able to swap between their items if they happen to be carrying two at once, much like in Double Dash. Unlike that game, though, this mechanic would be available in both Normal and Double Dash Mode (see below). Oh, and I would also like to take a page out of Super Smash Bros. and add an item-editor, letting players choose which items will and won't appear during gameplay.
Finally, I would like to revert the way item impacts work to the way they were in Double Dash; the amount of invincibility frames you have upon getting hit would be increased, and you wouldn't lose as much of your speed.
New Items:
- Metal Box: Turns the character into metal for a short time, letting them take hits (Green Shells would harmlessly bounce off like they do with walls) and bump into other racers without flinching, albeit at only 75% of their top speed. This item would only be available to players who are near the middle of the pack.
- Dry Shell: Behaves like the Red Shell, but also homes in on racers behind you; it will even home in on the racer in last place if the frontrunner throws it in front of them. Upon hitting anything, the shell will fall apart, before reassembling and homing in on the nearest racer; the shell can land three hits before disappearing for good. Unlike its red and green counterparts, it never appears in triples.
Changes made to existing items:
- Fake Item Box: Its appearance would be reverted to the way it looked in Mario Kart DS.
- Mega Mushroom: Behaves the way it does in Mario Kart Tour.
- Lightning Cloud: Does not activate instantaneously. This change only applies to races, but not to Battle Mode (see below).
- Blooper: Scatters ink puddles on the track and reverses racers' controls, in addition to splattering the screen.
- Cape Feather: No longer exclusive to Battle Mode.
- Coin: No longer found in Item Boxes (just having them on the track is enough), and there is no limit as to how many the player can grab, although grabbing more than ten will have no effect.
Miscellaneous:
- The methods of unlocking stuff would be a lot more diverse, akin to the way they were in Mario Kart Wii. One of my biggest gripes with 7 and 8 was the fact that everything was too easy and quick to unlock, and there was hardly any incentive to check out all the modes aside from the fun factor alone.
Characters:
To keep things simple, let's just say almost every racer from the series' history would make a return, including the few new ones added to Mario Kart Tour. The only exception would be the Baby characters; adding Baby Mario and Luigi to Double Dash was a cool novelty at first, but they've greatly overstayed their welcome, and some of the babies were seemingly only made for Mario Kart, which just proves how pointless they are.
As much as I dislike Tour, I did like its idea to include palette swaps, but I want these to be accessible via drop-down menus that appear when selecting a character, like the colored Yoshis and Shy Guys. Plus, it would allow more than one player to pick the same character in local multiplayer for once, like in Smash. All characters that are just variants of existing ones would be listed under this category, including the two sexes of Villager and Inkling, the Koopalings (who would become palette swaps of Bowser Jr.), Dry Bowser, and the Metal characters. I don't care if their animations and stats are different; I don't want or need to have four Marios in my roster.
New Characters:
- Professor E. Gadd
- Cappy
- King K. Rool
- Kritter
- Goomba
- Toadsworth
- Kiddy Kong
- Kamek
New Character Skins:
- Tanooki Rosalina
- Fire Peach
- Toadbert
- Fury Bowser
- Meowser
- Daisy's Super Mario Strikers outfit
- Peach's default outfit from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- Gooigi
- Super Kong
Vehicles:
Just like with the characters, I want every vehicle and kart part from series history to return, alongside a slew of new ones (I can't think of any right now, okay?). Kart customization would return once again, but this time with the ability to save part combinations.
Once again, every character would be able to use any vehicle combination from the get-go, although this time the vehicles have no stats and are purely cosmetic. Instead, the way each kart drives depends solely on the stats of the character inside it.
Tracks:
Again, all of them return from the previous installments, with the addition of at least 16 original ones. The Retro tracks would all have updated graphics and be revised to take advantage of antigravity, gliding, and underwater travel (assuming they haven't already). They would also be sorted into cups based on the games they came from, but with a scrambled order so you're not just playing the same cups as in the original games.
I also want to see the return of All Cup Tour from Double Dash.
New Track Ideas:
- A track based on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. We've already had one based on Returns, so why not?
- A track based on the Comet Observatory.
- A track inspired by one of Super Mario Odyssey's Kingdoms. No preference.
- Bowser's Castle: Based on the aesthetic of Bowser's Kingdom from Odyssey, but with added airships to drive on.
- Rainbow Road: This one would take place during the day, and its background aesthetics would be based on Rainbow Ride from Super Mario 64.
Modes:
I don't think any huge changes need to be made to the Grand Prix, Time Trial, or VS modes, so they'll be left out of this. Only change I'd make to VS mode is the removal of the mandatory race count. Instead, after each race, the players would go back to the character select screen. Custom rulesets and the option to race in teams would both return.
Double Dash Mode:
This would be an available feature for the Grand Prix, Time Trials, VS, and Battle Modes. As one could guess, it lets the player choose any two racers per kart, and all of those old mechanics that came with it... except for the slippery physics. In this mode, the player would have access to all of the game's tracks and battle maps, but to minimize the chaos, the amount of vehicles present in a race or battle would be reduced from 12 to 8, like in the original game.
Unlike in the original game, and since karts lack stats in this game, the vehicle's stats would change depending on which of the two characters is currently doing the driving.
Mission Mode:
Making a much needed return from Mario Kart DS, but it would be considerably longer and possibly harder. Maybe some of the new missions could require the Double Dash Mode?
Adventure Mode:
Taking a page out of both Diddy Kong Racing and The Subspace Emissary. The plot wouldn't be particularly deep, but it would have plenty of cutscenes. The player would have to drive through actual levels that don't lap (a la Mount Wario), and fight bosses with items. Completing this mode would also be an easy way to unlock most of the characters and kart parts, just in case a player doesn't feel like working too hard to do that.
Battle Mode:
Easily the most divisive aspect of the series, so here's hoping I can please everyone. We'll start with the Battle Mode from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a base, and simply add onto it. For one thing, we're gonna bring back the elimination style of Battle Mode from the earlier entries, but as an option for both online and offline play. There would also be options to adjust or shut off the time limit, and choose the number of CPUs.
Oh, and of course, all Battle Courses from the previous installments will return here, alongside some new ones.
As for the modes themselves...
- Balloon Battle: Behaves the same way as in 8 Deluxe, in which the player must pop other racers' balloons to score points, and lose points if they get hit. If elimination is turned on, then anyone who loses all their balloons will respawn as a Bob-Omb like in Mario Kart 64, with the ability to explode once.
- Coin Runners: Again, plays the way it does in 8 Deluxe, but takes a page out of DS's Shine Runners if elimination is turned on; any characters who haven't reached a certain coin threshold within a span of time will be eliminated and respawn as a Bob-Omb.
- Shine Thief: You know the drill, but if elimination is turned on, then players who haven't held the Shine Sprite for at least a certain number of seconds will be knocked out and respawn as a Bob-Omb.
- Bob-Omb Blast: Not many changes to speak of. If elimination is turned on, then any racer who has taken more hits than they've dealt within a span of time will be cut.
- Renegade Roundup: No changes to this one.
- Thunder Buddies (new): Basically the reverse of Shine Thief, taking inspiration from hot potato. At the start of the battle, all racers will automatically receive an Item Box, with the Lightning Cloud randomly landing in one racer's hands and automatically activating. From there, everyone else must try to avoid them, stunning them with items. Like in Mario Kart Wii, if the player hits an opponent, then they will pass the cloud to them. In Time mode, then whoever held the cloud for the longest within the allotted time will lose; in Stock mode, then whoever holds the cloud and fails to get rid of it for at least 30 seconds will be eliminated, respawning as a Bob-Omb. Furthermore, if the team option is turned on, then the 30 seconds of holding the cloud will be collectively shared among your teammates.
Conclusion:
So, uh, yeah. That about wraps it up. Hope you all like my suggestions!
Last edited:
