Underwater driving

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Revision as of 13:54, August 14, 2022 by PikaSamus (talk | contribs) (Added Super Mario Kart information. I don't know exact timing, but it seems about 4 seconds.)
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Artwork for Mario Kart 7 depicting Mario driving underwater

Underwater driving is a game mechanic in the Mario Kart series. It was first introduced in Mario Kart 7, and has appeared in all later games since. When drivers are underwater, a small propeller will pop out from the back of the kart, and some of the driver's statistics are changed.

Underwater driving is implemented on new courses, classic courses and battle courses. Various other mechanics such as anti-gravity and Jump Boosts also appear in underwater sections, though gliding is automatically canceled when entering the water. Various underwater enemies such as Cheep Cheeps and Sidesteppers can also be found in the water. Prior to the introduction of underwater driving, entering deep water will usually respawn or slow down the player. When the player is underwater, the music is slightly altered, though there are courses that have their own arrangements for underwater sections.

Although the mechanic was introduced in Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast features a similar mechanic, where the players could race underwater by riding on Enguarde the Swordfish or via their barrels. It is featured in Salty Sea, Shimmering Sea and Open Ocean.

In Super Mario Kart, if a driver goes into the water, they can drive underwater for about four seconds until Lakitu pulls them out. This allows them to potentially get back onto the racecourse without needing Lakitu.

In-game statistics

Main articles: Mario Kart 7 in-game statistics, Mario Kart 8 in-game statistics, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in-game statistics

In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, when driving underwater, the handling, speed and drifting of most drivers, karts and tires are different than usual. Karts such as the Biddybuggy will become faster underwater while karts such as the Gold Standard will be slowed down. The mechanic is not featured in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.

Courses with underwater segments

Larry Koopa races in the underwater portion of the Water Park stage in Mario Kart 8.
Lemmy driving underwater on Water Park
Penguin Luigi, Red Koopa (Freerunning), Gold Koopa (Freerunning), and Koopa Troopa tricking in Mario Kart Tour
Drivers tricking underwater on 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon

Courses with normally optional segments are marked with an asterisk (*).

DS Palm Shore is the only battle course to include underwater driving, while Dolphin Shoals is the only course to start underwater.

In Mario Kart Tour, SNES Vanilla Lake 2 and SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2 have unaccessible underwater areas. Both areas can only be entered by falling into them during Glider Challenges.[1]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ [1]