Truck

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
(Redirected from Cargo truck)
Jump to navigationJump to search
This article is about the vehicles in the Mario Kart series that act as obstacles for racers. For the car haulers that act as ramps, typically with Dash Panels on them, see Dash panel ramp truck.

In the Mario Kart series, trucks[1] appear as obstacles in urban- or highway-themed courses. They typically travel at a constant speed along with the rest of the traffic. They always follow a set path; when traveling along a multi-lane road with other traffic, they will typically drive in the middle of their respective lanes and use turn signals if switching lanes, making their behavior very predictable. If the player hits a moving truck, they will usually flip over. They cannot be destroyed or removed, but they can usually be launched into the air by driving into them while using a Super Star, Bullet Bill, or Chain Chomp, or by hitting them with a Super Horn, Super Bell, Giga Bob-omb, Spiny Shell, or Bowser Shell. Moving trucks may also honk their horns if they hit an item or the player.

Three types of trucks appear most commonly across the series: cargo trucks,[2] pickup trucks (which often drag along a surfboard that racers can use as a ramp), and dash panel ramp trucks.

History[edit]

Mario Kart series[edit]

Mario Kart 64[edit]

The icon for Toad's Turnpike, from Mario Kart 64.
Cargo trucks in Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64

Moving trucks first appear in Mario Kart 64, exclusive to Toad's Turnpike. The course features a plain gray cargo truck, a flatbed truck carrying white boxes, another flatbed truck carrying planks of wood, and a pale turquoise oil tanker. The flatbeds and cargo trucks share the engine sound of Donkey Kong's Kart, and the oil tankers share their engine sound with Wario and Bowser's Karts. If a player hits a truck, they will not lose their item. In this game only, trucks will haphazardly drive between lanes and cannot be launched or otherwise moved by any means.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]

Cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, on Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City. Both courses can feature three different cargo trucks. One of the trucks is an Express truck, which has a letter and a parcel on the side alongside a P-Wing, and SMB3 on the number plate, referencing the game in which the P-Wing first appeared. There is also an orange Super Chocolate truck, which has the name styled similarly to the logo of the first Super Mario Bros. game, two 8-bit jumping Mario sprites on the back doors, an 8-bit Koopa Troopa and two 8-bit Goombas on the side and W1-1 on the number plate. There is also a light-green Moo Moo Farm truck, with a Moo Moo depicted on the side, and "1-UP" on the number plate. If a truck is lifted into the air, it stops moving, whereas in future games, the truck continues to move even in the air. In this game only, if a player hits a truck, they will spin out and not lose their item.

Mario Kart DS[edit]

Cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart DS, on Shroom Ridge and the returning retro course GCN Mushroom Bridge. Both courses feature two types of trucks, one which is blue and apparently transports fruits, and one for the company Fresh. These new cargo trucks replace the old ones from the original Mushroom Bridge. If a player hits a truck, they will lose their item.

Mario Kart Wii[edit]

Wario racing on Moonview Highway in Mario Kart Wii's second competition of April 2010.
A cargo truck in Moonview Highway from Mario Kart Wii

Cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart Wii, exclusive to Moonview Highway. There are three different trucks that appear in this course, a blue cow print truck for Moo Moo Dairy, a green building block patterned one for Factory and an orange pineapple patterned one for Coconut Fruit. Their number plates are SMB3, 1UP and W1-1 respectively. These trucks have the same front body and license plates as the trucks from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. However, their speed is dependent on which part of the track they are on, a behavior exclusive to Moonview Highway. If the player hits a truck head on, the player will be squashed by the truck in the same way as being run over by someone with a Mega Mushroom, and will have a lower speed and drive flat for a short while, and hitting the back or side of a truck will cause the player to flip over as usual. In both cases, the player will typically lose their item. Unlike the other traffic on Moonview Highway, driving into a truck while using a Mega Mushroom will not launch them; the trucks will instead act as walls.

Mario Kart 7[edit]

Cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart 7 on Wuhu Loop, however they have a significantly different appearance in this game. The trucks that appear in Mario Kart 7 are three wheeled yellow pickup trucks, and are about the same size as the cars, much smaller than its appearances in previous games. If a player hits a truck, they will not lose their item.

Additionally, the first stationary vehicle appears on Maka Wuhu at the beginning of the track. Unlike all other stationary vehicles, its appearance is chosen at random, meaning it can either appear as a car or as a pickup truck.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

A close-up screenshot of a truck carrying a surfboard in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Shy Guy driving towards a truck carrying a surfboard in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Moving cargo trucks also appear on the retro tracks N64 Toad's Turnpike in Mario Kart 8 as well as DS Shroom Ridge, Tour Berlin Byways, and Wii Moonview Highway in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, alongside a few other types of truck, including the dash panel ramp truck. The cargo trucks on N64 Toad's Turnpike can display different sponsors at random, namely Burning DK, Iggy's Glass, Moo Moo Meadows Milk, Propeller Toad Transport, Shell Cup, and Mario Kart 8; however, all of them feature Wario Motors logos on the front. Cargo trucks on the other aforementioned courses always display Propeller Toad Transport designs. If a player hits any kind of truck, they will not lose their item, and if they were not driving fast enough they will not flip out either. On N64 Toad's Turnpike only, some cargo trucks also include ramps on the roof which can be accessed after using a dash panel ramp truck. The unlockable Stamp for N64 Toad's Turnpike is a cargo truck.

Moving pickup trucks appear in the same courses listed above, although they are absent in the Battle Mode version of N64 Toad's Turnpike in Mario Kart 8. Each of them has a surfboard atop them that they drag along, which functions as a ramp that racers can drive up and trick off of, like with a dash panel ramp truck. The vehicles themselves are purple with Super Marine World, Waluigi Sea Bed, and Cheep Cheep Beach stickers on them, while the surfboards are yellow with a red flame pattern at the end and a Red Shell Strike Equipment sticker on them. In this game, pickup trucks are immune to Super Horns.

Urchin Underpass also features moving cargo trucks, though they are outside the track and thus of no consequence to the player.

A stationary truck also appears on Sunshine Airport; unlike other trucks in the series, it is a ground support equipment truck with Propeller Toad Transport branding. It has a set of passenger boarding stairs on top, which racers can trick off of. Numerous courses also feature stationary trucks outside the track.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

Truck with Piranha Plant
A truck with a Piranha Plant in its bed in Mario Kart Tour

Moving cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart Tour on GCN Mushroom Bridge and Wii Moonview Highway as well as the latter course's R and T variants. In this game, instead of making racers flip over, moving trucks simply slow them down as a wall would; they are otherwise similar to those of previous Mario Kart games. When taken out by a player, they give "Truck" bonus points.

Moving pickup trucks also appear on DS Shroom Ridge and its R variant, and Tour Berlin Byways as well as the latter course's R and T variants. As with their Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe appearances, some pickup trucks carry a surfboard that acts as a ramp, with one or two additional coins on top of it for drivers to collect. These trucks are orange, and their surfboards are white with two arrow decals near their tip, pointing forward. On Berlin Byways 3, DS Shroom Ridge, and DS Shroom Ridge R, pink-colored pickup trucks each carry a Piranha Plant which lunges at racers from a pipe casing. On Berlin Byways 3R, the pickup truck is empty.

Stationary cargo trucks also appear on GCN Mushroom Bridge R and R/T, Wii Moonview Highway T, New York Minute T, New York Minute 2T and 2R/T, New York Minute 4T, Bangkok Rush, and Bangkok Rush 2R. Additionally, on each variant of New York Minute 4, there is at least one cargo truck with the property of having two trailers, making it much longer than any other cargo truck in the series. Stationary trucks cannot be launched by any means and merely act as walls, though some cargo trucks have simple ramps on top. Stationary pickup trucks also appear on DS Shroom Ridge R/T, Sydney Sprint T, Bangkok Rush 3, and Madrid Drive 3R/T. In each instance, the pickup trucks are pink. On Shroom Ridge R/T and Bangkok Rush 3, they carry surfboards. On Bangkok Rush 3, they are used as ramps to reach the roof of parked tuk-tuks. Their design is different from that of the trucks in Berlin Byways 3, and it is closer to their Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe design; the vehicles are pink-colored and the surfboards have a yellow color fading to black with a white flame pattern at the top. On Sydney Sprint T, the pickup truck is empty. On Madrid Drive 3R/T, they carry Inky Piranha Plants. Numerous other courses and course variants feature stationary trucks outside the track.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games[edit]

Cargo trucks appear in Roller Coaster Bobsleigh in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, where they function similarly to how they do in the Mario Kart series. If the player hits one, they will spin out and slow down. Stationary trucks also appear as platforms in the side-view segments of the event.

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese トラック[1]
Torakku
Truck

Chinese (simplified) 卡车[1]
Kǎchē
Truck

Chinese (traditional) 卡車[1]
Kǎchē
Truck

French Camion[1]
Truck
German Lkw[1]
Truck
Italian Camion[1]
Truck
Korean 트럭[1]
Teureog
Truck

Portuguese caminhão[1] (cargo truck)
Caminhão[1] (pickup truck)
Truck
Spanish Camión[1]
Truck

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mario Kart Tour in-game name
  2. ^ Musa, Alexander (May 30, 2014). "It’s possible to land on top of some cargo trucks and Jump Boost off the ramps at the front of the cargo container." – Mario Kart 8 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Page 164. Prima Games.