Mario Kart Wii

Not to be confused with Mario Kart (Wii/DS).

Mario Kart Wii
United States box art Wii Wheel bundle box For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Wii
Release dates	Wii (original release): April 10, 2008 April 11, 2008 April 24, 2008 April 27, 2008 April 27, 2008 July 12, 2008 July 12, 2008 April 30, 2009 Wii (Nintendo Selects): October 18, 2013 November 7, 2013 August 28, 2014
Languages	English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Korean Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Racing
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone CERO: - All ages PEGI: - Three years and older USK: - All ages RARS: - All ages ClassInd: - General audience[?] GRAC: - All ages ACB: - General
Modes	Single player, multiplayer, online play
Format	Wii: Optical disc
Input	Wii: Wii Remote Wii Remote and Nunchuk Classic Controller Nintendo GameCube Controller Wii Wheel
Serial codes	RVL-RMCJ-JPN RVL-RMCE-USA

Mario Kart Wii is a multiplayer-oriented racing game from the Mario Kart series for the Wii, developed by Nintendo EAD. Mario Kart Wii retains the traditional premise of the franchise, with players selecting Super Mario–franchise characters to use as drivers alongside themed vehicles. As with most racing games, the overarching goal is to place first among competitors, achieved by using item-based weaponry common to the series and taking the fastest routes to secure the lead. Several new key elements introduced in Mario Kart Wii include increasing the number of racers per race from eight to twelve, tricks, and a new vehicle type to the franchise: bikes. The game takes advantage of features unique to the Wii, most notably its motion-control capabilities. A Wii Wheel was included in most releases, though the game is still compatible with other controllers such as a regular Wii Remote held sideways, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Nintendo GameCube controller, and the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. Additional game modes are also present, including the traditional Grand Prix, Versus, Battle, and Time Trial modes.

This game requires 23 blocks of storage on the player's Wii system to save game data. The game's data cannot be copied onto another Wii, making this the only game in the Mario Kart series where data cannot be transferred between consoles. The game also includes its own Wii Channel, called the Mario Kart Channel, which allows players to play in special tournaments and trade their racing profile with other players around the world. This channel uses 74 to 88 blocks (depending on the game's region), but unlike with the game data, players can copy the channel onto their SD cards.

With over 37 million copies of the game sold, Mario Kart Wii is the second-best-selling Wii game and Mario Kart game (after Wii Sports and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, respectively) and the best-selling Super Mario game for the Wii console.

The game supported Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online multiplayer play until the service was terminated by Nintendo on May 20, 2014.

Gameplay

The game's main title screen. If one or more profiles have gotten first place on every cup on every class, including Mirror Mode, the title screen will change from Mario and Luigi using the Wii Wheel to individual pictures of Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Bowser.

This map shows all the countries listed in Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in Mario Kart Wii. Not all regions registered on the Wii system are registered in the game. Some countries that have lost their independence, such as Aruba, Sint Maarten, and Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles), as well as others that have disappeared or disintegrated, are still registered as separate regions in the Wii system or the game. In addition, South Sudan and Sudan are registered together as "Sudan" as they did not separate until 2011.

Mario Kart Wii retains most of the elements from previous Mario Kart games, especially Mario Kart DS. Players select a racer from a cast of Super Mario characters, who are all divided into size categories in relation to their stats, and they need to select a vehicle from the class they belong in, all with their own stats. All races start with players at a line corresponding to their proper position, where Lakitu signals the countdown time. Once the time is finished, players race three laps around a race course in an attempt to be first of the pack. Once the third lap is completed, players are ranked points depending on how well they placed in the race. While every previous Mario Kart game allowed for a maximum of eight racers on each course, up to twelve are on the course at a time in Mario Kart Wii. In Grand Prix and VS mode, player characters always start out on the latter positions; once they finish the race, their position is saved as they move on to the next race. Like Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii shows a rating of how well a player performed after the trophy presentation: ★★★, ★★, ★, A, B, C, D, and E (E being the lowest ranking and ★★★ being the highest).

Integral to the Mario Kart series is the usage of Super Mario-themed items to use as weapons against other racers in the track, either directly benefiting the player or hurting another player's progress. Players can receive these items at random from Item Boxes scattered around the track. The power of the item received depends on the position of the racer: racers who are further down the line receive stronger items to help compensate their poorer performances. For examples, lower racers receive Mushrooms as speed boosts, Stars for faster invincibility, etc. while higher-placed racers receive weak items such as Green Shells and Banana Peels. When players receive an item, they can stop the item roulette faster by pressing the corresponding item button.

Several advanced techniques are retained in Mario Kart Wii from prior Mario Kart titles, although several tweaks have been made to them. Players can drift through tougher curves to maintain speed; players can perform a Mini-Turbo when players receive color-coded sparks from drifting, which depends on how long players can hold the button for drifting and the angle at which they drift. Introduced in Mario Kart Wii are two drift modes: Automatic and Manual. Automatic drifting allows players to automatically drift when turning very sharply, though players cannot perform Mini-Turbos regardless of how well they drift. Manual mode requires players hold down a button to drift, but releasing the button may release a Mini-Turbo, the strength of it depending on the color of the sparks. Players are now able to perform tricks when they driver over specific types of ramps. When drivers perform a trick and land successfully, they gain a momentary boost of speed. Tricks consist of mid-air acrobatics and are performed by shaking the Wii Wheel upward, shaking the Wii Remote in the Wii Remote + Nunchuk combo, pressing the on the Classic Controller, or pressing the on the GameCube controller.

Motorbikes are introduced in this game, alongside having a wider variety of karts to select from. Motorbikes can perform wheelies to increase top speed on straights, though motorbikes cannot perform the most powerful Mini-Turbo that karts can. Motorbikes also come in two classes: drift type and hang-on type. Drift type bikes drift in a similar way to karts, while hang-on type bikes commit to the turn instead.

Prior to discontinuation of online services, Mario Kart Wii featured a text chat in Online Multiplayer Mode when racing or battling against Friends. Users could send pre-written phrases to other users before the series of races started. However, there was no facility for a user to type custom messages.

Another new change is the point system used for Grand Prix races. With twelve racers competing in each race, the point value has increased from 10/8/6/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to eighth place respectively to 15/12/10/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to twelfth place respectively. Also, 4th and 5th place are not losing positions. The following chart shows the difference of the point spreads from previous games to this installment.

Game	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Super Mario Kart Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart: Super Circuit	9[a]	6[b]	3[b]	1[b]	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	10[a]	8[b]	6[b]	4	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—
Mario Kart DS	10[a]	8[b]	6[b]	4[c]	3[c]	2[c]	1	0	—	—	—	—
Mario Kart Wii	15[a]	12[b]	10[b]	8[b]	7[b]	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
a. Signifies victory results (great clapping, character(s) cheering), unique finish music, and the best after-race music. b. Signifies moderate results (mild clapping, moderate character reaction) and the same music in Wi-Fi as the winner (different in Mario Kart DS's Grand Prix). c. Signifies mediocre results (minimal character reactions) and music. No note signifies losing results (no clapping, character(s) showing a sad expression) and music.

Controls

Controllers that can be used in Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart Wii takes advantage of the Wii Remote's motion-sensing ability. By tilting the remote, players can steer their karts. Since the Wii Remote is designed to be inserted into the Wii Wheel for better grip, players can also play without the Wheel if they choose to. Mario Kart Wii can also be played by connecting the Nunchuk Controller or the Classic Controller, or using the GameCube Controller. Controlling the vehicle is divided up into two sections: Basic and Advanced.

Action(s)
	Wii Remote (Wii Wheel)	Wii Remote + Nunchuck	Wii Classic Controller	GameCube Controller
Steer	Tilt
Accelerate / Rocket Start
Brake / Drift / Reverse	/		/	/
Use Item
Trick	Shake	Shake
Wheelie	Flick ↑	Flick ↑
Stop Wheelie	Flick ↓	Flick ↓
Rear View			/	/

Basic controls and actions

• Accelerate: When drivers hold down the corresponding button, the vehicle goes forward. Accelerating time depends on the type of karts: Lightweight karts have a high acceleration but low speed. Heavyweight karts tend to have a low acceleration but a high top speed. Middleweight karts tend to have an average top speed and acceleration.
• Steer: Steering lets drivers move around corners.
• Brake: Braking slows the vehicle to an abrupt stop.
• Reverse: The driver's kart goes backwards if the driver continues holding the brake button after the vehicle comes to a stop. If a vehicle reaches maximum top speed, the vehicle will drift instead. If the player tries to accelerate while going in reverse, the vehicle will start to build momentum. When blue sparks start to appear, the player can release the brakes to get a small speed of boost.
• Look Behind: Drivers can look behind their vehicles. In this way, drivers can be alert from other drivers incoming to steal their place. Drivers can also use this feature to see where they are going while backing up, or to aim a weapon at an opponent following up. This feature once appeared in Super Mario Kart.
• Drift: Drivers drift to keep the vehicle's speed and take corners more easily, with the benefit of getting Mini-Turbos. The feature can be set to happen automatically or when a button is held, although Mini-Turbos cannot be obtained on the former setting.

Advanced control modes

Koopa Troopa performing a successful Rocket Start at Koopa Cape

• Rocket Start: Drivers can perform a speed boost when a race begins. If drivers hold down the corresponding acceleration button right after the countdown timer displays the number 2, then they will receive an extra speed boost when the word "GO!" appears on the screen. However, if drivers hold down the button for too long, when the final beep is heard, their engine bursts and they get an even worse start than a regular one and take a few seconds to recover.
• Mini-Turbo: When drivers drift for a reasonable amount of time varying on the vehicle used, blue sparks erupt from the vehicle's rear tires. Releasing the drift button gives them a short burst of speed. In a kart, drivers can keep drifting for longer periods to get orange sparks and a longer boost. However, orange sparks cannot be created on bikes. The amount of time the player must drift also depends on the vehicle's drifting stats. Drivers can also perform a "standing Mini-Turbo" by holding the brake/drift and acceleration buttons at the same time. This is helpful for vehicles with slow acceleration, as it will get the vehicle to top speed. A Mini-Turbo cannot be performed when drifting is set to automatic, but the standing Mini-Turbo can.
• Jumps: If players jump over ramps or mushrooms, the length of the jump can be controlled by (shorter jump) and (longer jump).
• Tricks: Drivers can pull off a trick when they jump in order to gain a momentary Mini-Turbo. Drivers can perform a trick by flicking the Wii Remote, pressing on the Classic Controller, or pressing on the GameCube Controller in any direction when going off a ramp or hill. They obtain a speed boost when landing.
• Wheelie: Wheelies can be performed only when drivers are riding bikes. Drivers can increase their speed by lifting up the fronts of their bikes. While drivers perform a wheelie, the bike cannot be easily steered. The wheelie can be ended by braking, hopping, waiting for the wheelie to end, or simply setting the Wii Wheel or Wii Remote back down or pressing . If drivers are bumped into while they are performing a wheelie, they lose most of their speed. If they wheelie again right as their wheelie runs out, they can get a chain wheelie.
• Bullet Bill: If a driver is flying as a Bullet Bill, its route can be controlled a bit with and . The range may differ for every part of a track.

Licenses

An example of a Mario Kart Wii license.

Licenses replace normal save files. It is the first Mario Kart game to feature more than one save file.

Each license contains each player's data, their Mii, nickname, Friend Code, and a table including all categories and cups with an empty space. After a cup is won, the corresponding space is filled in with a colored square: gold for first place, silver for second, bronze for third. If at any time the Mii being used for Mario Kart Wii is deleted from the Mii Channel, the in-game Mii is also deleted.

Friend roster

A friend roster.

Players can add different people around the world on to their Mario Kart Wii Friend Roster. Two people need to add the Friend Codes on their licenses. A player can have up to 30 people on their Friend Roster.

If two people are friends on a roster, one can open a room, which allows who is ever friends with the person to join that room. In the room, the players who joined can send messages. If a player who added the person who created the room, and another person joins and the player has not added them, they have an ability to do so. The host of the room can choose a VS Race, Team VS Race, Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners.

If a player joins a race when another player is online and friends with them, the player who added the player in the race can join that race and race with the friend.

Modes

In Mario Kart Wii, both normal races and battles were playable online through the use of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC). This was the second game in the series to utilize the WFC, the third to support online connectivity, and the first to allow for online battles. Races and Battles would now cater up to 12 players via Wi-Fi connection.

Luigi in SNES Mario Circuit 3.

Grand Prix

A singleplayer mode where the player races against eleven CPU-controlled opponents to finish in first. There are eight cups to choose from, ranging from the least to the most difficult. Drivers earn points by placing within twelve positions (see chart above). A driver with the most points at the end of the four races wins the cup. The driver will be awarded a grade for their racing performance at the end of the cup. If the character places 4th or under, the screen will say "Better Luck Next Time" as the character sits in their vehicle on a mountain far from the celebration. Grand Prix Mode initially allows only Karts in 50cc and only Bikes in 100cc; if all the Grand Prix's are won in a single engine class, the other vehicle type will become available for it. Mirror Mode is unlocked by scoring first place on all 150cc Grand Prix.

Just like in Mario Kart DS, it is not possible to play Grand Prix with multiple players. Players can now only win cup trophies by playing alone.

Time Trial

A singleplayer mode where the player races for the fastest time on a selected course. The fastest record is saved as a Ghost and can be raced against at a later time. Drivers can also race staff records, Regional Records/Champions, World Records/Champions (Wi-Fi must be used), and Friend Records (Friend must be registered and must send the Ghost for Ghost Races, and Wi-Fi also must be used.)

VS Race

Playble with 1 to 4 players locally, and up to 12 online. Drivers can race with their own custom settings, but it is otherwise relatively the same as Grand Prix, other than the fact that drivers can see the other racers' character's names. The driver may choose a Solo Race, where they try to win for themselves, or Team Race, where two teams, red and blue, try to win by gathering the most points and beating the other.

Battle

Playable with 1 to 4 players locally, and up to 12 online. Drivers team up in two teams of six in a battle for the most points within a 3 minute time limit. Items work only against the opposite team and have no effect on the team that uses them. Players can select only the Standard Kart or Bike, color-coded for the team they are on. There are two ways to battle:

• Balloon Battle: All drivers get three balloons and must use the items to hit the opponents to pop their balloons and get one point for every hit. If drivers lose all their balloons, one point is deducted and Lakitu brings them back to the battle with three balloons once more. If the player uses a mushroom and bumps into a player on the other team with the boost, or hits them with a star, they get a point and steal a balloon.
• Coin Runners: The goal for drivers is to obtain more coins with their team than the other. In the top right corner of the screen, the score shows, which are the coins obtained altogether for each team. If drivers hit opponents, opponents drop their Coins. The number of Coins dropped depends on the item that hits the player and the number of coins that the player has already gathered.

The Spiny Shell makes its first appearance in Battle Mode in this game, chasing the player of the opposite team with the most points.

Ghost Race

A singleplayer mode played in the Mario Kart Channel. A Time Trial with Ghosts made by players around the world with relatively the same skill level to the actual player.

Tournaments

Main article: List of Mario Kart Wii tournaments

Baby Mario collecting coins in a tournament

Mario Kart Wii introduces a new mode for the Mario Kart series, entitled "Tournaments" (known as "Competitions" in the European version). This mode served as the replacement of Mission Mode from Mario Kart DS. New tournaments were posted twice a month and can be played on the Mario Kart Channel, as long as the Mario Kart Wii disc is in the Wii. Tournaments require an Internet connection and WiiConnect24 to be turned on before they can be played. After a while, a tournament is retired to make room for a new one. However, the rankings of older tournaments can still be viewed on the rankings table. The tournaments began in May 2008 and continued even after all WiiConnect24 services were discontinued on June 28, 2013. The tournament service itself was later discontinued on May 10, 2014, 10 days before the Nintendo WFC servers shut down.

The varieties of tournaments include the following:

• VS Race - A standard VS race; however, race courses were somewhat altered.
• Time Trial - A standard Time Trial; however, race courses were somewhat altered.
• Numbered Gates - The player had to drive through ordered gates as fast as possible.
• Coin Collecting - The player had to collect the coins on the stage as fast as possible.
• Boss Battle - The player had to fight against a special boss.

Characters

The character select screen, with all characters unlocked.

Mario Kart Wii features 12 starting characters, while 14 (if both Mii outfits are counted as separate characters) more can be unlocked for a total of 26 playable characters. Of those characters, Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Funky Kong, Dry Bowser, and Mii (in "Outfit A" and "Outfit B") are playable for the first time in the Mario Kart series, with Baby Daisy, Rosalina, and Dry Bowser making their first playable appearances overall, and Baby Daisy making her first appearance in any game. In addition, Dry Bones is playable in a home console Mario Kart installment for the first time, after previously being playable in Mario Kart DS. Unlike with the past Mario Kart titles, however, the characters are categorized under a size class system, instead of the usual weight class system.

The size classes are as follows:

• Small: Small drivers will drive small vehicles. They usually have good acceleration, handling, and off-road stats, but low top speed and weight.
• Medium: Medium drivers will drive medium-sized vehicles. Most of the karts show average weight and off-road.
• Large: Large drivers will drive large vehicles. They mostly feature high top speed and weight, but low acceleration, handling, and off-road.

Additionally, all the characters in the game have their own set of bonuses that boost certain stats for their vehicles. Units are out of 80, so a stat bonus of 3 would make a stat three points better than normal. Baby Peach and Large Miis have the most stat bonuses, with a total of 15 each. Bowser Jr. has the fewest stat bonuses, with a total of 6. Discounting Miis (which are not selected by CPU racers and do not have a defined weight class), this is the second consecutive game where the player classes are divided evenly, with eight characters in each. Miis' weight class varies depending on the base Mii's height and width, with the stat bonuses also varying based on the corresponding weight class.

Driver	Size	Speed	Weight	Acceleration	Handling	Drift	Off-Road	Mini-Turbo	Unlock criteria
Baby Mario	Small	-	+8	-	+6	-	-	-	Available from the start
Baby Peach (new)	Small	+3	+6	+3	+3	-	-	-	Available from the start
Toad	Small	-	-	+6	-	+6	-	-	Available from the start
Koopa Troopa	Small	-	-	-	+3	-	-	+6	Available from the start
Mario	Medium	-	+6	+2	+2	+3	-	-	Available from the start
Luigi	Medium	+2	+6	-	-	-	-	-	Available from the start
Peach	Medium	+2	-	+5	-	+6	-	-	Available from the start
Yoshi	Medium	-	+3	-	-	+3	+5	-	Available from the start
Wario	Large	-	+3	-	-	-	+3	+6	Available from the start
Waluigi	Large	-	-	+6	-	+5	+3	-	Available from the start
Donkey Kong	Large	-	+3	+2	+2	-	-	+3	Available from the start
Bowser	Large	+2	+5	-	-	+3	-	-	Available from the start
Baby Luigi	Small	+5	+8	-	-	-	-	-	Unlock 8 Expert Staff Ghost Data records in Time Trials / Play 3,150 races / Win 100 WFC Ghost races
Baby Daisy (new)	Small	+5	+6	-	-	-	-	+3	Rank 1 Star or higher in all 50cc Wii Grand Prix Cups / Play 1,950 races
Toadette	Small	+3	-	-	-	-	+6	-	Play Time Trials on all courses / Play 2,550 races / Win 1,000 WFC races
Dry Bones	Small	-	-	+3	-	+3	-	+6	Win the 100cc Leaf Cup / Play 1,050 races
Daisy	Medium	+4	-	-	+2	-	-	+3	Win the 150cc Special Cup / Play 2,850 races
Birdo	Medium	-	+3	-	-	-	+3	+5	Play Time Trials on 16 different courses / Play 1,350 races / Win 250 WFC races
Diddy Kong	Medium	-	-	+3	-	+3	-	+5	Win the 50cc Lightning Cup / Play 450 races
Bowser Jr.	Medium	-	-	-	-	-	+3	+3	Rank 1 Star or higher in all 100cc Retro Grand Prix Cups / Play 3,450 races