April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017[1] April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017[2] December 15, 2017[3] December 15, 2017[4] March 16, 2020[5]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a racing game for the Nintendo Switch, and the first Mario game overall for the console. It is a port in the Mario Kart series, being a port of Mario Kart 8 from the Wii U. It has additional features such as several new characters and features more options for Battle Mode. First teased in the Switch's announcement video on October 20, 2016, the game was formally announced as part of the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 13, 2017.
Mario driving with smart-steering activated, indicated by the antenna at the back of the kart.
The game features most of the base and DLC content of Mario Kart 8. Content excluded includes Miiverse compatibility, stamps, and the ability to upload highlight reels on YouTube - all of which were discontinued on the Wii U version when Miiverse was terminated on November 7, 2017. Battle Mode has been significantly altered.
Characters that were originally unlockable or exclusive to downloadable content in Mario Kart 8 are available from the start in this game, marking the largest starting roster of any Mario Kart game.
Characters can now carry up to two items at once, even if they do not drag the first item, and the game features the return of the Double Item Box from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The game also introduces Smart Steering and auto-accelerate for beginners; the former makes driving and staying on the track easier, while the latter makes the vehicle automatically accelerate. If the Smart Steering mode is on, the player's vehicle will have an antenna sticking out of its rear end; this antenna blinks and bends when Smart Steering is activated. There is also an additional level of Mini-Turbo, called Ultra Mini-Turbo, denoted by purple (pink in the British English version) sparks that appear after the orange sparks. This new level of Mini-Turbo can only be used if Smart Steering is off.
200cc engine class for Time Trials has been added (separately recorded from the 150cc Time Trials). There are new staff ghosts for 200cc, while some of the 150cc staff ghosts have slightly different times compared to the original.
The game also features an in-game guide, directly accessible from the game's menu; this guide explains various techniques, battle mode and the functions of each item. There is also an option to change character and vehicle combinations during an online lobby without having to leave; this is done by pressing ( when playing with a single Joy-Con) during the course selection screen of an online lobby. The game also has reduced loading times when compared to the Wii U game.
There are more character weight classes when compared to the Wii U game, with several returning characters having different statistics, thus resulting in fewer characters having the same stats as each other. Similarly, the statistics of some vehicle parts have been altered, and certain physics elements, such as the speed increase per stat and the acceleration tiers, have been adjusted.
Red Shells and Spiny Shells are now slower when they lock onto their target, meaning players are able to outrun them in 200cc when they have any kind of speed boost. The pathing and drifting patterns for the CPU racers have been adjusted to accommodate for the 200cc engine class.
CPU players now have a chance to obtain Triple Red Shells from item boxes. However, this primarily only happens in the Shells Only item setting.
Online lobbies have been changed in that players playing Worldwide or Regional VS Race between 1000 VR and 3000 VR will be randomized either a 100cc or 150cc race, and starting at over 3000 VR, players will now be randomized a 150cc, Mirror, or even 200cc race.
Mii characters in the original Wii U version would wear their normal outfits in online lobbies. However, in the Nintendo Switch version, they wear racing attire instead.
The game now mostly renders in native 1920x1080 resolution in TV mode (sometimes switching to native 1728x972), and always renders at native 1280x720 resolution in Tabletop and Handheld Mode, instead of the dynamic 1280x720/1152x648 rendering resolution used in the original Wii U version. Motion blur when boosting is present in LAN and online mode, and in earlier builds, it was also present in splitscreen.[6] The shadows present in the game are of higher quality in multiplayer.
If a Blooper is about to ink the player as they cross the finish line, the player will now still get inked.[7] This is unlike the Wii U version, where the Blooper or the ink disappeared instead. Characters also no longer verbally react when they are inked by a Blooper.
The course map color on the race tracks is now white instead of blue, including the maps of all three Rainbow Roads and GCN Baby Park, which originally had multiple colors. However, the battle stages have color shaded areas and lines on their maps to make it easier for players to determine where they are. The character icons on the course map are now slightly larger, more detailed, and are of a higher resolution. In a race, the first place player no longer has a crown on their mini-map icon, though they still do in battles. When a Bob-omb or Spiny Shell explodes, its explosion is now shown on the course map. When in local splitscreen multiplayer, there will only be one map in the center of the screen, rather than each player having their own copy of the map like in the Wii U version.
All courses that feature confetti flying around the start/finish line, such as Mario Circuit, now also have confetti on the ground of the course near it.[8]
When using the rearview mirror, the character will now move their eyes slightly to the left to look back, like how they do in Mario Kart Wii; however, their eyes will stay looking to the left as long as the rearview is active, rather than switching back after a second like in Mario Kart Wii.
When playing with teams, flags colored to correspond to the teams are added behind the vehicles. If Smart Steering is on, then the Smart Steering antenna serves as the pole of the flag. These flags do not appear in Balloon Battle nor Bob-omb Blast, as the color of the balloons show the teams in these modes.
During online race lobbies, the engine class for the upcoming race is now shown as the course is selected, via "100", "150", a mirrored "150" (for Mirror) or "200" icons in the bottom right of the selected course icon. This extends to online battle lobbies, which will display a yellow balloon (Balloon Battle), a potted Piranha Plant (Renegade Roundup), a Coin (Coin Runners), a Shine Sprite (Shine Thief), or a Bob-omb (Bob-omb Blast) to denote which battle mode is about to be played.
Players can now see the lap count or timer when spectating an online race or battle respectively. However, it is no longer possible to see the lap count when crossing the finish line nor the full results in multiplayer (including online lobbies) at the end of the race while watching replay videos via Mario Kart TV.
Inkling Girl, Link, Mario, and Isabelle in Battle Stadium.
The biggest change made between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the original release of Mario Kart 8 is the Battle Mode. Battle Mode now returns to the arena-based battle and unlike previous games, each player starts with five balloons, as opposed to three. Another addition to Battle Mode is that the character in the lead now wears a crown, unlike in Mario Kart 8 where the crown is displayed only on the HUD map. Additionally, players now start out with zero points instead of Mario Kart 8's default three points, and their balloons do not serve as the remaining three points. Returning from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 is the ability to respawn after all balloons are popped; this causes the player's total score to halve and the player respawns with three balloons instead of five. A new addition to this mode is the feature to tell exactly which character hit whom, which appears on the bottom of the screen. Furthermore, after getting hit, players now have about 1.5 seconds of invincibility frames, unlike in Mario Kart 8. The item options also appear to have been updated; alongside the "Frantic Items" option, which chooses rare items more frequently, a "Skilled Items" option is also available for selection, which chooses only offensive items; in this mode, powerful items appear less frequently, similar to Mario Kart Wii's "Strategic" ("Basic" in the PAL version) item option.
There are five different Battle Mode types:
Balloon Battle: The classic mode where players use items to pop opponents' balloons or steal them in order to score points. This mode now uses the point-based set-up seen in Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart 7, rather than the survival set-up of Mario Kart 8 and earlier installments prior to Mario Kart Wii.
Renegade Roundup: A new mode in the vein of "cops and robbers", with the racers being divided into two teams. One team, known as "The Authorities", has to use Piranha Plant items (which are permanently attached to the front of their vehicle and only serve to capture the opposing team; they do not operate like the regular item) in order to capture players from the other team, known as "The Renegades". Captured Renegades are placed into one of several jail cells floating above various points on the stage. Remaining Renegades can free their teammates by driving over a key switch placed below the jail cells. The Renegades win if at least one member is still running free when time runs out, and the Authorities win if all of the Renegades get captured. All Authority team members also temporarily lose their ability to capture after being hit by an item and Renegades receive a speed boost and temporary immunity when they are freed from the cells.
Bob-omb Blast: A returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, in which players attack one another using Bob-ombs to score points and can carry up to 10 Bob-ombs. This version follows all of the same rules as Balloon Battle, the difference being that the only items are Bob-ombs.
Coin Runners: Originating in Mario Kart Wii, this mode was last seen in Mario Kart 7. Players must collect Coins scattered across the course in order to have the most by the end of the match. Plays more akin to the Mario Kart Wii version of the mode, with players having no limit to the amount of coins they can collect, as opposed to the 10-coin limit in the Mario Kart 7 version.
Shine Thief: Another returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, one player must retrieve a Shine Sprite and keep hold of it for about 20 seconds, while the opponents use items against whoever has the Shine to force that player to drop it. The driver holding the shine sprite has a slightly reduced top speed. In Team play, one team must collectively manage to hold on to the Shine for about 30 seconds.
There is also the option to randomly select one of the five available modes by choosing "Random Battle".
Eight battle courses are present in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; five new and three retro, replacing the repurposed racetracks used for Battle Mode in the Wii U version.
Similar to regular races, a course introduction scene is now added at the start.
Character select screen at launch (top) and with Gold Mario unlocked after the Ver. 1.6.0 update (bottom)
All base and DLC characters from Mario Kart 8 are present in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Additionally, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features 7 new characters not present in Mario Kart 8, 4 of whom are returning from past games in the series. New characters include additional non-Mario characters with the inclusion of Inklings from Splatoon. Players can choose either the Inkling Girl or Inkling Boy, and they include three selectable colors each; similarly, the two Villagers have also been separated, after being present in the same character slot (with the female Villager being considered a variant of the male one) in Mario Kart 8.[9] Excluding character variants, there are a total of 42 playable characters in this game.
Characters playable in this game that are not playable in the original Mario Kart 8 are listed below.
1 - The character has been previously playable in the Mario Kart series. 2 - This character is a variant of Metal Mario. 3 - This character is unlocked by clearing all cups of the 200cc Grand Prix. 4 - This is the first time this character has been playable in the Mario Kart series. 5 - This character has two additional color variants. 6 - This character is a variant of Link, available in the Ver. 1.6.0 update.
Like in Mario Kart 8, characters have set rivals that consistently appear when racing in Grand Prix races. They are once again restricted to Grand Prix only, not appearing in single player versus or battle mode. Unlike the previous game, more characters have rivals: the twelve characters from the previous game who had rivals retain their rivals in this game, while other characters range from having one to two rivals each, or even none at all.
Computer characters now also choose from a wider variety of kart parts than the original version, such as the Flame Rider and the Sports Coupe. However, they are still restricted to a set amount of body parts per character. A computer Baby Daisy has the tendency to choose a Wild Wiggler with Wood wheels, for example. In total, there are 41 vehicle bodies, 22 tires, and 15 gliders, resulting in up to 13,530 different combinations.
All of the characters in the game (except Gold Mario) have four different combinations of vehicle parts that they can use if they are CPUs. These combinations are listed below.
For the in-game tables from which these values were derived and for the tables to translate those values into the actual statistics used by the game, see Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in-game statistics.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features different statistics with respect to Mario Kart 8.
Statistics shown in the vehicle customization screen[edit]
Just like Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, the game uses "points" ("PT") which are conferred by characters and vehicle parts to determine the final values of the game's statistics. In each statistics, the points given by the character, body, tires, and glider are summed to obtain a final value called "Level" ("Lv") which is then used by a table to convert the level into appropriate physical parameters used by the game. There are a total of 7,560 different stat combinations. The Level of five statistics is displayed in the vehicle customization screen:
Speed: The top speed of the vehicle on land with normal gravity.
Acceleration: how fast the speed increases when holding the acceleration button until top speed has been reached.
Weight: The weight of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher weight knock away vehicles with lower weight.
Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle on land with normal gravity. A higher stat means vehicles turn sharper, and will continue turning normally for longer before automatically initiating a drift.
Traction (Grip in the British English version): The grasp of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher traction slip less on certain terrain and can stay stable on the road better. Not to be confused with handling.
Said Level is represented through bars by adding three points to the sum of points, then dividing the result by four, resulting in values ranging from 0.75 to 5.75. As an example, the process through which the statistics of a certain combination of character and vehicle parts are calculated and displayed is shown below:
Drivers are still grouped into small groups of characters sharing the same statistics, the number of groups has been increased with respect to Mario Kart 8.
In addition to the statistics shown in the vehicle customization screen, there are the following statistics:
Water Speed: The top speed of the vehicle while driving underwater.
Air Speed: The top speed of the vehicle while gliding.
Anti-Gravity Speed: The top speed of the vehicle in anti-gravity mode.
Water Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle while driving underwater.
Air Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle while gliding.
Anti-Gravity Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle in anti-gravity mode.
Mini-Turbo: The length of the vehicle's mini-turbo speed boosts and how fast mini-turbos can be charged. Also affects the length of jump boosts from tricks.
Just like in Mario Kart 8, Miis can be Light, Medium, or Heavy, depending on their height and weight.
The only unlockable playable character in this game is Gold Mario, who is unlocked by winning all twelve gold cups at 200cc. Once unlocked, he replaces Metal Mario on the character select screen. Metal Mario is from then on treated as a color variant of Gold Mario. The two differ only in their color scheme and the voice clip used when selecting them. Their other voice clips, horn sounds, animations, and statistics are identical.
A vehicle part is randomly unlocked every 30 coins. Once reaching 450 coins this changes to every 50, and once reaching 1500 coins this changes to every 100. Eventually, the last non-gold vehicle part is unlocked on reaching 3100 coins.
There are 48 race courses in the game (including all four cups that were DLC in the original Mario Kart 8), these being the 25 courses introduced in the original game and 23 retro, including two courses from Super Mario Kart, three courses each from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart Wii, and four courses each from Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and Mario Kart 7. It is also the first Mario Kart game since Mario Kart 64 to have all courses available from the start. Names in italics indicate the British English name for the course.
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the times for staff ghosts in 150cc are slightly different from the original Mario Kart 8. Also, unlike the original game, players will not unlock any stamps if they beat the ghosts.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features a new option for players to race in Time Trials in the 200cc engine class. This option also features entirely new staff ghosts for each of the 48 courses.
The Boo and Feather items make a return in this game, functioning as they had previously. All other items from the Wii U version return as well. Also, the item distributions have been altered beside the addition of the new items.
Allows the player to become invisible to other racers for 10 seconds. While invisible, players will also be granted immunity to items and obstacles. Activating the item will also allow Boo to steal an item from a randomly selected racer in front of the player. If there are no items to steal, Boo will bring back a single Mushroom by default. If Boo steals a multiple usage item or a timed item, it will be returned to the player fresh. Boo cannot steal Crazy 8's, or Piranha Plants and Bullet Bills already in use. Only one Boo can be in play at a time; once it brings back an item, another can appear in item boxes again, even while the other player is still invisible. Players who are under the effect of a Super Star or even a Boo are not immune to Boo's item stealing.
Causes the player to spin and leap in the air, providing a small speed boost upon landing, akin to a regular trick (characters will also perform a trick animation during the jump). When used near an opponent, the player steals a balloon, 3 coins, or the Shine Sprite from them, depending on the mode; however, the player needs to touch the opponent to steal from them, either by touching them upon use, or upon landing. Can be used on trickable places to gain more height, though does not grant more height if used while airborne, and cancels the gliding immediately. Exclusive to Battle Mode.
Some of the Mii Racing Suits and amiibo that can be used to unlock them in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
In addition to all of the compatible amiibo in Mario Kart 8 with their respective Mii Racing Suits, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe adds compatibility with amiibo from the Splatoon line, which unlock a Mii Racing Suit based on Splatoon. Additionally, more amiibo can be used to unlock the returning Mii Racing Suits, as all Animal Crossing related amiibo being compatible and unlocking the Animal Crossing Mii Racing Suit, and the Pikmin amiibo unlocking the Pikmin suit.
An update was released on September 19, 2018. The following changes were made:
Now compatible with Toy-Con Car in Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03 Vehicle Kit.
Players can select which Toy-Con to use in Toy-Con settings in the main menu.
Now compatible with Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.
If an application is running on any device when entering an online match, players can receive a prompt on their smartphone asking whether if they would like to join a voice chat with their opponents.
Worldwide, Regional, Friends, and Tournaments allow players to use this function.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been received with universal acclaim, garnering higher aggregate scores than the original Mario Kart 8. The game has been praised for being well-suited to the Switch's portability, the increased performance, and particularly the redesigned Battle Mode, although several reviews noted Deluxe would not be as appealing of a proposition to players who already own Mario Kart 8 and its downloadable content.
While purists may accuse Mario Kart 8 of being a opportunistic rehash, Nintendo's goal was to give the Switch a racing game that is fun, polished, filled with content, and able to showcase the Switch's hybrid nature. These four objectives are mostly accomplished, and the game will have no problem seducing newcomers considering how well the formula has been mastered.
Even if you didn't really care about Battle Mode, the smallest changes in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe refine an already great racing game. But the huge overhaul to the original's afterthought of a Battle Mode is a chaotic, varied opportunity to play very differently than in Grand Prix mode and well worth reinvesting yourself in Mario Kart 8 on Switch.
Thanks to substantial DLC releases, Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U went from being a game with plenty of content, to one with an overload of it. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch has all of that, plus the return of the battle mode (which should never have left), and while it won't be a new game as such for the people who actually bought a Wii U (we're a special club), having this game on a portable console is reason enough to buy it all over again.
In the United Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe debuted at No. 1 on the sales chart, making it the first Nintendo game to be No. 1 in the UK since 2011's Pokémon White Version, and the first Mario game to place such since Mario Kart Wii.[13]
The game sold 459,000 copies for its US launch day, making it the fastest-selling Mario Kart game in the US and meaning 45% of US Switch owners purchased the game.[14]
As of December 31, 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had sold 7.33 million units worldwide. On March 31, 2018, it reached 9.22 million units, exceeding the original Mario Kart 8's 8.42 million and making it the second best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch behind Super Mario Odyssey.[15] As of January 31, 2019, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had sold 15.02 million units worldwide, exceeding Super Mario Odyssey's sales and making it the best-selling first-party game on the Nintendo Switch.[16] By June 30, 2021, the game had sold 37.08 million units worldwide.[17]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was nominated for the "Best Family Game" and "Best Multiplayer" awards at The Game Awards 2017.[18] However, it won neither, losing the former to Super Mario Odyssey and the latter to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.[18]
Super Mario Kart: The Feather item returns from this game, with the same function. Battle Course 1 reappears as a retro battle stage; a billboard in the course background is modeled after the player select screen from this game.
Mario Kart 64: Similar to this game, all courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are unlocked from the start.
Mario Golf: Metal Mario has an alternate color scheme where he can be selected into gold like in this game. However, unlike this game, Gold Mario is an unlockable skin.
Super Mario 3D World: The crown mechanic in Battle Mode is similar to the mechanic in this game's multi-player, where the player with the highest score from one stage will be wearing a crown in the next stage.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: The Koopa Clown's propellers in anti-gravity sections emerge from circular panels on the side of the vehicle, much like the Junior Clown Car's weapons. Also, the Koopalings' Koopa Clowns match the Clown Car colors they use in this game.
* - Indicates downloadable content in Mario Kart 8 • ** - Indicates content available in version 1.6.0 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe • - Indicates exclusivity to Mario Kart 8 • - Indicates exclusivity to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
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- Everyone
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General
- All ages
- General audience
- All ages
- All ages
- Six years and older
- Parental guidance
- Three years and older
- Seven years and older
Game Card
Digital download
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