Mario Kart Tour

Mario Kart Tour is a mobile game in the Mario Kart series. First announced during a financial briefing on January 31, 2018, it is the third Mario mobile game overall, following Super Mario Run and Dr. Mario World, the ninth main installment in the Mario Kart series, and the sixteenth installment overall. Like Super Mario Run, it is free-to-start from the App Store and Google Play. Unlike Super Mario Run and similar to that of Dr. Mario World, the game more heavily incorporates a free-to-play microtransaction mechanic, where players have restrictions and timers unless they spend some of the various types of currencies in-game, as well as having in the form of items being launched out of pipes. The game reuses many assets from Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, and Mario Kart 8, as well as returning gameplay mechanics such as gliding and character specific special items. In addition, the game introduces some features new to the Mario Kart franchise such as reverse tracks and ability to deploy a large amount of any item during a race, including Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills. On April 23, 2019, Nintendo opened applications for participating in a closed beta test of the game to Android users in North America and Japan, which began on May 22, 2019 and ended on June 4, 2019.

The game officially launched for both iOS and Android devices on September 25, 2019 in 163 territories, which covers nearly the same roster of availability as Super Mario Run, with the exceptions of Belgium and Vietnam, the former of which banned games with loot boxes in 2019. Users who pre-registered acquired the game a day early. Unlike previous Mario mobile games, a Nintendo Account is required to be playable.

On March 2, 2020, Nintendo announced that multiplayer would officially be implemented into the game on March 8, 2020, 8:00 p.m. (PT). Prior to this, on October 31, 2019, Nintendo announced the first multiplayer beta test exclusive to Gold Pass members, which began on December 18, 2019, 11:00 p.m. (PT) and ended on December 26, 2019, 9:59 p.m. (PT). On January 21, 2020, Nintendo announced a second multiplayer beta test for all players, regardless of having a Gold Pass subscription or not, which began on January 22, 2020, 11:00 p.m. (PT) and ended on January 28, 2020, 9:59 p.m. (PT). The second multiplayer beta test allowed players to play with each other in their immediate vicinity based on their device's location data.

Gameplay
The goal of the game is to be in first place at the end of each race, using items obtained by driving through Item Boxes. The game is played in a portrait position, while the phone's touch controls are used to play the game, such as dragging the finger across the screen to steer the kart. There are three ways the player can make turns. For the phones supporting it, the gyroscope can be used to steer. The player can choose what action is started when tapping and sliding the fingers on the main area of the screen, with the other action being performed by tapping a small circular button at the bottom and then sliding the fingers if needed. The main setting has the driver jumping every time the screen is tapped, allowing the kart to drift by sliding the fingers. In the other configuration, the kart does not jump when tapping the screen, which results in it steering when sliding the fingers on the screen. After steering for a while, the kart starts autodrifting and charging Mini-Turbos and Super Mini-Turbos, but not Ultra Mini-Turbos that are only charged when drifting. Similarly to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with auto-accelerate and smart-steering enabled, karts accelerate automatically and can steer players away from walls. The intensity of smart-steering can be changed in the game's settings.

The game's mechanics are based on Mario Kart 7 and most of the Retro Courses are also available as either normal or retro courses within the same game. A few features from Mario Kart 8 that required substantial changes to the game, such as Bikes, ATVs, anti-gravity, and 12-player races, are missing, while the 200cc class is present. Other features from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, such as auto-accelerate, smart-steering and Ultra Mini-Turbos, return. Unlike previous games the player cannot customize their tires.

When a race is completed, the player will be awarded with Grand Stars, experience points for the used driver, kart and glider whose base points are not maxed out and coins. If the player finishes in the top three places, the gauge to level up will be filled, while if the placement is 5th or lower, the gauge will be dropped. When the gauge is already empty, however, the player will not go level down. Only the points gained in the specific course will be lost, meaning that the first race on each course won't make the player lose experience points even if they arrive in 8th place; similarly, each course has an experience points cap. When arriving in the first three places, less and less experience points will be awarded until the cap is reached. At that point, only the epxerience points lost due to arriving in 5th place or lower will be regained when arriving in the first three places. The total amount of experience points gained in a course is never reset and is carried to the following tours, forcing the player to drive in new courses to still keep gaining experience points and leveling up. Grand Stars are awarded depending on whether a certain point threshold has been reached. Experience points for the driver, kart and glider are awarded depending on the placement. The coins obtained are those collected during the race, plus one additional coin for every 1,000 points obtained during the race. Each day, it is possible to obtain up to 450 experience points for the drivers, karts and gliders and up to 300 coins by racing. When those limits are reached the player cannot obtain experience points or coins by racing until the next day. In order to continue gaining experience points or collecting coins, the player can use point-boost tickets for the former and can play Coin Rush or get rewards from challenges for the latter. Filling up the gauge to level up gives a reward to the player, increases the points earned when reaching a specific placement in the race and, when level 7 or level 12 are reached, allows the player to buy more items in the shop.

The game features Tour Challenges and Gold Challenges, which reward Grand Stars, and Standard Challenges, which reward rubies, the main premium currency of the game.

Another premium item, bought with real-life currency according to a monthly subscription model, is the Gold Pass, which grants access to the 200cc engine class, additional items from Tour Gifts, and Gold Challenges. The course introduction fanfare also uses more instruments for players with an active gold pass.

Each driver, kart and glider have favored courses, on which they offer advantages if they are used. Each course has three tiers for each driver, kart and glider. Third tier drivers receive one item from every Item Box, second tier drivers receive two items and first tier drivers receive three items. Second tier karts give a bonus points multiplier of 1.5 and first tier karts give a bonus points multiplier of 2. Second tier gliders increase the time between two point-gaining actions to count as combo and give a combo bonus multiplier of 2 and first tier gliders increase the combo-time even longer and give a combo bonus multiplier of 3. The player can enter a Frenzy by obtaining three of the same item at the same time, which allows the player to temporarily use that item an infinite amount of times in addition to granting them invincibility. Super and High-End drivers, karts and gliders have a higher number of points gained when choosing them and more preferred courses. In addition, drivers have their own special items, similar to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s item system. Karts have their own driving-related bonus such as increasing the effectiveness of drafting, while gliders increase the likelihood of obtaining a certain item and the points gained when using this item. All drivers, karts and gliders can be leveled up, and they all come with upgrades when done so.

The courses the player can play depends on the tour, which changes every two weeks. Starting with the Paris Tour, each tour has eighteen cups, and adds new drivers, karts, gliders and courses. During certain tours, mainly ones themed around real-world locations, the game includes one course that is new to the series. Each cup contains three races and one bonus challenge. Bonus challenges require the player to beat a certain goal with a certain character, kart and glider. Once each of the courses and the bonus challenge is played and enough Grand Stars are obtained, the player can move on to the next cup. Tour Gifts appear between cups which give the player items if enough Grand Stars are obtained. Every week, one of the tour's cups is a ranked cup. In a ranked cup, the player is placed on a leaderboard based on their overall score in the game against nineteen other players. The player gains a reward and will increase in tier at the end of the week if the end position is within the best eight places, while they will lose one tier if the end position is the eleventh place or below.

Each tour has three sets of Tour Challenges. The first one is unlocked from the tour's beginning, the second one unlocks after the one week, and the third one is exclusive to Gold Pass members.

Points

 * See also: Mario Kart Tour race points system

Points are collected during standard races and are used to gain Grand Stars and to rank the players, both overall and in ranked cups. There are three ways of obtaining points in races: base points, bonus points, and position points.

Base points
Base points are given at the beginning of the race and are the sum of the base points of the character, kart and glider selected. They range from 800 to 1600 points. The base points can be increased through experience points obtained at the end of the races or through point-boost tickets that provide 50 experience points each. The experience points are used to fill a gauge that when filled will increase the base points until the maximum amount has been reached. The amount of experience points needed to fill the gauge increases every time the gauge is filled.

Bonus points
Bonus points are points awarded every time a special event happens during the race. Said event might be a Jump Boost, gliding for a certain amount of time, finishing the lap in a certain position, hitting opponents or hazards, and various other cases. If a further event happens before about two seconds have passed from the previous one, the combo indicator goes up and the points obtained are increased. The actual time that can pass between one event an the next can be incresed by choosing a glider of a higher tier in the course, by choosing a glider of higher rarity or by leveling up the glider. The number of points given is calculated as follows:

Points = (base points of the event × multiplier due to kart tiering in the course × multiplier due to kart rarity and skill level) + combo bonus + bonus point boosts + eventual increase from kart's special skill + eventual increase from glider's special skill

The combo bonus is calculated as follows:

Combo bonus = multiplier from glider's tiering in the course × Min{combo count - 1 ; (cc of the engine class) / 10}

For the purpose of the calculation, 200cc is considered the same as 150cc.

The bonus point boost is calculated separately for the driver, kart and glider chosen, that are in the first tier of the course, as follows:

Bonus point boost = base points × (skill level - 1) × [(cc of the engine class) / 30000]

In this case as well, 200cc is considered the same as 150cc. If more than 200 events happen, the bonus point boost is not applied from the 201st event onward.

Position points
Position points are awarded to the player depending on their placement at the end of the race. They are calculated as follows:

Position points = [(position points due to the level of the player + engine class bonus) × position multiplier] + bonus point boosts for position

The bonus point boost for position is calculated separately for the driver, kart and glider chosen, that are in the first tier of the course, as follows:

Bonus point boost for position = base points × (skill level - 1) × number of events happened in the race × position multiplier × [(cc of the engine class) / 30000]

As in the other cases, 200cc is considered the same as 150cc.

The engine class bonus is the following:

The position multiplier depends on the placement at the end of the race and works as follows:

Additional internal data (RaceScoreParam)
The following internal data stems from the New Year's Tour.

The engine class affect the obtained points in various other ways, as shown by the internal data:

The InterimRankBonus multiplied by the InterimRankBonusRate is the amount of points obtained at the end of the first lap or the first two sections of three-sectioned tracks. The InterimRankBonus has the following values:

Finally, the maximum time between events in a combo apparently depends on the combo counter, as shown by this combo-related data:

Grand Stars
Grand Stars are the main collectibles related to individual tours. Up to five of them can be earned by reaching certain points threshold in each standard race and up to three of them can be earned by clearing specific goals in each bonus challenge. Furthermore, clearing each day the daily challenge will warrant a Grand Star, and clearing Tour Challenges and Gold Challenges will reward the players with Grand Stars as well. Finally, using a star ticket will reward a Grand Star per ticket used.

They are used to unlock items in the cup bar of the course selection screen, namely cups and gifts. When the last gift will be obtained, coins will be rewarded in place of Grand Stars, and when a new tour starts, the Grand Stars obtained are reset to 0.

Rubies
Rubies are the main premium currency of Mario Kart Tour. Beside being bought with real life currency at the Shop, rubies can be obtained as daily login bonus, as player level up bonus, as part of tour gifts, as reward for the ranked cup and as reward for the Standard Challenges.

Rubies can be used in two different ways: to buy launch pipes and to play Coin Rush mode.

Launch pipes can shoot out a driver, kart or glider, all which have their own rarities. The pipe contains a determined amount of Normal, Super and High-End items, all of which are chosen randomly within their class and rarity, plus a featured driver, kart and glider. The items are not ordered, so each item, including the featured ones, can be potentially found in any placement within the pipe. It is possible that a player obtains an item from a pipe that already has been obtained. When this happens, the level gauge of that item will be increased by one unit. The player can reset the pipe at any moment. A new pipe is introduced each week and, since the Halloween Tour, the pipes last until the end of tour. Usually, the pipe contains the following items:

The probability of obtaining a certain type of item from the pipe is (number of items of that type remaining in the pipe)/(total number of items remaining in the pipe), the probability of obtaining a specific item is (probability of getting an item of the type of the desired item)/(number of available items of the same type of the desired item).

During the New Year's Tour, the amounts of the various items were changed:

During the Valentine's Tour, the amounts of the various items were changed just for Valentine's Pipe 2 due to having two spotlight drivers and no spotlight karts or gliders:

During the Mario Bros. Tour, the amounts of the various items were changed. These pipes hold 50 items instead of 100, and feature Super Spotlights for the first time:

Rubies can also be spent in Coin Rush where the player can obtain a great amount of coins. Over 300 coins are found in the course. For each tour, another course is available in Coin Rush, Gold Mario is the regular driver, and the Gold Standard is the regular kart driven (although in the New York Tour, Gold Mario drove his respective Pipe Frame instead). The coins obtained from Coin Rush are multiplied by a certain number, depending on how many rubies a player has spent.

Coins
Coins are collected during a race and rewarded for the amount of points obtained during said race, up to 300 per day. In a single race, the amount of coins earned is

Coins earned = coins obtained during the race + floor((total points earned in the race)/1000)

The coins obtained during the race are capped at 99, while no cap on the coins obtained through points is known yet.

Beside this main way of obtaining coins, coins can also be obtained in Coin Rush and in several rewards, such as obtaining three Standard Challenges, Tour Challenges or Gold Challenges in a row, column or diagonal, in gifts, as daily login bonuses, as player level up bonuses, as rewards for ranked cup placement.

They are mainly used in the Daily Selects section of the Shop, which is renewed each day. The first row is available to all players and doesn't contain any Super or High-End item, the second row is available to player of level 7 and above and doesn't contain any High-End item, the third row is available to players of level 12 and above and can contain any item. When an item’s skill level is maxed out, the item is replaced with a Level-boost ticket of the same rarity and price. The first time an item’s skill level is maxed out, Level-boost tickets of all rarities and types become available as well, having the price of the corresponding item type and rarity.

Since the Paris Tour, in addition to tickets, only a subset of non-tour-exclusive items can be found as Daily Selects:

Multiplayer
Multiplayer mode will be added to Mario Kart Tour on March 8, 2020, where up to eight human players can play against each other. There are three modes available: a mode to play with friends or other players nearby; Standard Races, a mode where the player competes against random players from around the world; and Gold Races, a mode exclusive to Gold Pass members where the player competes against other members. Players race against each other in three courses in a chosen cup of the current tour; the cup changes every 15 minutes. In the "With Friends or Others Nearby" mode, the player can set the rules themselves, including the engine class, number of item slots, and inclusion of CPU racers.

In Standard Races, there are two sets of rules that interchange daily: 100cc with default item slots, and 100cc with two item slots. In Gold Races, there are four: 150cc with default item slots, 150cc with two item slots, 200cc with default item slots, and 200cc with one item slot. In both of these modes, there is also a grade system for players that changes depending on their performance. The grades range from E to A (S in Gold Races).

Courses
In addition to the courses listed below, many alternate courses are also featured in the game; courses can have an "R" (Reverse) and/or "T"/"X" (Trick) variant. Courses marked with "R" are driven in backwards orientation; the track will have alterations if necessary to make this possible. Courses marked with "T" or "X" feature many additional ramps and trickable obstacles, and are otherwise the same.

Tours
Each tour consists of a series of cups, with each cup containing three courses and a bonus challenge. The featured character of the cup has the preference for every track in it increased by one tier. The following tables list the courses that make an appearance in each tour; "N" indicates a normal course, "R" a reversed course, "T" a trick course, and "R/T" a reversed trick course. Tracks in gray debuted during the respective tour. Click on a cup's icon to access the article of that cup.

Drivers



 * For the tables to convert the Level shown here in the actual statistics used by the game, see Mario Kart Tour in-game statistics.

There are currently 66 playable characters (67 if including Gold Mario, who appears exclusively in the Coin Rush mode) in Mario Kart Tour. Upon launching the game for the first time, players start with either Toad, Toadette, or Peachette. After the tutorial they are granted a free pipe pull which grants either Peach, Bowser, Metal Mario or Dry Bowser. Unlike other Mario Kart games, characters are sorted by their rarity of unlocking them, via opening up randomized green or gold pipes with rubies. There are three tiers of rarity: Normal, Super, and High-End. While the Normal characters are easier to unlock, rarer characters have a greater amount of starting points and have more favored courses. Once players clear the tutorial, they are rewarded with a random Super-class character.

So far, the only changes in the main statistics that were found affect acceleration and weight, and depend on the kart size.

Below is a list of all drivers in the game grouped by rarity, displaying the special item, kart size, date of availability and favored tracks, as well as traits, for each driver. Traits, such as a mustache, extended tongue, or shell, may be shared between drivers. Some challenges in the game require the player to perform a certain action or a number of actions using any driver with a certain trait.

Regular
These characters can be obtained from any tour.

Tour-exclusive (Gold Pass)
The character below can be obtained during a certain tour as a tour gift, but only for players with a Gold Pass subscription.

Tour-exclusive (spotlight)
These characters can/could only be obtained during certain tours from a spotlight pipe.

Other
The following karts were revealed in the game's trailers:
 * Prancer

The following karts were present in the game's beta, but are currently unavailable:

Frenzy
Depending on the character and course they're used on, players can get one to three items at once. In the case that a character gets three of the same item, they will activate the new Frenzy Mode, in which they immediately activate a Star and can use unlimited supplies of the respective item until the invincibility runs out. Any item can appear in Frenzy Mode, except for the Star, which is exclusive to certain bonus challenges.

The probability of obtaining a Frenzy depends on the current position and lap and on the driver chosen. In particular, the current position and lap define a base probability that is then increased by a bonus depending on the rarity and skill level of the driver chosen.

The following is the base probability of a Frenzy used in the New Year's Tour, since only two laps are coded, three-sectioned tracks presumably reuse one of those two rows for one of its sections.

Item Box items
Items function mostly the same as in previous installments in the series. As in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, every character has their own special item that most other characters cannot get.

The game introduces eight new items to the series, being the Double Bob-ombs, the Bubble, the Banana Barrels, the Mushroom Cannon, the Coin Box, the Dash Ring, the Bob-omb Cannon, and the Ice Flower, all of which are character-exclusive items.

Inventory items
These items are collected throughout the course of the game through various means, such as challenges, log-in bonuses, and Tour Gifts.

Hazards, obstacles, and other elements
The following table lists elements that slow racers down, crash them, offer them a Jump Boost and/or simply give them points when interacted with in a certain way.

Cameo appearances
The following are only seen as background or intangible elements.

Bonus challenges
Bonus challenges are similar to the Missions mode from Mario Kart DS and the tournaments from Mario Kart Wii, and are found at the end of each cup. In contrast to races, these challenges offer 3 Grand stars instead of 5 when completed with the highest score needed. The game will set the character for the challenge, even if the player has not obtained them yet, and give them the Pipe Frame and the Super Glider, this rule does not apply for some challenges, all Big Reverse Races, and all Vs. Mega (opponent) challenges.

Challenges
Challenges are objectives the player can complete to earn various badges and rewards depending on the type, of which there are three: Standard Challenges, long-term challenges the player accomplishes throughout the course of the game; and Tour and Gold Challenges, challenges that last for the duration of the tour, the latter of which are exclusive to Gold Pass members. Completing Standard Challenges awards the player with rubies, while Tour and Gold Challenges award extra Grand Stars. Each challenge card holds nine challenges aligned in a 3×3 grid, and for every bingo the player acquires (i.e. any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal match), they earn 50 coins (100 coins for Standard Challenges). The player also receives a reward upon completing an entire challenge card.

The following are the Standard Challenges in the game. For the tour-specific challenges, see List of tours in Mario Kart Tour.

Apple Store demo
The special demo of Mario Kart Tour is made playable at Apple Store outlets and kiosks. Unlike the full consumer version, only three cups are available, the menu and Coin Rush mode are inaccessible, and points cannot be saved when the player quits the app. There are only 10 playable characters, 7 karts, and 6 gliders available in the demo.

Updates
The following is a list of updates the game has received since launch.

Version 1.0.2
Release date: October 3rd 2019  
 * The game may become unplayable if a nickname is not entered when linking a Nintendo Account.
 * Certain players may encounter error code 805-9314 after linking a Nintendo Account and become unable to play the game.
 * The game may become unplayable when players transition to the main screen after the game starts up.
 * Other minor issues.

Version 1.1.0
Release date: October 16, 2019  
 * You can now view a list of badges you have obtained.
 * You can now check the points required to get Grand Stars, the number of Grand Stars, and your current best score on the screen for courses and bonus challenges.
 * Addressed known issues.


 * Specific/unlisted changes
 * CPU drivers are now able to use item frenzies during a race.
 * The "FINISH!" label for cups that have been finished but not yet fully completed has been changed to "CLEARED!"
 * On the final race results screen after the base point increases, and when using point-boost tickets, the player can tap the screen to proceed through the animations faster.
 * Selecting a challenge on a challenge card highlights it with a yellow frame.

Version 1.1.1
Release date: October 23, 2019  Addressed known issues. 

Version 1.2.0
Release date: November 17, 2019  
 * Adjusted race controls.
 * (A button has been added to the bottom of the screen that allows a player to drift or steer depending on the Manual Drift setting. The rearview mirror button has been relocated to the bottom-right of the screen.)
 * (A player can now perform Ultra-Mini Turbos even when Manual Drift is off by using the drift button. Using the steer button with Manual Drift on does not allow Ultra-Mini Turbos.)
 * Added a list of tickets you currently have. (A player can now see the inventory of tickets at a glance by tapping Tickets in the Menu.)
 * You can now earn bonus points for finishing a race in Frenzy mode. (A "Frenzy Finish" action has been added.)


 * Specific/unlisted changes
 * The FAQ text describing how long Gold Pass benefits remain valid has been changed from "until 06:00 UTC" into "until the daily reset (06:00 UTC)".
 * The names for New York Minute, Tokyo Blur, and Paris Promenade have been changed into New York Minute 1, Tokyo Blur 1, and Paris Promenade 1 respectively.
 * "Badge" on the menu has been corrected to "Badges".
 * The tires of the Pink Mushmellow were changed to a lighter shade of pink.

Version 1.2.1
Release date: November 18, 2019 (Android)  Addressed known issues. 


 * Specific/unlisted changes
 * This update fixed an issue in version 1.2.0 where the game would not start in Android versions.

Version 1.4.0
Release date: December 11, 2019  
 * You can now see more information about other players in your ranking tier, including the driver they are using.
 * Adjusted how the ranking announcement and menu screens are displayed.


 * Specific/unlisted changes
 * Along with the driver being used by other players in the same ranking tier, the kart, glider, and score for each course are now visible.
 * Multiplayer is no longer darkened with "Inbound!" in front of it. Currently, it is under maintenance.
 * Certain icons appear next to drivers, kart, and gliders that have not been unlocked yet indicating whether they are available as a spotlight (a green pipe icon), as a Gold Gift (a Gold Pass icon), or a special offer in the Shop (a pink starburst icon), similar to the existing Shop icon.
 * Coin Rush is selectable in the Shop under Daily Selects.

Version 1.4.1
Release date: December 12, 2019  Improved various features. Addressed known issues. 

Version 1.6.0
Release date: January 20, 2020  Addressed known issues. 

Version 2.0.0
Release date: March 4, 2020  </i>
 * Added support for racing against players from around the world via multiplayer. This service is scheduled to become available on March 8th, at 8:00 PM PT.
 * Added a camera feature. Using this feature during a race allows you to freely move the camera around your driver as they automatically steer. Use it to view the action from different angles!
 * (Items can also be used while the camere feature is enabled.)
 * (The camera can rotate and zoom around the kart. This feature can also be accessed when the player finishes a race.)
 * (When this feature is enabled, it will not transition to the placement screen until the player exits this feature.)
 * (This feature cannot be used in multiplayer or bonus challenges.)
 * Made other adjustments and addressed known issues to improve the overall gameplay experience.


 * Specific/unlisted changes
 * The pre- and post-race screens have been adjusted.
 * Base points and level information for each driver, kart, and glider is now displayed on the “Ready to Race!” screen. When playing single player, you can tap on the base points or level to use boost tickets. This feature cannot be used in multiplayer or bonus challenges.
 * The bonus-points boost is now displayed on the results screen. When a bonus-points boost is applied to a driver, kart, or glider, their level will light up.
 * The player can earn a “NONSTOP COMBO!” if a player maintains an unbroken combo between the Rocket Start and the end of the race, and is displayed when finishing a race. It is also displayed on the results screen.
 * In the results screen, points flash when the player reaches a high score.
 * The "Got it!" screen for a Grand Star is not played when acquiring them from the race results screen and challenges.
 * The icons (shop, spotlight, special offer, Gold Gift) are also displayed for the unlocked drivers, karts, and gliders.
 * The multiplayer icon is altered to a group of Toads.

Differences from previous Mario Kart games

 * This is the first Mario Kart game where every character is unlockable.
 * The number of racers has reverted back to eight, like in all mainline games up to Mario Kart DS and in Mario Kart 7.
 * Aside from 3DS Rainbow Road, all races consist of two laps as opposed to the usual three.
 * Racers, karts, and gliders can be leveled up.
 * The music continues from where it leaves off and increases by four tones after the final lap fanfare plays, instead of restarting at only one tone higher like in past games. This only doesn't apply to 3DS Rainbow Road, which reuses its final lap music from Mario Kart 7.
 * The Lakitu referee does not appear at all throughout the race.
 * Stars are not obtainable from regular item boxes.
 * For the first time since Super Mario Kart, Triple Red Shells are absent.
 * This is the first Mario Kart game since Mario Kart: Super Circuit to have numbered nitro courses (e.g. Mario Circuit 3 or Tokyo Blur 2).
 * For the first time since Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the Golden Mushroom is absent, as it is functionally replaced by the Mushroom frenzy.
 * Multiple items can be received from a single item box.
 * So far, there are no retro tracks from Mario Kart Wii or Mario Kart 8 in this game, making it the first Mario Kart title since Mario Kart: Super Circuit to not feature retro tracks from every previous Mario Kart entry (excluding games lacking retro tracks overall).
 * This is the first Mario Kart game to lack losing themes and character losing animations. If the player finishes 5th or lower, the 2nd to 4th place theme will play and no animation will be performed.

Reception
Initial impressions of the beta have been mixed. Journalists have praised the gameplay and graphics, but have criticized the free-to-play gacha elements of the game. Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica has compared the game's in-app purchases to Spiny Shells, blowing up the classic Mario Kart experience. He has suggested that "the developers pick a side: attach an annoying economy to a deeper control scheme and more legitimate online options, or make it cheaper and less obnoxious to watch Mario drive himself." Ethan Gach of Kotaku has also stated that the game is "a mostly faithful but stripped-down recreation of Mario Kart decked out with all the microtransactions and lottery mechanics mobile games are infamous for" and also lamenting the lack of a multiplayer mode. Steven Asarch of Newsweek has complained about the game's "freemium greed" and that it is "ruined by microtransactions".

As of October 11, 2019, Mario Kart Tour received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic Metascore of 59.

Pre-release and unused content
The beta version of the game saw multiple changes in the final game. The stamina element was removed, and the timers restricting access to certain cups can be sped up using quick tickets. Additionally, rubies were originally emeralds.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong: Portions of this game can be seen in Times Square's screens in New York Minute 1 and New York Minute 2. The clothing colors of Mario (Classic) reference Mario's original design from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The 8-Bit Jumping Mario glider uses Mario's jumping sprite from this game. The game's Japanese logo appears on the Super 1 kart.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: The clothing colors of Luigi (Classic) reference Luigi's artwork from this game.
 * Super Mario Kart: Mario Circuit 1, Ghost Valley 1, Mario Circuit 2, Mario Circuit 3, Choco Island 2, Vanilla Lake 1, and Rainbow Road appear as returning courses. The tires resembling the tires from this game returns as the Pipe Frame's assigned tires, as well as other certain karts with these tires. Also, one of Princess Peach's artworks from this game is reused for the "Dash Panel Plus" Special Skill icon.
 * Mario Kart 64: Koopa Troopa Beach, Kalimari Desert, and Frappe Snowland appear as returning courses. The results theme is an arrangement of the winning results theme from this game.
 * Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Bowser Castle 1 appears as a returning course.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Special Items return. Yoshi Circuit and Dino Dino Jungle appear as returning courses. The Turbo Yoshi, Turbo Birdo, Koopa Dasher, Para-Wing, Bullet Blaster, and DK Jumbo return as karts. Birdo's voice clips are reused.
 * Mario Party 6: Both Mario (Classic) and Luigi (Classic)'s artworks are based off of Mario and Luigi's profile artworks from this game.
 * Mario Kart DS: Luigi's Mansion, Waluigi Pinball, and DK Pass appear as returning courses. The Poltergust 4000, Streamliner, Royale, and Mushmellow return as karts. Challenges with unique objectives return as the fourth and final race in every cup.
 * Mario Party 8: Dry Bones's artwork is reused from this game.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: Ice Mario appears as a playable variant. Bowser Jr.'s artwork is reused from this game.
 * Mario Party DS: Diddy Kong's artwork is reused from this game.
 * Mario Super Sluggers: Black Shy Guy and Pink Shy Guy's artworks are based off of Shy Guy's artwork from this game.
 * Mario Kart Wii: The Wild Wing, Daytripper, Super Blooper, Cheep Charger, and Flame Flyer return as karts. The jingle that plays when earning a High-End kart, glider, racer, or level-boost ticket is recreated. Diddy Kong and Birdo's voice clips are reused.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Peach's artwork is reused from this game. Penguin Luigi appears as a playable character.
 * Mario Kart 7: Toad Circuit, Daisy Hills, Cheep Cheep Lagoon, Shy Guy Bazaar, Mario Circuit, Rock Rock Mountain, Neo Bowser City and Rainbow Road appear as returning courses. SNES Rainbow Road retains its retro course design from this game. Daisy's artwork is an updated version of her artwork from this game. The Birthday Girl, Soda Jet, Cloud 9, Bumble V, Zucchini, Bruiser, and Blue Seven return as karts, and the Barrel Train retains its design from this game. The Swooper returns as a glider. Various tire parts return retaining their design, which are only assigned to certain karts. The Lucky Seven reappears as a Special Item. The rankings screen uses the theme used in Local Multiplayer from this game. Metal Mario's voice clips are reused. Lakitu and Metal Mario's artworks are also reused from this game.
 * Mario Party 9: Birdo's artwork is reused from this game. Birdo (Light Blue)'s artwork is based off of Birdo's artwork.
 * Mario Party: Island Tour: Luigi's artwork is reused from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8: Many characters' animations and voice clips are reused from this game. Metal Mario's voice clips are reused exclusively for Gold Mario. Yoshi Circuit retains its retro course design from this game. The flying train seen in N64 Rainbow Road returns in the Ring Race challenge set in 3DS Rainbow Road. The Mach 8, Badwagon, Biddybuggy, Landship, Circuit Special, P-Wing, and Prancer return as karts, and the Pipe Frame and B Dasher retains its design from this game. The Parafoil, Peach Parasol, Flower Glider, Wario Wing, and Cloud Glider return as gliders, retaining their design from this game. Various tire parts return retaining their design. The Boomerang Flower and Super Horn return as items. The courses from this game are referenced in advertisements and badges, including Toad Harbor, Sunshine Airport, and Mount Wario.
 * Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: The third-level Mini-Turbo boost, Ultra Mini-Turbo, returns. The Koopa Clown retains its design from this game. King Boo’s head icon is recycled from this game.
 * Mario Party 10: Yoshi, Bowser, Toad, Waluigi, and Toadette's artworks are reused from this game. Red Yoshi's artwork is based off of Yoshi's artwork from this game.
 * Super Mario Odyssey: Mario (Musician), Mario (Santa), and Mario (Happi) use Mario's Musician outfit, Santa outfit, and Happi outfit respectively from this game. The Yellow Taxi is based on the taxis from this game. Pauline's voice clips reference her singing from this game. Peach (Vacation) and Peach (Wintertime) use her post-game "tourist" outfits from this game. The red and gold Roving Racers appear as playable characters as Red Koopa (Freerunning) and Gold Koopa (Freerunning) respectively. The artwork of Earth, which is used for promotional material and the title screen, resembles the Earth from this game; The Metro, Snow, Seaside, and Luncheon Kingdoms are visible in the artwork, as well as inaccurate representations of Cap and Cascade Kingdoms.
 * Mario Party: The Top 100: Rosalina and Wario's artworks are reused from this game.
 * Super Mario Party: Donkey Kong's artwork is reused from this game.
 * Mario Tennis Aces: Pauline's kart emblem is reused from this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: Peachette appears as a playable character with her Emblem being a Super Crown; as a result, her artwork is reused from this game.
 * Luigi's Mansion 3: King Boo (Luigi's Mansion) uses King Boo's design from this game.