Mini-Turbo

The Mini-Turbo, also known as Turbo Slide, Boost Slide, Slide Boosting, or simply a Boost, is a technique used in the Mario Kart series, it consists of a short speed boost following a successful drift. It appears in every game in the series since Super Mario Kart. Usually, players tend to manage several consecutive Mini-Turbos to accelerate faster. In some games, it can also be executed on straightaways of a track, if the stretch is long enough. When done correctly, the player tends to go to both sides of the track in a wavy or snake-like pattern. This is known as a Straight-Stretch Mini-Turbo, (SSMT) or, more commonly, Snaking.

Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit: straight after long drift
In Super Mario Kart (where it is an hidden technique known simply as Boost )and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mini-Turbos are normally charged by drifting for a certain amount of time (usually more than a second) and released by returning straight. In Super Mario Kart it requires a counter-steer after the long drift in order to achieve the boost.

There is no animation associated to the charging of the Mini-Turbo, but in Mario Kart: Super Circuit there is a small animation related to the release, with blue flames bursting from the exhaust, along with a sound effect, while in Super Mario Kart the engine revs up.

In addition, in both games the boost is somewhat able to skip off-road surfaces, similar to the Mushroom.

Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS: manual charging
In Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, the Mini-Turbo is charged manually while drifting by steering in the direction opposite of the turn and then in the direction of the turn while drifting. It is necessary to charge this way the Mini-Turbo two times, although in some cases it may not be necessary to steer in the direction of the turn the second time. It is released by releasing the drift button.

In Mario Kart 64 the charging is denoted by a change in the color of the smoke trails (which resemble letters V and E) that come out from the rear tires, from white to yellow to indicate an half charge and from yellow to orange to indicate a full charge. The release has no animation associated and is denoted by drivers shouting. Unlike in other games, the Mini-Turbo in Mario Kart 64 does not grant an instant boost. Instead, it slightly increases the player's top speed for several seconds. If the speedometer is activated, it can be seen increasing to higher speed and the engine will also rev up.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! the charging is indicated by a change in the color of the sparks coming from the wheels of the kart from yellow to orange to indicate a half charge, and then blue to indicate a full charge. There is a small animation associated to the release, with flames from the exhaust pipes and small yellow sparks coming from the rear wheels, along with a sound effect and call by the driver who is behind. In co-op, the player who is driving must press the or  button to drift while the back player must tilt the Control Stick to left and right; however, in single-player or non-co-op VS modes, each player controls both parts. In this game, a Mini-Turbo in-game stat is introduced, that indicates how many frames does the Mini-Turbo boost last. As an example, all large karts, such as the Koopa King, have a Mini-Turbo boost that lasts 10 frames, while the small karts and the Parade Kart have a Mini-Turbo boost that lasts 30 frames.

In Mario Kart DS the charging animation is similar, but with sparks' color reversed from blue, then orange. There is no evident animation following the release, but a small sound is associated with it along with a revving up of the engine (a similar sound as if driving through a Boost Pad or using a Mushroom), along with a wind lines on the screen akin to slipstreaming. Like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there is a hidden Mini-Turbo stat that determines how long does a boost last. Karts with higher handling and lower weight tend to have a stronger Mini-Turbo boost, with Dry Bomber being the strongest and the Tyrant being the weakest.

With a right timing and skillful drifting, karts with a high handling and low weight could be used to avoid a Spiny Shell by hopping shortly after releasing the Mini-Turbo

Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8: time-based automatic charging
From Mario Kart Wii onwards, the Mini-Tirbo is automatically charged when drifting for several seconds, like in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart Super Circuit, but unlike those games it is released immediately as soon as the jump button is released.

The charging time can be made quicker by turning in the direction of the drifting, but is delayed if turning in the opposite of the drift. Blue sparks indicates the Mini-Turbo is ready and its release is denoted by flames coming from the exhaust pipes along with the sound and racers shouting. After a Mini-Turbo is charged, it is possible to continue drifting and further charge a Super Mini-Turbo (also known as Long Mini-Turbo or Extended Mini-Turbo) that lasts longer and which charging is indicated by orange sparks.

In Mario Kart Wii only karts can charge a Super Mini-Turbo, which lasts three times as long as than the regular Mini-Turbo. Furthermore a Mini-Turbo can be charged while standing still by holding both the jump/brake button and the acceleration button at the same time. Karts in this case only charge a regular Mini-Turbo and not a Super Mini-Turbo. This kind of Mini-Turbo is released immediately when the jump/brake button is no longer pressed.

In Mario Kart 7, the mechanics remain unchanged from the previous installment, though Super Mini-Turbo takes longer to achieve and standing Mini-Turbo is no longer possible. If racing in First-Person View, the sparks appear from the front wheels instead of rear wheels. Both Mini-Turbos are also noticeably less powerful than in Mario Kart Wii, and the characters don't shout from either Mini-Turbo level.

In Mario Kart 8, the technique once again remains unchanged, but now bikes can perform a Super Mini-Turbo. Furthermore, both Mini-Turbos can be charged slowly when autodrifting, although in this case the time needed is almost doubled both for the regular and Super Mini-Turbo. This special kind of Mini-Turbo is immediately released as soon as the autodrift ends. The characters shout only from the Super Mini-Turbo.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe introduces a third level of Mini-Turbo known as Ultra Mini-Turbo, that is indicated by pink sparks after the orange sparks, and grants a boost that is even longer than the one of the Super Mini-Turbo. This kind of Mini-Turbo can only performed if Smart Steering is disabled. Ultra Mini-Turbo also has a slightly different sound effect.

According to an official Mini-Turbo tutorial video released by Nintendo for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, regular Mini-Turbo lasts for half a second, Super Mini-Turbo lasts for 1.6 seconds and the Ultra Mini-Turbo lasts for 2.6 seconds.