Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is an installment in the Mario Kart series for the Nintendo Switch announced as part of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. The game makes use of physical kart products of Mario and Luigi with a camera attached to the back of the kart, which live streams the surrounding area to the player's Nintendo Switch. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit released worldwide on October 16, 2020.

Creating an ID card for the game was one of the related My Nintendo missions for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary (though purchasing the game itself was not necessary to complete it).

Gameplay
To set up a course, the player has to place the four gates around the room. Lakitu will come down and paint the kart, and the player has to then drive through the gates, marking how they want the course to appear on the screen. The appearance can be from a simple loop to a curvy track through their furniture. The gates can also be customized, having Item Boxes, Boosts, or hazards. The controller connects to the kart product and controls it, similar to an RC Car. Items affect the kart product when used, such as Mushrooms making the toy move faster or a Koopa Shell making the toy stop momentarily. Using augmented reality, items, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the player's screen, as well as the second player's kart.

Explore Mode
Explore Mode is the mode the player starts off in. Here, they are free to drive around and are able to customize gates. Any items collected in this mode will always be either Mushrooms, Triple Mushrooms, or Golden Mushrooms. Stopping in front of Gate 1 and pressing will call Lakitu and bring up the menu for the other modes. The previous race created can be viewed in this mode.

Grand Prix
The player can compete against CPU opponents in cups, in which trophies can be obtained. There are four different engine classes: 50cc and 100cc are available from the start, while 150cc and 200cc are unlocked when the player has collected a trophy on respectively 5 and 10 different cups. When the player has collected a trophy on 15 different cups, they will unlock Mirror Mode. Each race in Grand Prix is five laps long, regardless of how long or how short the player makes the race.

Time Trial
In Time Trial, the player has to complete their course in the fastest time possible. The player can change the kart speed, the number of laps (3, 5, or 7), the music that plays, and the environment to play it. After creating the course, the player will then have to race through it as fast as they can, and the customized gates are taken into account. The only items that can be obtained in this mode are Mushrooms. After racing, the player has the option to keep the current course or change it; changing it will result in inaccurate times and ghost data, which the player is also given the option to clear for a new race. Any coins earned will count toward unlocking a new kart customization.

Custom Race
The player can create courses using their own rules. The player can change the kart speed, the number of laps (3, 5, or 7), the music that plays, and the environment to play it, and the customized gates are taken into account. After creating the course, four random Koopalings will come down for the player to race against. Any coins earned will count toward unlocking a new kart customization.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi


 * Outfits
 * Classic Outfit
 * Cowboy Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Pirate Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Explorer Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Swimwear from Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart Tour and the 2016 Club Nintendo calendar.
 * Space Suit from Super Mario Odyssey, but with a different helmet
 * Santa Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart Tour and the 2016 Club Nintendo calendar
 * Builder Outfit from Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2 and Mario Kart Tour
 * Chef Outfit from Yoshi's Cookie, Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart Tour
 * Painter Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Baseball Uniform from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Football Uniform from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Snow Suit from Super Mario Odyssey, but with earmuffs
 * Doctor Outfit from Dr. Mario
 * Knight Armor from Super Mario Odyssey
 * Pumpkin Costume from the Mario Halloween 3DS theme, the 2016 Club Nintendo calendar and Mario Kart Tour
 * Silver Suit, based on Metal Mario from Super Mario 64
 * Gold Suit from New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart Tour

Opponents

 * Bowser Jr.
 * Ludwig von Koopa
 * Larry Koopa
 * Lemmy Koopa
 * Wendy O. Koopa
 * Morton Koopa Jr.
 * Iggy Koopa
 * Roy Koopa

Other

 * Lakitu

Karts

 * Standard Kart
 * Cattle Cruiser
 * Landship
 * Adventure Buggy
 * Scuba Driver
 * Rocket Kart
 * Candy-Cane Cruiser
 * Big Scoop
 * Sweet Ride
 * Box Kart
 * Fastball
 * Quarterback
 * Snow Drifter
 * Rescue Wagon
 * Noble Rider
 * Haunt Rod
 * Koopa Clown (only CPU drivers)

Horns

 * Standard Horn (with the icon being a steering wheel)
 * Cowbell
 * Conch Shell
 * Safari Horn
 * Dive Alarm
 * Cosmic Clamor
 * Jingle bells
 * Construction Horn
 * Bike Bell
 * Clown Horn
 * Rallying Cry
 * Air Horn
 * Sledge Horn
 * Siren
 * Battle Horn
 * Pumpkin Organ

Courses
There is also a Random Cup, which includes 3 courses with randomized environments and gate features.

Staff
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit was developed by Velan Studios. Shinya Takahashi served as the general producer of the game, while Kosuke Yabuki, one of the key staff of the Mario Kart series, served as a supervisor. The game's original music was composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, who previous composed for Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8.

Reception
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit received both mixed and positive reviews. In most cases, the unique gimmick of the game was praised, along with the more independent concept offered. However, certain factors, such as the boundaries of a player's actual living area, were mentioned. Two different reviews mention Mario Kart 8 as being an ultimately superior though just as intriguing installment.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: The retro environment uses 8-bit sprites from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Part of the music that plays when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the track contains a remix of the "Fortress Boss" theme from this game.
 * Dr. Mario series: The Doctor Outfit of Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi reappears.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: The Chain Chomp returns as an item. In the rainbow environment, Stars can fall from the sky onto the track, like in the Rainbow Road from this game.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: The beginning of the music that plays when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the track contains a remix of the "Enter Bowser Jr." theme from this game.
 * Mario Kart Wii: The Spiny Shell appears in its winged form for the first time since this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: Gold Mario appears as unlockable content.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Many assets are reused from this game, including models and music. The Koopa Clown reappears. In the rainbow environment, the boost gates from N64 Rainbow Road appear.
 * Super Mario Maker: The Builder Outfit reappears.
 * Super Mario Odyssey: Many outfits from this game reappear as unlockable content.

References in other games

 * Mario Kart Tour: A commemorative badge appears of Mario and the Standard Kart.