Mine Cart

Carts, also referred to as Minecarts, are vehicles found in several Mario games.

Donkey Kong Country marked the first appearance of Minecarts; they were used as a mode of transportation in several levels. They also appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Land and Donkey Kong Land 2, as well as Donkey Kong 64. Both Kongs and Kremlings used them, and often Kremlings known as Krashes would try to attack Kongs from theirs. Minecarts are also found in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, as vehicles in the desert levels.

A cart-like vehicle referred to as a lorry appeared in the Club Nintendo comic "Mario's Picross". Mario found the lorry in a pyramid after trying to escape from a Chomp Rock that had been released through a trap door. The plumber jumped into the lorry which immediately began to move very quickly. Though he could escape from the rock, the rails reached a dead end, making Mario crash through the pyramid's wall.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Minecarts are featured in Moleville Mines. The track consisted of two parts: a "3D" maze like course collecting speed-boosting mushrooms, and a "2D" portion collecting coins. The goal was to clear the mines in the fastest time. This marked their first appearance as a mini-game in the Mario series.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga another minecart-themed game appears, in which the brothers split up trying to collecting red and green diamonds while avoiding obstacles all at the same time.

Cart were introduced to the Yoshi series through the game, Yoshi's Island DS, though the vehicled appeared in only two levels: High-Speed Cart Race and Quit it Already, Tap-Tap!. When a Yoshi gets on a Cart, it rides the track on its own. Yoshi can jump, but with the momentum of the cart he will always land back in it unless he lands on another platform. A cart is seen in a village hut in Spear Guys' Village Found!, but is blocked off by walls. Other places are blocked off also, it seems.

As a nod to their Super Mario RPG and Superstar Saga appearances, Minecarts are present in Chapter 5 of Super Paper Mario. This time they were more alike to a roller coaster than an actual mini-game.

Trivia

 * In Wario's Gold Mine of Mario Kart Wii, Minecarts can be seen going along the mine tracks.
 * Minecarts also appear in certain levels of the Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. To activate them, one must jump inside them. The arrow on it indicates the direction it's moving in.