List of Mario Kart 8 glitches

This is a list of glitches in the game Mario Kart 8.

This glitch is most common in N64 Yoshi Valley where there are numerous multiple paths, but it can happen under specific circumstances in other courses such as Bone-Dry Dunes, Dolphin Shoals, etc. Occasionally when a Spiny Shell is deployed and the racers in at least first and second place are in a section where there road forks into two, the Spiny Shell may initially follow the racer in first place and then change its target to the one in second place or the highest place out of those in the other path. This is caused by some courses especially Yoshi Valley having the checkpoint markers that determine the place of the racers being inadequately calibrated with the other routes, as players can see by going down the old bridge path in while in first place, drop a few places while in the turn and then suddenly be back in first place once the paths join up again.

To perform this glitch, the player should acquire a Banana and drive to the part in Dolphin Shoals where there are many Warp Pipes that generate wind. The player then needs to throw the banana at the correct angle to make it be blown away to a tilted part of the course. If the glitch is performed correctly, the Banana will move on its own.

Very rarely, if the console auto powers down on the title screen, it may corrupt the save file of the game, resetting it to factory settings.

This is a rare and dangerous glitch for the game. It is required to have at least 2 players. The player must race in N64 Yoshi Valley and play normally until there is a giant egg (it is required to have a banana before this). With precise timing, the player must throw the banana and exactly at the same time, press the eject button and the message that says to put back the disc will appear. Upon doing this, the game will process normally, but the banana will turn red. If the banana hits another player while he/she gets crushed by the egg, the character will disappear and the kart will freeze but it will still move and can still be controlled. If that player hits a CPU, the entire racer vanishes. However, if that kart was a player, this will alter items found in the race and the game starts to lag. After this, the game will start to fail. Repeating the glitch will cause the game to lag even more and the background objects will glitch or vanish. If a player repeats the same glitch again, wins the race, or exits the course, the game will crash, playing a loud scream-like screech. This glitch was fixed in the PAL release, as if the player ejected it while there is a banana movement, the banana will be the same and the game will not glitch.

It is unknown how it happens, but sometimes when a Mii is selected the skin appears to be white with randomly colored lines. However, if a different Mii is selected, the Mii is reselected or the race begins the texture returns to normal.

Sometimes, when players are hit with a Spiny Shell, and when they are upside-down in the air, touch a Green or Red shell, they will turn the kart over quickly and in the process, twist themselves. They will cross their hands over in an impossible position, and their head will twist to pass through the center of the kart. It is unknown if any shell combination would make this possible.

This glitch is uncommon. If the player gets caught in some way under the molten Bowser's hand, they will be pushed under the floor.

In N64 Rainbow Road, on the ramp where the player glides to the finish (before the Start line), with the use of a mushroom and a perfectly timed hop, the player can fall off the track next to the ramp and trick Lakitu to dropping them before the ramp, allowing exploration of N64 Rainbow Road backwards on the 1st lap. On the way back to the start line from anywhere in that area, the game counts the 2nd checkpoint as the 2nd lap, then the 3rd checkpoint (Start line) as the 3rd lap, essentially ending the course on the 2nd checkpoint.

If the player gets hit by a Red Shell or Blue Spiny Shell while gliding to the thundercloud area the music will temporarily stop, until the player reaches the platform.

Rarely, a trick can be done on one of the Boost Pads in the stormy area, but only when the pad is struck by lightning.

In a bike the player will need to go to a 90° edge that they can fall off of. They must then slowly reverse off of it until only half of the front wheel is hanging on the edge. The player must then drive forward. One of two things will happen. Of the player did it from an edge with a low altitude, about a fourth of the character will end up inside the wall. If the player uses a mushroom and hops from this position, they could fly through the wall, which results in Lakitu picking the player up. If it is done from a high altitude, the player will immediately fall through the floor and wall. This can be used to access secret areas or other parts of a course. It is easiest to do with Yoshi in the Jet Bike with Monster wheels.

Very rarely, when doing a trick on a glider pad, the character does a boost pad or ramp trick instead of the glider pad one. This could happen on every course with glider pads, but it has been confirmed in Wii Moo Moo Meadows, DS Tick Tock Clock , N64 Royal Raceway, and Electrodrome , though in Electrodrome, it is more common.

In Sunshine Airport the player can miss the glider ramp before the floating metal platform slightly to the left or right and still have their glider activated.

Very rarely, when gliding as a Mii while using a Piranha Plant, press the home button after about one half of the Piranha Plant's usage. Exit out of the home menu and return to the game. For unknown reasons, the game will crash, playing an awkward horn noise in the background. The player will be forced to restart the game. This has been confirmed so far in multiplayer on Water Park.

In Sunshine Airport on the metal ramp just after the first airplane if the player backs up slowly and falls into an out of bounds area Lakitu picks them up, but gets stuck under the track. This glitch can happen on other courses, such as Rainbow Road.

In Thwomp Ruins, sometimes when the player takes the middle pathway at the three-way part of the course if they bump into the Thwomp while gliding when they land on the platform below it they may fall through it and end up in the underwater part.

On the final clock the player can drive onto the lower of the two hands. The player should wait until the upper hand comes around. If their timing is perfect, they can drive on the upper hand while the car is still being displayed on the lower of the two hands. This can be done with any character.

Rarely, birds that appear on the course may appear submerged in the terrain. This does not stop them from flying away when approached. The glitch persists in replays.