Underwater driving: Difference between revisions

Underwater driving is implemented on [[new course]]s, [[classic course]]s and battle courses. Various other mechanics such as [[anti-gravity]] and [[Jump Boost]]s also appear in underwater sections, though gliding is automatically canceled when entering the water. Various underwater enemies such as [[Cheep Cheep]]s and [[Sidestepper]]s can also be found in the water. Prior to the introduction of underwater driving, entering deep water will usually respawn or slow down the player. When the player is underwater, the music is slightly altered, though there are courses that have their own arrangements for underwater sections. In ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'', the player's screen becomes wet for a short period when exiting underwater sections.

Although the mechanic was introduced in ''Mario Kart 7'', ''[[Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast]]'' features a similar mechanic, where the players could race underwater by riding on [[Enguarde the Swordfish]] or via their barrels. It is featured in [[Salty Sea (race course)|Salty Sea]], [[Shimmering Sea]] and [[Open Ocean]].

In ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', if a driver goes into the water, they can drive underwater for about four seconds until [[Lakitu]] pulls them out. This allows them to potentially get back onto the racecourse without needing Lakitu.

In ''Mario Kart 7'', ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'', and ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'', when driving underwater, the handling, speed, and drifting of most [[driver]]s, [[vehicle]]s, and [[tire]]s are different than usual. For some examples from ''Mario Kart 7'', the [[Egg 1]] would become faster, while the [[Barrel Train]] would become slower. In ''Mario Kart 8'', the [[Badwagon]] strongly excels while underwater, but it has among the worst underwater statistics in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''.

Courses with normally optional segments are marked with an asterisk (*).

*{{classic-link|DS|Cheep Cheep Beach}}*

*[[Yoshi's Island (race course)|Yoshi's Island]]

*In ''Mario Kart Tour'', [[SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2]] and [[SNES Vanilla Lake 2]] have unaccessible underwater areas. Both areas can only be entered by falling into them during [[Glider Challenge]]s.<ref>HalfHydra. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnu1PoDbL0 Glider Challenge Exploration], ''Youtube'', March 8, 2022.</ref>

*The first variants of [[Singapore Speedway]] and [[Bangkok Rush]] have shallow bodies of water that trigger the underwater propeller, but the player themselves arent usually fully submerged in it. In Singapore Speedway, the propeller appears when a back portion of small kart (such as a [[Pipe Frame]] driven by small and medium drivers) is submerged in the pool of it, while in Bangkok Rush, the propeller appears when the player uses a small driver and a small kart next to the start of the river section.