Mario Kart Wii

Lore & Background

Super Mario Kart features eight playable characters from the Mario series: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa and Toad. Each character's kart has different capabilities with differing levels of top speed, acceleration and handling. During races, computer-controlled characters have special items, or superpowers, which they are able to use. These powers are specific to each character; for example, Yoshi drops eggs which cause players who hit them to lose coins and spin, while Donkey Kong Jr. throws bananas. The characters are rendered as sprites portrayed from 16 different angles. Super Mario Kart was the first game to feature playable characters from the Mario series other than Mario or Luigi in a non-platforming game.

In Their Own Story

In Super Mario Kart, the player takes control of one of eight Mario series characters, each with differing capabilities. In single-player mode, players can race against computer-controlled characters in 4 multi-race cups consisting of 20 tracks (5 in each cup) over three difficulty levels (50cc, 100cc and 150cc). During the races, offensive and speed boosting power-ups can be used to gain an advantage. Alternatively, players can race against the clock in a Time Trial mode. In multiplayer mode, two players can simultaneously take part in the cups or can race against each other one-on-one in Match Race mode. In a third multiplayer mode – Battle Mode – the aim is to defeat the other players by attacking them with power-ups, destroying balloons which surround each kart.

Reader's Guide

The tracks in Super Mario Kart are based on locations in Super Mario World such as Donut Plains. Each of the four cups contains five different tracks for a total of twenty unique tracks, additionally there are four unique Battle Mode courses. The course outlines are marked out by impassable barriers and feature a variety of bends ranging from sharp hairpins to wide curves which players can power slide around. Numerous obstacles themed from the Mario series appear, such as Thwomps in the Bowser's Castle tracks, the Cheep-Cheeps from Super Mario World in Koopa Beach and pipe barriers which are found in the Mario Circuit tracks. Other features include off-road sections which slow down the karts such as the mud bogs in the Choco Island tracks. Each cup track is littered with coins and power-up tiles, as well as turbo tiles which give the karts a boost of speed and jumps which launch the karts into the air. The game features advanced maneuvers such as power sliding and hopping. Power sliding allows a kart to maintain its speed while turning, although executing the maneuver for too long causes the kart to spin. Hopping helps a kart execute tighter turns: the kart makes a short hop and turns in the air, speeding off in the new direction when it lands.

Did You Know?

• Super Mario Kart sold 8.76 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling SNES game of all time.
• The game was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009, on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013, and on the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2016.
• Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.
• All of the characters present in Super Mario Kart have gone on to appear in later games in the series, except for Donkey Kong Jr. and Koopa Troopa, who have only appeared intermittently after being replaced by Donkey Kong and Wario respectively in Mario Kart 64.
• The track themes in Super Mario Kart influenced later games in the series; recurring themes that first appeared here include haunted tracks, Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road.