Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- This article is about the Nintendo Switch port of the Mario Kart 8 game. For the game's original version, see Mario Kart 8.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer | Nintendo EPD BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher | Nintendo Tencent Games (China) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date | April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017[1] April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017[2] December 15, 2017[3] December 15, 2017[4] March 16, 2020[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Language(s) | Deutsch English (United Kingdom) English (United States) Español (España) Español (Latinoamérica) Français (Canada) Français (France) Italiano Nederlands Português (Portugal) Русский 한국어 日本語 简体中文1 繁體中文
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Genre | Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rating(s) |
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Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer, Online Play, Wireless Play, LAN Play | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Media | Nintendo Switch: Game Card Digital download
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Input | Nintendo Switch:
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a racing game in the Mario Kart series released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2017. It is an enhanced port of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U and is the first Super Mario game overall to be released for the Nintendo Switch. The base game contains additional content such as several new characters and an overhauled Battle Mode with new courses and modes. First teased in the Switch's announcement video on October 20, 2016, the game was formally announced as part of the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 13, 2017.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, new race courses and returning characters were added to the game via the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass paid DLC. An edition of the game that has the Booster Course Pass activated from the start, titled the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle (Game + Booster Course Pass), is available for purchase digitally.[6]
Controls
Dual Joy-Con / Pro Controller
- or / or tilt: Steer
- or up or or auto-accelerate: Accelerate / Rocket Start (press and hold when the countdown hits 2)
- or down: Brake/reverse
- / : Use horn/item
- / : Hop/drift/trick
- or / or tilt + or up or or auto-accelerate + / : Drift
- : Rear view
Joy-Con (sideways)
- or tilt: Steer
- or or auto-accelerate: Accelerate / Rocket Start (press and hold when the countdown hits 2)
- : Brake/reverse
- : Use horn/item
- : Hop/drift/trick
- or tilt + or or auto-accelerate + : Drift
- : Rear view
Toy-Con Motorbike
- Tilt: Steer
- forward tilt or auto-accelerate: Accelerate / Rocket Start (press and hold when the countdown hits 2)
- : Brake / reverse
- : Use horn/item
- : Hop / trick
- Tilt + forward tilt or auto-accelerate + : Drift
- : Switch view
Toy-Con Car
- Tilt: Steer
- Pedal half press or auto-accelerate: Accelerate / Rocket Start (press and hold when the countdown hits 2)
- : Use horn/item
- Pedal full press: Hop / trick
- Tilt + pedal full press: Drift
- : Switch view
Differences from the original
The game features most of the base and DLC content of Mario Kart 8. Content excluded includes Miiverse compatibility, stamps, and the ability to upload Highlight Reels on YouTube - all of which were discontinued on the Wii U version when Miiverse was terminated on November 7, 2017. Battle Mode has been significantly altered.
Characters that were originally unlockable or exclusive to downloadable content in Mario Kart 8 are available from the start in this game, marking the largest starting roster of any Mario Kart game.
Characters can now carry up to two items at once, even if they do not equip the first item, and the game features the return of the Double Item Box from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The game also introduces Smart Steering and Auto-Accelerate for beginners; the former makes staying on the track easier by automatically steering the vehicle away from edges on the track, while the latter makes the vehicle automatically accelerate (though this is not available in Battle Mode). If the Smart Steering mode is on, the player's vehicle will have a black antenna sticking out of its rear end; this antenna blinks yellow and bends when Smart Steering is in effect. Smart Steering and Auto-Accelerate can be toggled on and off individually for each player in the vehicle part selection menu and in the pause menu. There is also an additional level of Mini-Turbo, called Ultra Mini-Turbo, denoted by purple sparks (referred to as pink in the British English version) that appear after the orange sparks. This new level of Mini-Turbo can only be used if Smart Steering is off.
200cc engine class for Time Trials has been added (separately recorded from the 150cc Time Trials). There are new staff ghosts for 200cc, while some of the 150cc staff ghosts have slightly different times compared to the original.
The game features an in-game guide, directly accessible from the game's menu; this guide explains various techniques, Battle Mode, and the functions of each item.
The vehicle parts that are exclusive to downloadable content in Mario Kart 8 (i.e. parts included within the Mercedes-Benz × Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8, and Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 add-on packs) are now accessible in the base game and are randomly unlocked by collecting coins during gameplay.
There are more individual character weight classes when compared to the Wii U game, with several returning characters having different statistics, thus resulting in fewer characters having the same stats as each other. Similarly, the statistics of some vehicle parts have been altered, and certain physics elements, such as the speed increase per stat and the acceleration tiers, have been adjusted.
Red Shells and Spiny Shells are now slower when they lock onto their target, meaning players are able to outrun them in 200cc when they have any kind of speed boost.
The overall game difficulty has been reduced, as CPUs slow down closer to the player when compared to the original version and do not charge Mini Turbos or Super Mini Turbos as quickly. The default speed of the CPUs in the Normal and Easy difficulties is also reduced. CPU players now have a chance to obtain Triple Red Shells from Item Boxes, but this primarily only happens in the Shells Only item setting.
Online lobbies have been changed in that players playing Worldwide or Regional VS Races between 1000 VR and 3000 VR will be randomized either a 100cc or 150cc race, and starting at over 3000 VR, players will now be randomized a 150cc, Mirror, or 200cc race. The engine class for the upcoming race in a race lobby is now shown in the lobby as the course is selected, via a "50", "100", "150", mirrored "150" (for Mirror), or "200" icon in the bottom right of the selected course icon. This extends to online battle lobbies, which will display a symbol of a yellow balloon (for Balloon Battle), a potted Piranha Plant (for Renegade Roundup), a coin (for Coin Runners), a Shine Sprite (for Shine Thief), or a Bob-omb (for Bob-omb Blast) to denote which battle mode is about to be played. There is also an option to change character and vehicle combinations in an online lobby without having to leave; this is done by pressing ( when playing with a single Joy-Con) during the course selection of an online lobby. The Mii characters that represent the players in online lobbies wear racing suits, unlike in the original version in which they wore their regular outfits. The Mii of the previous race or battle's winner will also wear a crown identical to the one worn by the first-place player in Battle Mode. The newly added wireless and LAN modes use a very similar lobby to the online lobby, albeit visually set in a garage rather than on a globe.
Players can now see the lap count or timer when spectating an online race or battle respectively. However, it is no longer possible to see the lap count when crossing the finish line nor the full results in multiplayer (including online lobbies) at the end of the race while watching Highlight Reels via Mario Kart TV.
The game now mostly renders in native 1920x1080 resolution in TV mode (sometimes switching to native 1728x972), and always renders at native 1280x720 resolution in Tabletop and Handheld Mode, instead of the dynamic 1280x720/1152x648 rendering resolution used in the original Wii U version. Motion blur when boosting is present in LAN and online mode, and in earlier builds, it was also present in splitscreen multiplayer.[7] The shadows present in the game are of higher quality in multiplayer.
If a Blooper is about to ink the player as they cross the finish line, the player will now still get inked.[8] This is unlike the Wii U version, where the Blooper or the ink disappeared instead. Characters also no longer vocally react when they are inked by a Blooper.
The course map color for the race courses is now white instead of blue, including the maps of all three Rainbow Roads and GCN Baby Park, which originally had multiple colors. However, the battle courses have color-shaded areas and lines on their maps to make it easier for players to determine where they are. The character icons on the course map are now slightly larger, more detailed, and of a higher resolution. In a race, the first place player no longer has a crown on their map icon, though they still do in battles. When a Bob-omb or Spiny Shell explodes, its explosion is now shown on the course map. When playing with the map enabled in local splitscreen multiplayer, there will only be one map in the center of the screen, rather than each player having their own copy of the map like in the Wii U version.
All courses that feature confetti flying around the finish line, such as Mario Circuit, now also have confetti on the ground of the course near it.[9]
When using the rearview mirror, the character will now move their eyes slightly to the left to look back, like how they do in Mario Kart Wii; however, their eyes will stay looking to the left as long as the rearview is active, rather than switching back after a second like in Mario Kart Wii.
Inkling Girl, Isabelle, and Link now appear on the loading screen, and the game also has reduced loading times when compared to the Wii U game; as a result, the second set of characters that originally appeared on the loading screen is almost never seen before the game finishes loading.
When playing with teams, flags colored to correspond to the teams are added behind the vehicles. If Smart Steering is on, then the Smart Steering antenna serves as the pole of the flag. These flags do not appear in Balloon Battle and Bob-omb Blast, as the colors of the balloons represent the teams in these modes.
Battle Mode
The biggest change made between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the original release of Mario Kart 8 is the Battle Mode. Battle Mode now returns to the arena-based battle and unlike previous games, each player starts with five balloons, as opposed to three. Another addition to Battle Mode is that the character in the lead now wears a crown, unlike in Mario Kart 8 where the crown is displayed only on the HUD map. Additionally, players now start out with zero points instead of Mario Kart 8's default three points, and their balloons do not serve as the remaining three points. Returning from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 is the ability to respawn after all balloons are popped; this causes the player's total score to halve and the player respawns with three balloons instead of five. A new addition to this mode is the feature to tell exactly which character hit whom, which appears on the bottom of the screen. Furthermore, after getting hit, players now have about 1.5 seconds of invincibility frames, unlike in Mario Kart 8. The item options also appear to have been updated; alongside the "Frantic Items" option, which chooses powerful items more frequently, a "Skilled Items" option is also available for selection; in this option, powerful items appear less frequently, similar to Mario Kart Wii's "Strategic" ("Basic" in the British English version) item option.
There are five different Battle Mode types:
- Balloon Battle: The classic mode where players use items to pop opponents' balloons or steal them in order to score points. This mode now uses the point-based set-up seen in Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart 7, rather than the survival set-up of Mario Kart 8 and earlier installments prior to Mario Kart Wii.
- Renegade Roundup: A new mode in the vein of "cops and robbers", with the racers being divided into two teams. One team, known as "The Authorities", has to use Piranha Plant items (which are permanently attached to the front of their vehicle and only serve to capture the opposing team; they do not operate like the regular item) in order to capture players from the other team, known as "The Renegades". Captured Renegades are placed into one of several jail cells floating above various points on the stage. Remaining Renegades can free their teammates by driving over a key switch placed below the jail cells. The Renegades win if at least one member is still running free when time runs out, and the Authorities win if all of the Renegades get captured. All Authority team members also temporarily lose their ability to capture after being hit by an item and Renegades receive a speed boost and temporary immunity when they are freed from the cells.
- Bob-omb Blast: A returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, in which players attack one another using Bob-ombs to score points and can carry up to 10 Bob-ombs. This version follows nearly all of the same rules as Balloon Battle, the differences being these: the only items are Bob-ombs, players cannot be hurt by their own Bob-ombs exploding, and Bob-ombs thrown forward explode instantly.
- Coin Runners: Originating in Mario Kart Wii, this mode was last seen in Mario Kart 7. Players must collect Coins scattered across the course in order to have the most by the end of the match. Plays more akin to the Mario Kart Wii version of the mode, with players having no limit to the amount of coins they can collect, as opposed to the 10-coin limit in the Mario Kart 7 version.
- Shine Thief: Another returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, one player must retrieve a Shine Sprite and keep hold of it for about 20 seconds, while the opponents use items against whoever has the Shine to force that player to drop it. The driver holding the shine sprite has a slightly reduced top speed. In Team play, one team must collectively manage to hold on to the Shine for about 30 seconds.
There is also the option to randomly select one of the five available modes by choosing "Random Battle".
Characters
This section is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.
Excluding character variants, there are a total of 48 playable characters in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, including 40 in the base game and eight as DLC. All base and DLC characters from Mario Kart 8 are present in the base roster of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and are now available from the start, while more characters that were not present in Mario Kart 8 are also added. The base game includes returning characters Bowser Jr., King Boo, and Dry Bones, who were last playable in Mario Kart Wii, and Gold Mario (as a variant of Metal Mario), who was previously playable in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. It also introduces a new non-Mario character, being the Inkling from Splatoon. Players can choose either the Inkling Girl or Inkling Boy, and they include three selectable colors each. At the game's launch, the Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy took up separate character slots on the character selection screen, as did the two Villagers, after originally being present in the same character slot (with the female Villager being a variant of the male one) in Mario Kart 8. However, as of the version 3.0.0 update, the Inkling Boy and female Villager now share the same slot and are considered variants of Inkling Girl and the male Villager respectively.[10]
Eight additional characters were added as downloadable content via the Booster Course Pass, starting with its fourth wave. Characters added include Birdo, who was added in Wave 4 with nine selectable colors, Petey Piranha, Wiggler, and Kamek, who were added in Wave 5 (with Wiggler being playable in the series for the first time since Mario Kart 7), and Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Pauline, and Peachette, who were added in Wave 6.[11] Wiggler, Gold Mario, Kamek, Pauline, Peachette, and all Birdo variants are playable for the first time in a home console Mario Kart installment. Kamek, Pauline, Peachette, and almost all Birdo variants were originally introduced in Mario Kart Tour, which released after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
There is only one unlockable character in this game, that being Gold Mario. He is unlocked by clearing all cups of the 200cc Grand Prix. Additionally, the version 1.6.0 update added a new variant for Link, Champion's Tunic Link,[12] based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. When Gold Mario is unlocked and Champion's Tunic Link is downloaded, they become the default variations of their character, while Metal Mario and the version of Link based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword are relegated to alternate costumes. As of the 3.0.0 update, however, the character select screen now remembers the last costume used for characters with alternate costumes.
Characters, variants, and Mii Racing Suits playable in this game that are not playable in the original Mario Kart 8 are listed in italics.
Character select screen with Gold Mario unlocked and all DLC characters downloaded
Inkling Girl (new)
Character variants
With the exceptions of Link and the Villager, the displayed name of the character changes based on the variant that is selected. From version 3.0.0 onwards, the last used variant will have their icon shown on the character selection screen. Unlike in Mario Kart 8, the sub-menu for the two Villagers does not use a unique Animal Crossing-inspired color scheme, instead using the same gray color as the others.
Character | Variant(s) | |||||||
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Birdo | Birdo (Light-Blue) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Black) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Red) (new) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Yellow) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (White) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Blue) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Green) (new) DLC, Wave 4 |
Birdo (Orange) DLC, Wave 4 |
Yoshi | Light-blue Yoshi |
Black Yoshi |
Red Yoshi |
Yellow Yoshi |
White Yoshi |
Blue Yoshi |
Pink Yoshi |
Orange Yoshi |
Shy Guy | Light-blue Shy Guy |
Black Shy Guy |
Green Shy Guy |
Yellow Shy Guy |
White Shy Guy |
Blue Shy Guy |
Pink Shy Guy |
Orange Shy Guy |
Metal Mario | Gold Mario1 |
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Inkling | Inkling Girl |
Inkling Girl |
Inkling Boy2 |
Inkling Boy |
Inkling Boy |
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Villager | Villager2 |
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Link | Link3 |
1 - This costume is used as the select icon for the base character on the main select screen once it is available.
2 - Originally a separate character slot before becoming relegated to a costume in the version 3.0.0 update.
3 - Originally the only variant of the character before becoming relegated to a costume in the version 1.6.0 update
Mii Racing Suits
All 20 Mii Racing Suits return from Mario Kart 8, and, like in that game, the color of the standard suit matches the favorite color of the selected Mii. There are also two additional Mii Racing Suits tied to scanning amiibo - the new Splatoon Suit, which is unlocked either by scanning an amiibo from the Splatoon series or by scanning the Super Smash Bros. Inkling amiibo, and the Daisy Suit, returning from Mario Kart Tour, which can be unlocked by scanning any Daisy amiibo after installing version 3.0.0. In addition, the Animal Crossing Suit can now be unlocked with any Animal Crossing character amiibo, and the Pikmin Suit can be unlocked with the Pikmin series Pikmin amiibo. In version 3.0.0, scanning any amiibo of characters in The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby series unlocks the respective series' Mii Racing Suits.
As part of the sixth wave of the Booster Course Pass, 17 additional Mii Racing Suits from Mario Kart Tour were added. These costumes can be unlocked via purchasing the DLC.[13] Some Jump Boost animations from these suits are different from those of the Mii Racing Suits in the base game and the Daisy Suit.
Rival order
Like in Mario Kart 8, characters have set rivals that consistently appear when racing in Grand Prix races. They are once again restricted to Grand Prix only, not appearing in single player versus or battle mode. Unlike the previous game, more characters have rivals: the twelve characters from the previous game who had rivals retain their rivals in this game, while other characters range from having one to two rivals each, or even none at all.
Vehicle parts
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features six additional vehicle body parts. One is the Koopa Clown, returning from Mario Kart 7. Two new vehicles are Splatoon-based ATVs; the Splat Buggy and Inkstriker. These three change their colors for certain characters: the former for the Koopalings, and the latter two for all Inkling variations. Version 1.6.0 adds the Master Cycle Zero, Ancient Tires, and Paraglider. In total, there are 41 vehicle bodies, 22 tires, and 15 gliders, resulting in up to 13,530 different combinations.
Computer-controlled characters now choose from a wider variety of kart parts than in the original version, such as the Flame Rider and the Sports Coupe. However, they are still restricted to a set amount of body parts per character. A CPU Baby Daisy has the tendency to use the Wild Wiggler with Wood tires, for example.
Available parts
The parts available are listed here in the order shown in the vehicle customization screen, with the following notation:
- Bold = Part is available at the start.
- * = Changes color, depending on the character.
- ** = Changes color for the Koopalings.
- *** = Changes color for Daisy, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Baby Rosalina, Wiggler, Kamek and Funky Kong.
- **** = Changes color for the Inklings.
- (DX) = Part is not available in the original Mario Kart 8.
- (NEW) = Part is introduced in this game.
The "8" logos on the parts are replaced with the driver's emblem, except on the Gold Standard and Gold Glider.
Karts
Biddybuggy*
BuggybudLandship**
Sneeker*
BounderSports Coupe
Sports CoupéGold Standard
Gold KartGLA*
Koopa Clown** (DX)
Standard bikes
Mr. Scooty
Mr ScootyMaster Cycle Zero (NEW)
Sport bikes
ATVs
Standard ATV*
Standard QuadSplat Buggy**** (NEW)
Inkstriker**** (NEW)
Tires
Standard
NormalWood
WoodenBlue Standard
Normal BlueHot Monster
Funky MonsterGold Tires
Gold WheelsGLA Tires
GLA WheelsTriforce Tires
Triforce TyresAncient Tires (NEW)
Ancient TyresLeaf Tires
Leaf Tyres
Gliders
Paraglider (NEW)
CPU combinations
All characters in the game except for variants (besides Champion's Tunic Link) and Miis can be used by CPUs. Each of these characters have four different combinations of vehicle parts that they can use as CPUs. These combinations are listed below.
AI Combinations | ||||
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Player | Combination 1 | Combination 2 | Combination 3 | Combination 4 |