Tracks
As I started writing this article I was content on keeping the typical fare of 32 races with a mix of new and old, but since then the ‘Course Booster Pack’ has been released and this has changed my perspective on this entirely. When completed, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will have 96 tracks, the most the series has had by far, so the next game having a third of that would be incredibly underwhelming. The best option Nintendo has here is to build on the same engine they have already created, add their new gimmicks, adjust the control to give it a unique flourish, and port every track over that is already in the game on top of the new 32 tracks expected in a fresh release. This would be the most definitive Mario Kart experience and wouldn’t take a lot of effort if they utilised the same engine from 8 Deluxe, as most of the groundwork has been done for them already.
Items
Arguably the most important element of Mario Kart is its items. From the iconic banana peel to the dastardly spiny shell, we all love/hate the chaotic randomness of getting bombarded with a plethora of exciting items and cursing Miyamoto himself for getting a coin when we needed to deflect an oncoming red shell. A feature that has been slowly forgotten over time was the super items from Double Dash, these were character-specific items that certain characters would get in lower positions to give them an advantage, some of which are still in the games today (golden mushrooms, fireballs, and triple shells). Of these, the chain chomp, giant shell, giant banana should see a return, as well as the POW block, giant mushroom, and fake item box. As far as I’m concerned the more frantic chaos with giant items and RNG the better when it comes to multiplayer matches.
Characters
The Mario roster is without a doubt one of the most iconic in all of gaming, Mario himself is the face of gaming as a whole and his ensemble quickly follows behind. What I propose for this hypothetical sequel is a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate approach and bring in every character from every previous game (such as Queen Bee or R.O.B) and to help keep it fresh and character slots more meaningful combine clone characters into costumes. The costume gimmick can be spread quite far too and add an extra layer of customisation. We’ve already seen with Shy Guy, Inkling, and Yoshi that swapping the colour palette of characters can add a more personal touch to characters. Some ideas that could add some much-needed variety include wedding costumes for Mario, Peach, and Bowser as well as a Warioware costume for Wario. The possibilities for small references to past adventures are almost endless.
So that’s my wishlist for the definitive Mario Kart sequel, what would you like to see in the newest iteration of the game on the next Nintendo system? And let me know who your main is in the replies!
Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.
