With Wave 4 of Mario Kart‘s Extra Track DLC revealing that five additional characters are to be added with the final two waves of the DLC. So that raises the question, which five characters from Mario’s history will see the prestige of being a Mario Kart racer? Here are my ideas!
1. Diddy Kong
Introduced in Mario Kart: Double Dash, Diddy Kong has been a staple to the Mario Kart series ever since, appearing in Mario Kart Wii too, but his karting origins go back even deeper, having his own karting series back on the Nintendo 64 with Diddy Kong Racing so is no stranger to frantic karting action. He is clearly the most demanded character return, with most players surprised he wasn’t brought back alongside Bowser Jr and Nintendo would be foolish not to bring him back now with this extra opportunity.
2. Funky Kong
It’s hard to understate the lasting legacy that Funky Kong has left on Mario Kart Wii, from being broken in a way to made him superior for time trials and online racing to his general charisma and cool dude persona, Funky Kong truly is a spectacle in himself. This fan favourite choice would make the most people happy with a simple inclusion which I think is great for Mario Kart.
3. Pauline
The mayor of New Donk City and original damsel in distress Pauline has quickly become a fan favourite in recent years appearing in the Mario VS Donkey Kong games and singing Jump Up Superstar in Odyssey, she’s an easy win for getting more of the Mario women into the karting game!
4. Petey Piranha
Once an iconic Mario mainstay, to being lost within the Koopalings shadow, Petey Piranha was at the top of his game during the era of Double Dash. Being King Boo’s partner and a secret unlockable character in a plethora of spin offs it seems that he is seldom heard from nowadays, so why not reunite him with his ghostly buddy to wreak havoc on the race track once again?
5. Nabbit
The undisputed Mario mascot of the WiiU era has to be Nabbit, the purple kleptomaniac rabbit(?) caused mischief and mayhem wherever he appeared but has been mentioned a lot less since the Switch hit shelves but I still think the loveable scamp has a rightful place on the roster.
6. Kamek
Kamek is more than just Bowser’s adopted dad and right hand man, his appearance in Mario Kart is prolific and legendary. Having appeared in a demo for Mario Kart 64 before launch, only to be cut to be replaced by Donkey Kong, it is finally time for this Koopa to get his retribution.
7. Spike
I just want to be straight with everyone here, I do not want Spike, I do not like him or know a single person that does but Nintendo insist on adding him to every spin off game they can and I have no idea why. Yes, I’d much rather any other character get in (besides Boom Boom) but we all know this is going to happen, so this is my safe but despised bet. Yes, I hate it too.
Secret Special Bonus Character – Mii Outfit B
Objectively the best and only choice for the final character slot has to be Mii Outfit B, it all makes sense, just look at the alignment of the characters, the final space is to the right of the Mii Outfit, and do you know what was next to the Mii Outfit on Mario Kart Wii? Yeah, that’s right, Mii freaking Outfit B baby. If this character does not make it into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe I will riot.
Those are my characters, which ones would you love to see get added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Let me know!
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.
