Summary
The current era ofMario Kartis finally coming to an end.Mario Kart Tourwill receive its final content update on October 4, and theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass will launch its sixth and final wave of DLC sometime in Holiday 2023. Carrying on the solid foundationMario Kart 8built on the Wii U,Mario Kart 8 Deluxehas proven to be the definitive modernMario Kart, in no small part due to the enormous amount of post-launch content it’s received.
The final wave of8 Deluxe’s DLC will introduce four new characters, as well as the last eight courses. What the courses are will be revealed in the coming months, but fans have noticed something interesting about the newcomers in the meantime.Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Pauline, and Peachettefill more than the two remaining slots on the character selection screen, and there are still plenty of old racers who aren’t inMario Kart 8 Deluxeyet. There’s no guarantee that additional characters are coming, but it’s still impressive thatMario Kartstill has any content that’s not included inMK8DX.
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Missing Racers From Older Mario Kart Games
At the moment, there are only fourMario Kartcharacters who predateMK8but haven’t reappeared inDeluxe.
Donkey Kong Jr.’s pixelated self andMario Kart: Double Dash’s Koopa Paratroopa both appeared inMario Kart Tour, but the Honey Queen and ROB are still locked in their debut titles. The Robotic Operating Buddy was a secret character inMario Kart DS, and theHoney Queen was likewise inMario Kart 7for the 3DS. ROB and the Honey Queen don’t have great chances of appearing again, but at least DK Jr. finally got his due as aSuper Mario Kartveteran.
Mario Kart Tour Characters That Haven’t Come To Consoles
There are also plenty of characters that debuted inMario Kart Tourbut haven’t come toMario Kart 8 Deluxeyet.
While it wasn’t to many consoleMario Kartfans' tastes,Tourwas a great place for introducing new characters and courses to the franchise. Surprises like Chargin' Chuck, King Bob-omb, and Dixie Kong managed to make their way in, andPauline and Peachette owe theirMK8DXappearancesto debuting inMario Kart Tour. Chances are fairly good that racers who missedMK8could make it intoMario Kart 9or later entries, so their brief time inTour’s spotlight hasn’t gone to waste.
Arcade-Only Mario Kart Characters
In addition to the manyMario Karttitles developed by Nintendo,Bandai Namco handled fourMario Kart Arcadegamesthat featured guest characters from its own franchises.
AlthoughMario Kart 8made a name for itself by featuring crossovers with several other Nintendo franchises, the chances of it extending that offer to other companies at this point are low. Still, seeing Pac-Man,Taiko no Tatsujin’s living drum Don-Chan, and evenTamagotchi’s rabbit-like Mametchi racing alongsideMariocharacters is a big part ofMario Kart Arcade GP’s appeal.Mario Kart Tourhas a Fire Mario costume, but strangely there has been no Ice Luigi or Blue Toad.Mario Kart 8 Deluxegets the last laugh there, as Blue Toad and Yellow Toad appear as menu cameos in its online mode. While it’s not a roster slot, it is nice to see some extra characters make their way toMario Kart 8.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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