Mario Kart DX

Mario Kart DX
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Genre(s)	Racing
Release Date(s)	2018
Mode(s)	Single Player Local Multiplayer Online Multiplayer
Age Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 3 CERO: A

Mario Kart DX is a new Mario Kart game to be released for the Nintendo Switch. The game is meant to combine many aspects of previous Mario Kart games into one, essentially remastering a lot of content from old games, following Mario Kart 8 being ported as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Like that game, Mario Kart DX features new content and additional features that were not present in the original games, such as extra battle modes, additional characters, more cups, and more levels in Mission Mode, which returns from Mario Kart DS.

Gameplay and features

Controls and stats have been slightly revised compared to the original games. Drifting and steering functions similarly to Mario Kart 8, and tricks have returned. Several of the old tracks have been modified to feature air, underwater, or anti-gravity sections, while most new tracks also feature these. The graphical interface appears to be a combination of that of Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 8. Additionally, kart customisation also makes a return; the game features the Pipe Frame from the first three games in the series, as well as several karts from Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and many parts from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8 also return, while nearly no new ones have been introduced. They can still be seperated into the groups of kart, bike, and ATV; however, some old karts may be reclassed into a different category.

Like in other Mario Kart games, items also make an appearance on the track. Regular Item Boxes will give the player one item, while Double Item Boxes will give the player two items at once. The player will have access to two different item slots, like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Game modes

Grand Prix

Grand Prix is mainly the same as in previous installments. The mode features several Cups that a player may choose from: each cup consists of four races that must be raced in order to obtain a trophy.

VS

The player can race on tracks and freely change the rules. They may change the cc, the item types that appear, the amount of drivers per race, the types of vehicles that are permitted, and the amount of races played. They can freely choose from any track or let the game select a random track.

Battle mode

The game features five battle modes for players to choose from. The same settings as in VS Mode can be changed, except for the cc.

Balloon Battle

Balloon Battle remains mainly unchanged from past incarnations. All drivers start the battle with three ballons floating over their heads, and each time they are hit by an item, they will lose a balloon and a point. However, if they hit other drivers with an item, they will gain a point. The player or team with the most points in the end, wins.

Coin Runners

Coin Runners also remains mostly unchanged. In it, a large amount of Coins are dropped onto the battle field, and players have to drive around the stage in order to collect as many coins as they can. Getting hit by an item will result in the loss of three coins, which will be scattered on the floor around the driver. The player or team with the most coins in the end, wins.

Bob-omb Blast

In this mode returning from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, players can only get Bob-ombs as items. The player is able to collect Bob-ombs from Item Boxes, and they may hold up to eight Bob-ombs at a time. The goal is to hit as many other characters with the Bob-ombs, which will award the player with a point; however, getting hit by a Bob-omb will result in a point being lost. The player or team with the most points in the end, wins.

Crown Catchers

A new mode in the game, in Crown Catchers, a crown from Super Mario 3D World is placed in the stage, and drivers must attempt to get to it before any other drivers. A driver that wears the crown will gain more points the longer they wear it. However, getting hit by an item will make them drop the crown, which will then relocate to a randomly selected different point of the stage for the drivers to find again. This Battle Mode cannot be played in teams. The player with the most points in the end, wins.

Scavengers

The final new mode in the game, Scavengers is a different type of Battle Mode compared to the other modes. Firstly, a number of modified regular race tracks are used in this mode, as opposed to the battle stages. In this mode, all drivers start at the same point, the finish line, and must drive around the stage and try to collect several rare items that are placed over the course. The player must try to get the most and rarest items, but must also beware of a time limit; if they do not return to the finish line in time, their items will be lost again. The player may set the amount of rounds for this mode. This Battle Mode can also not be played in teams. The player with the most points in the end wins.

Online Mode

Like in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8, a maximum of two people can play online through a copy of the game. Players can choose to play with players worldwide, or from their own region only, and they may also choose to only play with friends by creating a room. Players can also join friends in global online matches by selecting them through a friend list. Like in the past three games, players earn points called VR based on how well they do; the initial amount of VR is 1000, and the maximum amount is 99999. Additionally, a player can have stars next to their name, if they beat every Cup with a star ranking. This can be ★, ★★, or ★★★. Both VS races and Battle move are available online. Players can choose to play only one specific Battle Mode, or join a room where Battle Modes are selected at random. Like in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8, VS races and Battle mode have seperate VR rankings.

Also like in Mario Kart 8, the game will show the player three pre-selected tracks and a random icon, from which the player must choose one before every race or battle.

Mission Mode

Returning from Mario Kart DS, a Mission mode is available in the game; the mode features ten levels, all of which consist of eight missions and a boss. There are many types of missions that the player must complete, with a pre-selected character and kart combination. Mission types include driving backwards, passing through gates in order, racing CPU players, destroying items or obstacles, or a combination thereof. At the end of every eight missions, a level boss must be fought in order to progress to the next level. Defeating the boss will reward the player with kart parts or characters. Clearing the whole mission mode will turn the player's star ranking into platinum stars.

This mode is exclusively single-player, except for level 10, which is designed to be played with two people, though it can still be played in single-player mode.

Character Museum

See also: Character Museum

A mode new to the Mario Kart series is the Character Museum mode. In this mode, players can unlock information and figurines of all characters in the game, whether they are playable characters or NPCs, as well as all of the items. The player can unlock these by completing certain small tasks (such as ‘Use a Mushroom 20 times’) during regular races or battles, which will unlock figurines.

Testing Mode

In this new mode, the player will have access to an obround-shaped arena, Trial Arena, with several obstacles, which is not available in any other mode. In the area, there are several ramps, an underwater section, and anti-gravity walls. The player can use this to test out kart combinations. They may also select items to use here, and there are several targets that they can use to try items on. There are also moving targets. All items are available, except for the Blue Shell and the Bullet Bill, which would not function.

Tracks

Nitro Cups

Mushroom Circuit	Tree Zone	Yoshi Shore	Icicle Dome
Mario Circuit	Shroom Highlands	Birdo's Boutique	Volbono Voyage
Toad Town Trail	Waluigi Casino	Sky-High Fortress	Scarlet Street
Resort Palace	Monty Moor	Dusky Ruins	New Donk City
Piranha Pathways	Daisy's Sunnyside Mountain	Bowser's Castle	Rainbow Road

Retro Cups

Toad Circuit Mario Kart 7	Toad's Factory Mario Kart Wii	Thwomp Ruins Mario Kart 8	Ghost Valley 1 Super Mario Kart
Mario Circuit Mario Kart DS	Sunset Wilds Mario Kart: Super Circuit	Dolphin Shoals Mario Kart 8	Daisy Circuit Mario Kart Wii
Dry Dry Ruins Mario Kart Wii	Ice Ice Outpost Mario Kart 8	Broken Pier Mario Kart: Super Circuit	Shroom Ridge Mario Kart DS
Wario Stadium Mario Kart 64	Mushroom City Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	Yoshi Desert Mario Kart: Super Circuit	Rosalina's Ice World Mario Kart 7
Wario's Galleon Mario Kart 7	Vanilla Lake 2 Super Mario Kart	Bowser's Castle Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	Rainbow Road Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Battle Courses

TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Battle Course 2 Super Mario Kart	Skyscraper Mario Kart 64	Battle Course 4 Mario Kart: Super Circuit	Tilt-a-kart Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Tart Top Mario Kart DS	Funky Stadium Mario Kart Wii	Honeybee House Mario Kart 7	Lunar Colony Mario Kart 8

Characters

The game features a total of 54 characters, with 12 default characters, 36 unlockable characters, and 6 characters added in an update. Additionally, several characters also have various alternate colorations that can be unlocked as well. These make for an additional 53 alternate colorations that can be selected, and if these are counted, making a grand total of 107 characters.

Default characters

Mario
Medium

Luigi
Medium

Peach
Medium

Yoshi
Medium

Toad
Light

Bowser
Heavy

Donkey Kong
Cruiser

Koopa Troopa
Feather

Daisy
Medium

Wario
Heavy

Waluigi
Medium

Dry Bones
Feather

Unlockable characters

Shy Guy
Feather

Rosalina
Cruiser

Toadette
Light

Birdo
Medium

Dry Bowser
Heavy

Bowser Jr.
Light

Nabbit
Light

King Boo
Cruiser

Kamek
Light

Petey Piranha
Heavy

Lakitu
Feather

Motley Bossblob
Medium

Diddy Kong
Light

Toadsworth
Light

Wiggler
Cruiser

Peepa
Feather

Boom Boom
Heavy

Pom Pom
Cruiser

Larry
Light

Wendy
Light

Ludwig
Medium

Iggy
Cruiser

Lemmy
Feather

Morton
Heavy

Roy
Heavy

Pianta
Cruiser

Ninji
Feather

Lumalee
Light

Mummy-Me
Feather

Tostarenan
Light

Whittle
Light

Metal Mario
Heavy

Baby Mario
Feather

Baby Luigi
Feather

Tanooki Mario
Cruiser

Mii
Various

Additional Characters

These characters were added in a free update two months after the game's release.

Pauline
Medium

Cappy
Feather

Glydon
Cruiser

Blooper
Feather

Monty Mole
Medium

Spike
Light

Alternate colorations

There is a total of 53 alternate colorations, spread over 7 different characters.

Yoshi
Yoshi Black Yoshi Blue Yoshi Light Blue Yoshi Orange Yoshi Pink Yoshi Purple Yoshi Red Yoshi White Yoshi Yellow Yoshi

Toad
Toad Blue Toad Green Toad Purple Toad Red Toad Yellow Toad Fire Blue Toad Fire Yellow Toad Ice Blue Toad Ice Yellow Toad

Koopa Troopa
Koopa Troopa Black Koopa Troopa Blue Koopa Troopa Pink Koopa Troopa Red Koopa Troopa Yellow Koopa Troopa Dark Koopa Troopa Shady Koopa Troopa

Dry Bones
Dry Bones Blue Dry Bones Green Dry Bones Dull Bones Red Bones Dark Bones

Shy Guy
Shy Guy Black Shy Guy Blue Shy Guy Green Shy Guy Light Blue Shy Guy Orange Shy Guy Pink Shy Guy Purple Shy Guy White Shy Guy Yellow Shy Guy

Birdo
Birdo Black Birdo Blue Birdo Green Birdo Light Blue Birdo Orange Birdo Purple Birdo Red Birdo White Birdo Yellow Birdo

Metal Mario
Metal Mario Gold Mario Silver Mario Bronze Mario Pink Gold Mario Cobalt Mario

Items

The game features 25 different items that can be obtained from an Item Box, while there are 3 items found on the courses. The game features 5 new items.

Items found on the track
Item Box	Gives the driver an item once it is touched. The powerfulness of the item depends on the driver's place.
Coin	Collecting more coins will slightly improve the vehicle's top speed. Coins may also appear in Item Boxes. Does not appear in Battle Mode, except for Coin Runners.
Red Coin	Works like a coin, except it is worth 2 regular coins. It appears only in Coin Runners.
New items
Special Crown	Activates automatically once obtained. It provides a minor speed boost for 10 seconds, but if its user bumps into another driver, the Special Crown will be passed onto them instead. Does not appear in Battle Mode.
Mini Mushroom	It can be thrown forward or backward, after which it will stay on the track. Anyone who drives into it will shrink, as if they were hit by a Lightning Bolt.
Freezie	Once thrown, it will slide across the track. If it hits a driver, they will be encased in ice for a short amount of time, making them unable to steer.
Brick Block	It will place a Brick Block in front of the drivers in front of its user, which acts like a breakable crate. Does not appear in Battle Mode.
1-up Mushroom	Gives its user an ‘extra life’, which will protect them from whatever the next hit is. It has no time limit, and will last until the driver is hit.
Returning items
Banana Peel	It can be placed on the track. If a driver drives into it, they will spin out.
Triple Bananas	Three Bananas. They will spin around the kart once activated.
Green Shell	When used, it will slide across the track, bouncing off walls. If it hits a driver, they will topple over.
Triple Green Shells	Three Green Shells. They will spin around the kart once activated.
Red Shell	Once it is thrown, it will target the driver in front of its user. If it hits another item on its path, or if it collides with a wall, it will break.
Triple Red Shells	Three Red Shells. They will spin around the kart once activated.
Mushroom	Provides a short speed boost when used.
Triple Mushrooms	Thee Mushrooms. They will spin around the kart once activated.
Golden Mushroom	Will give unlimited speed boosts for 10 seconds. Does not appear in Battle Mode.
Fire Flower	Its user may throw 10 weak fireballs that make other drivers spin out on contact.
Super Leaf	Once it is activated, it will provide its user of a tail that they can spin around their kart, knocking over drivers on contact.
Star	Will give its user complete invincibility and a minor speed boost for about 7 seconds.
Boomerang Flower	The player may throw a boomerang three times, which will spin out drivers on contact. The player may throw only one boomerang per time, and must wait until it returns to throw another.
Cape Feather	The player will perform a short jump upon activating the item. The jump is high enough to jump over other drivers, items on the track, or certain parts of tracks.
Bob-omb	Explodes shortly after being thrown or dropped, knocking over karts in its blast radius.
Boo	The user will turn invisible and invincible temporarily, allowing them to pass through other drivers and items. The Boo will also steal an item from another driver in the race at random, for its user to use.
Lightning	Will shrink all other drivers in the race. They will grow back to normal size in order from last place to first place.
Spiny Shell	Will target the driver in first place, knocking over other karts in its path. Will explode once it reaches its target, knocking over karts in its blast radius.
POW Block	Will spin out all drivers on the ground, but has no effect on drivers in the air.
Bullet Bill	Its user transforms into a speeding Bullet Bill, which will steer automatically and is invincible to all items. Does not appear in Battle Mode.