Mario Kart: Speedway Rush

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Mario Kart: Speedway Rush

Boxart of the game

Developer(s)

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Platform(s)

Nintendo Switch

Genre(s)

Racing game

Series

Pokémon

Predecessor

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Successor

N/A

Mode(s)

1 player - 8 players

Age Rating(s)

Media Included

Nintendo Optical Disc

Mario Kart: Speedway Rush (in Japanese: マリオカートスピードウェイラッシュ Mario Kāto: Supīdou~Eirasshu) is the newest title of Mario Kart, which was developed by Nintendo, along with the help of Sapphire Dragon Inc., being released for the Nintendo Switch, having the classic racing genre. It's the main 9th installment in the series, and the thirteenth overall in the series. This is the second Mario Kart title to be released for the Nintendo Switch and the first title to be included in a console with another game already existing.

A minor new feature introduced in Mario Kart, was the Riptide mode which lets the player turn its kart into a motorboat and ride the surface of water, as opposed to the underwater driving mechanic. Thus some courses have two ramps that lead to different paths, one is the surface path and the other for the underwater one. However, not every course has that function. Otherwise, no new gimmick was added unlike most recent games, as this compiles various features that were present in each game, for example, the Special Items from Double Dash!, the Mission Modes in Mario Kart DS, the aforementioned underwater and gliding mechanics, the kart customization and coins from Mario Kart 7 and the antigravitation from Mario Kart 8.

Similar to Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe version, Speedway Rush! sees the addition of four new cups, the Bell and Cherry Cup which belong to the Nitro Courses and the Egg and Feather Cups, belonging to the Retro Courses, only that they are unlockable instead of being Downloadable Content.

Gameplay[]

Mario Kart: Speedway Rush, as mentioned before, brings the same classic gameplay and elements, having identical controls as in Mario Kart 8: Deluxe. Players pick their favorite character, and choose a specific kart, and can opt to use the default settings or customize the parts of the vehicles, such as tires, gliders, motors and propellers for the motorboats. Each vehicle and part has certain advantages and disadvantages the player can use to their liking, as sometimes they are mere aesthetic.

After picking their favorite character and vehicle of preference the player can pick a cup out of the 12 ones, though 6 are available from the start and the other half needs to be unlocked. The main premise is the classic one, being the first to reach the finish first. Much like in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 the number of players in a race is twelve. However, the courses have different shapes, tracks and length, and they are filled of Item Boxes that, as expected, grants the player an item that can help go further on the race. However, the items one can get is actually determined on the position of the player in the race, for example, if the player is in the first place, they will usually have defensive enemies such as Bananas and Fake Item Boxes, while the ones that are in a lower place will receive more offensive and quirky items such as Shells and Mushrooms.

On the Double Cup mode, which can be unlocked after winning all the Nitro Cups in 50cc, lets the player experiment a past feature; the ability of having two characters racing in a single, taking the gameplay from Mario Kart: Double Dash, in where a character drives and its partner stands on the rear of the car, taking charge of the items, and even including the old exclusive items.

It should also be noted that there are some coins scattered during the course, and the player can pick them up, which they can raise the speed, but if you crash onto another player's kart, you'll lose coins. Being hit from an item makes you lose them too.

Some other minor mechanics such as the halfpipe tricks, being able to look backwards and gliding in the air, riding in the surface of the water or diving underwater return in the track, being indispensable to progress on.

Below there's a table that shows the point spread after reaching to the finish in a certain place, as it's varied and depends completely on the place. The higher your place is, the more points you receive. The player who has the most points is the winner of the golden cup, followed by the second and third place who receive the silver and bronze cups.

Point spread comparison
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit	9	6	3	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart DS	10	8	6	4	3	2	1	0	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart Wii	15	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
Mario Kart 7	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart: Speedway Rush!	15	12	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Dark Blue background shows the character having a joyous winning animation, usually jumping, and the music is very triumphant and cheerful. Light Sky Blue background shows the character having moderate winning animations such as clapping or slightly dancing. The music is normal. Pale Blue background shows a sad animation, such as the character angered, facepalming or crying. The music is also cheerless and sad.

Characters[]

Feather Class[]


Baby Mario	Baby Luigi		Baby Peach		Baby Daisy*		Baby Rosalina*	Baby Donkey Kong

Baby Wario*	Goomba		Shy Guy*		Luma*		Blooper*	Cheep Cheep*

		Lemmy Koopa*		Sprixie Princess*		Pearl*

Light Class[]


Toad	Toadette	Toadsworth*	Koopa Troopa	Dry Bones*	Lakitu*

Diddy Kong	Dixie Kong*	Monty Mole	Nabbit*	Spike	Noki*

	Wendy O. Koopa	Elvin Gadd*	Diamond*	Sarina*

Medium Class[]


Mario	Luigi	Peach	Daisy	Yoshi	Birdo

Bowser Jr.	Hammer Bro.*	Kamek*	Cranky Kong*	Larry Koopa	Iggy Koopa*

		Dr. Mario*	Rex*

Cruiser Class[]


Wario	Waluigi		Rosalina		Pauline*		King Boo*	Wiggler*

Boom Boom	Pom Pom*		Ludwig Von Koopa*		Roy Koopa		Morton Koopa Jr.*	Pianta

		Mona*		Kritter*		Queen Ruby*

Heavy Class[]


Donkey Kong	Bowser	Funky Kong*	Dry Bowser	Petey Piranha*	Honey Queen*

Metal Mario	Pink Gold Peach*	King Bob-Omb*	Big Bully*	King K. Rool*	Joe the Shark*

		Plessie	Dorrie*

NOTE: Characters that are named in Bold mean that they make their first playable appearance in a Mario Kart Game and the characters labeled with an asterisk (*) mean that they are unlockable.

Mii[]

Mii

Here in Speedway Rush! a maximum of four Miis can be saved per data, and the player can switch them out, without the need of sticking with a single one.

Alternate Costumes[]

Similar to Mario Kart 8, Speedway Rush provides a wide selection of palette swaps and alternate costumes that can be adjusted to the liking of the player. They do not affect actual gameplay though. Alternate Costumes can be bought at the Shop and doing so, it instantly unlocks every costume.

Default Partners[]

Much like in Double Dash! The player can play with the "Double Trouble mode, which lets you play with two characters in a car. By general, the partners are default and they share an exclusive item akin to them, having a default name to them. The player can however, switch the partner to it's liking. In the Mii's case, the player can customize the exclusive items and change the name of the team. If a player hasn't unlocked one of the default partners, then the character can be partnered with anyone, sticking with the default team name of the first character.

Unlocking Criteria[]

Much like in the Super Smash Bros. series, there are two ways to unlock an character, one is determined on how many races were won. and the other consists on clearing certain missions or winning some cups. After clearing an unlocking criteria, the player must race against the character in a course and the player must come out victorious to unlock the opponent.

Character	Standard Criteria	Racing Criteria
Baby Daisy	Win the Leaf Cup in 50cc	Win 40 races
Baby Rosalina	Unlock 4 Expert Staff Ghosts in Time Trial Mode	Win 320 races
Baby Wario	Rank at least one star or higher in all 100cc Nitro Cups.	Win 600 races
Shy Guy	Clear all level 1 missions	Win 560 races
Luma	Win the Star Cup in 150cc	Win 1440 races
Blooper	Unlock 16 Expert Staff Ghosts in Time Trial Mode	Win 1360 races
Cheep Cheep	Get at least one star or higher in all 50cc Retro Cups.	Win 1400 races
Lemmy Koopa	Win the Bell Cup in 100cc	Win 880 races
Sprixie Princess	Win the Star Cup in Mirror 150cc	Win 1480 races
Pearl	Automatically Unlocked when you have a saved data of "Super Mario and the Underworld Trials"	Win 1520 races
Toadsworth	Win the Special Cup in Mirror 150cc	Win 840 races
Dry Bones	Win the 50cc Lightning Cup	Win 80 races.
Lakitu	Race on 16 courses in Time Trial Mode.	Win 440 races
Dixie Kong	Win the 150cc Cherry Cup	Win 400 races
Noki	Get at least one star or more in all 100cc Nitro Cups	Win 1280 races
Nabbit	Get at least one star or more in all 150cc Nitro Cups	Win 1320 races
E. Gadd	Clear all level 2 Missions	Win 640 races
Diamond	Automatically Unlocked when you have a saved data of "Super Mario and the Underworld Trials"	Win 1560 races
Sarina	Automatically Unlocked when you have a saved data of "Super Mario and the Underworld Trials"	Win 1600 races
Hammer Bro.	Win the Lightning Cup in 100cc	Win 280 races
Kamek	Win the Leaf Cup in Mirror 150cc	Win 920 races
Cranky Kong	Unlock 24 expert staff ghosts in Time Trial Mode.	Win 1240 races
Iggy Koopa	Win the Cherry Cup in 100cc	Win 120 races.
Dr. Mario	Clear all the Level 3 Missions	Win 960 races
Rex	Unlock 30 expert staff ghosts in Time Trial Mode.	Win 1680 races
Pauline	Win the Cherry Cup in 50cc	Win 680 races
King Boo	Win the Special Cup in 50cc	Win 160 races
Wiggler	Race on every course in Time Trial Mode.	Win 1160 races
Pom Pom	Unlock 8 Expert Staff Ghosts in Time Trial.	Win 1120 races
Ludwig Koopa	Clear all level 4 Missions.	Win 480 races
Morton Koopa Jr.		Win 240 races
Mona	Race on 40 Courses in Time Trial Mode.	Win 800 races
Kritter	Win the Lightning Cup in 50cc	Win 760 races
Queen Ruby	Automatically Unlocked when you have a saved data of "Super Mario and the Underworld Trials"	Win 1640 races
Funky Kong	Unlock 20 Expert Staff Ghosts on Time Trial Mode.	Win 1000 races
Petey Piranha	Win the Leaf Cup in 150cc	Win 200 races
Honey Queen	Race on 36 courses in Time Trial Mode.	Win 520 races
King Bob-Omb	Clear all Level 5 Missions.	Win 1080 races
Pink Gold Peach	Clear all Level 6 Missions	Win 360 races
Big Bully	Win Special Cup in 150cc	Win 1040 races
King K. Rool	Unlock every Expert Staff Ghosts.	Win 1200 races
Joe the Shark	Win all the 200cc cups	Win 1720 races
Dorrie	Clear all Level 7 Missions	Win 720 races

Courses[]

Speedway Rush sees the addition of four new cups: Two Nitro cups and two Retro cups, increasing the total of 36 circuits to 48 circuits in a Mario Kart Game, excluding the DLC courses from Mario Kart 8.. Six of these cups are unlockable, with the Mushroom, Shell, Banana, Flower, Egg and Bell cups being available at start. To unlock the cups, the player must earn an antecedent cup, for example, to get the Star Cup ,the player needs to wim the golden Mushroom, Flower and Egg trophies, and same goes for the retro courses.

Nitro Courses[]

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Bell Cup	Star Cup	Cherry Cup	Special Cup

Retro Courses[]

Shell Cup	Banana Cup	Egg Cup	Leaf Cup	Feather Cup	Lightning Cup

Items[]

Not an exception in this game, Speedway Rush features a wide variety of items, some returning ones and other completely new ones. The game also sees the returning feature of exclusive items, originally added in Double Dash, each one unique to a certain character. The items are also determined on the position of the player in the race.

Item	Description	Item	Description
Items found on the track
Item Box	These boxes can be found during the track, and picking one would bestow you a random item.	Coin	Coins are found during the track and as you pick more of these, it increases your speed and being able to collect a maximum of 50 coins. Getting hit by an item makes the player lose 5 coins. They can also be used to purchase vehicles and its parts such as tires or gliders.
Red Coin	Red Coins are found in a much rare way than the golden ones, and a red coin is worth 5 golden ones.	Crate	Crates are kind of like the item boxes, only that ramming into one would brake the car, showing an item inside, which are usually a Mushroom, a Coin, a Banana or in very rare cases, a Super Star.
Oil Puddle	Oil Puddles are harzards that can be found on certain courses, specially the Circuit and Factory themed ones. When a car runs into one, it will spin uncontrollably, much like a banana, though the spin endures more and they cannot be removed from the track.	Fire Bar	Stage hazards usually found in volcanoes and specialty of Bowser's Castles, they are placed in a certain way to interrupt players. Anyone who touches the fire wil lspin uncontrollably. The Fire bars slowly rotate in the sense of a clock.
Regular Items
Mushroom	Using one gives the player a speed boost, much like when driving over a Boost Panel. In Battle Mode they can be used to steal balloons when making in contact.	Triple Mushroom	Grants you the use of three mushrooms instead of one, giving you the addition of more speed boosts.
Poison Mushroom	Can be placed behind the car like a banana, only that when someone drives over it will be shrunk like the effects of a Lightning Bolt.	Green Shell	They are thrown in a straight path, and when it bumps into a wall, it will change it's direction. Hitting a driver will knock them over. When it bumps several times or comes in contact with an item, it will break.
Triple Green Shell	When used, will grant three Green Shells that spin around the driver's car, acting sort of a shield. The Drivers can launch them as well though the other remaining will spin on the car still.	Red Shell	When they are thrown, will start following the next driver in front to them, knocking them over. However if they touch a wall, they will break.
Triple Red Shell	Much like the Green Shells, after used they will spin on the car, acting like a shield, and can throw them away. Other drivers who come in contact with the shells will be knocked over.	Spiny Shell	When used, will fly through the track to the first placed racer, and crash onto it, creating an explosion that will also hit anyone on their way.
Banana Peel	They are left behind the car, staying in that place and anyone who drives over them will slip and spin uncontrollably.	Triple Banana	After gathering and using one, they will trail behind the car and can be thrown or dropped any time. They can also sort of serve as protection against some items like the Red Shells.
Super Star	When used, it will make the driver invincible, gaining some speed boost, and anyone who makes contact with them will be knocked over and items will break in contact. The effect wears for a while.	Lightning Bolt	When used, will shrink every user in front of the driver, making them slow. The effects will wear for a while, being quickier for the last drivers and endures more for the first drivers.
Bob-Omb	They can be flung to a farther distance than normal or drop behind the racer, in where a huge explosion will happen. It will explode faster when there's a racer near to them, though if it's hit, will explode automatically.	Fake Item Box	They can be placed behind the car, staying there. Unlike past games, the fake item box has a more identical color to the regular ones, and slowly rotate, making them harder to identify, if it wasn't for their inverted ?. However, they can't block shells, acting as useless defensive items.
Boo	WTurns the player invisible for a while, stealing a random driver's item and giving it to the user. They make the user practically invincible, as they can pass through racers and cannot be harmed with items.	POW Block	After using it, it will crush three times, and causes the drivers ahead to spin uncontrollably though won't affect drivers that are in the air. Bikers can also perform tricks and stunts to slightly weaken the block.
Bullet Bill	Transforms the user into a Bullet Bill, that moves faster automatically, hitting any driver that crosses into its way, and becoming invinible that no items can harm the user. As the user gets closer to the first place, the quickier will the effect wear off.	Super Leaf	After using one, it will grow a tanooki tail behind the car, spinning around, destroying nearby items, and flipping drivers away. The player can tap the button to keep spinning the tail.
Boomerang Flower	Gives the player a boomerang that can be flung in front or backwards, spinning around and hitting any driver who makes contact with, as well as destroying items on the way, such as bananas or shells. The boomerang is used with a limit of maximum three times, and in the third time it's flung, the boomerang won't return.	Potted Piranha Plant	After using it, the player will hold a pot of a Piranha Plant, who chomps anyone that gets near to the user, knocking them over. Each chomp gives the user a small boost and tapping the button makes the plant chomp faster.
Super Horn	When used, it blasts a huge expansive sound wave, destroying any items and knocking over characters that get into the radius. it's also the only item capable to destroy the Spiny Shell.	Cape Feather	When used, makes the driver jump, allowing to do tricks and stunts and thus, earning small speed boosts. Landing onto other drivers make them steal the items. In Battle Mode, they can be used to steal balloons.
New Items
Lava Bubble	Behaving like Bowser's Fireballs in the original Super Mario Kart, Lava Bubbles can be dropped behind the kart like a banana, but moving automatically, and won't disappear when a driver touches them. they will disappear after a while.	Ink Piranha Plant	Due to the addition of Blooper as a racer, the homonym item was replaced by the Ink Piranha Plant, in where it gets improved, as the ink is thicker, covers a bigger part of the screen, and slows down the drivers for a while. Behaving like the Blooper, the plant will flutter in front of all drivers ahead and will squirt ink to them.
Oil Barrel	An item that can be thrown in front only, as it wil lcreeate a small explosion of oil, covering the players, similar to the Ink Piranha Plant. It will leave an unremovable puddle of oil in the place where it fell.	Super Acorn	A special item obtainable by the middle placed racers, that gives the car squirrel membranes, making it hover in the air, avoiding items and obstacles easily and gaining a quite small boost. However it's not immune to the explosions, including Spiny Shells.
Super Bell	After used, spikes will grow in the tires, making it able to drive on walls, as if the car entered in the antigravity mode. The effect will wear off for a while, and the driver will return to the track.	Special Crown	Only available for the last racer, it's an extremely rare item that will teleport the racer in the 3-6th place of the race.
Cannon Box	It's put on th user's head, and by each tap to the button, the player shoots a cannonball, which creates a small explosion. Tapping the button makes the user launch more cannonballs. After six cannonballs are used, the item will disappear.	Double Cherry	Only available in the Battle Mode, it creates a duplicate of the driver, which can be used to trick opponents. After it's got hit by an item, the duplicate will disappear.
Ice Flower	Only available in the Ice Endurance Battle Mode, in where an Ice Flower after being used, will shoot iceballs, freezing the opponents that make contact with them, being unable to move at all.

Exclusive Items[]

A returning feature from Double Dash! was the use of Special Items, but they were renamed to Exclusive Items as these are unique items that can be only used by certain characters. Joe the Shark, Rex and the Mii are the only character that can use all of the exclusive items though. these items are obtained randomly, usually halfways the race. Some of them are offensive, while others are defensive and a third of them is for speed matters. Each exclusive item is usually shared by 3-4 characters, though not neccesarily shared by the same default partner.

Exclusive Item	Description	Characters
Fire Flower	Lets the user shoot fireballs repeatedly forwards and backwards which make racers spin uncontrollably and can be preserved for a short time for further uses. Disappears after a certain number of fireballs were used.
Poltergust 3000	The user brings out a Poltergust which sucks other racers and slows them down, or spin uncontrollably if they are too close. It also can suck coins and items found in the way.
Heart	Three small hearts will rotate around the car, and when it makes contact with an item it will pick it up and let the user use it.
Flower Garden	Once used, the car will be covered by a flower shield, which protects any attack. The effect wears off after a while.
Yoshi Egg	The Yoshi Egg is launched and it will bounce around uncontrollably, knocking racers over, and when it breaks after a bit, it will reveal three sets of items the user can pick, such as Mushrooms, Bananas, Bob-Ombs or even Stars.
Birdo Egg	It can be used two times, and when it is used, the egg will automatically trap the racer in front of them. Trapped racers can still drive, but in a much slower speed than usual. The egg breaks after a while.
Gold Flower	Similar to a Fire Flower, the player can repeatedly attack with gold balls, and when they finish their trajectory, they turn into coins. Racers hit by the gold balls will spin uncontrollably.
Ztar	Turns the user invincible like a normal Star, but leaves a poisonous trajectory behind that anyone who passes over it will spin uncontrollably. The moves of the car under the effects of a Ztar are quite franctic and a bit hard to control though.
Mega Mushroom	After used, turns the user gigantic, allowing to crush any drivers the user passes by. It also gains a speed boost, and the effect will wear after a while. The user is invincible as well. As a curiosity if a Lightning Bolt is used, it will reduce the user's size to normal.
Mini Mushroom	After used, it makes the user small, and quick which makes it easier to pass under the cars and avoid items such as Red Shells. The user also becomes invincible against Lightning Bolts.
Bowser Shell	After used, it will behave similar to a Red Shell, but once it hits a wall, it won't destroy but it will ricochet walls off. Items als o won't stop the shell, and after a while it will disappear.
Magic Paintbrush	After used, it will leave puddles of paint around the track, and cover those who are near in paint, making it hard to see, as the paint is thcker than the ink of a Piranha Plant. Any racer who slips on the paint puddles will spin uncontrollably and slow them down.
DK Barrel	Acts similar to a Bullet Bill, the user enters intoa Barrel and will roll around the track automatically, crushing drivers who get into its way. After it's finished, it will make a small explosion that will spin racers uncontrollably.
Giant Banana	It can be placed or being thrown forward. Acting like a regular banana, but driven over into it will make the racer spin uncontrollably longer. The banana wil lalso split into three small banana peels. The giant Banana cannot be destroyed with normal items.
Brick Block	An annoying item that after used, will be placed in front of the racers near to the user, obstructing their way. When driven over, it will slightly stop the racer, like a normal crate. Sometimes after broken will reveal an item, usually Mushrooms, Bananas or Stars.
Bill Blaster	A weapon that is set behind the kart, firing forward small Bullet Bills and making small explosions to who touches them. Bullet Bills follow the racers like a Red Shell.
Power Star	When used, a small Power Star will fly at the top of the user, expanding itself with energy, and then explode, damaging nearby racers. After the explosion, many Star Bits will fall through the track.
Magic Wand	When used, it will grant a random spell, that can be used three times. The red triangle will be shot in a straightforward path, causing anexplosion, while the square will protect the kart from any items, and the circle increases speed.
Hammer	After used, it will automatically fling five hammers repeatedly, slamming over racers. After that, a giant hammer will appear, smashing users down. The user gains a slight boost.
Manicure Kit	After used, it will make the user race automatically, like a Bullet Bill, as it apparently improves the handling being more fluid, and quickly boosting the car, which seems to avoid any obstacles, even items with ease and style. However, if racers are near to the user and use an item like a red shell, it can knock them over.
Mystic Stone	After used, it will fly over and will start raining colorful Mystic Stones around the track, in where they cause small explosions and leaving a circle in the point where it fell. When driven over the circles, the drivers will spin uncontrollably.
Any Exclusive Item It lets the user randomly execute any of the aforementioned exclusive items.

Modes[]

Grand Prix[]

Much like past Mario Kart installments, Grand Prix is the main mode of the game, in where 5 engine classes are split, those being 50cc, 100cc, 150 cc, Mirror Mode and 200cc, last two which are unlockable, obtained after getting a gold trophy on all 150cc cups, and a gold trophy on every engine class cup, respectively. Players can also race in multiplayer or in online mode for the Grand Prix mode as well.

The rank of the cup is determined on how well you've driven during the four races in a certain amount of time, as this is required to unlock some characters.

Time Trial[]

Time Trial is a mode in where the player needs to complete a course in the fastest time as possible. At the beginning of each race, the player is given three Mushrooms. When competing against a expert ghost, if the player manages to arrive first to the goal than the ghost while exceeding five seconds, the player will unlock a harder version of the ghost. Players can also race against ghosts of other players across the world, or even against themselves.

Versus[]

Versus Mode is a free mode, as the player can race in a single course, or in a random order. Here the player can also set their own rules such as the appearance of items, deactivating them and setting the difficulty of the racers, as well as activting the "Double Trouble" mode which features the mechanics from Mario Kart: Double Dash! They can also set the number of races played. Up to 4 players can play at once in this mode.

On the Double Trouble mode, only karts and ATVs are available to play as. Tag Team Racing is also a new mode in where it lets you pick 3 of your favorite characters, and when one of them clears a lap, you'll then race with the second character and so on.

Battle Mode[]

Speedway Rush brings a whole variety of modes that can be considered as minigames, some of them returning from past Mario Kart games and others being completely new. Battle Modes are played on special arenas rather than courses, named Battle Courses. In most modes the palyer can either play individual or split into two teams.

Battle Mode	Description
Balloon Battle	Balloon Battle is the Classic Battle Mode that has appeared on every Mario Kart Game so far. It's played in two ways: One in where the player is given 8 balloons though 5 are used in the car and the other 3 are in storage. When a balloon is popped out, it will be replaced by another of the storage. Once the player gets all of its balloons popped out, including the stored ones, the player will be deflated and out of the battle. Using Mushrooms or Feathers against an opponent makes the player steal a balloon. The alternate mode is the same as Mario Kart Wii in where the player is granted with 3 balloons and a point system, having as an objective to pop ut the balloons of the opposing team. If a player loses all of its balloons, it will be respawned in another part of the stage.
Coin Runners	A mode introduced in Mario Kart Wii in where Coins are scattered around the course and the player has to pick them as many as he can before the other team picks them up. The winner is the team who gets the most coins. Alternatively the mode can be played individually though the premise is the same. Knocking out an opponent with an item makes him lose its coins.
Renegade Roundup	One of the new modes introduced in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which follows the premise of "cops and robbers" dividing the racers in two teams one which are the cops, having potted Piranha Plants permanently attached to their cars and the other team plays as the robbers trying to escape from the cops. When a Piranha Plant chomps on the "robber", it will be caught and held in a floating cage, and can be released when one of his teammates drives over a switch that opens the cage. The game ends when every robber was caught and held in cages, making the cops win, but if the time limit ends and there's still a robber roaming around freely, then the robbers win the game.
Shine Thief	Originary mode from Double Dash! that consists on a Shine Sprite randomly placed in the arena and a player has to grab it before anyone else does and enduring like this until it times up. The player can lose the shine sprite by getting hit by an item, where it will move to another spot of the arena.
Bob-Omb Blast	Mode appearing since Double Dash!, this is a mode that features hte exclusive use of Bob-Ombs, the only item that you can get from the Item Boxes. After hitting a rival with a Bob-Omb, the player will earn a point, though if it's hit by one it will lose a point instead. The required amount of points to win is 6 individually but in teams, it's 12 instead.
Peepa Panic	A new mode introduced in Speedway Rush, in where it features the enemy Peepa. At beginning, two Peepa will automatically possess two racers and a time meter starts. The possessed ones by Peepa have to chase other racers, and when it makes contact with, they will pass the Peepa to the other racer. The game ends when it times up and the racer with the least amount of time possessed by a Peepa wins. Halfways the game, three more Peepa will appear and possess other racers.
Moon Bash	Moon Bash is a similar mode to the Mario Kart DS Shine Runners mode, in where ten Power Moons are scattered around the stage and the player has to pick the maximum number of Moons possible. When the player is hit by an item, it will lose its Moons and they will be scattered around the course. However there's a timer in the top right screen, and when it times out, the players with the least amount of Moons will be removed of the battle. The process repeats when one of them remains in the game.
Ice Endurance	A new mode introduced in Speedway Rush, in where there are more scarce Item Boxes, as only Ice Flowers will appear out of them. Ice Flowers behave like the Fire Flowers, shooting iceballs, though the difference is that when a fireball makes contact with a racer, they will freeze and are out of the game. The game ends when all but only one racer are frozen, making the standing one the winner.
Thunder Explosion	Thunder Explosion is similar to Peepa Panic, in where a Thunder Cloud will appear on the top of a racer, for a while and will not get away until it has made in contact with a racer, in where it will pass over the cloud. There's a timer for the cloud, and when it reaches zero, the cloud will fulminate the racer, and eliminate it from the game. After this, a new cloud will arise on another racer shorting the time a bit. The game ends when all but one racers are fulminated, and the standing one wins the game.

Battle Courses[]

Speedway Rush sees the addition of 16 Battle Courses, eight of them being new and the other eight being returning tracks, with one from each game, with the exception of Mario Kart 8.

Course	Description
Nitro Courses
	Super Bell Hill is a simple average battle course, being a reccomendable course for beginners. As depicted, the origin of the stage comes from Super Mario 3D World being the first level of said game. The arena takes place on a circular floating platform, with some golden bell-shaped trees scattered around and a giant one in hte center of the stage. There are also two clear pipes that connect from a side to another, and if someone enters the pipes, it will be automatically transported to the other side. A small fence surrounds the stage, protecting players from falling down.
	Inspired on the homonym named board from the first Mario Party, the course takes place in a castle located the sky. Players can either drive in the main castle room, or exit in one of the many entrances where they will race in a platform filled of colorful clouds and rainbows. However the platform has many huge gaps that makes it easy to fall on them. Small towers reminiscent of Princess Peach's castle are placed around as simple hazards.
	Again inspired on another board of Mario Party, this time originary from the sixth installment, as implied, takes place in a giant garage filled of conveyor belts going into different directions. The garage has an untidied appearance, flooded of gadgets and tools everywhere. Ramming onto a gadget hazard, like a rocket, a giant fan or a teleport turns them on, leaving many random effects. A crane also works to pick players up and put them on the next level which makes it easier for the player to avoid any items, in contrast to the teleport which it's immediate but doesn't protect the player from items. Oil puddles are also found scattered everywhere too, making the player spin uncontrollably if he drives over them.
	A stage coming from the Donkey Kong Island, being inspired on the Harvest Hazards stage, from the fifth level of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, though it bars the mechanic parts of the jungle and the stage is mostly tropical. The stage is full of many fruits such as berries, pomelos, bananas and more. There's a lso a ginat tree with a house on it in where the players can enter and exit. The stage itself is a floating platform that has the shape of an acorn and there's no fence surrounding it, meaning that drivers can be knocked over the pits. Various Donkey Kong enemies also roam around the stage.
	Inspired on the restaurant owned by Mona in WarioWare: Twisted! where its trademark image is Mona herself posing in a similar way to Mona Lisa. The arena takes place on a rectangular bar, with a pizza placed in the center that slows down racers when driving over it. Kitchen hazards such as salt and pepper shakers, cups, sauces, spoons and forks are scattered around the arena. The stage is pretty much simple, however there's no fence to protect the racers so falling off the bar is possible. Colliding on a cup will make it shatter, damaging the driver, and the liquid will be spilled, that when someone drives over it will spin uncontrollably. As a trivia, Mona's Pizza theme song can be heard here.
	Whomp Cavern, as implied, takes place in a mysterious, ancient and ruined cavern, which in the insides it seems to be a maze full of entrances, though the cavern is full of Whomps blocking some of the entrances, and others leaving the pass open. When a certain time passes, they alternate roles, meaning that the Whomps that left the pass open are now blocking it, while the others now open it. If a racer drives near to a Whomp blocking the pass, it will be crushed by said rock enemy. Some entrances lead the exit of the cavern, which seems to take place in a wasteland surrounding it, with rocks acting as fences and blocking the path.
	Based on the location from Super Mario Odyssey, it takes place on the lively mexican inspired neighborhood, the arena is pretty simple, as Tostarenans will simply dance in the background, making a lively and jolly mexican music. Players can enter in the houses and exit, though Moe-Eyes and Jaxis will also ram around the town. Various pools of water are scattered around, though they are so deep, that falling into one will make the player lose a balloon or coins.
	Actually inspired on the Fountain of Dreams, the Kirby stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Fountain of the Dawn remains many similar aesthetics of said stage, as players will drive around the fountain, though they can climb up a huge tower in the middle. Sometimes small geysers will sprout in the fountain, making it flood, so racers have to climb the tower without drowning. There's no fence surrounding the fountain so it's possible to fall off from it.
Retro Courses
	Remaining the same layout as in the SNES version of Mario Kart, now with updated graphics, and it should be noted that here in this arena, the floor is slipper than usual and making it harder to hit someone with an item. The course is depicted to be quadrangular, keeping the colorful fences from the original Mario Kart, and the new addition of a small pond located in the center of the arena, in where anyone can miss a drift and fall into the pond.
	Being square shaped, the stage itself is a labyrinth made of decks. The course consists on two floors, the lower one being green and the upper one being red. To reach the upper floor, there's some ramps around the stage. There are also some wide, long halls that one can pass through, and at the top of the stage there's a large square gap in where racers can fall down back to the lower floor.
	This course wears a Bowser's Castle layout with a cross in the center, being predominantly square shaped, and having stone and mesh bridges, while having many lava moats and ramps t odo slight tricks and jumps.
	The course is shpaed in a pixelated 8-bit version of Mario and using the same palette in Super Mario Bros. Prone to the name, the course tilts fro mside to side, depending on which one has the most racers standing in and hindering the battle. When a racer falls in the pit, it's respawned on a white platform floating at the top of the stage. The course has also the characteristic of Item Boxes tilting around the stage.
	As the name implies, the course takes place in a circular, colorful cake that resembles Cookie Land from Double Dash. The only Item Boxes are accessible in the air, so the player has to race in the Dash Panel located in the middle of the cake which makes them jump. There's many bumpy hazards that push the player away if he rams onto them, such as meringues or strawberries.
	A stage based off Delfino Island from Super Mario Sunshine, as the name implies, it takes place in a pier in a large square base along with a steep incline leading to narrow halls. Chimneys and a bridge also take place in the area as well, which carry some Item Boxes. After some time has passed, the bell will toll, which indicates the raise of the water level. There's some gates under the bridge and will open when the water level raises, showing a smal l storage.
	Taking place in a beehive full of honeycomb walls where the player can drive over them. Honey drops can also be found in the stage, slowing down racers when they drive over them, along with small flowerbeds and bushes scattered around, with a turbine pipe placed in the middle of the stage which can blow racers to the top level of the stage. Small bee enemies named Stingbies wander around and sting on the player if they get too close.
	Being chinese themed and taking place in a pagoda courtyard and the racers can enter the pagoda by the entrance, which is a circular room and some stairs to access the first floor. As stage hazards, Koopa Trooas and other enemies can be seen practicing kung-fu, chanting or praying.

Mission Mode[]

A returning mode from Mario Kart DS. In the game, players have to complete a certain number of missions which are useful to test the player's abilities o nracing, varying from simple ones such as picking up coins to other harsh ones such as racing against a character in a small amount of time.

Much like in it's origin game, there are eight levels, the first one being easy for beginners to the last one which is much harder., and each level has eight different missions that they need to clear to unlock the Boss Battle, i nwhere they fight against the boss.

Clearing all missions, including the boss of an level makes you unlock a new character.

Level 1[]

Mission	Mission	Mission
Mission 1	Mission 2	Mission 3
Mission 4	Boss Battle:	Mission 5
Mission 6	Mission 7	Mission 8

Online Mode[]

As depicted, Online Mode is the mode in where one or two players can play over the internet against other players or friends. Here, players can usually compete each other to win races, cups or the Battle Mode. They can also team up as well, as there's various ways to play in Online.

Player is granted with a certain amount of VR/BR points which indicates the rating of Versus and Battle Modes, starting at 1000 points by default, that can either go up or down, depending on your placement in the races and how well you play with. Rating is also influenced on who do you play against as well

When it comes to courses, the player can vote to race on three different courses, or pick random courses. If more than one player picks a course, there will be a roulette destined to choose the course that will be played on. Players with friends can also set thier own rules as well.

The player can:

Race in Versus mode, being either Double Trouble and Tag Team Racing mode, be either worldwide, regional or with friends.
Opt to make a custom tournament once 11 racers join in.
Chat via voice along with other players.
Set Special Tournaments

Special Tournaments[]

A feature similar to the Mario Kart Wii Tournaments, in where the player can set small tournaments with their friends, so it can influence on the VR rating. However, Nintendo can also host tournaments each two weeks , notifying players in their Switch menu.

Once the player opts to play a tournament hosted by Nintendo, they will have to wait in a room, while they choose their favorite character and custom karts. After it's done, players have to clear some tasks such as racing against a boss and similar others. Players can also view a rank system as well as previous ones from previous tournaments.

Clearing a Special Tournament will grant the player special exclusive items, such as Kart parts or Mii costumes.

Karts[]

Since Mario Kart 7, Kart customization was a new feature added, in where it lets you change various parts of the karts, such as the car body, tires and gliders. Each combination sets a certain amount of stats, which are split into Speed, Acceleration, Weight, Handling and Traction. Speedway Rush also introduces exclusive karts to certain characters and brings past karts as well. Each kart raises a stat and decreases another to make them balanced, so usually the maximum number possible of kart stats is 1.25 and the minimum is 0.

Custom Karts can be saved in the game as well, and there are 3 types of vehicles: Karts, Bikes and ATVs. For the Double Trouble mode, karts will be altered so that they can be together in a single kart.

There's an in-game shop run by a usual Mario enemy, that lets you purchase more parts with your coins gathered in the races.

Vehicle Body[]

Vehicle Body	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction	Character
Karts
Standard Kart*	0	0	0	0	0	All
Gold Standard	0.25+	0.5-	0.5+	0.5+	0.75-	All
Pipe Frame*	0	0.25+	0.25-	0	0	All
Bikes
Standard Bike*	0	0.25+	0.25-	0.5+	0.5-	All
ATV
Standard Kart*	0	0.5-	0.5+	0.5-	0.5+	All

Tires[]

Tire	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction	Character
Standard Tires*	0	0	0	0	0	All
Monster*	0	0.5-	0.5+	0.75-	0.75+	All
Roller*	0.5-	1	0.5-	0.25+	0.25-	All
Slim*	0.25+	0.25-	0	0.25+	0.5-	All
Slick*	0.5-	0.25-	0.25+	0	-1	All
Metal	0	0.5-	0.5+	0.75-	0.75+	All
Button	0.5-	1	0.5-	0.25+	0.25-	All
Off-Road*	0	0	0	0	0	All
Sponge	0.25-	0.25+	0.25-	0.25-	0.5-	All
Cushion	0.25-	0.25+	0.25-	0.25-	0.5+	All
Mushroom	0.25+	0.25-	0.5-	1.25+	1.25-	All
Wood	0.25-	0.25+	0.25-	0.25-	0.5+	All
Golden Tires	0.25-	0.5-	0.5-	0	0.5-	All
GLA Tires	0	0	0	0	0	All
Cookie	0.5+	0	-1	0.5+	0	All
Lemon	0.5-	0.5+	0	0.5-	0.5+	All
Shells	0.75-	0.25+	0	0.25-	0.75+	All
Cyber Art by [1]	0.75-	0.75-	0	0.75+	0.75+	All

Gliders[]

Glider	Acceleration	Weight	Character
Standard Glider*	0	0	All
Cloud Glider	0.25+	0.25-	All
Wario Wing	0	0	All
Waddle Wing	0	0	All
Peach Parasol	0.25+	0.25-	All
Parachute*	0.25+	0.25-	All
Parafoil*	0.25+	0.25-	All
Flower Glider	0.25+	0.25-	All
Bowser Kite	0.25+	0.25-	All
Plane Glider	0	0	All
MKTV Parafoil*	0.25+	0.25-	All
Gold Glider	0	0	All
Paper Glider	0	0	All
Balloon*	0.25+	0.25-	All
Winged Shell	0.25+	0.25-	All
Colorful Kite*	0.25+	0.25-	All
Unidentified Flying Glider	0.25-	0.25+	All

Note: Vehicles marked with an asterisk (*) mean that they can change color depending on the character.

Driver Statistics[]

Much like Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, drivers have their specific stats and are displayed with a gauge. These stats are divided into 5 sections:

Speed: The top speed of the vehicle.
Acceleration: When in a standing position, it's the rate of the vehicle it takes to reach its top speed.
Weight: The Weight of the vehicle. Heavy drivers can knock away lighter ones.
Handling: The turning ability of the vehicle.
Traction: The grasp of the vehicle, indicating on how much stable they can be in the floor, and will slip lesser in the ice. It also indicates the traction of the vehicle when going off-road.

The values are ranged in a scale between 1 and 10, and Miis can be ranged depending on their size and body build. Feather weights have the highest Acceleration, handling and Traction but the lowest weight and speed stats, while Heavy weights have it reversed. Medium characters are simply balanced.

Stats on the table are reported for using the Standard Kart, Tires and Glider.