This article is not to be confused with the original 2014 version released for the Wii U, Mario Kart 8.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe The box art of the Northern American release. Information Developer(s) Nintendo EAD

Namco Bandai Games Publisher(s) Nintendo Platform(s) Nintendo Switch Released

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017

December 15, 2017

December 15, 2017

March 26, 2020 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 April 28, 2017 December 15, 2017 December 15, 2017 March 26, 2020 Genre(s) Racing Mode(s) Single-player

Multiplayer

Online Play Ratings ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - 3 years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: -General USK: - All ages DEJUS: - General audience



Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (stylized as MARIOKART8 DELUXE and abbreviated to MK8DX) is a kart-racing game exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. It is the enhanced port (or reboot) version of Mario Kart 8 and was released worldwide on April 28, 2017. It was released in South Korea on December 15, due to the Nintendo Switch being released on December 1 there.

This game includes the Inklings as new playable characters along with three returning characters from previous games: Dry Bones, King Boo, and Bowser Jr. In addition, the Shine Thief and Bob-omb Blast battle games from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! return as playable options in Battle Mode along with Renegade Roundup, a new mode.

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Differences from Mario Kart 8

A majority, if not all, of the game's concepts, tracks, racers, and vehicle parts come from Mario Kart 8. These have been retained and reused for the port version. However, there are several new features and differences that deviate from the original game. These are listed in the following:

Racers can now carry up to two items at once, even if they don't drag the first item.

It features the return of the Double Item Box from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! .

. The game introduces smart-steering and auto-accelerate for beginners; smart-steering makes driving and staying on the track easier, and auto-accelerate makes the vehicle automatically accelerate.

The statistics of the vehicle parts and drivers have also been changed, and 200cc engine class for Time Trials has been added.

The game also features a different in-game guide, directly accessible from the game's menu.

The concept of Fire Hopping , in which a player could "hop" repeatedly to get extra speed from a boost, has been banned, or reinstated if you look at it as a glitch.

, in which a player could "hop" repeatedly to get extra speed from a boost, has been banned, or reinstated if you look at it as a glitch. Some of the vehicle parts that are exclusive to DLC are now randomly unlocked by collecting coins during gameplay.

Weight classes are now split into 16 weight classes instead of 9 weight classes.

Red Shells and Spiny Shells are now slower when they lock onto their target, meaning players are able to outrun them in 200cc when they have any kind of speed boost.

All of Mario Kart 8 's battle courses have been scrapped and are replaced with battle maps in the style of the battle maps from the first 7 games.

's battle courses have been scrapped and are replaced with battle maps in the style of the battle maps from the first 7 games. Ultra Mini-Turbo (pink sparks) are available after orange sparks. This feature is only enabled when Smart Steering is off.

Course maps are now white instead of blue. The maps of the three Rainbow Roads and GCN Baby Park have also changed to white from rainbow-colored (or pink and blue in the case of Baby Park).

Baby Park have also changed to white from rainbow-colored (or pink and blue in the case of Baby Park). If smart steering mode is toggled on, there will be an antenna sticking out the rear of their kart.

The backbeat that plays when the player is in first place is returned from Mario Kart 7.

Stamps are absent due to Miiverse not present on the Nintendo Switch, and also due to the service being discontinued six months after the game's release.

Confetti appears at the starting line of several races like Mount Wario.

Item Spy is removed to prevent anyone from cheating.

If a Blooper is about to ink the player as they cross the finish line, the player will still get inked. This is unlike the Wii U version, where the Blooper or the ink disappear instead.

The character icons on the course map are now slightly larger, more detailed, and are of a higher resolution.

When playing with teams, the flags of the corresponding colors are added behind the vehicle. These flags do not appear in Balloon Battle and Bob-omb Blast, as the balloons show the teams in these modes.

During online race lobbies, the engine class for the upcoming race is shown as the course is selected, via "100", "150", a mirrored "150" (for Mirror) or "200" icons in the bottom right of the selected course icon. This extends to online battle lobbies, as it will display a yellow balloon (Balloon Battle), a potted Piranha Plant (Renegade Roundup), a Coin (Coin Runners), a Shine Sprite (Shine Thief), or a Bob-omb (Bob-omb Blast) to denote which battle mode is about to be played.

Players can now see the lap count or timer when spectating an online race or battle.

Players can no longer see the lap count when crossing the finish line and full results in multiplayer (including online lobbies) at the end of the race while watching replay videos via Mario Kart TV.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Gameplay

Racers

All the Mario Kart 8 racers have returned, including the DLC racers, and are available from the start. The only unlockable racer in the game is Gold Mario. Three other racers from the previous games have also returned to the game. The Inklings also made their debut in Mario Kart.

Racer Statistics

Similar to Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, racers in a specific class have their own stats. However, there are more divisions in weight classes than in Mario Kart 8.

Speed : the top speed of the vehicle on land with normal gravity.

: the top speed of the vehicle on land with normal gravity. Acceleration : the rate of the vehicle it takes to reach its top speed from a standing position.

: the rate of the vehicle it takes to reach its top speed from a standing position. Weight : the weight of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher weight can knock other vehicles more easily with lower weight.

: the weight of the vehicle. Handling : the turning ability of the vehicle on land with normal gravity.

: the turning ability of the vehicle on land with normal gravity. Traction : the grasp of the vehicle. Vehicles with higher traction can stay stable on the road better than vehicles with lower traction.

: the grasp of the vehicle. Mini-Turbo: the length of the vehicle's mini-turbo speed boosts.

Class Speed Water Speed Air Speed Anti-Gravity Speed Acceleration Weight Handling Water Handling Air Handling Anti-Gravity Handling Traction Mini-Turbo L +2.25 +2.5 +2.75 +2 +4 +2 +5 +4.5 +5 +5 +4.25 +4 +2.25 +2.5 +2.75 +2 +4.25 +2 +4.75 +4.25 +4.75 +4.75 +3.75 +4 +2.5 +2.75 +3 +2.25 +4.25 +2.25 +4.5 +4 +4.5 +4.5 +4 +3.75 +2.75 +3 +3.25 +2.5 +4 +2.5 +4.5 +4 +4.5 +4.5 +4.25 +3.75 +2.75 +3 +3.25 +2.5 +4.25 +2.5 +4.25 +3.75 +4.25 +4.25 +3.5 +3.75 * +3 +3.25 +3.5 +2.75 +4 +2.75 +4.25 +3.75 +4.25 +4.25 +4 +3.5 M * +3.25 +3.5 +3.75 +3 +4 +2.75 +4 +3.5 +4 +4 +3.75 +3.5 * +3.5 +3.75 +4 +3.25 +3.75 +3 +3.75 +3.35 +3.75 +3.75 +3.75 +3.5 * +3.5 +3.75 +4 +3.25 +3.75 +3.25 +3.75 +3.25 +3.75 +3.75 +3.25 +3.5 +3.75 +4 +4.25 +3.5 +3.5 +3.5 +3.75 +3.25 +3.75 +3.75 +3.25 +3.25 +3.75 +4 +4.25 +3.5 +3.5 +3.5 +3.5 +3 +3.5 +3.5 +3.5 +3.25 H * +4 +4.25 +4.5 +3.75 +3.25 +3.75 +3.25 +2.75 +3.25 +3.25 +3.75 +3.25 +4.5 +4.75 +5 +4.25 +3.25 +4 +3 +2.5 +3 +3 +3 +3 +4.75 +5 +5.25 +4.5 +3 +4.25 +2.75 +2.25 +2.75 +2.75 +3.25 +2.75 * +4.25 +4.5 +4.75 +4 +3.25 +4.5 +3.25 +2.75 +3.25 +3.25 +3.25 +3 +4.75 +5 +5.25 +4.5 +3 +4.5 +2.5 +2 +2.5 +2.5 +3 +2.75 * - denotes a racer with color alternatives.

L - denotes light-weighted racers.

M - denotes medium-weighted racers.

H - denotes heavy-weighted racers.

Vehicle parts

The Koopa Clown returns from Mario Kart 7, while two new Splatoon-based ATVs, the Splat Buggy and Inkstriker, have been added. When compared to Mario Kart 8, the statistics of vehicle parts have been altered.

Karts

Bikes

ATVs

Wheels

Gliders

Unlocking criteria

Racers

The only unlockable racer in this game is Gold Mario. Once unlocked, his icon appears on the character select screen instead of Metal Mario. Metal Mario can still be selected but is now considered a variant of Gold Mario instead.

Gold Mario: One must complete and win all cups in 200cc.

Vehicle parts

A vehicle part is randomly unlocked every 30 Coins. When it reaches to 450 Coins, this changes to every 50. Once reaching 1500 Coins, this changes to every 100.

30

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950 1000

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1350 1400

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Special Parts

Gold Standard: It is unlocked by achieving at least one star rank on every cup in Mirror Mode.

Gold Tires: It is unlocked by defeating all 48 staff ghosts in 150cc Time Trials.

Gold Glider: It is unlocked by collecting 5,000 coins.

Courses

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, all cups are instead available from the start.

Nitro Courses

Retro Courses

DLC courses

Battle Mode

One of the biggest changes of the game is the revamped Battle Mode and the consequential scrapping of Mario Kart 8 battle courses. It returns to the traditional arena-based battle. Unlike previous games, each player starts with five balloons, as opposed to three. Another addition to this mode is the feature to tell exactly which character hit whom, which appears on the bottom of the screen.

Returning from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 is the ability to respawn after all balloons are popped. This causes a player's total score to halve and the player respawns with three balloons instead of five.

Five different Battle Modes exist in the game and are listed in the following:

Balloon Battle : The classic mode where players use items to pop opponents' balloons or steal them in order to score points.

: The classic mode where players use items to pop opponents' balloons or steal them in order to score points. Renegade Roundup : A new mode in the vein of "cops and robbers," with the racers being divided into two teams.

: A new mode in the vein of "cops and robbers," with the racers being divided into two teams. Bob-omb Blast : A returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! , in which players attack one another using Bob-ombs to score points and can carry up to 10 Bob-ombs.

: A returning mode from , in which players attack one another using Bob-ombs to score points and can carry up to 10 Bob-ombs. Coin Runners : Originating in Mario Kart Wii , players must collect Coins scattered across the course in order to have the most by the end of the match.

: Originating in , players must collect Coins scattered across the course in order to have the most by the end of the match. Shine Thief: Another returning mode from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, one player must retrieve a Shine Sprite and keep hold of it for about 20 (and somehow long) seconds, while the opponents use items against whoever has the Shine to force that player to drop it.

Battle Courses

Replacing the repurposed tracks used for Battle Mode in the original Mario Kart 8, eight battle courses, five new and three retro, are present in the game. This is the biggest change in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Staff Ghosts

For this game's staff ghosts, see Staff Ghosts.

Items

All the items from Mario Kart 8 are reused. Racers can now hold two items, similar to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. No new items were released within the game, but the latter three items have returned.

Returning items

amiibo

Some of the amiibo that can be used to unlock Mii Racing Suits in the game.



All amiibo compatible with Mario Kart 8 are compatible once again in the game, with some new features. Tapping any Animal Crossing Series amiibo will give the Animal Crossing Mii Racing Suit, and tapping the Boy or Girl Inkling amiibo will give the Boy and Girl Inkling Mii Racing Suits, respectively.

1.1.0

On May 17, 2017, an update was released. Changes listed in the following were made:

Opponents' names are displayed in the rear view mirror view in online matches.

Invincibility period after a spin-out or crash is longer in online matches.

Up to two players can spectate a friend group while they wait to join.

“Worldwide” and “Regional” modes add players to Mirror and 200cc matches less often.

Players can now properly create a friend lobby when having 100 or more friends.

The starting positions in online races now properly reflect the order in which the players join.

Miis now properly show facial expressions during matches.

The Tournament clock now properly reflects real-world time.

Inkling Girl's pose resembling a gesture, is fixed due to its offensiveness.

1.2.0

An update was released on June 28, 2017. The following changes were made:

Players can use Pikmin-themed amiibo to unlock a Pikmin Suit for the Mii driver.

Race rules and course name are now displayed on loading screens for online and wireless play, as well as Mario Kart TV.

In online matches, no more than two Piranha Plants will be granted as items at the same time.

Controls are no longer unresponsive when the timer runs out when choosing a Mii racing suit for online matches.

The item wheel no longer spins continuously in online matches.

Online matches now end 30 seconds after the first place racer finishes, just like it does in Mario Kart Wii .

. Items shown in a player’s item slots now display correctly when holding an item behind them.

It is no longer possible to use an item after it has been used to block an attack.

1.2.1

An update was released on August 9, 2017. The following changes were made:

Corrected an issue that prolonged the time to return to the lobby after races near the start and end times of online tournaments.

1.3.0

An update was released on October 18, 2017. The following changes were made:

Video capture compatibility added. Hold the Capture Button to capture up to 30 seconds of the previous footage.

This system must be updated to Ver. 4.0.0 or higher to use this feature.

Now more difficult to float down using the glider when Smart Steering is ON.

Blue Shells no longer hit the second place player when the first place player hasn’t yet crossed the finish line.

Extended the invulnerability period after spinning out or crashing.

Changes made to Online Play prior to Ver. 1.2.1 now apply to Wireless Play and LAN Play as well:

When further back in a race, will receive better items to help catch up to other players.

No more than one Piranha Plant will appear at a time.

Updating to Ver 1.3.0 will prevent users from Wireless Play or LAN Play with users on Ver. 1.2.1 or lower.

1.4.0

An update was released on December 12, 2017. The following changes were made:

Language support for Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean has now been implemented.

Players can change languages in Settings on the console.

An issue has been resolved that prevented background music from playing after players reach the finish line.

Updating to Ver 1.4.0 will prevent users from Wireless Play or LAN Play with users on Ver. 1.2.1 or lower.

1.5.0

An update was released on June 25, 2018. The following changes were made:

Now supports the use of the Toy-Con Motorbike from the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Variety Kit.

Players can now set whether or not use the Toy-Con Motorbike from the Toy-Con settings in the main menu.

At the screen right before the game begins, the Joy-Con needs to be set inside the Toy-Con Motorbike.

When using the Toy-Con Motorbike, the camera will look over the character’s shoulder.

Pressing the downward directional button will allow the player to play with normal view again.

Addressed an issue where, after setting up a tournament, the "Search by code" feature would stop functioning.

Addressed an issue that made it impossible for a player to proceed after colliding with a Super Thwomp.

Updating to Ver 1.5.0 will prevent users from Wireless Play or LAN Play with users on prior versions

1.6.0

An update was released on July 19, 2018. The following changes were made:

New character skin for Link and new vehicle parts dedicated to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

1.7.0

An update was released on September 19, 2018. The following changes were made:

Now compatible with Toy-Con Car in Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03 Vehicle Kit.

Now compatible with Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.

Nintendo Switch Online subscription required to play online.

Reception

The game has been received with universal acclaim, garnering higher aggregate scores than its original version. The game has been praised for being well-suited to the Switch's portability, the increased performance, and particularly the redesigned Battle Mode. On Metacritic, Mario Kart 8 receives "generally favorable" reviews on Wii U holding a metascore of 88/100 based on 82 critic reviews.[1] Its Switch version, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received "universal acclaim" reviews and was tagged as a "must-play" game holding a metascore of 92/100 based on 95 critic reviews.[2]

Soundtrack

For this game's soundtrack, see Soundtrack:Mario Kart 8.

Main Article: Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack





Video

Switch Longplay -005- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe