Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Nintendo's recent Nintendo Direct unleashed a flood of new trailers, and among them was
yet another for Mario Kart 8. And it did not disappoint, showing off new characters, more
courses, and an insane amount of detail. So you know what that means--it's time to start
up the ol' analysis machine to see what secrets it might be hiding.
But as always, please make sure to check out our previous analysis videos if you haven't
already, as we'll only be covering the new stuff here. And with that, let's get started.
So the new trailer shows off 8 previously unconfirmed racetracks, 4 of which are entirely
new, and 4 of which are returning from past games. And while it shows off a fair amount
of most of the courses, the scenes are completely out of order. So we're going to do like we
did last time and rearrange the scenes for each level into the proper chronological order
for a better idea of how each course will actually play.
So the first racetrack shown off what appears to take place after dark in a city with one
heck of a bustling night-life. And we base this on the fact that the entire course appears
to be themed as if it were a giant nightclub, what with the pounding speakers, multi-colored
lighting, laser effects found throughout the course--and hell, even the course's intro
features an equalizer laid over it. But besides being home to an epileptic seizure sufferers'
worst nightmare, it's also filled to the brim with details, which we'll point out as we
go through the course, starting line to finish line.
So from the starting line, we can see you'll immediately be launched into a brief flying
section. But in order to see what lies ahead, we'll actually have to take a look at the
last clip in the trailer, which reveals that you'll land shortly after, and follow a track
that bends slightly to the right, before curving to the left.
But before we move on, there's a ton of details to point out here, like the giant rotating
disco ball on the right here with the words Mario kart written on it, as well as the crowd
of people rocking out on the left--both of which we get a better look at in the trailer's
opening clip, that offers a preview of the level. So here's that disco ball again, and
there's the crowd, which we can see is made up of piranha plants, Shy Guys, and even Koopa
Troopas, the latter two of which we can also see on the jumbotron. But we can also see
the DJ rocking out behind his booth--and if you look really close, it appears that he
has a ponytail, so we really have no clue who this mystery man--or woman--really is
Now above the TV we can see a sign featuring Larry Koopa's mug, and the words Larry Lights--could
this be the name of the level--or is it just some smart marketing by Larry's company. At
any rate, it does suggest it could be Larry's level, although if we take a look at the right
over here, we can see another sign--but this one features the face of Roy Koopa wearing
a pair of headphones--and it even has his name written just below. So perhaps this level's
a partnership between the two, or maybe it involves all the Koopalings. Now between those
two signs is a barely visible ad for something called MK TV, featuring Lakitu--but more on
that later.
Alright, and that's all the details for right now--so at some point after you go around
the bend here, you'll find yourself curving to the left slightly as you go descend a shallow
staircase that runs parallel to an anti-gravity section, as shown by the racers travelling
another the wall here. And did you catch the cool trail they leave behind? It seems to
be specific to only this surface. Now another thing we can see that will appear on that
surface are these star-shaped obstacles, which causes poor Toad to spin out when he hits
one
Finally, did you notice the star-pattern found on some of the floor tiles?
Now unfortunately, we don't see exactly how you'll get to that anti-gravity section, but
there can't be that much too it since we're guessing Mario's not that far behind the other
racers.
Now this next clip actually shows what it's like to be on that wall--and as you can see,
the track eventually splits into two colors, green and pink, which signifies an upcoming
fork in the road. But before we get to that, did you notice the banners in the background
that not only display a Star, but even say Star Cup on them? Yep, that probably means
this track's taking place in the Star Cup, alongside Sunshine Airport as revealed in
the previous trailer.
Now this next clip gives us a better look at the entire area, including the path that
splits right here--but more on that in a second. For now, keep a close eye on the light green
part of the track here--did you see it? There's actually a projection there that says MK TV,
which we can tell is short for Mario Kart TV based on the sign that appears a few seconds
later. Now Mario Kart TV is actually a feature announced back during E3 that'll allow you
to watch other people's races online--but more on that later. For now, if we go back
and zoom in on those light colored square, we can see a projected image of Lakitu eventually
drops in, complete with his fishing hook. So it's starting to seem that Lakitu is either
the network's mascot, or perhaps the one running it all. And it seems that this city might
just be home to MK TV's headquarters.
Okay, now back to that splitting track, as both soon lead to a set of item boxes. You
may have also noticed that the look of both tracks changed drastically, and now consist
of colored lines. But a quick side-note, we can see that the star obstacles we pointed
appear yet again, but this time we can see that they actually float slightly above the
track.
But hold on, let's rewind the footage for a second, as we can see that we actually passed
another disco ball too--or so we thought at first. But as it turns out, that's actually
the same disco ball we pointed out at the very start of the course, and here's why.
If we go back to the Starting Line scene and freeze it here, we can see the green path
actually runs right under the starting line. In addition, though it's hard to see, we can
actually see the bottom-side of the pink path obscuring the green one, as Mario descends
here. It just goes to show how closely layered these tracks can be now thanks to the anti-gravity
mechanic
Now there's a bit of a gap before this next scene, which shows Ludwig curving around on
that same pink path as before, only it's lined with sparklers--and if you look real close,
we can see what appears to be the side of the green path just behind that.. And we know
they're the same paths based on this next scene where we see Bowser taking to the air--and
if we look behind him, we can see he just took-off from either that same pink or green
path from before. And in case there's still doubt, if we look at the opening cutscene
again, we can see the two ramps Bowser leapt from, with the two split-paths in the background
leading right up to them--complete with the same diamond pattern on the track that we
can see in Ludvig's clip.
So with that taken care of, let's get back to Bowser's scene, did you notice the projection
of the star in the landing zone? If we back-up the footage, we can see it's actually of a
Starman. And if we move forward a few frames further, we can see some more people hanging
out on the sidelines, and some ? Blocks on the wall just behind them. Also, there appears
to be a step-ladder waterfall right beneath them--interesting.
Now if we back up to the start of the clip, we can see what actually lies ahead, which
is a slight drop-off before the track bends to the left. And did you spot the Piranha
Plant hanging out right by he track-side? Well, he's the same one that can be found
in the final scene, right here, which shows that the Finish Line is right around that
final bend. And cementing that fact is these are the only two scenes where confetti is
floating around, suggesting the parties happening right at the finish line. It also seems that
you may be able to take a shortcut by cutting in on the inside of that Piranha plant, but
be careful he'll probably as he'll probably attack if you get too close
Whew, and that covers it for the general layout of the course, but there are still a few final
details I wanted to point out.
Now you've probably already noticed the speakers near the starting line that pound to the music,
but did you notice the decorative stars to do? And those stars appear to actually be
based on the designs of the Launch Stars from Super Mario Galaxy. And you also probably
noticed the various lighting rigs throughout the course, such as the one located just behind
the starting line. But if we go back to the anti-gravity section, did you notice the spinning
one in the background? And not only is it spinning, but it's actually moving around
too.
Okay, and that's enough about Larry Lights--or whatever this level may actually be called,
so let's motor on over to the next track shown off.
This one takes place on a cliff-face as you'll race up and down waterfalls. And the entire
mountain-side is lined with Shy Guys tolling away. Wait a second...Shy Guys...waterfalls...where
have we heard that before?! Oh right, we actually saw a location called "Shy Guy Falls" on the
signboard in Sunshine Airport, as we pointed out in our last analysis, which we're confident
is this track's official name. So let's go ahead and reassemble the assorted clips to
try and make sense of it all.
Now unfortunately, this is the only one of the new tracks where we can't see the starting
line at all, which means we don't know exactly where the race starts. But we might actually
have some idea based on where it won't start. So every single scene of the trailer--besides
this flying section, takes place on an anti-gravity section. And since no racetrack shown so far
has started on one, we're safe to say that's the case here too--particularly as we can
see a large chunk of the course in this scene with no starting line in sight, which means
the race stars no where near the falls.
However, this Bowser clip does lead into a flying section, and if we back-up the footage,
we can actually get a glimpse of what lies ahead, which is a landing area far below,
with a track that bends to the left.
Now if we move forward a few frames, we can see that the bending path below seems as if
it'll eventually lead to this wooden bridge in the distant background, which continues
onto a wooden walkway. So since all of that that's clearly a non-gravity section, we think
the Starting Line could appear anywhere from this section until the anti-gravity section.
But unfortunately, we have no footage of what that may look like--but this next clip offers
a clue, as we do get to see where the anti-gravity section actually starts, as indicated by the
blue anti-gravity section strip here, which means everything that came before it wasn't
anti-gravity, which basically confirms that the bridge we pointed out earlier eventually
leads to this point. But since we can see that the path is curving downward, it seems
that the path from the bridge climbs in elevation and either winds around--or perhaps even through
the mountain--until it reaches this point where you descend.
Also, did you notice the butterflies flying around in the background? It's a nice touch.
Now before we move on, pay attention to the track design here, with the dirt road and
grass-covered borders, as it perfect matches this next clip, confirming they're connected.
Now at first glance, it appears that the track leads to a jump over a river--but remember,
this is an anti-gravity section! We're actually completely side-ways here and what you're
actually jumping is the base of the leftmost waterfall, as we can better see if we freeze
the Bowser clip here. See the gap in the track? Yep, it's the same one, meaning you'll be
jumping it from the left to the other half on the right.
So if we go back to this Iggy Clip, we can see that, after the jump, the course curves
to the left. And if we go back to Bowser, we can see why: it actually leads right up
the right-most waterfall, where you'll encounter speed-pads that fall with the water, which
is something we've never seen in a Mario Kart game before.
And we actually get to see it all in motion with this next clip. See, there's the track
below, and we can see that you'll actually jump from it, to the waterfall.
Now let's go back to this Bowser scene again, which is proving to be ever-so-helpful. And
we can see that the right-most waterfall eventually leads to a wooden walkway, which wraps around
to the left waterfall, which you'll then descend. And we get a close-up look at it all in these
next two scenes.
But it's not long before the waterfall path terminates with a ramp, that leads into the
flying section that we started off with, which again leads to the landing area far below.
Yep, so that's Shy Guy Falls's general track layout, but there's still quite a few details
that we haven't yet pointed out.
Okay, so we already mentioned that a bunch of Shy Guys can be seen working on the mountain
face, but let's take a closer look at what exact they're doing.
See the Red one over here? He appears to be using a Pickaxe to mine some crystals in the
wall. And if we look just above him, we can see another Shy Guy using a rope to hoist
up some of those very same crystals, who we get a better look at in this scene.
Now here's the really cool thing--this was all hinted at back in the original E3 trailer,
where we pointed out a sign in the village-level that advertised a business called Shy Guy
Metals, complete with a Shy Guy wielding Pick-Ax. Pretty awesome, right? It's just yet another
way in how all these Mario Kart 8 courses are connected.
But Shy Guys aren't the only characters visible here, as we can just barely see several Piranha
Plants in the area too, such as this guy right here.
Finally, did you spot the some of the bird nests containing eggs? They seem awfully similar
to the bird's nest we first saw in Thwomp Ruins--could they be in a similar region?
Okay, and that's quite enough about Shy Guy Falls! Next up is an amusement park level
that, quite clearly, goes by the name of Sub Coaster--at least if the giant sign is any
indication.
So let's again work our magic and try to reorder the scenes so that they make sense. And it's
actually the level's last scene that reveals the starting line, which you can see right
there. Now do you see that giant building ahead?
Although we can't make it out in the trailer, if we take a look at this screenshot, we can
see that the track leads from the starting line straight into that building for a short
jaunt before emerging out the other side. Which we get a glimpse at in this scene which
shows the 90-degree turn that takes place inside the building before leading right back
outside.
But there's a ton of cool details to point out here. Such as the fact that this actually
appears to be a museum of sorts, as indicated by the roped off Submarine in the background
here. In fact, there's even a sign on the wall just ahead that reads "The Submarine
Through History." And speaking of signs, if we zoom in on the one in the far back here,
we can see that it appears to show a picture of Mario! And who's that next to him? Why
that looks awfully similar to the Goomboss, who was last seen in Mario Kart DS nearly
10 years ago. And we're not done yet, as there's one more sign that's a little more mysterious--this
one says "The Mecha Cheap - A Structural Study" and then it shows a couple images of what
appears to be a mechanical cheep cheep--weird! And of course, there's the Toad here, as well
as a Noki, of which can be found all over the course.
Okay, that covers it for the tunnel--so let's follow the racers outside as the track bends
slightly. And if we go back to that picture from before, we can see it leads right to
an anti-gravity area--as indicated by the strip here--that immediately splits into two
paths. Which we get a better look at in this scene, with the one on the left being quite
a bit higher than the one Waluigi takes
Now oddly, we're not really sure why the path splits in two, because they both seem to lead
to the exact same area: an underwater section--although we can see Toad, who took the higher path,
fly by Waluigi here, so maybe the left one's the better choice?
Also, did you notice that they pass a submarine as they fly by? And we can see another climbing
the track in the background--so it seems these might be some kind of moving obstacle. Now
before we move on, make note of the pipes in the background here, as we can see them
in this next clip, confirming this underwater section is what comes next.
And it's here that we get our first actual look at the mechanical Cheep Cheeps hinted
at in the museum just moments before--and check it out, you can see that they're really
just giant wind-up toys based on the crank on the back--that's pretty cool. But are they
just for show, or will they be actual obstacles?
Now we can see that it's not long before the track leads back above water, into a tall
vertical curve, as shown in this scene. And we know it's what comes next since you can
see the same grouping of pipes that they just passed here.
And it's here that we get our first good look at the submarines that travel the course,
which follow a track that runs down the exact middle of the roadway. And as you can see,
they take up quite a bit of room, which means they'll probably be a pretty big obstacle.
And given that their front is relatively flat, it may actually bring you a stand-still, and
perhaps could even push you back back down the track too.
Up ahead, you'll find a set of item boxes at the peak of curve, before working your
way back down the other side. Now to see what happens next, we'll have to revisit this Waluigi
scene. So there's the start of the looping track section, and if we follow it around,
we can see it drops into another body of water on the other side of the wall
And we can actually just barely see that section of track in the background of this next underwater
scene. Now there are a couple things to do here: First, we can see that the anti-gravity
section is over--and on top of that, there's no track for the submarines, meaning they
won't be interfering with you here. In addition, while the main path curves around the seashells
here, it seems that sneak Iggy found a shortcut by barreling right between them. But speaking
of those Seashells...we think they might actually be part of a ride. If we take a look at this
screenshot from the same area, you can see it not only has a circus-tent like top, but
even a title too. Although part of it's cut off, we're pretty sure that says "shell"--which
makes sense given the seashells. So what's the deal--is this really an underwater ride,
or did this park become flooded at some point? It might explain why it appears there are
walkways under here, complete with fake seaweed.
Now there's a bit of a gap before this next scene that show Luigi following a section
of track that leads into a flying section back above water. From here, it's pretty much
a straight-shot to the finish line, except for the ticket ticket-booth here that you'll
either have to fly over or weave around to either side. And look it's even manned by
a noki and Toad
Alright, and that's it for the course's layout. But you know the drill--there's still some
more details for us to cover
Take the fact that the Ferris wheel is very clearly themed to Wario, what with the giant
yellow "W" and the Wario mustache behind it--which likely means this ride's called the Wario
Wheel--so bonus points for alliteration, Wario. And did you notice half the gondolas are actually
themed to Wario's trademark purple overalls, with just a hint of his yellow shirt around
them? As for the other half--they seem to be themed to Mario's overalls, oddly. Oh,
and like with the vertical curve, the entire thing appears to be supported by those famous
green pipes.
Then there are the boats we can see along the shoreline, including Mario, Yoshi, and
Wario ones. But that's not the first we've seen of these boats, as they also appeared
in the village course that we played at E3.
And speaking of things that appear in other courses, did you notice all the garbage cans
around the park have a "Water Park" sign on them. Well, if that sounds familiar, it's
because we first saw an ad for this very same waterpark in Sunshine Airport, we pointed
out in our last analysis--so that's another mystery solved, and yet another cool little
touch. And we're guessing that crown-looking thing beneath it is the park's logo, seeing
as it's plastered all over the place, such as on banners, and even that underwater ride.
Although there is one more possibility. because that logo does sort of resemble a crown--albeit,
a bit of an oddly shaped one--it could mean track is from the game's Special Cup, as a
crown has historically been used as its icon
Ha, you think we're done! Of course we're not done! Did you notice there appears to
be a wooden coaster in the background here? Well, we actually get a better look at it
in this screenshot, and we can see that it appears to be called Waluigi Sea Bed--either
that, or that's just the name of the general area. It does seem to be a bit of an odd name
for a coaster after all
Finally, did you notice all the balloons in the background? if we go back to that Waluigi
scene, we can see they're actually emerging from this warp pipe.
Okay, and that's everything we know about all of the new tracks shown in the trailer...or
is it? Well, as it turns out, there is actually one more scene that doesn't fit with any of
the others: This one, which shows an underwater area, complete with Cheep Cheeps--real ones!--and
scuba-diving Toads in the background.
But check this out--if we freeze the scene just before it ends, we can see some odd-looking
mountains in the background. And those mountains match up perfectly to the ones in a single
screenshot released from Nintendo, where we can see they're not just any mountains--but
dolphin shapes ones--three of them to be exact! In fact, we can even see three actual Dolphins
in swimming around in this picture too.
Which means we're probably looking at Dolphin Shoals, as we pointed out before is listed
as a destination in Sunshine Airport. And not only that, but we also correctly predicted
in our last analysis, the dolphins featured here are actually the ones from Super Mario
World! But are they just a cool detail, or will they interact with the racers in some
way.
Now this image in particular, appears as if it may take place immediately following the
scene shown in the trailer, given that the general perspective appears to be the same.
And just ahead, we can see a jump, and it apparently leads to a giant ring in the water--though
we have no idea what that might be for--is it like a hoop that dolphins jump through?
Okay, and now that's everything we could dig up on the new courses, but there's still 4-returning
ones to talk about. Now since we already know how these course will largely play based on
past games, I'm only going to point out the main differences. But if you're hungry for
more, make sure to stay-tuned for our upcoming head-to-head comparison video that'll put
the new Retro tracks against their original versions.
So let's start things off with perhaps the most different of them all, being Mario Circuit
from Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Now the thing with any track from Super Circuit was that
they were all entirely flat due to technical limitations, as you can see in this footage
from the original game--so it's no surprise that that's still mostly the case here--but
only just mostly, because as you can see, a giant U-shaped section of it is now raised
at a 45-degree angle and turned into an anti-gravity section. And to get to it, you'll have to
take a newly installed jump. But you'll also find that it terminates on the other end with
another jump--and this time we're guessing it turns into a flying section.
Now the view at the top of the raised track provides an excellent view of the course,
and we can see it matches that of the original game almost perfectly, including the split
track at the finish line.
Hell, you can even see giant trees in the background, with Super Mario World style mountains
behind them, just like in the original game.
But there are still a few other new things to note here. First of all, is if we freeze
this clip, is that we can see the addition of an oil slick marked with cones, which we're
guessing will cause you to spin out, like in past games.
And beyond that, there's a ton of detail put into the racetrack itself, such as the stacks
of tires now found throughout. THen there are the ads and billboards in the background,
such as the one for 1-Up Fuel here and another for Mario Motors here, which is an ad for
a business that appears in the Mario Circuit level back at E3. And do you remember those
oil cans visible here that we pointed out before? Well, they appear in the new Mario
Circuit as well, inside this newly built hut. And right next to that hut is another banner
for Fuzzy Battery--and fittingly enough, it even has a Fuzzy enemy as its mascot.
And in this clip, we can see even more ad banners, including one for Chain Chomp, another
featuring a red shell, and a few others we can't quite make out.
But perhaps the coolest details involves that raised section of track again. For one, we
can see that it's not floating for no reason, but it's actually being supported by a set
of giant car jacks. And check this out--if we zoom in on the now-revealed hole, we can
see the ground actually consists of bricks, in the style of that of the original Super
Mario Bros game.
And that's it for Mario Circuit, so let's take a look at Tick Tock Clock, originally
from Mario Kart DS. Now perhaps the biggest thing to note about this course is just how
much better it looks--what used to be a large, but empty room, is now filled to the brim
with gears and other moving parts in the background.
Gameplay wise, the track, like the others, seems pretty close to the original, even including
the two conveyer belts that move in opposite directions just before the finish line.
But there have been some note-worthy changes. Such as in this scene, where Luigi's racing
across the giant clock-face. First off, the boost pads are now wider, rather than the
longer ones of the original. Then check this out--Luigi appears to drive right over what
we think is the clock-hand, which would have caused to spin-out in the original game. Though
upon closer inspection, it looks like Luigi may actually have jumped it instead--which
is still something that was impossible in the original, but it could mean the clock-hands
are still a major obstacle unless you have good timing.
Moving on, in this scene, we can see the clock pendulum in what appears to be the same place
as in Mario Kart DS. But if we move forward a bit, we can see a second one has been added
here just around the corner. And they've moved the item boxes from before the first one to
just before the second. Now in the original game, when you ran into a pendulum, it would
stop you dead in your tracks. But this time, if we freeze the clip at the very end, we
can see it actually gets pushed forward! Which might suggest they'll be a bit less of a hazard,
merely slowing you down instead of stopping you completely. Although this could be because
of the fact that Mario was invincible too--although this had no effect in the original game.Also,
there's a drop-off here this time--which we suspect is followed by several more-- as opposed
to the gradual ramp of the original game.
And that's it for the gameplay, but there are a few other cosmetic changes I wanted
to note. Such as the fact that the starting line is actually located inside a giant alarm
clock, which you can see ringing here.
Then there's the fact that we can see roman numerals in the background of this scene,
which appear to replace the Arabic numerals of the original game. Oh, and Toads can be
found along the sidelines too. And finally, that clock hand from before has been changed
from Red to Black.
Finally, if we look at the face of the pendulums, we can see they not only say say Mario Kart
on them--but also display an image of a Lightning bolt, which is the logo typically used for
the Retro Nitro Cup--which likely means that's where we can expect to find Tick Tock Clock
this time around.
Alrighty, and that's it for Tick Tock Clock, so let's swing on over to Mario Kart 7's DK
Jungle! And once again, we can see it's remarkably faithful to the original course, right down
to the return of the Tiki and DK Barrel obstacles--and if we look close, we can see even the frogs
are back too. Though while we're here, it does seem that they've taken out the thick
mud that would originally slow you down n this spot
Now if we head to the Golden Temple part of the course, we can start to see some pretty
big changes. First is the fact that there is now a wall when you enter, preventing you
from driving off the track. But after you turn, you'll find the gentle inclines of the
original has been replaced with a brief anti-gravity section that's much steeper. And there is
now a drop-off before the Golden Banana. And speaking of the Golden Banana, not only does
it look a lot more, well golden--but it now spins too. They've also added some torches
to liven up the place, as well as decorative banana bunches that line the entrance and
exit.
Alright, we're through with you DK Jungle, so let's roll on over to Grumble Volcano,
which first appeared in mario Kart Wii. And like the others, it appears quite similar
to before, complete with the large bricks and ? Blocks visible in the background.
And as we can see, the course will still give away in later laps, and apparently in the
exact same fashion as Mario Kart Wii. But there are a couple of things to note here:
First, they've added torches to the raceway. Next, the the billboard just right of the
tunnel been replaced with an ad for something Bullet Bill related. They've also added a
stream of lava flowing down the mountainside--and you can see it even illuminates the area around
it.
Next up, we get an inside look at the tunnel, where we can see, not much has changed--besides
the massively improved visuals--and no where is this better illustrated by the erupting
volcano, which now looks a lot more visually impressive with far better fire effects, lava
flowing down the sites, and it even emits a shockwave with each eruption.
But there is something new here--a jump pad that leads into a flying section! This final
scene, once again, just shows little else has changed--though we can see that fiery
debris will still be a thing!
And that finally covers it for all 8 courses shown off. So between everything we've now
seen of Mario Kart 8, that means we now know of 12 New tracks and 7 Retro ones in total.
Which means if it sticks to the same count as every past Mario Kart, besides the original
and Super Circuit, that means there are still 4 new ones, and 9 Retro left to be shown.
And speaking of the Retro tracks, if they split them up among the Mario Kart series
as evenly as possible, that means we should expect 2 courses from every game, with a couple
getting three. But since we've already seen three from Mario Kart 7, it seems safe to
assume that we won't see any more from that game. And oddly, the original Super Mario
Kart is the only one that hasn't yet had a track confirmed.
Okay, I promise I'm finally done talking about the tracks! Because the trailer also gives
us a better idea how items will work this time around. Now we already pointed out in
our last analysis that character will actually physically hold onto their items this time
around, but we wondered how that would work items that come in threes, such as Triple
Shells. Well, now we have our answer, as we can see throughout the trailer that they'll
orbit your kart just like in past games--but this time, it even goes for mushrooms too,
which is something we haven't seen before.
And when you go to use an item, such as a Koopa Shell, your character will actually
pick it up before throwing it, which is a cool touch. And on top of all this, if we
look back at the last trailer, there's a few frames where we can see Mario dragging a single
Koopa Shell behind him like a shield.
And the trailer even shoots down one of our theories that you might be able to steal items
again, ala Double Dash, by ramming into other characters with a mushroom--which is exactly
what we say Wario do here to Toad, and yet Toad has no trouble holding onto his item.
So what this all means is that it appears items behave exactly as they have in every
Mario Kart game since Double Dash, meaning the fact that your character can now be seen
holding them is mostly--if not entirely cosmetic. Essentially, they've simply relocated the
item box to your character's hands, which at the least is a cool touch and might result
in a less cluttered hud.
Although we do think this could mean one small tweak. In past Mario Kart games, items that
orbited your kart could be run into by other racers, meaning someone could be taken out
by a Koopa Shell simply by getting too close. We can't help but wonder if this might work
for the triple mushrooms too--only this time giving your opponent a boost! And there's
actually a precedent for this. In Mario Kart 7, the Lucky 7 item would causes 7 different
items to appear and orbit your kart, including a Mushroom and a Star. Both of which, if touched
by an opponent, would grant the power to them instead! So we think there's a strong chance
it'll work the same way here too.
It would actually change the a bit, forcing you to be a little more careful with how close
you drive to others!
And while we're on the topic of items, the latest batch of artwork released from Nintendo
confirms 3 more returning items that we haven't seen before: The Lightning Bolt, Blue Shell,
and Bullet Bill. Interestingly, we still haven't seen a single new item, so it's clear the
game's still hiding some surprises.
And speaking of surprise, perhaps the biggest news of the trailer is the announcement that--for
the first time ever--the Koopalings will actually be playable. Yep, that means Larry, Wendy,
Ludwig Von, Morton Jr, Iggy, Lemmy, and Roy. Which is awesome. But beyond that, this brings
Mario Kart 8's character count up to 24, which is the second higher amount of characters
to ever appear in a Mario Kart game, beyond only 2-behind Mario Kart Wii's 26. And since
we still have some time to go until the game's release, we're pretty all the characters haven't
been announced yet, which could be MK8's roster will be record-breaking. After all, we're
still missing Mii, who's appeared in the last two Mario Kart games, as well as Bowser Jr.
who's appeared in both of the previous 2 console games--and that's on top of all the characters
we've theorized may appear as well.
Moving on, the new trailer also shows off a few new vehicles. Among the more interesting
ones are the Wiggler Kart, whose nose doubles as the vehicle's grill, Bowser's airship,
Mario's jet engine bike, where you can even see the turbine spinning inside, and Daisy
shows off a purple car...that has a cat tail attached to it! Is this a reference to the
Cat Power-up in Super Mario 3D World?
Now in our previous analysis, we pointed out that the bike Rosalina was riding at all kinds
of decals on it, and this seems to be even more the case here. Take Luigi's kart, for
example, here has decals for Propeller Toad Transport, Galaxy Airlines, as well as 1-Up
Racing. But we can't help but wonder if these are set in stone, or maybe you'll be able
to customize your ride with these decals? Mario Kart DS did let you create your own
vehicle emblem, after all, so it'd be cool so some that kind of customizability return.
Okay, we're just about done, but there are just a few final things I wanted to point
out, such as some of the cool little graphical touches that can be found throughout the game.
Like how there's a line of fire left behind any time you boost, such as by using a mushroom,
it leaves being a trail of fire. Then there are the tires, which seem to grow visible
dirty from driving along dirt surfaces. And whenever you emerge from underwater, water
droplets remain on the screen. Oh, and check out DK here, who now has a fancy fur effect,similar
to his portrayal in Tropical Freeze.
Now speaking of graphical touches, the trailer opens up with a scene that's pretty unusual.
While the footage in the background of the city-track appears to be fairly typical of
how races begin in Mario Kart games, showing off different parts of the course that equalizer
overlay is anything but.
And it got us thinking--what exactly is this for? And we think we may have the answer.
Do you remember how this course had ads for Mario Kart TV all over the place? Well, we
think every scene recorded for these latest trailers might all be captured from this Mario
Kart TV mode. It certainly would explain the highly dynamic camera angles, and the slow-motion
effect during key moments, like when performing a stunt or ramming into an opponent.
And we think the unusual intro might be how every race starts, replacing the typical 3-second
count-down, which we can actually still hear in this scene. So if we're right, this could
mean every track might have its own unique overlay.
And with that, we're done covering everything we could dig up on the latest trailer for
Mario Kart 8. Thanks for watching and stay-tuned to GameXplain.com for more on Mario Kart 8
and other things gaming too!