My ideas for Mario Kart 9

[Dry_Bones]

Well, it's been about a year since Mario Kart 8 came out, and with both DLC packs being released, I've began to think about what the next installment of Mario Kart will look like. Because we know so little about the Nintendo NX at this time, I'm going to assume the next Mario Kart will be released on the 3DS's successor, making it another handheld entry in the series. I expect the next Nintendo handheld to at least be on-par with the PS Vita, which means it should have some seriously good hardware that can allow the next Mario Kart to be almost as impressive-looking as Mario Kart 8.

Mario Kart 9 will feature DLC in the same vein as Mario Kart 8. There will be two DLC packs, known as Mario Kart 9 X Star Fox and Mario Kart 9 X Pikmin. Each pack will add 3 characters, 4 vehicles, 2 Grand Prix cups (8 courses), and 2 battle courses to the game.

Characters
Mario Kart 9 has 25 total racers, with an additional 6 included as DLC. Just like in Mario Kart 7, the characters are divided into 5 weight classes. Each character has an unlockable alternate costume, which can be seen in the list below. Yoshi and Shy Guy have additional alternate colors available as DLC, which are obtained the same way they were in Mario Kart 8. Lastly, bolded characters are newcomers to the series, while DLC characters from Pack 1 are marked with a * and DLC characters from Pack 2 are marked with a **.

Featherweights
Toad (Captain)
Toadette (Captain)
Koopa Troopa (Red Paratroopa)
Parabones (Dark Bones)
Shy Guy (Colors)
Olimar** (President's outfit)

Lightweights
Peach (Fire colors)
Daisy (Fire colors)
Yoshi (Colors)
Birdo (Orange)
Diddy (Super Diddy Kong)
Bowser Jr. (Dry Bowser Jr.)
Short Mii (Outfits)

Middleweights
Mario (Fire colors)
Luigi (Fire colors)
Kamek (Red Robe)
Nabbit (Gold costume)
Cranky Kong* (DKC2 outfit)
Fox McCloud* (N64 appearance)
Average Mii (Outfits)

Cruiserweights
Donkey Kong (Super Kong)
Waluigi (Biker outfit)
Rosalina (Fire colors)
Wiggler (Sunshine appearance)
King Boo (Luigi’s Mansion appearance)
Funky Kong* (DKC2 outfit)
Tall Mii (Outfits)

Heavyweights
Bowser (Dry Bowser)
Wario (WarioWare biker outfit)
Petey Piranha** (Fiery Dino Piranha colors)
R.O.B.** (Famicom colors)
Boom Boom (Wings)
Pom Pom (Wings)

Items

1. Coins
2. Green Shell
3. Triple Green Shells
4. Red Shell
5. Triple Red Shells
6. Banana
7. Triple Bananas
8. Mushroom
9. Triple Mushroom
10. Golden Mushroom
11. Spiny Shell
12. Lightning
13. Star
14. Bob-omb
15. Blooper
16. Bullet Bill
17. Piranha Plant
18. Super Horn
19. Mini Mushroom
20. Freezie
21. Divine 9

The mini mushroom is an item that is tossed forward or placed behind like a banana. When someone touches this item, they shrink for just about as long as a thundercloud-caused shrink in Mario Kart Wii. The Freezie is an item that, when thrown, moves like a green shell, but shatters as soon as it hits a wall. It's a bit bigger in size than a green shell, but it will melt as it travels, shrinking in size, so it's best to use when you're close to an opponent. As soon as it hits someone, they become frozen for a second, just like karts that hit the giant Freezies in Double Dash’s Sherbet Land. Lastly, the Divine 9 is MK8's Crazy 8 with a Mini Mushroom added to it.

Special Items:

1. Fire Flower - Mario, Luigi, Petey Piranha
2. Heart Shield - Peach, Daisy, Rosalina
3. Egg - Yoshi, Birdo, Shy Guy
4. Mega Mushroom - Toad, Toadette, Nabbit
5. Magnet - Wario, Waluigi, R.O.B.
6. Giant Banana - DK, Diddy, Funky, Cranky
7. Bowser Shell - Bowser, Bowser Jr., Koopa
8. Boo - Parabones, King Boo, Kamek
9. Boomerang Flower - Boom Boom, Pom Pom, Wiggler
10. Rocket Boost - Mii, Fox, Olimar

Special Items finally return from Double Dash. The Fire Flower works just as did in Mario Kart 7 and 8, but fireballs are more powerful, doing the same damage as a Koopa shell. Heart Shield and Yoshi Egg work just as they did in Double Dash. Mega Mushroom lasts longer than it did in Mario Kart Wii to increase its effectiveness. The magnet rotates around its user’s kart, collecting nearby coins and item boxes. If an opponent is nearby, the magnet helps draw them closer to you. Giant Banana, Bowser Shell, and Boo work just as they did in their original games. The Boomerang Flower also works the same as it did in Mario Kart 8, but is larger and stuns opponents a bit longer. Lastly, the Rocket Boost gives the user a mushroom-like speed boost that lasts for a few seconds.

Courses
Just like in Mario Kart 8, there are 8 cups within the game. The Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special Cups contain new courses, while the Shell, Banana, Leaf and Lightning Cups contain reimagined retro courses. The Star Fox Cup and the Egg Cup are part of the first DLC pack, while the Pikmin Cup and the Bell Cup are part of the second DLC pack.

Mushroom Cup
Luigi Circuit
Flower Fields
Peach's Aquarium
Toadette Circus

Flower Cup
Daisy Desert
Mario Circuit
Sherbet Lake
Waluigi's Casino

Star Cup
Yoshi's Island
Diddy Falls
Shy Guy Express
Dusty Canyon

Special Cup
Monty Mole Mines
Spooky Swamp
Bowser's Castle
Rainbow Road

Shell Cup
N64 Moo Moo Farm
WiiU Water Park
GBA Boo Lake
Wii Toad’s Factory

Banana Cup
3DS Shy Guy Bazaar
GCN Mushroom City
DS Mario Circuit
WiiU Sunshine Airport

Leaf Cup
SNES Koopa Beach 1
Wii DK Summit
DS Shroom Ridge
N64 Wario Stadium

Lightning Cup
3DS Rock Rock Mountain
WiiU Cloudtop Cruise
GCN Bowser’s Castle
GBA Rainbow Road

Star Fox Cup
Corneria City
Starshine Sandcastle
Smokey Volcano
White Land

Egg Cup
N64 DK’s Jungle Parkway
WiiU Dragon Driftway
DS Waluigi Pinball
SNES Bowser Castle 3

Pikmin Cup
Garden of Hope
Piranha Park
Bowser Land
Port Town

Bell Cup
Wii Daisy Circuit
3DS Rosalina’s Ice World
GCN Wario Coliseum
N64 Rainbow Road

Battle Mode
Battle Mode returns, and is highly customizable. Balloon Battle has a Survival mode in which a player is given 3 balloons, and whoever survives is the winner. It also has a Points mode, which uses the point system seen in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8. The other mode is called Star Runners, which has Single Star mode (similar to Shine Runners in Double Dash) and Silver Star mode (similar to Coin Runners in Mario Kart Wii). All battle modes include the option to be either a free-for-all or a team battle. The game starts out with 4 new battle courses and 4 retro battle courses. Italicized courses are unlockable, while courses denoted with a * or ** are DLC courses. The courses are as follows:

1. Block Castle
2. Blooper Bay
3. Bullet Billiards
4. Hammer Bro Hall
5. Junior's Playroom
6. Wild Savanna*
7. Freezeflame Field**
8. SNES Battle Course 3 (Ice)
9. N64 Double Deck
10. GBA Battle Course 4 (Desert)
11. GCN Luigi's Mansion
12. DS Tart Top
13. Wii Funky Stadium*
14. 3DS Honeybee Hive**

Features & Other Modes
So, what new features would MK9 have? The past two entries in the series have added so much depth with the additions of air-gliding, underwater racing and anti-gravity. I can't see these being dropped from the series now that they've become so established, so I believe all of Mario Kart 8's features will return, including tricks, bikes, customizable wheels and gliders, as well as the other gameplay features I just mentioned. In addition to these, Mario Kart 9 should add back features from earlier games, such as halfpipe tricks from Mario Kart Wii and the ability to make custom emblems from Mario Kart DS.

Mission Mode returns from Mario Kart DS, but this time will include elements from Mario Kart Wii's tournament mode. Every month, 3 new missions are added to the game, and become that month's featured missions. In a featured mission, you can compare your times against other players and receive a ranking. Previously featured missions are still available to play again, but you will not be able to compare your times to those of other players, nor will you be able to get a new ranking. The game starts with only 3 missions, but will eventually end with 72 total, which allows for two years' worth of new missions. As for an entirely new feature, players will be able to create their own custom courses and share them with friends, as well as download featured custom-made courses, just like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.


And...that's it for now. What do you guys think?

 

[nhkawaguchi]

I think silver stars is a great idea. Would it be any different from coin runners? ( i say this because it takes 5 to make a star in the SMG series.)
I though you wanted bob-omb blast to come back?

I was wondering why you chose the 5-weight class system?

I don't think fire flowers should have more power, but they should have less ammo. Green shells when sniped should have a better power than a fire flower. The boomerang is overpowered in general.
I love special items but I don't see them working online lol.
I'd also like mention: do you see the original game having 10 cups instead of standard 8 in previous?

Divine 9, lol it works.

biggest thing- I believe the player should flash after being hit 2 times (so they don't get hit anymore) the recovery in MKW was overpowered. and the destruction in mk7 and 8 isn't legit.

Freezie is a great idea.

I read your really long post but couldn't get to everything. so far awesome.

 

[Dry_Bones]

Thanks! Silver Star mode would work just like coin runners, but I didn't like how you could only have up to 10 coins in Mario Kart 7's Coin Runners, so I changed it to silver stars in order to avoid the 10-coin limit. It also fits better with it's counterpart, Single Star Mode, which plays a lot like Double Dash's Shine Thief, only with a Green Star replacing the Shine Sprite. As much as I want Bob-omb Blast to return, I can't think of a good counterpart mode to go with it, like how Balloon Battle has Survival Mode (Classic) and Points Mode (Modern), and how Star Runners has Single Star Mode and Silver Star Mode. Bob-Omb Blast would be nice to add in through an update, like how 200cc was added to Mario Kart 8, but I would still like to have it come with another variation too. Any ideas?

As for the weight class system, I went with Mario Kart 7's because I removed the babies and the Koopalings from the roster, which made it so there were way less light characters. The characters I chose ended up fitting in very well with the 5-class system introduced in Mario Kart 7 so I went with it. I had to make a few small adjustments though, like removing Lakitu and Hammer Bro and adding back Wiggler and R.O.B. in order to keep the weight classes even, but I think it turned out well.

I gave Fire Flowers more power because it's now a special item, so it would appear in lower places than in the last two games. I think right now the boomerang is fine in terms of power, it's just difficult to aim and hit people with it sometimes. But maybe I just suck at using it, I dunno. Either way I just want it to have enough power to make it comparable with the rest of the special items. I'm curious, why don't you think special items would work well online?

As much as I'd like the game to start out with 10 cups, keeping it at 8 and releasing 4 more later as DLC was a pretty smart move from Nintendo and made the DLC seem like a really good deal. And with the direction they're going in now, I think they'll continue to support future Mario Kart games with DLC.

What exactly do you mean by flashing after being hit twice? I thought items were pretty well-balanced in Mario Kart 8. If anything, I think the recovery time after falling should return to what it used to be, since it seems too short in MK8. But I thought the item balancing was fine, since you never really seem to be bombarded with the green shell-red shell-blue shell-blooper-lightning-star-bullet bill combos that MKWii was notorious for.

But yeah, thanks for reading my incredibly long post. At least I didn't include track descriptions and karts this time

 

[nhkawaguchi]

in regards in to the special items, I believe highly-competitive racers may find that one of the items is OP over the rest. Also connection limitations, it's hard to tell how much lag the special items will cause. but then again It does depend on frequency of specials and what place you could get specials.

I would include bob-omb blast in the initial game if possible. it could have a pair with a shell-shooter type of game?
I'd also include as many tracks as possible with the intial game. DLC should have the purpose of extending replayability.

in regards to the flashing: remember in MKW after getting hit you were temporarily invincible except to thunder? (MKW had one of the worst item balances) They took that out in 7 & 8 (or it was just 8 i fail to recall)
MKW's issue was getting destroyed by powerful items continuously.
MK8 arguably has an issue with getting chain-hit by shells, oncoming racers, etc. This is a true issue in battle mode, where if you got hit by someone with triple greens, they could take out all 3 of your balloons because you can't escape.
What I meant by the "twice" thing is that the invincibility should not be like MKW (too long), or no invincibility (MK8). There should be a limit to how many times you can get hit in a row.

 

[Dry_Bones]

Well, I guess some specials could be considered OP over others, but I'm sure they would try their best to keep them balanced. I doubt special items would cause more lag than any other item online. Specials wouldn't typically appear in middle to bottom places.

Shell-shooter is an interesting idea, but isn't really a good pair with Bob-omb Blast since it already has Bob-ombs in it's name. Double Dash's Bob-omb Blast was a survival mode in which there's unlimited time, and whoever gets to 4 points wins. So maybe a good counterpart mode would be having a set time, but a player can get an unlimited amount of points.

As for DLC, keep in mind that for what could be the first HD handheld Mario Kart, 32 tracks is already a lot. This is why I followed MK8's model for DLC.

I see now what you mean about invincibility, and you're right, you shouldn't be able to get hit more than twice in a row without a small recovery window, even if it's only half a second.

 

[nhkawaguchi]

As for DLC, keep in mind that for what could be the first HD handheld Mario Kart, 32 tracks is already a lot. This is why I followed MK8's model for DLC.

HD handheld MK? Is that even possible? Although now i forget it is likely the next mario kart will be on a handheld. unless they do both like smash.
On a console I would support 40 or more tracks.

 

[Dry_Bones]

HD handheld MK? Is that even possible? Although now i forget it is likely the next mario kart will be on a handheld. unless they do both like smash.
On a console I would support 40 or more tracks.

Isn't PSVita basically an HD handheld? I expect Nintendo's next handheld to be at least as powerful.

I'd rather keep handheld and console iterations of Mario Kart to be separate, though. That way we still get a new game every 3 years or so, whereas with Smash Bros. we only get a new game once every 6-7 years.

 

[nhkawaguchi]

Isn't PSVita basically an HD handheld? I expect Nintendo's next handheld to be at least as powerful.

I'd rather keep handheld and console iterations of Mario Kart to be separate, though. That way we still get a new game every 3 years or so, whereas with Smash Bros. we only get a new game once every 6-7 years.

I believe it is q-HD.

And as for Mario Kart and SSB series I think it has to do with development... or nintendo is just weird. SSB never was released on a handheld until this gen.

I do believe it will be released on a handheld though. I just don't know how powerful the handheld will be and how large games can be on it.

After seeing this console MK8, I can only dream of the next one. Especially of the size of the game Xenoblade (and future capability of tech), Nintendo could pull off a much larger mario kart. [omg I'm already fantasizing too soon]