Sumo Digital: Mario Kart Should Incorporate Other Nintendo Franchises

I want a Smash Bros. I want a Mario Kart. I do not want a Smash Kart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs

It's absolutely true. Instead of giving us clone racers (Metal Mario, really?) we could have for example, Samus and Link. It may be a little farfetched to expect a whole game like that, but it would be a step in a fresh new direction for the racing series.

Didn't ask for your opinion, Sumo Digital.

I agree. After playing Sonic Transformed, and how there is only one track for a game, it mixes it up heaps.

Let the next Nintendo Kart move away from solely being Mario.

I agree with this. The series has to evolve somehow. Try some of the stuff that Sonic & All-Stars tried - different terrain and incorporation of other characters. I also wish that they'd take a look at Diddy Kong Racing because I loved that game. There's definitely some interesting ideas there to explore.

@Aviator: Actually Jet Set Radio got 2 tracks, and there's a handful of Sonic ones. Just the inclusion of more diverse tracks would be a plus.

Well to be fair, Sonic doesn't have as many memorable characters

This guy is funny.. IMO it only did well because it only cost 39.99. I dont care for sonic never will.. Mario Kart 4 life.

@Azikira One of the two Jet Set tracks was one from the previous game.

And while there are multiple Sonic tracks, there is only one from each game.

I don't know... By adding a bunch other Nintendo characters they would probably have to change the gameplay alot. I think so atleast. Make a Smash Kart racer, i would love, but keep it separete from Mario Kart.

I'd pay very good money for a Super Smash Kart.

I agree completely. I'm a big MK fan, and I don't care at all about the Sonic & Sega universe, but the racing mechanics of Sonic are much better than MK:Wii. It finally pays off to drive well and powerslide/boost often...unlike in MKWii where a single item would ruin the whole race, and no matter how much you boosted you couldn't get ahead of the AI.

There is no reason that the MK characters must only be mario characters, staying the same for the sake of staying the same....so many other Nintendo characters are just as well known among fans. Characters really don't change the gameplay, they're pretty interchangeable.

That said, Nintendo usually doesn't learn from the successes of others....for better or worse, they do what they want.

@SirSmugleaf That was my very reaction on Facebook, haha. Lycett seems to be a little over his head with the game. Maybe it's selling well?

I suppose a Super Smash Kart would work alright, but I'd rather Mario Kart to stay Mario Kart. Nintendo can get creative enough with Mario Kart, I'm sure. I'm actually really eager to see what it will look like on Wii U.

@LZBirdboi It's that simple.

Hmm, I'm not sure. Yes, it would be fun to play as... say, Kirby in Mario Kart, but I feel like that would be a bit odd.

I would play, and probably love, Nintendo Kart.

I Actually thought nintendo would do this when i saw the miis were playable in it. It could be called super sonic mario kart or something like that.

I agree. Especially because Mario Kart has evolved so slowly, some of the titles added very little and while I think it has a great formula, recent ones haven't been as interesting in my opinion. Learn a few things from Sonic, Nintendo!

i don't really play MK for the characters, I play because there are people to be beaten, lol. also, a good track is a good track no matter where it's set. i don't want to see them get too far away from Mario (just for tradition's sake), but so long as the series handles and drives about the same as it has the entire time, all the way from the SNES version, i'd probably play it no matter what. and i'd love to still be able to unlock classic tracks too :3

I somewhat agree with him. A guest character and a course from a few series such as Kirby and Zelda would be nice to replace clone and filler characters (e.g. Baby Daisy, Baby Peach, Metal Mario, Dry Bowser)

However, the series should predominantly stay Mario themed, and guest characters and themes should absolutely not go over four each. I'd say put in Kirby, Captain Falcon, Link and Samus, and one course from each of the series put in an extra "All Stars" cup.

Oh god Bulby, that's a dream team of guests right there!!

This is the closest we will get. But it is pretty cool.

and the Wii Sports Resort courses in Mario Kart 7.

I have always wanted other Ninty characters in Mario Kart.

(Kirby in Mario Kart mmmmm)

And Hyrule Field as a racetrack...

I've always thought about a Super Smash Kart. But maybe it could be a separate series from MK. It would be interesting to see characters you'd never expect to race hop into a car, such as from Fire Emblem and LoZ.

To be fair, the characters don't make a huge difference to me, what I'm more interested in is the courses. Heck, I'd love to race down Death Mountain or try to navigate through the Lost Woods (and if they're adding air and sea, we could have tracks from Skyward Sword and Wind Waker). Dreamland (from Kirby) has so many possibilities as well. Obviously F-Zero could work (though it might feel a tad out of place), and I guess some Metroid locales could too (hard for me to imagine though). And there are other games that might fit...

On the other hand, we've hardly exhausted the Mario universe. How about Subcon, Yoshi's Island, or even the original DK arcade? They could do so much more fan service for the series if they wanted to instead of making most courses completely independent from actual Mario locations we've visited.

I'd play a Super Smash Kart. Actually something like that would be lots of fun, even if a Mario Kart proper came out as well. I could see a Super Smash Kart as a DLC series for a Mario Kart Wii U.

Mario - Yoshi
Link - Epona
Kirby - Warpstar
Samus - Gunship
Fox - Arwing or Landmaster
Donkey Kong - Rambi
Capt. Falcon - Blue Falcon
Olimar - Hocotate Freight Ship
Wario - Wario Bike
Pit - Exo Tank
Bowser - Koopa Clown Car or Airship
King Dedede - Wheelie
Meta Knight - Flying or Mini Halberd
Excitebike Rider
Mach Rider
Doc Louis - Bike

I guess having characters from other Nintendo games would be cool. But I don't want them to go crazy with it. It's still MARIO kart

Nintendo Kart would defo be a good thing, I'd love to race around Hyrule as Samus, or fly through the Lylat system as Captain Olimar. It could co-exist with Mario Kart, but I feel the next step forward for the MK series is to step outwith it's universe!

I would love this. I think it would really add something to the MK games. Maybe Sonic could be in a Mario kart game and vice versa?

What's with this "Sumo Digital says Mario Kart should be like this" pattern that's appearing? I'm sure Nintendo knows what they're doing. Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed looks like a great racer, but Mario Kart will always be the definitive kart racing experience in my eyes.

Also why is it that they keep flaunting the land, sea, and air thing when Mario Kart 7 already did that last year? I realize they were both likely being developed around the same time, but really.

Back on discussion though, I'd rather Mario Kart stay Mario Kart. We have Super Smash Bros. for all our cross-over needs to be real here.

I dont know...It would be weird to see, for example, link in a go kart...

I say its cool as it is now

DKR 2 that's all I have to say.

Must I quote Nintendo Power Issue 273?

NP: Have you ever considered expanding the roster to include characters from other franchises à la Super Smash Bros.?

Hideki Konno [Producer of Mario Kart]: No we have never seriously considered that.

@Emaan
Except MK7 didn't do the land, air and sea thing, they did a hang glider and a propeller. SAS Racing Transfromed had Kart, boat, and plane segments that(from what I've heard) play very differently from one another.

I'd like to see a separate kart series, or at the very least a mini-game in the next SSB.

I'd get busy on NintendoKart. Smash Bros. seemed ridiculous to me when I first heard about it... but that turned out pretty well.

@rayword45
Please no more minigames in Smash. I don't play Smash Bros. to play Mario Kart, I play Smash Bros. to play Smash Bros.

Anyway, I think "Super Smash Kart" would be an interesting idea, but I feel it wouldn't make sense for certain characters(i.e. Link, any Fire Emblem characters) to be driving a motorized vehicle.

Anyway I think there game is selling very well that is why they are coming out with these remarks.It is also on mutilpe platforms which Mario Kart 7 isn't.

@Gridatttack "gee sure is boring around here, I wonder whats Mario up to." http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=PfZxGzv6MlM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DPfZxGzv6MlM

Sonic and all Star Racing Transformed is the most played game on my Wii U by far and me and my girlfriend hugely prefer it over Mario Kart 7!

Sumo Digital making a Diddy Kong Racing 2 with David Wise on soundtrack would be excellent.

Seriously though, Mario Kart needs some sort of single player mode. Diddy Kong Racing, Crash Team Racing, and this game blow it away in single player content.

Still, Double Dash remains my favorite kart racer, but Nintendo hasn't come close to topping it since it came out.

If you don't like having other characters in the game don't play as them, simple enough. The only thing Nintendo should be thinking about is whether to call it "Super Smash Kart" or "Nintendo Kart" as others above have suggested.
Well that and getting cross platform play with the 3DS and Wii U.
If Nintendo can make a game called "Nintendo Land" and have characters from all the other series in it I don't see how you can argue w/ a straight face against an expanded roster racing game. Though I could see people arguing against air and sea levels if you just want a straight up racer.

A Nintendo Kart game would be cool. I like Sonic Transformed way better than Mario Kart Wii and 7 because of the characters, tracks, and music. Racing in the Shinobi stage as BD Joe with that awesome remix music does not get any better than that . So I think Nintendo making a Kart racing game beyond Mario characters is a good idea in my book. Its something new.

No, no. Mario Kart works because the single Mario "universe" has such a strong line-up of characters. Sorry to hurt any feelings but Sonic doesn't have a strong enough line-up of characters to justify a Sonic-centric Sega racing game, that's why Sumo has to bring in more characters from Sega's other games. If it was Sonic only it would die as quick a death as Chocobo Racing, or Goemon Racing.
In order for anyone to care, as much of the Sega line-up has to be included as possible. So some people will play for Ryu, Ulala, Vyse, etc. Sega's characters are just not strong enough to support a kart game without the help of the entire Sega pantheon.

You take everything away from Mario Kart if you add "non-connected" characters to it. At the least make it a separate racing series called Nintendo Kart or Smash Brothers Racing, but don't go adding Samus and Link to Mario Kart itself. Even Falcon doesn't belong in a Mario-specific racer.

If they did make it a "celebration of everything Nintendo" like Smash Bros and indeed what Sega Allstars is itself, with heavy doses of nostalgia, then I would be fine with it and enjoy it, as long as it wasn't called "Mario Kart". Mario Kart is strong enough by itself, and doesn't need any help from other Nintendo "worlds".

@MrWalkieTalkie Kirby would SO win!

Would be great. that would be a very rich experience... it's like thinking about playing Mario Kart Wii or Smash Bros. Brawl. If I need to choose I'd do Smash Brawl but if Mario Kart Wii would have characters from other Nintendo franchises I would pick Mario Kart Wii to play. Imagine Link in a kart or Olimar in another, even better, imagine Samus in a kart.

@ThreadShadow While that might be true, SEGA has a bigger line-up of games to take tracks from than the Mario universe.

The New SSB game should have a Kart Racing mini game with a couple tracks and Nintendo should listen to the reactions and if they are good, they could make a full fledged game.

This idea has been around forever... I do think having more characters would be cool, but the only way it would work is if Samus could ride Epona, Link could use the Blue Falcon, etc. This idea would probably limit alot of game play options that are fair for every racer. Besides, the Blue Falcon goes at over 2000 kmp, which is alot faster than Epona's 35 mph. That is why they haven't done it, because it limits alot of the individual franchises' vehicle/transportation capabilities. The only way this would work is if they 'trapped' every character to a car that has no apparent influence from the titles they come from.

I do wish that Nintendo would change things up a bit with the next Mario Kart. They shouldn't do it by imitating S&S but it worked out well (in my opinion) when they changed things in MK:DD.

The only character outside of the Mario world will be Pac-man, and that's just because Namco made the arcade machine. Sonic wasn't even in F-Zero AX when Sega made that arcade game around the same time. There will never be a Nintendo Kart, because Captain Falcon races at speeds over 50 times the speed of Mario Kart, and doesn't know how to use items while racing.

I'm sorry, but Link riding around in a go-kart is gimmicky to me. Samus riding in a go-kart would look silly. The reason Sega-All-Stars works with characters outside of Sonic is because NONE of the their franchises are strong enough to have a dedicated racing game. Instead, the game becomes a celebration of Sega franchises. Nintendo does not have this problem. If Nintendo felt Mario Kart needed a boost by adding franchise characters they would have added them in a long time ago. Nintendo knows what they are doing and why they are doing it.

I'm Sure Miyamoto Has Thought About This But We All(That Know Things) Know That The Company Won't Let Him Make That Sudden A Move To The Franchise. Ahh "Super Smash Bros. Kart", How I Wish Thee Here

@jibberldd5
Please no. If there is a "Nintendo Kart", It should be separate from SSB.

I play Smash to play Smash, not to play Mario Kart.

I think it is a fantastic idea! Why is everyone hating on the idea. Sure it would seem weird at first to see Zelda, Samus, and captain fal... er never mind he would be right at home. I think we would get used to it. Think of all the new landscapes they could race at. I would love to race through Hyrule Castle town.

Hmm. A few years ago, I suggested to Nintendo including Kate Allen from F-Zero X in a future Mario Kart game. The answer was obviously no, though the recipient did seem mildly amused.

Mario Kart Arcade GP had Pac-Man, Blinky, and Mamichi from the Tamagotchi series. It's a shame they're the only third party characters in a Mario Kart game.
That aside, why don't they just put Mario in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? On the first S&ASR for the XBox 360, they threw in Banjo and Kazooie from Nuts and Bolts.

Apparently everyone has forgotten about R.O.B. showing up in MK DS's roster? Not to mention what @allav866 said.
Basically what I'm saying is that non-Mario characters HAVE appeared in MK games before.

I wouldn't mind seeing characters and courses from other Nintendo franchises in the next Mario Kart..

Id love to play as Ike in Mario kart
@WingedFish I always play as ROB in mariokart DS

Love the idea! I want a Samus vs Adult Midna vs Zelda vs Peach race!

"SAAAY-GUUUH!"

I love Sumo and I really love SEGA/Sonic Racing, but leave Mario Kart to Nintendo.

The only way I'd like a Nintendo racer is if characters stayed true to their series. Link in a kart would make absolutely no sense and would not fit with his character at all. Give Link Epona and we may be on to something.

Actually, make the game more like that canceled Donkey Kong Racing game.

@Syntax

Ha! Nice. Still its a shame how to make new animations on MKW hasnt been discovered.
Now that I see that, actually, link wont look that weird at all...

no,no,no. That ain't the problem with Mario Kart. There's more than enough characters in the mushroom kingdom for them to add to the game. There's no need to add from side franchises.

yeah i have to disagree with that it be to weird but why not have new tracks with other nintendo themed characters like a track in hyrule?maybe something like that or themed character karts like the blue falcon was nice

they do bring up a good point though that even though im mario kart 7 we use the gliders it doesnt fully expande what nintendo could do with that or explore more ideas were we use only the glider for a track or idk

It's not necesary, but yeah: Super smash brothers kart could be cool!

No one here has mentioned this yet....
Wouldn't it be so much better to have unlockable mii costumes a la Nintendo Land, Mario Tennis 3ds e.c.t. for different franchises and Karts themes after aspects from neighbouring series? (e.g. Epona headed dolphin Dasher) That way you could bring in loads of new ideas without actually cramming out of place characters in awkwardly! I would love to see the Mushroom Kingdom replicating set pieces from the other franchises though!

No, thank you. Absolutely not. Smash Bros works but I don't think Smash Bros Karting would.

Personally I would live to see a track editor on the wii u version think how good u could make it using the touch screen on the game pad to lay track and hazards items etc

Yeah, and it should have officially licensed cars. And the Wii U can incorporate Google Maps and let us chose courses from all over the world... Wait a minute, that last part would actually be really cool!

NO WAY!!!!

And only Nintendo chars in Smash Bros. (Sonic and Snake in Brawl was a mistake. A huge mistake).

They could add some cameos like Kirby, but it should stay Mario Kart. And I can't imagine Zelda characters or Samus in karts, that would be ridiculous.

Rather than continuously bigging up his own game he should be working on a way to make the game load quicker than it does (took me seventy-nine seconds to get from 'Press Start' to the menu), make it quicker to restart a race/event rather than the continuous crap going on and options you need to traverse, making sure that after some perfect jumps the boost actually works, that cars don't just lose control for no reason after some jumps and millions of other little niggles that are stopping this game from being great and merely being good.

Oh, and get Ralph and the NASCAR woman the **** out of the game!

I kinda of agree, Nintendo should at least do more open tracks, and the Wii U can do that, and i would like to see every character with their rapresentative kart.

But on the characters i do not agree totally, some has a vehicle that will fit, like Captain Falcon or King Dedede with his wheelie, but others will sincerly suck.
I do not want to see Samus in his Gunship or Doc Louis in is Bike. I could go on but you got the point.

Putting aside the fact that Sega's racer is nothing compared to Mario Kartand they shouldn't be giving Nintendo advice in the first place...

The Mushroom Kingdom has the right amount of whimsy for a go kart racing game. Samus and Link would be ridiculous. Captain Falcon already has a racing game. Fox would be a bit out of place as well.

A few would be okay guest stars - Kirby, Ice Climbers, Olimar - and I wouldn't mind it, but there is no point. The characters are just a collection of stats with a face, not individualized with special abilities or anything. Mario characters draw on limitless nostalgia, unlike any of the supporting cast of Sonic, or really most Sega characters in general.

Even if it was just for access to other environments for tracks, Hyrule, Zebes, Coneria, etc... They just don't fit. They are too serious to envision as a setting for go kart racing. Mushroom Kingdom has a bazillion games to draw creative environments from, and they have room to just make up some.

Better yet, why not wish for a new F-Zero with more Star Fox characters? In Command, at least one ending has some of them go on to join the F-Zero league. I could see tossing in Dark Samus, too, though I would prefer the real Samus to stick to one universe.

Not that it really matters. I would totally play Smash Kart. I just don't see the need and I think the characters would mostly seem out of place in a go kart.

Nintendo Kart would be much better than another Mario Kart game.

Nintendo already incorporated Pac-Man characters in Mario Kart arcade, there are actually 2 mario kart arcades they should port to wii-u or 3ds or both

Why not? My previous fear was that it wouldn't mix as well as Smash Bros does, but if Sumo can put Billy Hatcher and Ryo Hazuki in a karting game and make it work then I don't see why having Mario and Link in a karting game wouldn't either.

It would be a great chance to bring back character specifical special items, too!

@ThreadShadow I agree and I hate to see Captain Falcon reduce to riding a kart rather than an ultra fast high speed velocity vehicle.

Why does Nintendo always have to conform to others examples?

Doesn't mean that others don't have good ideas.

I've been wanting a free for all racing game starring Nintendo characters years before Sonic All Stars ever existed.

Plus, it shouldn't be restricted to karts either. Mario would ride Yoshi, Link would ride Epona (with realistic horse riding controls as opposed to a horse that controls like a kart). Kirby would ride the cat from Dream Land 3. Pikachu would ride some other Pokemon.

Each character would have their own set of weapons too. Link could throw boomerangs, bombchus, etc...

Fox would be a bit out of place as well.

Many characters are out of place in Melee and Brawl too. Should we remove them?

Even if it was just for access to other environments for tracks, Hyrule, Zebes, Coneria, etc... They just don't fit. They are too serious to envision as a setting for go kart racing.

So? Being serious doesn't make it a problem. As much as stages from those games are in Smash Bros.

@Emaan As someone else said Mario was gliding not flying and diving not floating. At first I was like, "yeah, but that's practically the same" but after playing the demo, it feels so very different and better. Sonic Transformed is a good game and I think it wouldn't hurt Mario Kart to do something similar. I really want the charatcer you choose to make a difference to the stats.

Having the characters have there own transportation from their own games wouldn't make sense. Captain Falcon races at speeds 50 times faster than Mario Kart, so that automatically takes away Captain Falcons cars as even being an option. The only way it could work, is if they FORCED every character into a kart, which would destroy the individuality of each series in one hit. This game won't be made, because Epona can't run as fast as the Blue Falcon. That should be enough explanation for this game not happening... The only game worlds even close to being similar in technology, are Starfox and F-Zero, because they use G-defusers in both those games. Even Samus' ship still uses a rocket propeller... I recall the Wolfen being in MK DS, too. The Blue Falcon and the Wolfen will be the closest thing you get to having a Nintendo Kart, because that already shows that they've thought about that idea enough to only have those cameos, with no further action.

@SonataAndante
They all have moves that would mess up each other. Mario has fireball power, Kirby cooks them, Link has a freaking sword, Fox has a tank, Pikachu sends volts that are lethal, etc. All they have to do in that game(Smash), is not add blood and real violence from realisticly fatal attacks, and its basically unchanged. They could make the game if they altered every character's world to accomadate for the combination of all those characters, but Nintendo has already said that they aren't making it regardless(also because of the altering reason I'm sure). It's not like they haven't thought about it, they just aren't going to. I guess Sega still does what Nintendon't...

I have to agree with them. After playing Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, I can see that Nintendo need to do something like it for the next Mario Kart. Mario Kart needs to evolve. Super Racing Bros. come on down.

I think that Nintendo should release their next Mario Kart as a fully-fledged MARIO game but then add new character and GP's from other games as optional DLC.
Would keep Mario Kart purists happy, and those who want more variety can choose to buy the DLC,,,

I know I would

Sonic & All-Stars could learn a bit from Mario Kart: customisation. You've been able to mix & match characters & karts since MK: DD all those years ago & it feels sorely lacking in Transformed (unless I'm not far enough into the game to discover customisation).

Oh & playing as some of the other Nintendo characters just wouldn't feel right in Mario Kart but hey its Nintendo here & they could probably pull it off.

Oh & playing as some of the other Nintendo characters just wouldn't feel right in Mario Kart

Nobody is saying that they want other Nintendo characters in a Mario Kart game. They're saying they want other Nintendo characters in a racing game. Doesn't have to be strictly karts either.

And no, characters wouldn't keep their over-powered moves/vehicles from their own games. It would still be fair and balanced.

@Bass_X0 To quote Steve Lycett (from the article above): "I’d actually love to play a “Super Smash Bros. Kart” and escape the Mushroom Kingdom." So yes, someone's saying they want other Nintendo characters in karts

& how would you know whether or not characters keep their moves/vehicles from their own games? The "Nintendo Kart" (or whatever game it will be called) doesn't even exist yet.

@WiiLovePeace That is probably the one thing from Mario Kart that I would have liked to see in Sonic Racing Transformed. The vehicle mods when you level up are good but it would have been nice to have a vehicle option.

& how would you know whether or not characters keep their moves/vehicles from their own games?

Naysayers were saying that Captain Falcon should be as fast as he is in F-Zero. Which isn't going to happen.