When Nintendo announced that the second Mario Kart 8 DLC pack was coming earlier than promised, we were appropriately excited. Now that we've had a chance to get to grips with everything this extra content has to offer, suffice to say we're not disappointed.
In this early look at the full DLC pack we check out the courses, characters, 200cc mode and amiibo outfits.
Courses
Given that this course has four different versions according to the season (which is randomly assigned every time the course is loaded), it's difficult to refer to it as a single entity. The changes between seasons are hardly game-changing, but many different elements such as falling fruit that provide a speed boost, repositioned trick ramps, and pesky snowmen getting in your way means that you can play this course repeatedly without getting bored. The standard coins have been replaced with the similar-looking Bells from Animal Crossing, and you'll have all of your favourite townsfolk to cheer you on as you careen through the course. All the Animal Crossing references and paraphernalia are incredibly tightly packed, meaning that the whole series has been represented efficiently and incredibly effectively.
Easily the most dynamic of the tracks available, Big Blue is yet another reference to the beloved F-Zero series. Unlike its brother however, Big Blue is one long course split into three sections much in the same way as Mount Wario. As such this course feels even grander than its lap-based counterpart, and trying to keep yourself from grinning profusely as you scream around bends and slide down epic water streams is frankly a fruitless endeavour. The same gameplay elements from Mute City are present here, meaning F-Zero fans should be getting very excited indeed.
An unexpected delight comes in the form of this track. Themed around the Super Bell item from Super Mario 3D World, this train-packed romp allows you to thunder through winding tunnels and jump over (or even on top of) the underground public transport mentioned above. Packed with character, this is easily one of this writer's favourite courses from the new DLC pack.
The enigmatic 'jungle' track from the original promotional image is realised in Wild Woods, a track that brings to mind Shy Guy Falls, which is no bad thing. Littered with anti-gravity sections, you'll be racing up and down mighty trees, across precarious pits and through a raging river, complete with lily pads that can give you a very welcome boost of speed.
Legendary in its simplicity, Baby Park makes its triumphant return after many long years of fans crying out for its reinstatement. Not much has changed in this HD reimagining, but now that the course is entirely anti-gravity based knocking into your opponents is much more fun than it was in Double Dash. You'll also be racing 7 laps of this course as in the GameCube original.
Many snowy or icy levels are notorious for having slippery surfaces to help illustrate the environment you're racing in. Cheese Land takes this idea but instead applies it to a dairy treat. Tricky corners, well hidden shortcuts, and regular 'potholes' that you can perform a trick off means that this is not a course to be taken lightly.
Like or loathe it, you'd be mad not to like it. The notorious 3DS track returns and the upgrade has been kind to its unforgiving hairpins and slippery, rain-soaked sections. Whilst the challenge has been somewhat lessened compared to its original form, the track is still no easy ride, particularly if you're brave enough to try and attempt to tackle it at 200cc. Note: 'B' is the brake button; you'll need it.
From the flat plain of the GBA original comes a winding, dynamic track that bears little resemblance to the original. Taking place inside a cihld's bedroom, you race to the mechanical cheers of many toys from the Mario universe, such as Toad Minis from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and some utterly adorable Yoshi's Woolly World yarn amiibo. This course is fairly simple in its layout, but due to having almost no barriers, you may find yourself careering onto the playroom floor if you become complacent.
Characters
Another crucial element to any Mario Kart experience is of course the characters you can choose to race as. Villager comes in both male and female flavours, and both emit extremely charming sounds from the Animal Crossing franchise rather than speaking, obviously. Isabelle is much the same in her demeanour, and as hard as it is to cope with coming in the bottom half of the running order, she still manages to remain chipper, optimistic, and adorable. All three of these racers fit beautifully into the Mario Kart aesthetic, so much so that you may have to remind yourselves that they are in fact from a separate series altogether.
The final new character to join the fray is Dry Bowser, the skeletal variation of Mario's life-long nemesis. No only does he look the absolute business, but his animations are suitably dynamic as well. The cracks in his shell glow orange whenever he boosts, and he'll happily spew out a burst of flame if he pulls off a stunt. Naturally this bag of bones is as heavy as they come, meaning fans of bulky, no-nonsense drivers will find plenty to love about him.
Vehicles
Like its owner, the Bone Rattler will strike bags of fear into the hearts of your opponents. This heavy 'quadbike' throws handling out of the window in favour of pure, unadulterated speed. The City Tripper is the only bike in the lineup, and is a gently balanced machine designed for those who are more concerned with getting around corners as opposed to shooting off into a wall at three times the speed limit. The Streetle is very similar to the City Tripper in many regards, but is obviously a kart. The whole thing is frankly adorable and the fact that the wings open up when you hit anti-gravity is the icing on the cake. Last of all is the P-Wing. This kart is based around the item of the same name, and is appropriately nippy around the course. Whilst not as heavy as the Bone Rattler, its cornering is noticeably more forgiving, so it may be the vehicle of choice as you get to grips with 200cc mode.
200cc Mode
The feather in the cap of this pack is the 200cc mode that is included in a free update alongside the additional content, meaning that you'll be able to enjoy it even if you don't download the DLC. It does have to be unlocked however, but most veterans will likely have fulfilled the requirements long before the update is released.
Trying to describe 200cc mode is difficult. The easiest way to understand it is to think back to when you first played Mario Kart 8, where you were bumping into walls, falling off the edge and losing all your coins every 100 yards. Playing 200cc is like having to learn everything all over again - the difficulty is tremendously increased, meaning if you're new to the series you'll definitely want to master the slower speeds before trying to take this bad boy on.
Most excitingly, the extra speed means that if you choose a character with limited handling you'll have to start braking to get around some corners correctly, meaning that many of the lighter character/vehicle combinations are suddenly much more viable in competitive situations. All of a sudden a high speed stat is as much of a hindrance as it is a help, so you'll have to think twice about picking Waluigi with Cyber Slick tyres.
amiibo Costumes
Much like the previous DLC pack, if you scan your amiibo on the appropriate menu you can unlock special outfits for your Mii character to spice up your style. The characters included this time around are Bowser, Wario, Olimar, Sonic, Villager, Mega Man, Rosalina, PAC-MAN, and Toad. It's a nice little addition for anyone who already own the appropriate amiibo, but the effect is merely aesthetic, so don't go wearing Sonic's outfit just because you've gotta go fast.
Conclusion
Overall this DLC pack is just as exciting as the last one, the courses are all fantastically well refined and none of them leave you bored or uninterested. If you ever feel this way about Mario Kart 8, try slipping into 200cc mode, and you're sure to get your fire back in mere moments.
Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 will be released on 23rd April.
Comments (89)
Wow, awesome preview. Can't wait for next week and can't wait for Nintendo to take notice that we all seem to be fairly excited at a new "F-Zero" track. Is it a pattern, Nintendo? Do you think we... maybe want a new "F-Zero"?
Now this is how you do DLC. Great job Nintendo
I am a Luigi and Cyber Slick guy. I wonder how they will fare in 200cc? I've put over 100 hours in Mario Kart 8, and I've got an online score of about 4500. This will probably cause me to put another 100 or so hours into it.
Holy! This is almost like an additional game being added in. I better get back on this game, so I don't look like a fool in 200cc.
This may be an unpopular opinion but you should tap the amiibo every time you dress up your Mii and not tap once and forget about it. Whatever happened to the toys-to-life concept/immersion? MK8 is probably one of the worse amiibo implementation. They should just offer the costumes as paid DLC than the tap-once and forget about it implementation. That or make it tap everytime you dress up. Mario Party, Smash and Codename STEAM did it right.
A few of the tracks look great (Big Blue, Wild woods & Ribbon road) but a couple of others look astonishingly poor. Neo Bowser City is just a bad track any which way you look at it. Possibly the worst the series has ever produced. Baby Park just seems like a wasted spot that a better track could have filled. And Super Bell Subway looked really boring, so surprised to hear that was one of the favourites.
Characters, vehicles and costumes are irrelevant. But some of the tracks look great and 200cc mode is surely going to be awesome.
Disappointed there's no Metroid track as was rumoured based on those file names.
Overall, looks good though.
@A01 A lot of complaints there to end up saying it looks good overall.
@NoEasyBuckets
Only complaining about 3 tracks really (one of which may turn out to be decent). Another 3 look great. The remaining 2 are fine, neither good nor bad.
I don't care about the characters or vehicles, won't use them. Not a complaint, just completely irrelevant.
And 200cc looks good.
Seems alright overall.
I think it should be noted that both the 200cc mode and the new amiibo costumes are being released at the same time as the new dlc pack, but do not cost anything.
the animal crossing dlc looks amazing
@outburst That could work if you only bought your favorites, but for those of us trying to collect all of them? I would hate to drag out all the required amiibo for a racing suit. Perhaps if you could race as the characters sure but honestly I think it is fine how they did amiibo for MK8.
it seems like the graphics for these courses have improved way more than last time. nintendo is really getting a hang of the wii u potential now
Wild woods seems like fun. I love it!!
I wish Cheeseland had a pink sky.
These all look gorgeous o_o
"Like or loathe it, you'd be mad not to like it." What a curious sentence. There are also a few typos in this article.
Anyway, this is the perfect way to extend the life of MK8 and exactly how DLC should be done. The tracks look great for the most part and I'm especially excited to see what 200cc is like. (Wish I could say the same about Smash. I won't be spending money on any DLC in that one.)
@ted-k
It's weird how they got it so right and so wrong with different games.
Mario Karts DLC is fairly priced, especially the bundle, with a surprisingly decent amount of content.
Smash Bros DLC is some of the most unfairly and absurdly priced content I've ever seen.
Gonna boot up MK8 and get back into the groove. 200cc is going to be incredibly fun no doubt. Can't wait!
@A01 the Smash dlc is a joke. Paying for skins? I'm sure some won't mind and happily pay for all of the costumes. I'm not buying any.
@outburst That is a horrible idea. I hate how they implemented the amiibo party. forcing to use the amiibo for everything but then still needing a controller as well is a fail. myself i am sick of the stupid toy characters. at least with amiibo we can use in multiple games instead of like infinity where i pay $15 to unlock one character in one game, but having to delete other game save data between uses is a huge fail as well. i think these are meant to be like the memory cards that the ps1 used where you can take your progress to a friends house.
Er, what exactly IS the unlock condition for 200cc? I haven't done all cups in 150cc. I kept getting jipped by AI item draws, and it kinda put me off the game for a while.
@DarthNocturnal Completing all cups on 150cc
YES!! I am beyond excited for this. I think it's a great deal. Basically half of the game for only 1/4 the price of the original. What a deal. If only Nintendo would do this kind of thing with Smash Bros. They should release 6 characters and 8 courses in a pack for the same price. Not 8 mii costumes...
@AlexOlney Thanks for the in-depth preview. Were there any changes to Battle Mode? I assume not since I'm not seeing anything about it anywhere.
Omg! I can't wait to play the new tracks!
@shigulicious I totally agree with you. Smash DLC was such a joke
This sounds great, can't wait to give it a go. What are the requirements to access 200cc BTW?
This is my number 1 thing to do when I get off from work today. I cannot wait.
I can't wait to play the new levels, and replay the old levels in 200cc. MK8 will feel new, for the third time.
Now if only they'd release a battle mode DLC pack with actual battle mode levels.
I don't even have mirror mode so I am never unlocking 200cc.
Nice to see the new costumes, guess I will open one of my Bowser amiibo after all. Looking forward to have a disc on my drive that does not say "Hyrule Warriors".
The lack of a Kid Icarus course or amiibo skin is sad.
Baby Park! In 200cc, this is going to be a lot of fun for drunken Mario Kart with friends.
Why can't i play this today?
When will this be available in NA?
@Evenmoresteven I've put almost 150 hours total in the game. This might take my total to more than my Mario Kart Wii play time, of more than 400 hours.
@StraTTtheRipper Same date as everywhere else-April 23rd.
@Gerbwmu Because reality is a cruel mistress...
@Knuckles The amiibo costume from the Pit amiibo will probably be added in the update after the one for this.
@sinalefa 200cc is automatically unlocked when downloading the update.
@TrueWiiMaster Or Battle Mode free update. Much like the additional 8 player Smash stages.
@Tazcat2011
1.Downloading the update on the 23rd of April.
2.Well, that's it.
@DarthNocturnal Download the update on April 23rd and 200cc will become availible.
@Tsurii897 It's somewhat a cross, between Bike and ATV.
Give us a fully fledged F-Zero game, Nintendo!
please...
@Takerkaneanite6 The article says it needs to be unlocked.
I will gladly endeavour to master 200cc. I want fast-paced races.
@Tazcat2011 That's weird, maybe 200cc gets added, but you have to unlock it. I thought that once you get the update, 200cc is automatically availible. Well then. I've done everything in the game anyway so it should be availible right off the bat for me...
ribbon road looks breathtaking !!!
@Takerkaneanite6 I'm sure it's just get a trophy in each cup and each speed class. If that's that's the case I still have a few 150 cups to finish.
@Tazcat2011 The requirement for 200cc is to get a gold trophy (1st place) in every 150cc on disc cup.
It's such a shame battle mode was messed up. Otherwise MK8 would've been the PERFECT game!
No one got the comparison?


No 200cc on online multiplayer? I am unsure if skipping it is a good idea., since I don't really play single player.
@GreatPlayer
The YouTube announce trailer explicitly said 200cc was available online.
@GreatPlayer 200cc is available in GP, VS race and online VS Race.
@Captain_Toad What is the name of that kart??? I must have it for myself! It looks a lot like a McLaren P1 to me.
@T7L3RB The bottom one? It's the Mach 6 from the cartoon, Speed Racer.
It's not that the MK8 DLC is fairly priced and the Smash DLC is unfair; actually, the Smash DLC is fairly priced and the MK8 DLC is an uncommonly generous deal.
@Captain_Toad No I knew that was the Mach 6. I was wondering about the one Mario is driving. I absolutely love the design and really want that kart.
I'm READY
I actually predicted 3 of the tracks on nintendo life's YouTube channel, Including cheese land which I think nobody else saw coming.
I would have loved a Metroid-themed course, but this does look excellent. Looking forward to it.
Strange how strongly that screenshot of Ribbon Road reminds me of the Wii game Elebits.
@Tony_342 that would have awesome if they were going to announce a new Metroid title at E3, otherwise not so much.
I am about to faint here. This is amazing. Trying to take in all these new courses at once, so many of them look so good, and then the P-Wing kart looks utterly fantastic. I'll probably use it over and over.
Baby Park in HD looks so good. Neo Bowser City, I'm so pumped to pay that one in HD. I CAN'T BELIEVE Cheese Land actually made it in, I suggested that one! And not ONE of the MKSC tracks but TWO, Ribbon Road! And look what they did with it! Very creative.
And then the new courses. Another F-Zero stage? Didn't see that coming, and it's one big track--I expect it'll be epic. Super Bell Subway looks like it could be the next Coconut Mall, which is my favorite course.
Can it be the 23rd now?! O_o
This is beyond my expectations again. Can't wait. I pre-ordered both sets as soon as it was available enjoyed everything so far, but it has been so long, this just feels like a massive free update to me.
Earth Worm Jim for Smash, it would be "groovy"
@Dr_Corndog That's a good assessment when not including the costumes. The characters are reasonably priced, but the costumes are pricier than they probably should be on Smash. Although the MK8 DLC is insanely generous, like you said.
Regardless, I really can't wait to play the game again. I haven't beaten mirror mode yet because life is life and I'm busy. The DLC looks amazing and 200cc will be a blast.
@Alex_Olney: Friend of mine works for a police department of a major city here in the States. He could not access this article because nintendolife is blocked by his work server. You guys are notorious, lol!
Let's hope we have even more DLC in the months to come! 😄
Ribbon Road looks absolutely fantastic! <3
... along with the rest of the DLC! ^-^
Great job, Nintendo!
@Dr_Corndog I agree, that this is really generously priced, especially if you buy them as a bundle! Such quality for so few coin.
@danielsahr528 I like it :3 The overall aesthetic is cool ^~^
@danielsahr528
I like it too, even if I spend the whole time sliding off the track.
I don't even want to think about what it'll be like at 200cc 😅
Would I be the only one who'd LOVE to see Nintendo announce another round (or more) of DLC packs like these for Mario Kart 8 at E3? Surely not. Keep em comin', Nintendo!!!!
Everytime I get bored of MK8 a DLC comes along and get me puting in a few more hours online. Quality DLC that I cannot refuse.
I made about 2500 points before I gave the game a rest after initial release.
After DLC pack 1 my points went up to around 4500 before I had had enough.
I am hoping touch the 7000s with this release.
These refresh DLC additions are truly the best I have paid for in any game.
Well done Nintendo.
Very happy with the courses for this new set of DLC, though I'd have loved to see an updated Choco Mountain, Frappe Snowland or Koopa Troopa Beach from 64. I am however a little disappointed with the character roster since three of the four are all Animal Crossing characters, one of which could have been combined into one character (Male/Female Villager) but Dry Bowser is a happy return to the series as I loved him in MKWii. Characters just don't have the same punch as including Link, but then again it's also not as useless as including alt outfits for Peach and Mario which, once again, should have been combined with their respective drivers as alt outfits in the same way Shy Guy, Yoshi and even the Mii's now can do.
Also a bit disappointed that the new karts were described in text instead of shown in the article, but I suppose I don't have long before I can get a good look at them. I hope this isn't the last we will see for MK8 DLC, I could support new content in this game until the cows come home.
@AshFoxX
Well, it's actually 3 characters, since male/female Villager are combined into one slot, and it is the Animal Crossing DLC pack, so it was kinda expected that most of the characters would be Animal Crossing based.
Note to 2K and WB Games: THIS is how you do DLC.
@danielsahr528 I'm quite fond of the course. I'm not sure why it draws so much ire. It looks cool, and it's straightforward. Solid track.
@AtlanteanMan You'd absolutely not be. If they announced Pack 3 at E3, I'll be thrilled.
@ted-k Yeah, that first sentence really stuck out to me too.
Can't wait for this. Mario Kart 8 is the Wii U game I play the most, so looking forward to all this new content. Also, this DLC really shows up the Smash Bros DLC. Here we're getting new courses, new characters AND new vehicles for £7 (or less if you bought the bundle like I did) and with Smash you're paying about the same I think just for some Mii outfits...
@Shinnos Also the fact we're getting new tracks (by new I of course mean not already in MK8) adds much more than just the addition of a new character in Smash. A few hours later and I'm almost already finished with using Mewtwo, these 8 new tracks will last at least months.
The new F-Zero one and Subway one look awesome.
Wild woods looks like a donkey kong stage. Am I the only one that sees this?
The new courses look great! Can't wait to check out the 200cc
@Shinnos as a few others have said, I dont think smash dlc is bad, its just more in line with industry standards. In other words its not good value and is just aimed at maximising revenue. Mk8 on the other hand is generous. Tbh, in my view mk8 dlc is fair but seems so so much better when compared to near enough every other game. I seem to recall being able to buy dantes old hairstyle for about 1.60£ in the dmc reboot, hair raising pricing indeed or the destiny dlc which is so bad in terms of price and content that activision must literally be laughing as to how crazy gamers must actually be to support that kind of thing.
Verry nice can't wait!
Neo bowser city and baby park are 2 of the best tracks ever for mario kart.
I always liked Lemmy as a character, but raced as DK + Cyber Slick. It's such a good combo. 200cc sounds super exciting
@Takerkaneanite6 It's not automatically available. I diwnloaded tje update but still don't have 200cc because I didn't get a medal on all of 150cc tracks...
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