The Mario Kart nostalgia just keeps coming with the upcoming smartphone release, Mario Kart Tour. Last week, we shared the news that Diddy Kong is strapping in for a return to the series after 11 years away, and it also seems that the game will be receiving the Special Items last seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the GameCube.
If you played Mario's GameCube karting outing, you'll likely remember that each playable character had its own Special Item. Mario and Luigi had fireballs, Wario and Waluigi had the Bob-omb (which is now an item included as standard, of course), and Petey Piranha and King Boo could actually summon any Special Item usually used by other drivers.
So far, Peach and Daisy's Heart, Yoshi's Yoshi Egg, Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s Bowser Shell, and DK and Diddy Kong's Giant Banana have all been confirmed for the new game. The official Mario Kart Tour Twitter account has highlighted the Bowser Shell, but looking back at the original trailer, you'll spot all of the others we've just mentioned, too.
As a smartphone title, Mario Kart Tour is definitely taking the series in a whole new direction, but the content featured within seems surprisingly welcoming of past ideas. We loved Double Dash!! back in the day, so we won't say no to features like this coming back.
Mario Kart Tour launches on Android and iOS on 25th September.
Comments (15)
Would love to play this on the switch but not going to play on a phone with one finger!
Double dash will always (probably) be my favorite Mario Kart. Mario kart 8 deluxe is good, but it can't touch double dash imo! Not really interested in tour, but damn I love the bowser she'll item.
I loved Double Dash!! and the unique items were a big reason why. It added an element of strategy that is otherwise lacking.
For what it's worth I always went with Paratroopa's three red shells and Toadette's gold mushroom for my team. What about you guys?
So, how is Mario Kart Tour's general gameplay different from a normal console Mario Kart? I thought Nintendo emphasized early on that its mobile strategy was to use its IP to entice mobile gamers to its consoles with unique mobile-specific experiences, and was definitely not about just putting the console experiences on mobile (which would kind of defeat the whole purpose). But maybe that's changed now?
I mean, things like Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, AC Pocket Camp are unique, mobile-centric twists on the console games, dangling the carrot of the IP to mobile users, but certainly not giving them the traditional console experience or encroaching on the console's territory (in line with Nintendo's original mobile strategy). But this pretty much just looks like a normal Mario Kart game.
The dedicated portable line of Nintendo has officially been retired now that the Big N has embraced mobile to this degree. They'll still have a dedicated platform to put the majority of their content on as long as it remains profitable for them to do so, but they days of a portable only Nintendo console seems to be done. Yes, the Switch Lite technically is portable only, but it's still spun off of a hybrid home system.
@Haywired Believe me this game won’t be very fun. You just play with one finger and swipe left or right.
I've never played Double Dash, so I would love a port and/or a successor to it.
The idea of local multiplayer with up to 8 players also sounds awesome.
But it still a mobile game
And it will NEVER as great as dedicated Handhelds / Consoles.
Super Mario Wiki has a full list of special items (at least the ones that appeared for the characters in the demo) on its page for Mario Kart Tour. For instance, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Rosalina, and Rosalina get the Boomerang Flower.
Can’t wait. Would love this. Especially as it’s free. We need mario kart 9 soon. Please
I hope they bring the special items back for MK9 as well. I’m really wanting MK9 soon.
Would like to see MK9 on the Switch soon. But it’s nice to see these items from MKDD return. Also, MKDD is probably my favorite Mario Kart game. So, i’m pretty happy about this news.
What I would prefer is a Double Dash Deluxe made for Switch, with the multiplayer player nature of the device it seems like a natural fit.
Insert comment on wanting Mario Kart 9 here.
@Silly_G Double Dash is essentially Mario Kart with chaos x100.
Anyone can win, I remember being hammered by 4 blue shells in one race, the massive powerups show what Baby Park track design is all about - trying to weave in and out of monstrous powerups smashing all over the tracks. Intense.
It's great fun, should be an optional style in all Mario Kart games.
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