New rumors suggest that Nintendo plans to deliverMario Kart 9sometime soon, and that it’ll have some kind of major twist. One leaker has already claimed that the nextMario Kartgame will act as a crossover title that unites many Nintendo IPs under one roof, but it’s possible that Nintendo has another twist in mind. Previous installments likeMario Kart: Double Dashintroduced special gimmicks that mixed up the racing formula, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nintendo buildMario Kart 9around a new mechanic of some kind. Until Nintendo makes a reveal, though, fans will be left guessing.
It’s possible thatMario Kart’s next big twistis that it won’t focus on karts and motorcycles at all. Instead, maybe Nintendo will have players race each other across multiple environments.Mario Kart 9could see players choose vehicles for sea and sky as well as land, introducing new courses where players drive boats and fly planes within a set track. AMario Kartgame with these new vehicle types would certainly need to make some adjustments to its items and controls, but diversifying the game’s racetracks in that way would definitely set it apart fromMario Kart 8 Deluxe,which continues to succeed on the Switch.
RELATED:Mario Kart 9’s ‘Twist’ Could Be Live-Service Elements
An All-Terrain Mario Kart Game
Mario Kart 7and8actually set precedent for aMario Kartgame that leaves the ground behind. Although players don’t literally hop into planes and boats to compete with one another,Mario Kart 7added hang-glidersto the game’s vehicles, which allowed for gliding segments in courses.Mario Kart 7also featured courses where players drive underwater, going against water’s normal status as a hazard.Mario Kart 8kept these variations on terrain while also introducing antigravity segments where players drive on walls and ceilings.
TheseMario Kartexperiments have been pretty successful so far, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo took those concepts to their logical conclusions by adding flying and sailing courses. TheSuper Mariobrand certainly isn’t short on famous locations that could serve as water levels and sky levels. Speedboat races could takeMario Kartfans anywhere from Isle Delfino’s beaches to aSuper Mario Bros.forest’s poison hazards tothe lava lake surrounding Bowser’s castle. Sky levels, meanwhile, could send players on a course composed of Bowser’s Airships or take fans toSuper Mario Galaxy-inspired courses filled with tiny planets.
RELATED:The Rumored Mario Kart Crossroads Seems Like the Logical Next Step
AMario Kartgame with boats and planes wouldn’t just diversify the game’s courses; it would alsopush Nintendo to innovateon the franchise’s items and obstacles. It’s pretty hard to lob a Banana Peel at someone in the sky, but Nintendo could introduce Winged Banana Peels that hover in place once they’re dropped. Similarly, water levels could see players tossing Cheep Cheeps at each other instead of Koopa Shells. Water and sky levels will also need unique ways to keep players on course, whether players are simply trapped in tunnels or reined in by whirlpools and thunderstorms.
While Nintendo has certainly innovated onMario Kartin the past, the franchise can be slow to change on the whole. Rather than being drastically different from each other, they usually just distinguish themselves by means of their playable characters and racecourses. Afterthe overwhelming success ofMario Kart 8 Deluxe,Nintendo shouldn’t be afraid to try new things when developingMario Kart 9,including adding new vehicle types to the game. Increasing the learning curve ofMario Karta little with the introduction of new vehicle types would pay off in the end thanks to the potential for player engagement, as well as all the new content that more vehicle types could bring to theMario Kartexperience.
