Mario Kart 7

Overview

The big jump in Rock Rock Mountain in europe known as alpine pass

Mario Kart 7 is a go-kart-style racing game developed by Nintendo. It is the 7th console game in the Mario Kart series, (9th overall, the other two being Mario Kart Arcade GP and MKAGP 2) hence Mario Kart 7, and the first to make use of autostereoscopic 3D effects. As with other entries in the series, most, if not all, of the characters and tracks in the game are taken from, or are inspired by the characters and settings from the Mario franchise, also developed by Nintendo. Mario Kart games are known for their difference from other racing games, due to their creativity, items, and cartoony-style. This makes these games feel much different than the normal racing game.

Changes from series

Mario Kart 7 includes some new features and improvements. One interesting new feature is that, when passing another racer, your characters will look at each other and make faces. Many upgrades to the graphics have been made (relative to Mario Kart DS) including the use of the 3DS's stereoscopic 3D effect.

Nintendo has also stated that the game runs at 60 FPS; with and without the 3d slider up or down. It was stated in the 18th March 2011 edition of Nintendo TV, hosted by Official Nintendo Magazine (in America: Nintendo Power), that the staff have been working harder on this Mario Kart game than any other. It was also mentioned that Mario Kart 7 will include a more balanced item system.

Mario Kart 7 will feature several new features that have not been in previous games in the series. On big jumps in the game, karts will deploy a hang glider to help them glide over a track. When underwater, a propeller will help the kart drive along the sea floor. The game will also feature kart customisation, a first in the Mario Kart series.

Karts can be customised with accessories that will give the kart an advantage in races. For example, giant tyres will help for off road tracks, whereas small tyres will be ideal for city tracks. This allows players to actually design their own kart and give their own spin on the race. Players can also peform tricks whilst driving; it is still unknown whether players use the D-Pad or by shaking it.

Mario Kart 7 now includes an item filter that includes: All Items, No Items, Banana's Only, Mushrooms Only, Shells Only, and Bob-ombs Only. This allows players to choose their own style of items.

Characters

Mario Kart 7 will feature characters from the Mario series. Currently the following characters have been confirmed to appear in the game:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Donkey Kong
• Bowser
• Princess Peach
• Yoshi
• Toad
• Koopa Troopa (Green Shell)
• Wario
• Princess Daisy
• Rosalina
• Metal Mario
• Lakitu (Red Shell)
• Shy Guy (Red)
• Mii
• Wiggler
• Honey Queen
• Download Shy Guy (Yellow or blue)

Items

The following items have been confirmed for Mario Kart 7:

• Banana Peel - When ran into, you get spun around quickly, slowing you down.
• Triple Banana Peels - A string of three banana peels that can be used.
• Green Shell - When hit by one, the player gets thrown in the air, slowing you down.
• Triple Green Shells - Three green shells that spin around you.
• Red Shell - A shell that homes in on the nearest player.
• Triple Red Shells - Three red shells that spin around you.
• Blue Spiny Shell (Without wings, like the original one) - A shell that homes in on the player in first position and causes an explosion similar to that of a bob-omb when it reaches there. It also hits players along the way and causes them to be hit like a green shell.
• Mushroom - A speed boost.
• Triple Mushrooms - Three speed boosts.
• Golden Mushroom - A speed boost that lasts about 5 seconds after its first use (during the 5 seconds you can use it as many times as you want).
• Star - Causes you to become invincible for a short amount of time.
• Lightning - Causes the players ahead of the user to shrink down, significantly reducing their speed.
• Blooper - Temporarily blocks the vision of the players ahead of the user.
• Bullet Bill - Transform into Bullet Bill. Serves as a very good and long boost where the game controls the user's kart. Also causes invincibility
• Bob-omb - Causes a large explosion and slows down according to how close the kart was to the epicenter.
• Fire Flower - Allows the user to throw fire balls that slow down opponents.
• Tanooki Leaf - The user grows a tail and can hit other players with it and block attacks.
• Lucky ' 7 ' - Seven random items will appear around the player and the player may choose one to use. It is unconfirmed, but it is believed that this item may only be used once per race.
• Coins - The more a user has of them, the faster the user goes, if hit 3 are knocked out. These are also used to buy in-game items. You can hold a max. of 10 of them.

Kart Parts

Karts

• Barrel Train Kart
• Zucchini Kart
• Koopa Clown Kart
• Pipe Frame Kart
• Tiny Tug Kart
• B Dasher Kart
• Cloud 9 Kart
• Bumble V Kart
• Bruiser Kart
• Cact-X Kart
• Blue Seven Kart
• Egg 1 Kart
• Gold Standard Kart

Wheels

• Slick Wheels
• Slim Wheels
• Sponge Wheels
• Red Monster Wheels
• Gold Wheels

Gliders

• Peach Parasol Glider
• Flower Glider
• Paraglider Glider
• Beast Glider
• Gold Glider

Gold Steering Wheel

This special kart part is unlocked after playing 80 out of 100 races using First-Person Mode. It is lost after racing 20 races without using First-Person Mode.

Unlocking Parts

• 50 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 100 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 150 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 200 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 250 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 300 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 400 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 500 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 600 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 700 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 800 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 900 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 1,000 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 1,200 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 1,400 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 1,600 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 1,800 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 2,000 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 2,500 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 3,000 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 5,000 Coins: Random Kart Part
• 10,000 Coins or 100 Streetpass Hits with Mario Kart 7: Golden Glider
• 15,000 Coins or finish all cups in all difficulties with a ranking of at least 1 star: Golden Wheels
• 20,000 Coins or achieve a VR over 10,000: Golden Standard Kart

Gameplay

Mario Kart games generally include many different types of modes to play within them. All of the modes included within Mario Kart 7 are not all currently known though.

Versus Mode: The core system of Mario Kart is expected not to change with Mario Kart 7's versus mode. The player races around multiple Nintendo-themed tracks in their favorite Nintendo character. The object of the game is to come first in each race, and their are a number of methods to achieve the objective, such as cutting corners, drifting, using shortcuts, and using items to increase speed as well as slow down opponents.

Balloon Battle Mode: The object of balloon battle mode is to pop as many of the opponents balloons as possible while still maintaining your own balloons. Every time you pop one of your score goes up by one. Once all of your balloons are popped, you have to restart at zero. Whoever has the most points by the end of the time wins.

Coin Battle Mode: You have to get as many coins as possible before time runs out. You can knock other players' coins out by using items. When the time goes out, the player with the most coins wins.

There is a two-tiered drifting system, as with all of the Mario Kart games; short drifting with blue sparks gives smaller boost, while longer drifting with orange sparks gives larger boosts.

Tricks are also available by clicking "R" while in air. Players can switch to 1st person view and can drive using the gyroscopic controls that the 3ds utilises.

A link of Mario Kart 3DS new gameplay with sound is shown.

Tournament Cups / Tracks + Battle Stages

Mario Kart 7 is the first game in the series to feature Wuhu island, a track which is not featured in any Mario games. Wuhu Island features in other recent Nintendo games, including Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, and Pilotwings Resort. It has also been announced that one or more courses set in the jungles from Donkey Kong Country Returns will feature.

Once again, Mario Kart 7 will include retro tracks from previous entries in the series.

Tournament Cups

Mushroom Cup

• Toad Circuit
• Daisy Hills
• Cheep Cheep Cape
• Shy Guy Bazaar

Flower Cup

• Wuhu Island Loop
• Mario Circuit
• Melody Motorway
• Alpine Pass

Star Cup

• Piranha Plant Pipeway
• Wario's Galleon
• Koopa City
• Wuhu Mountain Loop

Special Cup

• DK Jungle
• Rosalina’s Ice World
• Bowser’s Castle
• Rainbow Road

Shell Cup

• N64 Luigi Raceway
• GBA Bowser Castle 1
• Wii Mushroom Gorge
• DS Luigi's Mansion

Banana Cup

• N64 Koopa Troopa Beach
• SNES Mario Circuit 2
• Wii Coconut Mall
• DS Waluigi Pinball

Leaf Cup

• N64 Kalimari Desert
• DS DK Pass
• GCN Daisy Cruiser
• Wii Maple Treeway

Lightning Cup

• Wii Koopa Cape
• GCN Dino Dino Jungle
• DS Airship Fortress
• SNES Rainbow Road

Battle Stages

• GBA Battle Course
• N64 Big Doughnut
• DS Palm Shore
• Honeybee Hive
• Sherbet Rink
• Wuhu Town

Wireless Features

Multiplayer functionality has been confirmed to be available through both online play and local wireless, for up to eight players.

Online: Mario Kart 7 is the first of its kind to support Wi-Fi races for up to eight people. You can create community's play with friends and more. For full details on this visit Nintendo's official Mario Kart 7 website.1

Streetpass: Players can exchange and race with other players met through streetpass.

Spotpass: You can download spotpass time trial ghosts through the Mario Kart 7 Channel.

Release

Mario Kart 7 is confirmed to be released in December for all Regions. December 1st for Japan, December 2nd for Europe, December 3rd for Australia and December 4th for North America.

Reception

It often tops 3DS Buzz's chart of greatest reader interest. The game is also the #1 most wanted 3DS game on IGN.

Development

Nintendo first showed Mario Kart 7 to the public as a non-playable demo at E3 2010. The same video has been shown on 3DS consoles at several press and public 3DS preview events since then.

New information was given at E3 2011 including the estimate release, customization and a new trailer. For the first time, a playable demo was showcased on the show floor at E3 2011.

The same playable demo has appeared at a number of other events, both press and public, most notably the public MCM expo in the UK.

Also, Retro Studios has been working on the game too, designing and revamping the old courses, while Nintendo concentrated on the newer courses. Nintendo did this, so that Mario Kart 7 could be released before the end of the year.

Enemies, Obstacles, and Other Things on the Road

The following enemies and obstacles have been confirmed (excluding items):

• Banzai Bills
• Grand Goombas
• Rolling boulders
• Pipes
• Wigglers (Not the character)
• Rocky Wrenches
• Pinballs
• Snowmen
• Walking Trees
• Cars
• Large Bricks
• Boo's
• Lava
• Mushrooms (Big bouncy ones, not the speed boosts)
• Normal Ramps
• Red Arrow Ramps
• Blue Arrow ramps
• Piranha Plants
• Thwomps
• Invincible Thwomps

History

The first Mario Kart game was released in 1992, on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Since then, versions of the game have been released on the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo DS and Wii. Mario Kart has also been released as an arcade game, under the names Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart GP 2. As well as featuring characters from the console versions of Mario Kart, these two games featured Pac-man, Ms. Pac-man, and Blinky from the Pac-man series. Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's most popular franchises.