Mario Kart 9 may seem like it’s a little ways away yet, but with with the recent launch of the Switch it’s bound to pop up sooner or later. With Mario Kart 8: Deluxe right around the corner, it’s only natural to think about the next step in the Mario Kart franchise. With that in mind, here are ‘Five Things’ I’d like to see in the next Mario Kart.
If you missed the last entries in the ‘Five Things’ series, check out the previous articles that focused on Mario, Dead Rising and Donkey Kong.
-5 Bring back doubles!
Most of the recent Mario Kart games have had their unique gimmicks. Be it Anti-Gravity in Kart 8, Sea & Sky for Kart 7 or the addition of bikes for Kart Wii. But perhaps none were more game-changing, or frankly fun, than the duo-drivers found on the Gamecube’s Mario Kart: Double Dash.
This one actually nearly happened for Mario Kart 8, it seems like a feature that will return within the next game or two.
-4 Expanding on Guests
While guest racers haven’t been common throughout the entirety of the Kart series, they have popped up here and there. We first saw R.O.B. in the DS version, and Mario has since fed several Namco characters his dust in Arcade versions of the game.
It wasn’t until Mario Kart 8’s DLC content that Nintendo started fully embracing guest racers from other Nintendo properties. But why stop there?
There’s a lot of potential to grow this idea, and not only with Nintendo characters. What’s to stop Sonic and Tails from 
getting an invite to race against Mario and co. complete with their own track? Track design, which is perhaps the most crucial element of the Mario Kart game could see a huge boost in creativity if they allowed guests from foreign companies to enter the race.
-3 More expansive online with local guest support.
This one sounds a little nitpicky, but it’s all in the interest of fairness!
Mario Kart 8 allows 2 local players to go online together on the same system to play against players from all around the globe. While this is a far more generous service than plenty of modern games provide, the option to increase that number to up to 4 players would be great for those who have more than 2 players.
-2 A dedicated Amiibo line
My wallet weeps at the very thought of this, and yet it must happen.
Nintendo have expanded ever deeper into the Amiibo market since Mario Kart 8 launched. Many of the top Nintendo IPs have dedicated lines, including Smash Bros., Zelda and Splatoon. Some have several lines, and even some rather obscure games had Amiibo (looking at you Chibi Robo).
Mario Kart is undoubtedly a system seller, a pillar of strength for the big ‘N’. Thus a dedicated Amiibo line is necessary. The multitude of Karts and sizeable cast of characters found within the game would make the line stand out above all others.
-1 Send in The Kongs
Those daffy, laughy Kongs.
It seems like a big ask, I know. At this point Diddy Kong has a hard enough task making the cut having missed the last two Mario Kart games. Heck, there are more Splatoon and Animal Crossing characters in Mario Kart 8 than there are Kongs!
This doesn’t just apply to apes of course. Though it would be wonderful to see the likes of Funky, Diddy and DK Jr return to the track, and for Dixie and K. Rool to get their race on (he’s still got that pilot gear from the cancelled Diddy Kong Pilot in his closet waiting for just such an occasion). Wouldn’t it be interesting to see the long-overdue return of Pauline, and Stan the Bug man? There’s no finer place for those characters to return than Mario Kart.
You may or not remember the Koopaling announcement trailer from Mario Kart 8? Just imagine that, but with a plethora of magnificent, Kongtastic characters.
Bonus: Be a little more creative with naming. Seriously, don’t call it Mario Kart 9.
What do you think? What would you like to see from Mario Kart 9? Let us know in the comments!
I’d personally like them to add more spinoff and RPG characters. Having characters like Professor E.Gadd, Geno, Fawful, Mona, Pauline Big Top, Ashley,etc some Paper Mario characters imagined in 3D would be cool. Also some returning vets like Petey Piranha would be cool too.
Characters are the biggest thing for Mario Kart series, and although I do agree with the list here, I wouldn’t think they should only focus upon the Donkey Kong series only for this case. I know its popular, but focusing only on that wouldn’t be a thing, as they should just make a new Donkey Kong racing game instead. Dixie and K.Rool’s inclusion is acceptable, but more DK characters doesn’t seem to be that necessary in Mario Kart imo.
For my case, I would like to see those other characters that didn’t make it as being playable. I mean they did at least once in other games, but not quite entirely. I would like to see Kamek and Hammer Bros. making a spotlight in Mario Kart if possible, and maybe Captain Syrup and Ashley for representing the Wario franchise. On the other side, I would think they should remove the “clones” that seemed to have filled the space meaninglessly, which I prefer Metal Mario, Metal Peach, Tanuki Mario, Cat Peach, and maybe Dry Bowser to be removed. Its just so unnecessary for being there to me.
And also, the crossovers. I do like to see more Nintendo characters like Samus and Captain Falcon joining the game, but I do agree they should add in third parties for special occasions. Since they’ve allowed to use Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man to receive special Mii costumes, why don’t we bring them as special guest racers? Sonic driving his Sega All-Star Racing’s vehicle, Mega Man driving Rush from Battle and Chase, and Pac-Man driving the Rally-X or Ridge Racer car, can be an interesting thing to see. And maybe bringing Green Hill Zone, Wily Stage, and Pac-World as special stages should be nice too.
And when GameXplain revealed Golden Mario to be a secret character for Mario Kart 8 DX, I got more pissed.
My choice for guests in the next Mario Kart in the future,
Dixie Kong
King k Rool
Pikachu
Duck hunt
Excitebike
Mach rider
Sonic
Pac man
Mega man
Bomberman
In honor of Mar10 Day, I made a special poll for who should be playable in the next Mario Kart, or DLC in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Go here to vote and/or add new characters:
http://www.tricider.com/brainstorming/2Sex21wqcm7
Dang, I’m going to have to be the realist here – which would likely just be interpreted as being negative, but I don’t think they’ll add more guest characters that isn’t from an IP developed by the former EAD branch – So no characters outside Nintendo, but at the same time no Kirby, Fire Emblem, and especially not Pokemon with how limited the Pokemon amiibo seem to indicate. We’ll likely see Star Fox, Samus, and Captain Falcon, but considering they’re all on the low sales list they wouldn’t likely be featured (F-Zero is both celebrated and mocked at the same time – two tracks, a cart, a costume – but no new game in sight and they know it wouldn’t sell so to keep the series alive it’s relegated to Smash and Mario Kart cameos.)
Gonna also vote no on the amiibo – As much as I love the things, It wouldn’t make sense to create a brand new line for Mario Kart when the Super Mario series of generics could easily be reprinted, considering that’s what generics are for. All the talk about amiibo seemed more towards an idea of them being made for collection purposes, but amiibo are mostly made for an in-game function first and foremost.
Finally, I have to veto the common comment suggestion of RPG and spin-off characters. Not because I don’t like them, just because Mario Kart has this weird idea of sticking mostly to the mainline games and cast (why they extend that reach to babies, power-ups, and Metal clones is beyond me.) and to be frank, I don’t think they’re about to break that.
I would say that if anything, Mario Kart 9-tro needs a few fine tune adjustments – Something to combat Lightning, anything from a stronger glide system like in Kirby’s Air Ride (being able to glide from any jump) to an entire transforming kart/bike system like Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, and definitely an adjustment of the roster needs to be in order so we’re not swamped with babies, metal clones, and playable power-ups.
I think a ‘Quick Garage’ option would be nice, where you can save up to three Kart/Bike combinations to pull up before heading to a race, or perhaps to take it further – the ability to change karts on the fly in the middle of a race?