One of the most talked about features of Mario Kart World is its idea of “NPC Drivers.” Alongside the mainstays of the Mario universe like Luigi and Peach and Bowser, the roster is full of characters who are traditionally obstacles or enemies on the roads. You know the kind: Hammer Bro, Cheep Cheep, Penguin. Summon Kamek from a crystal ball, and he’ll turn your opponents into a fleet of some nearby creature, potentially unlocking it for future matches. As a result, the ungainly character selection screen now features such luminaries as the Cow blocking the road in Moo Moo Meadows, one Peepa haunting Boo Cinema, and Spike, who seems to be goddamn everywhere but especially on the truck right in front of you. It’s a great idea. The game can reuse models to buff the cast size from twenty-four to fifty, many of these folks have been around for literal decades and are worthy of a spot on that alone, and it adds to World’s loopy nature. It’s also undeniable that there’s a memetic power there, and that Mario’s core cast is so well-defined that strong conventional newcomers are a bit hard to find. I mean, sure, you could add a few Kongs, Prince Florian, they’re clearly uninterested in using any of the RPG characters… It’s kinda telling that the only drivers who are making their playable debut come from this slate. From that alone, they’re injecting a lot of energy into a familiar bracket.
Image: Source Gaming. Just a few of the game’s NPC Drivers, and I guess also Wario and Birdo. I played as them while taking photos for this piece; I’ve included commentary with each one.
Now, twenty-six of these is a lot. Again, that’s literally more characters than the “normal” ones. But the Source Gaming team here loves us some Mario, and there are so many weirdos in the world of World that we have options for more. It’s also just sensible, given that the game’s likely to get support for some time. And while additional courses, modes, or updates to the world itself could potentially all be on the table, new characters seem about the most natural way to go about this. Maybe that’ll entail promoting a few more roadside critters. We’d like to see it ourselves, so we came up with a list of possibles.
So, a few ground rules. The main one is that these characters obviously have to already be in Mario Kart World as obstacles, enemies, spectators, or environmental objects of any other kind. This is not as restrictive as you might think—the game’s gargantuan in scope—but we’re not putting forth, I dunno, Crazee Dazee. Or Jaxi. Or Moneybags, the coin-spewing monster from Super Mario 64 who was very quietly rebooted as current NPC Driver Coin Coffer. The second is that animation, graphical design, or logistical demands do not matter. Goomba can drive a car. Fish Bones, the undead fish skeleton who took forever for me to unlock, can drive a car. We’re looking for oddities on top of icons.
Wolfman Jew: Since the dawn of Mario Kart, Lakitu has been a staple of Mushroom Kingdom racing. He counts down the start to each race, and if you fall off a cliff, he’ll act as a tow truck and charge you for the service. Since Mario Kart 7, he’s been playable and has a couple fun alternate costumes in this game. I really like the old timey fisherman one. There’s something unsavory about the whole affair, though; as ex-AV Club editor John Teti put it when Mario Kart 8 initially came out—eleven years ago, dear lord—”Caesars Palace doesn’t get to deal itself in for a couple hands, so what the hell is Lakitu doing down on the racetrack?” And yet, I can’t help but wish to see this cloud-riding conflict of interest go even further into grift and exploit some nepotism. Let’s put his kid (?) Spiny in the game! Spinies can be found across Mario Kart World, always ginormous in size so as to act more appropriately as obstacles. They’re also, like Piranha Plant, Cheep Cheep, and Lakitu himself, a creature from Super Mario Bros. and thus unassailable in iconography. Get ‘em in.
Image: Source Gaming. I took all of the pictures over the course of about two weeks. And I kept taking them, and keep taking them, because Photo Mode is fun. World‘s gorgeous setting sun will be a recurring motif.
On the other hand, Ty-foo provides us a character with a far smaller footprint but some real heft into each impression. This cloudy, wind-breathing thing is the Daniel Day-Lewis of Mario; it’s barely in anything, but each appearance is gold. Debuts in Super Mario 3D World, becomes a Capture in Mario Odyssey; hell, its second appearance ever was in that Minecraft mash-up pack from a decade ago. Now, am I picking this because it’s a modern Mario enemy with some degree of import? Well… no. Really, it’s because this was one of the first pictures I took for this listicle and I really liked how it came out. But, if you want the NPC Drivers to be visually distinct, striking, and maybe a little implausible, you can’t go wrong with Ty-foo. It could be another low-end, large heavyweight, maybe summon a hurricane in its poses.
Image: Source Gaming. See! I told you! Sunset, though I tragically don’t have shots of the snowy areas at night. I spent an in-game day around Starview Peak waiting for the sun to go down.
For a similar kind of charming curio, you could consider the water-strider Skeeter, currently enjoying the waters of Acorn Heights and Great ? Block Ruins. The big benefit here is for animation; imagine this lil’ weirdo hunched over in the B-Dasher, legs jutting up, suction cup paws grasping the wheel, and Garfield eyes nervous as it scans the road for danger. While it’s probably in the game so the ponds and lakes could have waterborne enemies, like how rivers have Cheep Cheep and the sea has Dolphin, all classic Nintendo functionalism, I think it could also shine as a creature of comedy. But what I like about Skeeter most, beyond its tendency to hang out in underrated water levels like Cosmic Cove Galaxy, is its debut. This lil’ guy first appeared in Super Mario 64, moving across Wet-Dry World. Maybe it only got into one level, but I remember it way more than the more prominent and very similar Scuttlebug. Its awkwardness spoke to me. Perhaps it still does.
Image: Source Gaming. Part of the appeal of Skeeter was getting to shoot in more grassy areas, with the supersized plants of Acorn Heights adding a lot of distinction. Part of it was also matching its jittery comportment with Cataquack’s… complete nuttiness.
Lava Bubble is another one of those SMB1 characters, but unlike Spiny, it’s always had less cultural penetration. This is because of the fact that for much of its history, it was just a literal lava bubble, a fireball in the castle levels that carried no anthropomorphic traits. This evolved over time, with it getting cute cartoon eyes and a ghost-like underside. My personal favorite incarnation is the one from Paper Mario, but the modern design is also quite good. I think where Lava Bubble would shine—beyond representing the fire side of the Mario world—is in its animations. You already have a creature that emits light, but perhaps you could see it give off lava or pulse as it shakes and hops with each trip. Just imagine the potential: 4K, bloom lighting, jiggle physics… for that one ball of fire that everyone’s seen and no one cares about. A ball of fire who gets only one facial expression in Photo Mode for some reason, Fish Bones.
Image: Source Gaming. I like Lava Bubble being so front and center that it almost bleeds into the fires of Bowser’s Castle. Earlier shots had it too small or upside-down. I also like Penguin freaking out.
One of the big joys of World has been seeing Mario ephemera that’s obscure or has gone almost completely unused. Songs Super Smash Bros. never remixed, sprites used as patterns on buildings, and in some cases, entire characters. Take Batadon and Tokotoko. These moai heads debuted in Super Mario Land, meaning they’re older than the entire Mario Kart series, and yet the only time either of them has reappeared since was in the Mario-kun manga and Tokotoko’s role in a WarioWare microgame. That’s it. But now they’re just here, relaxing in the eastern desert region. If the purpose of the NPC Driver concept is to both flood the roster and provide shocking, charming choices, these fit the bill perfectly. If you have to pick one, you’d probably want Tokotoko, which has arms and shades you can animate, but both would be good.
Image: Source Gaming. One of the challenges of Tokotoko is that it runs off really fast once you come near, so you really gotta be ready to capture it. This one was almost gotten by accident; that it looks this good and even has Batadon is surprising.
If we’re gonna go on this track of related characters, I think there’s some real potential for artificially boosting the roster with basically identical variants. Like, Piranha Plant’s here, as it should be. Strong roots and all that. Delightful Smash character, super fun in its three seconds of movie screen time. But why not also add its Fire, Frost, Bone, or… legged Ptooie relatives? This idea was born out of Nintendo’s ill-fated venture into mobile games, which led them to adding many, many asinine character choices in a drive for content. I don’t think we need the likes of Dr. Goomba Tower or fifteen differently colored Shy Guys, but there’s a value in doing this just a bit. We could get all the Bros, for instance: Fire, Ice, Boomerang, Sumo. I’m sure Hammer would like that.
Image: Source Gaming. Initially, I shot Frost Piranha at night, to get that nighttime snowscape shot. Later, while driving around I found this Piranha Plant alcove: normal, Frost, Fire, Bone, and those weird Piranha Plant buds. I wasn’t super satisfied with this, but it illustrates the point so much better. And then, try as I might, I could never find this area again…
We could also promote a basically identical variant of a character who isn’t even in the roster yet. I love Thwomp, and he’s iconic enough to be a driver already, but perhaps it’d be a bit silly to include a giant brick whose sole “animation” is an angry face GIF. However, Mario Kart World has actually added a new member to the storied pantheon of “Thwimps and Thwomps and Whimps and Whomps!” The deceptively bottom-heavy Whamp is a Whomp with a ramp for a back; he slams on the ground, and you can ride off him to do a trick. To be honest, he looks just a bit weird, but if you’d prefer your unstoppable stone wall monsters to wave their arms and grimace as they trick in the air, that’s an option (Whomps aren’t in the game). The one problematic thing here is that he’s new. You can’t be playable in your first game, right… ?
Image: Source Gaming. One of the simplest compositions, with Whamp and Bowser’s Castle commanding different sides of the image. Side note, can we talk about how Conkor is already a more ridiculous driver than most of the options on this list?
Or, maybe you can? Playing this game has made me think a bit lately about how there was a time, particularly in the late Nineties and early Aughts, where a character literally could just debut in a Mario spinoff as a ready-made star. Waluigi and Toadette were created to be partner characters. Baby Rosalina and Baby Daisy debuted in different Mario Kart games for… I don’t know why. This is kind of a terrible way to make mascots, and it’s something the Mario series shouldn’t do anymore (arguably, it’s something it shouldn’t have done in the first place). However, the NPC Driver concept could allow us to elevate a fully unique, entirely different newcomer. Not a variant of a preexisting enemy, just someone new. Therefore, I submit: Robo DK. The giant metal Donkey Kong who throws supersized barrels down DK Spaceport. Sure, he’s a Donkey Kong riff, but c’mon. You’ve at least seen the course. He’s very different from the normal Mario concept of a palette swap. In these trying times, America needs a successor to MK8’s Pink Gold Peach, and Robo DK may just be the ape to do it.
Image: Source Gaming. Most NPCs can be found in Free Roam, but Robo DK only appears in traditional races and Grand Prix. The beginning of the course is the only part where he’s easily visible for a photograph.
Hamada: Let’s start with a character I wouldn’t necessarily play, but putting him in feels justified. Boom Boom has his grubby mitts all over some classic platformers, from Mario Bros. 3 to 3D World. His role as the archetypical mini-boss means there’s not much setting him apart from Mario Kart fans’ much-hated Koopalings (granted, I’m not crazy for them either), but I think the orange-scaled stepchild could do a good job embodying them in World. On top of that, his color scheme, enlarged hands, and New Super Mario Bros. U animations always reminded me of Wreck-It Ralph. Since Sonic already put that guy in a racing game, the least Nintendo can do is treat their equivalent with a little more respect! At the very least, he deserves more of it than Spike…
Image: Source Gaming. Boom Boom seems to also only appear in races, and my competitiveness to win Knockout Tour kept getting in the way of capturing him in motion. Though him looking off to the side is more interesting than a straight profile.
Though, speaking of NSMBU, that brings us to the admittedly forgettable Grrrols. They’re one of Mario’s many stone-faced enemies; I never gave them a second thought until I heard this article’s rules. But considering World introduced the tire-covered Treaded Grrrol, I’m thinking it’d make for a pretty funny driver. More animated than Snowman, but still nothing more than an overly happy rock. On a side note, I really, really want Robo DK on the roster, but just imagine if the literal wheel became World’s first World rep instead. Would it drive with its face facing forward, or its tire? Would it ever lose the doofy grin? If it rode the Dread Sled, would that qualify as a unicycle? The people deserve to know!
Image: Source Gaming. Again, Grrrols are exclusive to races or challenges. For convenience, I picked a P-Switch Challenge in Wario Stadium, but while I normally tried to hide stuff like the goals, it works nicely here alongside the sunlight. The industrial Wario Stadium also fits the Grrrols’ whole vibe.
I might not have called dibs on Robo DK, but World sports another ultrafauna I’d love to see crammed in a vehicle: the T. Rex. It got a seat on the Rainbow Road train and headlines Dino Dino Jungle, so I think it sets itself apart from the other generic animals. But why would anyone bother playing a no-name reptile over the likes of Bowser? Simply put, dinosaurs are cool! I’ve recently fallen for the Dinobots of Transformers fame, and getting to drive as Grimlock’s fleshy inspiration falls in line with World’s brand of stupid fun. As is, I already rep the Autobots by pairing Swoop with the Hot Rod kart, but more options would be appreciated. And while they’re at it, why not complete the Jurassic Park reference by giving the dinosaur a jeep?
Image: Source Gaming. T-rex is also limited to challenges and races, but I think that works in his favor. He’s tearing up the stands! And the sudden rainstorm just made the whole thing perfect.
I’ll lead my last segment by saying I basically main Rosalina (along with Swoop, of course). I have enough to say about her that I’ve considered writing her an article, but the short of it is I love how Mario Kart Wii handled her. Galaxy data gave her a unique unlock method, her subdued voice and status as a heavyweight set her apart from the other girls, and she always brought a Luma along for her races. These days, much of that uniqueness has been replaced with new traits I enjoy, but Luma’s removal was still disappointing. The likes of Smash and even humbler spin-offs like Tennis kept the star child relevant, so I’m shocked to see it fall short in World. I doubt I’d even use the thing if they added it (I’d reconsider if NPCs were allowed to have recolors), but it’d be such a nice full circle moment. They added other minor leaguers for less, and with Honey Queen gone, it’s about time Galaxy went back to having two reps!
Image: Source Gaming. Luma can be found in Free Roam, but it’s a creature of space, so it only makes sense to capture it on Rainbow Road (I also forgot that they’re on Starview Peak, but that’s neither here nor there). The space water and crystals add a lot.
NantenJex: I already made a whole video about this topic (which you should watch after reading this article) but there are so many NPCs in Mario Kart World that I couldn’t cover them all. So let’s use this space to hit off a few others that I think deserve some love, mainly because I think them being racers is very funny.
Like Freezie from Mario Bros. or more well known in our community as being an item in Super Smash Bros. Freezie basically vanished from the mainline titles after its debut but the spin-offs have kept it around in their various ice levels and Mario Kart is no exception. It was a prominent obstacle in Sherbert Land from Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart 8, and is now back in World, appearing in the open world around Vanilla Lake. My logic here is that, if the Snowman can be playable then so can Freezie. Just look at its face. It looks so cold. It needs joy in its life, the kind of join only racing can bring.
Image: Source Gaming. I wasn’t actually expecting anyone else to take Freezie, despite the fact that this was the first or second picture I took, so I’m glad Nan did.
Next up we have an original obstacle, introduced in Mario Kart World: Hermity Cone. These guys are adorable, that’s really the only reason I want them playable. They are an off-shoot of the Huckit Crab enemy from the New Super Mario Bros. series (which doesn’t appear in this game outside of a poster) except they are a Hermit Crab, with the cone acting as their shell (hence the name). That’s super cute; put them behind the wheel.
Image: Source Gaming. I typically like getting big, giant vistas in my shots. Stuff that captures the size of a world or level. Hermity Cone really demands you zoom in in a way that also looks great.
Next up we have a major player of the Airship Fortress level: Bomber Bill! The former Banzai is just a bigger version of a Bullet Bill, which is an item in the game. Bullet Bill is one of those classic enemies whose item status has kept him unplayable, which is sad. If that really is a rule though, then Bomber Bill, Bullet’s bigger brother, can take his place and give us a playable deadly weapon as a new heavy weight. They are used to going really fast so putting them behind the car is a natural fit.
Image: Source Gaming. And here’s where I tried to capture a sense of playfulness. The off-kilter position of Bomber Bill, Piranha Plant’s puckish grin, and the absurdity of Airship Fortress were all priorities.
The last character I’ll highlight for this article is the Super Koopa. I talked in my video about how Tokotoko and Batadon are back in the series for the first time since Super Mario Land and so Nintendo should make use of that by making them playable, and the same applies here. The Super Koopa is an iconic enemy who appeared in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo and then never appeared again. The reason is understandable—they are heavily tied to the feather item which also only appeared in that game. But, with the Feather item making a major return to the Mario Kart series as a key item, I can see why the developers felt like they should bring Super Koopa back. In Mario Kart World, they even drop the feather item behind themselves as they fly, a reference to their original role. Super Koopa could work as a costume for regular Koopa Troopa, but that’s still ok as it gets them playable in the game regardless.
Image: Source Gaming. Super Koopas can be found in the overworld, technically, but the only way to get near one is through one specific P-Switch Challenge. Man, though, you just know James Gunn’s gonna cast his brother again as Super Koopa…
Cart Boy: I’ve seen folks across the web call me Source Gaming’s Donkey Kong expert. It’s a title I wear with pride! Unfortunately, this isn’t an appropriate prompt for me to shill Dixie or Funky Kong, so instead I’ll give Mario Kart World’s own Crocodile a shoutout. We don’t know yet if the Kremlings will crash Donkey Kong Bananza (though if you’re curious, yes, I’m hopeful they’ll reemerge in some capacity). But if we squint and flex our imaginations, we can pretend this reptile’s repping their antagonistic race. Besides, crocodiles are cool, I’d enjoy roaming the roads as one, and it’d pair nicely with the Rallygator.
Image: Source Gaming. While some of these shots tried to create a sense of movement, I wanted to reflect the kind laziness of Crocodile. This guy’s chill as hell. Easily the most huggable character in World.
Know what else are cool? Chain Chomps. Since first encountering that massive one in Bob-omb Battlefield, I’ve been fascinated by them (still wish Sticker Star kept that partner Chomp around in some form). These near invulnerable, destructive beasts are iconic, and carelessly driving around as one would please my inner child. Being limbless clearly isn’t an issue, so loosen the toothy terror’s leash! C’mon, Nintendo…
Image: Source Gaming. This one isn’t perfect. Chain Chomp could be more the focus, and Monty Mole’s driving leaves something to be desired. But the evil and doom pervading the “Bowser region” of the course still come through nicely.
Next, I wanna talk Yoshi’s Island. Specifically, let’s celebrate one of its brightest stars, a pest whose headlining role in one level remains one of the game’s highest points: Fuzzy. Look, Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy boasts a trippy, bizarre gimmick you’d never expect to see in a Mario platformer (yes, Island is part of that lineage; let’s not relitigate that debate). Only the mechanically inventive, artistically bold Yoshi’s Island could support such a wacky stage, and everyone—and I mean everyone—I know who’s played the game unconditionally loves it. Plus, the species predates Island and remains a recurring nuisance, meaning Fuzzy’s paid its dues. Joining the roster would be a fun, justified promotion for the classic Mario critter.
Image: Source Gaming. Another one that was hard to take. Fuzzies seem to spawn inconsistently in Free Roam, so a lot of my time was just driving, hoping to see one, repeatedly rewinding after outspeeding them, and seeing if its mouth was adequately agape.
Let’s close my contributions to this SG Choice with Bully. Honestly, I like ‘em. Their charming design conveys everything you need to know: Bullies are simple-minded and angry. They push you, then you push them back; rinse and repeat until somebody’s been knocked into the lava. Naturally, their manner of engaging with others meshes perfectly with Mario Kart, a series where driving etiquette is nonexistent. And, hey, I’m sure we’ve all suffered a few deaths at their nonexistent hands, right? Getting another venue to knock the Bullies down a peg—and into lava, or the ocean, or the depths of space—would be cathartic.
Image: Source Gaming. This was one of the easiest shots. The Bullies are photogenic, they’re huge, having more of them is interesting, and tiny Stingby is a good contrast.
Anyway, that’s it from us. Mario Kart World is filled with all sorts of characters, and we’d be delighted to see these and many more. For instance, being an item probably disqualifies him, but Blooper is, technically, a 3D model in the game! Let’s see him behind the wheel! There’s also plenty more, including Dragoneel, Snake from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Fire Snake from Super Mario Bros. 3, Jellybeam, and other wild animals like Cow and Crocodile. A veritable treasure trove of Mario madness! Now, if there’s any character in World who you’d like to see as an NPC Driver, put in a comment down below or, if the inclination strikes you, share a screenshot of it on BlueSky or wherever, showing it roaming the verdant lands.
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