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1* AscendedFanNickname: The Spiny Shell's common nickname, the "blue shell", finally gets a shout-out in the official ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', featuring a Koopa General wearing a blue, spiked shell [[CallingYourAttacks yelling the name as an attack]] before divebombing Mario and Donkey Kong in the same manner the Spiny Shell attacks players in the games proper.
2* AscendedFanon:
3** Baby Rosalina was created by fans after the release of ''Wii'' (due to her and Waluigi being the only humans without a baby counterpart at the time) before she was officially introduced for ''8''.
4** Some fans "explained" Wario replacing Koopa Troopa in ''64'' by his stealing Koopa's kart, which would be totally in character for him. Magazine/NintendoPower joined in on it by printing some fan art of Koopa Troopa phoning the police to report Wario's theft of his kart. Nintendo Power's coverage of ''64'' also included profiles of the racers, with Wario's entry noting that he was rumored to have "borrowed" his kart from a Koopa Troopa.
5* BadExportForYou: The international versions of ''Mario Kart Arcade GP DX'' do not have [=BanaPassport=] support, leaving players without a large chunk of content playable.
6* BTeamSequel: ''Mario Kart: Arcade GP'' and its sequels are not directly developed by Nintendo, but by Creator/BandaiNamco.
7* CashCowFranchise: While already a massively-selling franchise for Nintendo, this series got even bigger with ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'' and ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'', the latter actually selling better than ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', which would have been unthinkable the previous generation. ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' managed to be the second best-selling game the weekend of its release (selling 1.2 million units) behind ''VideoGame/WatchDogs''. For comparison, ''Watch Dogs'' is a MultiPlatform game available to all consoles, while ''Mario Kart 8'' was originally exclusive to the worst selling console of [[MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames the eighth generation]] and it itself managed to increase sales of just the Platform/WiiU by ''666%'', with 82% of all copies being in bundles, making it one of the Wii U's few {{Killer App}}s. Between the Wii U original and the Platform/NintendoSwitch UpdatedRerelease, ''Mario Kart 8'' is the highest selling game in the whole franchise.
8* ColbertBump: The presence of Mute City and Big Blue in ''Mario Kart 8'' further increased the demand for a new ''VideoGame/FZero'' game after the series had been on hiatus since the mid-2000s.
9* CrossdressingVoices:
10** in the Japanese version of ''Mario Kart 64'' and all versions of ''Super Circuit'', Toad is voiced by Tomoko Maruno. In later games, Toad is voiced by the same actress as Peach and Toadette (Creator/JenTaylor up to ''DS'', Samantha Kelly from ''Wii'' onwards).
11** As in the main series, Lemmy is now [[TheOtherDarrin being voiced]] by Carlee [=McManus=]. Larry is [[TheOtherDarrin instead]] voiced by Michelle Hippe.
12** Just like in the main games, Birdo is voiced by Kazumi Totaka.
13** Honey Queen in ''7'' is voiced by Creator/KatsumiSuzuki, who also voices Diddy Kong.
14* DummiedOut:
15** ''Super Circuit'' has unused icons for the Triple Banana, Fake Item Box and Golden Dash Mushroom, which are all absent from this installment. They were likely cut for game balancing reasons, given the small size of the tracks in the game and the GBA's small screen.
16** ''DS'' had several unused tracks. Some were merely for testing, such as ones that actually have "test" in the filename and one that is simply an early version of Wario Stadium, but others include ''Double Dash!!''[='=]s Mario Circuit, a Koopa Troopa Beach track, a variant of DK Pass without snow, an extremely small circle-shaped track, and an unused pinball track (presumably an early version of Waluigi Pinball).
17** ''Wii'' has character icons for Petey Piranha, Koopa Paratroopa, Hammer Brother, and a third Mii outfit. The Chain Chomp was also going to be an item and even has an icon for it, but it eventually became the Bullet Bill instead.
18** ''7'' has unused icons for Mega Mushrooms and Fake Item Boxes. If you try to access them, the game will crash because of either incomplete functions or missing models.
19** ''8'' has an unused character emblem for a playable Kamek, found in the game's files. Kamek would later use this icon when he was PromotedToPlayable for ''Mario Kart Tour'' and the Booster Course Pass.
20* FanTranslation: Related to the [[BadExportForYou bad export]] that cut a lot of content from international releases, a group of modders [[https://github.com/Harmmmm/MKDX-English-Mod/releases created]] a work-in-progress one for ''Arcade GP DX,'' intended to be patched to the Japanese version of the game.
21* {{Feelies}}:
22** ''Mario Kart Wii'' comes with one of the many plastic Wii Remote accessories, the Wii Wheel. Of course, the game can be played just fine without it attached, and the game is compatible with other controllers such as the [=GameCube=] controller.
23** ''Mario Kart 8'' came with a red Wii Wheel and a Mario themed Wii Remote controller if you pre-ordered the Mario Kart Wii U bundle.
24* FollowTheLeader: Being the TropeCodifier for the MascotRacer, it was inevitable that numerous other games would copy the formula to varying degrees of success. Some of the more memorable games to come from this include ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'', ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'', ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongBarrelBlast'', ''VideoGame/BanjoPilot'', ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing]]'', ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''.
25* InMemoriam: ''Mario Kart Arcade GP DX'' is dedicated to the memory of Shin-ichi Odake, the producer of the previous ''GP'' titles who sadly passed away in the interim.
26* InternationalCoproduction: ''7'' was developed jointly by Kyoto-based Nintendo EAD and Texas-based Creator/RetroStudios. The built-in staff ghosts include a mix of records of both divisions of Nintendo.
27* KidsMealToy: In March 2022, it got UsefulNotes/McDonalds toys in time for March 10th.
28* KillerApp: The entire ''Mario Kart'' series is one for every console it's been on. ''64'', ''DS'', ''Wii'' and ''8 Deluxe'' particularly stand out, but every game from ''Double Dash!!'' onward counts as well.
29* LateExportForYou:
30** Like ''VideoGame/NintendoLabo'', ''Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit'' was not available in Latin America when it first launched worldwide, despite the packaging having information for the market's distributor on it. It would take until February 2021 for retailers to start selling it.
31** Overlapping with NoExportForYou, the initial version of ''Mario Kart 8'' was not released in South Korea due to the Wii U as a whole not being released there. It would take until the release of ''Deluxe'' in 2017 for the game to reach Korean consumers.
32* MemeAcknowledgment:
33** Nintendo's Digital Event video during [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]] 2014 had a clip of Luigi giving his memetic death stare while pulling out a green Koopa shell when Reggie Fils-Amie mentioned ''Mario Kart 8'' at one point. This is particularly impressive given that the meme was less than a week old at the time that Nintendo referenced it.
34** When amiibo kiosks were still a thing, Luigi's showcase video featured the death stare.
35* OlderThanTheyThink:
36** The game mechanic of getting a speed boost by hopping off of a ramp actually originated in ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'', and that game and ''VideoGame/PacManWorldRally'' used it before before ''Mario Kart'' did. Similarly, ''VideoGame/CrashNitroKart'' had antigravity courses before ''Mario Kart 8'' began to use them. Likewise, the ability to fuse two players' karts together to form a single vehicle that shoots items in ''Arcade GP DX'' was originally seen in ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing''.
37** Within the series, driving in first-person did not originate within ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'': it was originally a BraggingRightsReward within ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 2'' for collecting 4000 Mario Coins.
38** Luigi's infamous "death stare" didn't actually make its debut in ''8''. It originally appeared in one of Luigi's animations (particularly when the soccer ball is scored against him) in ''[[VideoGame/MarioStrikers Mario Strikers Charged]]''.
39* TheOtherDarrin:
40** In the Japanese version of ''Mario Kart 64'' and ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' Luigi is voiced by French localizer Julien Bardakoff and Wario is voiced by German localizer Thomas Spindler. The English version of ''Mario Kart 64'' and the rest of the games from ''Double Dash!!'' onwards have them voiced by Charles Martinet.
41** Peach is voiced by Asako Kozuki in the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' (a portrayal which would be repurposed for all versions of ''Super Circuit''), and Leslie Swan in the international versions. In ''Double Dash!!'' and ''DS'' she is voiced by Jen Taylor and from ''Wii'' onwards she is voiced by Samantha Kelly, who also voices Toad and Toadette.
42** Toad is voiced by Isaac Marshall in the international version of ''Mario Kart 64'', whereas the Japanese version and ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' have him voiced by Tomoko Maruno. Similarly to Peach above, ''Double Dash!!'' and ''DS'' have him voiced by Jen Taylor, and from ''Wii'' onwards he is voiced by Samantha Kelly (the same applies to Toadette).
43** Bowser is voiced by Scott Burns in ''Double Dash!!'' and ''DS'', and by Kenny James from ''Wii'' onwards.
44** ''Double Dash!!'' has Grant Kirkhope and Chris Sutherland voicing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong using recycled voice clips from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', but in later games, they are voiced by Creator/TakashiNagasako and Katsumi Suzuki respectively.
45** In ''Double Dash!!'', Bowser Jr. is voiced by Dolores Rogers. From ''Wii'' onwards he is instead voiced by Caety Sagoian.
46** In ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'', instead of Mercedes Rose reprising her role, Rosalina is instead voiced by Kerri Kane, who made Rosalina sound somewhat younger and more cheerful than before (though retaining some of her solemnity), and would also voice her in the later ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' titles. However, in ''8'', she is voiced by Creator/LauraFayeSmith, her actress from ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', who made her sound ''even younger''. This [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks spawned complaints from fans]] that ''Nintendo'' was trying to turn her into a space version of Peach.
47** Ludwig and Iggy were previously voiced by Mike Vaughn, but they're now voiced by David J. Goldfarb and Ryan Higgins in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8''. The change is ''very'' noticable. Additionally, Wendy, Morton, Lemmy, and Larry are now voiced by Ashley Flannegan, David Cooke, Carlee [=McManus=], and Michelle Hippe respectively as opposed to Creator/LaniMinella, leaving Dan Falcone as Roy as the only voice actor for the Koopalings who wasn't replaced from ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii''.
48* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
49** ''Super Mario Kart'', and by extension the entire series, was [[https://www.gamesradar.com/super-mario-kart-began-life-as-an-f-zero-multiplayer-prototype-reveals-retro-gamer-interview/ born from an attempt to make a multiplayer sequel]] to ''VideoGame/FZero'', meant solely to provide a 2-player counterpart. When the [=SNES=] couldn't handle this they decided to make a kart racing game with generic characters. During production someone, after seeing the generic character in overalls, suggested seeing what it would look like to put Mario in a go-kart, and the rest is history.
50** Vanilla Lake had different music in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK-PG98e2t4 beta]] version of ''Super Mario Kart''.
51** ''Mario Kart 64'' was called ''Super Mario Kart R'' during early development, and featured a Magikoopa (possibly [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Kamek]]) as a playable character instead of Donkey Kong. The feather from ''Super Mario Kart'' was also planned to be in the game, but was removed for unknown reasons.
52** The Golden Mushroom and Fake Item Box were supposed to be in ''Super Circuit''. Their unfinished forms can be accessed by hacking. The game was also called ''[[SuperTitle64Advance Mario Kart Advance]]'', but that name only stuck for the Japanese release.
53** A fifth cup, called the Reverse Cup, [[https://tcrf.net/Proto:Mario_Kart:_Double_Dash!!#Reverse_Cup was planned]] for ''Double Dash!!'' which makes racers race the track the other way around. Interestingly, several official Tournaments and missions for ''DS'' and ''Wii'', all of the courses in ''Tour'' and the final laps of Tour Paris Promenade, Tour Sydney Sprint, and DS Peach Gardens in ''8 Deluxe'' revisit this unused concept of backwards tracks. [[https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Mario_Kart_Wii_R A fan-made mod]] for ''Wii'' also gives all courses in that game backwards variants.
54*** Also from ''Double Dash!!'', [[https://tcrf.net/Proto:Mario_Kart:_Double_Dash!!/Multi-Game_Demo_Disc_Demo/Unused_or_Early_Graphics#Early_Character_Icons unused icons]] show that Donkey Kong Jr. was originally Donkey Kong's partner. He was promptly replaced by Diddy Kong in the final game.
55** ''Mario Kart DS'' initially had Professor E. Gadd as a playable character, with the Poltergust 4000 being one of his signature karts. Later in development, his spot on the roster was given to Dry Bones, and the Poltergust 4000 became one of Luigi's karts.
56*** The presence of a pink version of the Egg 1 in beta versions of ''DS'' suggests that Birdo may have also returned.
57** During early development, ''Mario Kart Wii'' was called ''Mario Kart X''. However, the name was changed probably so Japanese consumers wouldn't get confused over the Japanese name of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', which is known as ''Smash Bros. X'' there.
58** Waluigi was meant to be playable in ''Mario Kart 7'', but got cut due to time restraints.
59** ''Mario Kart 8'' originally had drills installed to the karts and bikes, so the player could tunnel through the ground. However, this idea was scrapped, because the dev team thought anti-gravity would be more interesting.
60** At one point, Nintendo actually attempted to make a Mario Kart game ''without'' the Spiny Shell due to everyone's negative reception towards it. Nintendo scrapped the idea, stating that the game felt like it was missing something without it and that the Spiny Shell should be treated like life (as in life is not fair).

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