History VideoGame / MarioKart8

%% ** AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Both the new and N64 Rainbow Road along with Electrodrome as well with all of the flashy colors.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like he once did ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' without going through a place-costing FadeToBlack first, less stipulations on getting star ranks, and several new power-ups, most notably the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like he once did ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' without going through a place-costing FadeToBlack first, less stipulations on getting star ranks, and several new power-ups, most notably the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of green-capped, mustachioed plumber Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like he once did ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' without going through a place-costing FadeToBlack first, and the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of green-capped, mustachioed plumber Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like he once did ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' without going through a position-costing FadeToBlack first, and the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of green-capped, mustachioed plumber Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like he once did ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' without going through a FadeToBlack first, and the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of green-capped, mustachioed plumber Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving game elements that recurred throughout the series, such as having Lakitu immediately rescue drivers who have gone off course like ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'', and the mighty Super Horn, a counter to the nemesis of all pole position holders, the Spiny Shell. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of green-capped, mustachioed plumber Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

It is the first game in the series to feature HD graphics, as well as the first one to have orchestrated music. The main gimmick of this installment is [[GravityScrew anti-gravity]], which allows racers to drive on walls or even upside-down.

* EverybodyOwnsAFord: The Mercedes-Benz [=DLC=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVtUk-mOTNs trailer]].

* MyFutureSelfAndMe: We have Rosalina and her baby self, the latter of which makes her debut in this game.

* DeathGlare: If Luigi hits an opposing racer, he will turn his head and stare at them menacingly.

** The menu music gain more faster layers based on how close you are to picking everything needed to have an actual race, and the music in races warps when certain power-ups are used. The percussion of the course's song gets deeper if the player is in the lead. ([[EasyModeMockery Unless you're playing on 50CC]].)
** Certain tracks feature multiple mixes of the music playing, with the music seamlessly switching between them depending on where you are in the race. Some variations are minor (like Shy Guy Falls adding the sounds of mining equipment and chanting Shy Guys when near the mines) and others can completely change the tone and/or instrumentation of the music (like Water Park's music becoming calmer when underwater; Dolphin Shoals with three sections--starting zone, cave, and home stretch--with a unique instrumentation each (though it throws away the Variable Mix in the final lap, which only features the saxophone).

* PromotedTOPlayable: This is the first game in the ''Mario'' series to feature the Koopalings as playable characters.

The eighth installment in the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' console series, only available on the Main/WiiU. The game is notable for three new features: [[GravityScrew Anti-gravity racing]], [[SceneryPorn gorgeous HD visuals]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and the Koopalings]].

* ArtEvolution: ''Mario Kart 8'' is the first HD game in the series, and it shows. The courses in this game feature far more detail than the ones in previous entries. This includes the retro tracks, which get total graphical revamps.

* SceneryPorn: ''Mario Kart 8'' is the first HD game in the series, and oh boy, does it ever show. Some of the courses are nothing short of gorgeous, and not just the new tracks either.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Not only does the game give us Metal Mario, but now we are introduced to...Pink Gold Peach! This has prompted players to come up with ridiculous character variations such as Metal Pink Gold Baby Donkey Kong.

* VideogameSettings:

%% ** RibcageRidge: Bone-Dry Dunes

%% ** ShiftingSandLand: Bone-Dry Dunes and GCN Dry Dry Desert

* EasterEgg: If you're not using Off-TV Play, you can tap the horn on the Wii U gamepad to honk it. The only known thing it does is spook nearby drivers.

** GimmickLevel: Mario Circuit, the only stage in the game that makes you go twice around the course in one lap, once normally and then upside-down!

%% ** LevelAte: Sweet Sweet Canyon
** MarathonLevel: Mount Wario and N64 Rainbow Road which are divided into three sections in one lap rather than three laps.

%% ** UnderTheSea: Dolphin Shoals

* SchmuckBait: There are some areas and turns that look like good places to drift but doing so would result in going off course or into a wall in almost all cases--such as the mini-turn after the waterfalls in Shy Guy Falls, the winding road prior to the finish line in Dolphin Shoals, and the cave with sand dunes in Bone Dry Dunes.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: While this game did not have a retro Bowser castle course, [=WII=] Grumble Volcano possibly stood in for a retro Bowser castle anyway, as it does have moving platforms similar to the ones in ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'''s Bowser Castle.

* AntiGrinding: In ''8'', the amount of VR you obtain in online races is directly affected by how much the others racers have. If you have less than theirs, you'll obtain far more points ''even if you didn't finish in first place,'' though the reverse can also happen, forcing you to look for others with a large amount of VR.
* ArcSymbol: The track maps ''Mario Kart 8'' often feature the number "8" somehow. The version of Mario Circuit for that game and Toad's Turnpike are shaped like an 8, and ''8'''s Rainbow Road, N64 Yoshi's Valley, and the returning N64 Rainbow Road all have 8's in their design.
* AstralFinale: Wii U's Rainbow Road is set on a space station and racers can take short trips through space while racing on Rainbow Road.

* MyFutureSelfAndMe: We have Rosalina and her baby self.

* ObviousRulePatch: Bikes in ''Mario Kart 8'' were changed slightly by not allowing the player to pop a wheelie for boosts of speed, which now makes bikes more on par with karts. Bikes in ''Mario Kart Wii'' trumped karts so much that it was impossible to find any time trial record that ''wasn't'' a bike user and online play was also mostly a bike user game.

** Thanks to new recordings, all the characters sound fresher and newer, especially with all of the new, fresh visuals in this game.

* XMeetsY: ''Mario Kart Wii'' meets ''VideoGame/FZero''.

* AstralFinale: Rainbow Road.

* CyberPunk: Electrodrome

* MyFutureSelfAndMe: Now we have Rosalina and her baby self.

** AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Both the new and N64 Rainbow Road
*** Electrodrome as well with all of the flashy colors.
** AmusementPark: Water Park
** AthleticArenaLevel: Mario Kart Stadium
** BandLand: 3DS Music Park
** BigBoosHaunt: Twisted Mansion
** BubblyClouds: Cloudtop Cruise
** DiscoTech: Electrodrome

** LethalLavaLand: Bowser's Castle and Wii Grumble Volcano
** LevelAte: Sweet Sweet Canyon

** NostalgiaLevel: ALL of the retro courses.
** ObstacleSkiCourse: Mount Wario
** PalmtreePanic: DS Cheep Cheep Beach
** PlanetHeck: Bowser's Castle and Wii Grumble Volcano
** PortTown: Toad Harbor
** RibcageRidge: Bone-Dry Dunes
** RoaringRapids: Shy Guy Falls and 3DS Pirahna Plant Slide
** RuinsForRuinsSake: Thwomp Ruins
** SaharanShipwreck: Bone-Dry Dunes
** ScenicTourLevel: Sunshine Airport
** ShiftingSandLand: Bone-Dry Dunes and GCN Dry Dry Desert
** SlippySlideyIceWorld: Mount Wario and GCN Sherbet Land
** SpaceZone: Rainbow Road
** {{Tomorrowland}}: Electrodrome
** UnderTheSea: Dolphin Shoals
** TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Bowser's Castle

* BikerBabe: With the return of bikes (and the introduction of ATVs), Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina get alternate biker suits.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In ''Mario Kart 8'', finishing a Grand Prix in 150cc now also counts as finishing the same set of races in 50cc or 100cc, awarding you the appropriate trophy and stars for all three engine classes. No more [[FakeLongevity wasting time completing Grand Prix again in 50cc and 100cc]] just for OneHundredPercentCompletion! (Mirror Mode does not count, however. So you still have to go through that separately.) Also, for the more average players, if you complete races in 100cc, you also get trophies and stars in 50cc as well.

* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: The background Toads on Rainbow Road need spacesuits, but the racers don't.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Not only does the game give us Metal Mario, but now we are introduced to...Pink Gold Peach!
** Which has prompted players to come up with ridiculous character variations such as Metal Pink Gold Baby Donkey Kong.

* TriumphantReprise: The remastered N64 Rainbow Road music sounds much more triumphant than the original version. With the brass section blaring, the fireworks exploding, and the finish line in sight, this truly is the final race in the Mario Kart Grand Prix.
* VariableMix: The menu music gain more faster layers based on how close you are to picking everything needed to have an actual race, and the music in races warps when certain power-ups are used. The percussion of the course's song gets deeper if the player is in the lead. ([[EasyModeMockery Unless you're playing on 50CC]].)
** Additionally, certain tracks feature multiple mixes of the music playing, with the music seamlessly switching between them depending on where you are in the race. Some variations are minor (like Shy Guy Falls adding the sounds of mining equipment and chanting Shy Guys when near the mines) and others can completely change the tone and/or instrumentation of the music (like Water Park's music becoming calmer when underwater; Dolphin Shoals with three sections--starting zone, cave, and home stretch--with a unique instrumentation each (though it throws away the Variable Mix in the final lap, which only features the saxophone).

* VocalEvolution: Mario sounds a lot more different than usual, with his voice being higher and louder.

* WackyRacing
* XMeetsY: ''Mario Kart Wii'' meets ''VideoGame/FZero''.