History VideoGame / MarioKart8

*** DifficultButAwesome: Naturally, using Circuit Special ''and'' Slick tires together on the heaviest characters results in nearly-maxed Speed with a hefty Weight stat to mow through race tracks and opponents. Unfortunately, you'd better have a good grip on drifting turns and avoiding items if you don't want your horribly-slammed Acceleration, Handling and Traction to get in the way.

* {{Cap}}: 9999 VR is all you'll ever be allowed to get in online races and battles.

* ProductPlacement: The free [[http://mariokart8.nintendo.com/dlc/#freedlc Mercedes-Benz DLC karts]]. A tournament by Mercedes-Benz can be accessed in online play for those that want to compete with the new karts. It's part of a cross promotion where Mario is used in a Mercedes-Benz GLA Class commercial in Japan and Nintendo has the GLA Class available as a free kart.

** Meaning that while it's possible to perfectly balance heavier characters to match the acceleration and handling of lighter ones[[note]]in fact, you get a .25 ''net gain'' for using the Landship[[/note], you cannot turn lighter characters into speedsters without sacrificing a little ability.

* GuestFighter: Isabelle and Villager from ''Animal Crossing'', Link from ''The Legend of Zelda'', and the Blue Falcon from ''F-Zero'' in the DLC packs.

* ProductPlacement: The free [[http://mariokart8.nintendo.com/dlc/#freedlc Mercedes-Benz DLC karts]]. A tournament by Mercedes-Benz can be accessed in online play for those that want to compete with the new karts.

* NonIndicativeName: There's no Aqua Cup in this game's grand prix mode, even if you have seen the underwater cupcake-themed ride attraction at the Water Park course, which is actually called "Aqua ''Cups''".

%%** BigBoosHaunt: Twisted Mansion

* AlwaysNight: The remake of the N64 Rainbow Road (which unlike the original version, takes place in the night sky of a city instead of space).

** Usually, you cannot collect an item if you already have one, but if you collect an item box ''just'' before a piranha plant item runs out, you still get the new item. When you throw a boomerang, it doesn't count as having the item while it's in the air, so another item can be collected in its place.

* TheBusCameBack: For the babies, Toadette, and Waluigi, who were excluded from ''7''.
** Dry Bowser in the DLC.
* TheCameo: A Blue and Yellow Toad appear as the poster characters for the Two-player Online feature (and can sometimes be seen floating in space in the online play menus, along with a Green Toad). They previously appeared in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand''.

** Dry Bowser becomes a DesertSkull (Although DLC promotes him back to playable).

* DownloadableContent: ''Mario Kart 8'' features, of all things, a [[http://kotaku.com/you-can-download-a-mercedes-benz-in-mario-kart-8-1583112472 downloadable Mercedes Benz kart]]. It's free and releasing August 27th.

* 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!

*** '''[[UpToEleven And]]''' on top of all this, there's one ''more'' remix that kicks in for the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUvBPCHDzN8 credits roll]].

%% ** SpaceZone: Rainbow Road

* UnderTheSea: Dolphin Shoals is mostly underwater. It's also the only course in the series where the starting line is underwater.
* VocalEvolution:
** Mario sounds a lot more different than usual, with his voice being higher and louder.
** Thanks to new recordings, all the characters sound fresher and newer.
* WackyRacing: It's a kart racer with weapons like shells and banana peels. Naturally, it would fall under this.

** Dry Bowser becomes a DesertSkull.

* GuestFighter: Isabelle and Villager from Animal Crossing, Link from Zelda, and the Blue Falcon from F-Zero in the DLC packs.

Two DLC packs were announced, titled TheLegendofZelda X Mario Kart 8 and AnimalCrossing X Mario Kart 8, which are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

** Releasing November and May 2015 [[http://store.nintendo.co.uk/wii-u-ddc/the-legend-of-zelda-x-mario-kart-8-aoc-pack-digital-download/10991121.html are two add-on packs]], which include retro courses such as Wario's Gold Mine, new courses and karts based off of [[Franchise/FZero F-Zero]] and [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing Animal Crossing]], and characters including Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], Villager and Isabelle from ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' and Dry Bowser. Eight different-colored Yoshis and Shy Guys are included with purchase of both packs.

** Recovery Boosts have been removed.

** N64 Rainbow Road is now a section course, meaning players only have to lap around it once.

** The GBA Mario Circuit also gets this treatment. The original ''Super Circuit'' track was totally flat, but now there's a springboard installed underneath a whole section of the track just to spice things up with an anti-gravity segment, amid some oil patches, for good measure.

Notable for reconciling unforgiving and sometimes cheap 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. However, racers can't hoard items anymore, and must use their current item before getting another one. Also notable for its inception of SlowMotion cuts, which has given rise to MemeticMutation in the case of Luigi for his uncanny DeathGlare.

** Cloudtop Cruise has an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAGy1ZZp2ik epic, orchestrated, and trumpeting airy beat]] as its main theme, but then changes to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqqqC4U55Po a gritty rock mix]] inside the more tension-filled thundercloud section of the racetrack.

** Cloudtop Cruise has an epic trumpeting airy beat as its main theme, but then changes to a gritty metal mix inside the thundercloud section of the racetrack.

** Electrodrome, being a music-themed track, is built on medley magic. Its already [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESNXPACz2E pulse-pounding musical beat]] is accompanied by electronic riffs on the first anti-gravity segment as the player drifts across the interactive track, then a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37bemWupRZg much stronger jangling percussive bass]] on the second anti-gravity segment of electronic musical sheet road that drowns out the normal beat. Then, there's a really trippy take of that anti-gravity area on the following lap, where the soundtrack changes to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NkTGoMvl1Q twinkling variant]] as racers pass over the same stretch of track with electronic musical waves and ripples, and even has several shimmering rectangular sparkles stimulating stronger beats popping up on the screen. Plus, the track itself sounds off some musical stings increasing in key as the player hops across several staggered platforms which light up. There's the aforementioned first place variant, the final lap variant, and on top of all this, there are the crowds clapping in tune to the music, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUP5pn724E with Shy Guys chanting along]], too.

** Electrodrome, being a music-themed track, is built on medley magic. Its already [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESNXPACz2E pulse-pounding musical beat]] is accompanied by electronic riffs on the first anti-gravity segment as the player drifts across the interactive track, then a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37bemWupRZg much stronger jangling percussive bass]] on the second anti-gravity segment of electronic musical sheet road that drowns out the normal beat. Then, there's a really trippy take of that anti-gravity area on the following lap, where the soundtrack changes to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NkTGoMvl1Q twinkling variant]] as racers pass over the same stretch of track with electronic musical waves and ripples, and even has several shimmering gold sparkles stimulating stronger beats popping up on the screen. Plus, the track itself sounds off some musical stings increasing in key as the player hops across several staggered platforms which light up. There's the aforementioned first place variant, the final lap variant, and on top of all this, there are the crowds clapping in tune to the music, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUP5pn724E with Shy Guys chanting along]], too.

** Electrodrome, being a music-themed track, is built on medley magic. Its already [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESNXPACz2E pulse-pounding musical beat]] is accompanied by electronic riffs on the first anti-gravity segment as the player drifts across the interactive track, then a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37bemWupRZg much stronger jangling percussive bass]] on the second anti-gravity segment of electronic musical sheet road that drowns out the normal beat. Then, there's a really trippy take of that anti-gravity area, where the soundtrack changes to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NkTGoMvl1Q twinkling variant]] as racers pass over the same stretch of track with electronic musical waves and ripples, and even has several shimmering gold sparkles stimulating stronger beats popping up on the screen. Plus, the track itself sounds off some musical stings increasing in key as the player hops across several staggered platforms which light up. There's the aforementioned first place variant, the final lap variant, and on top of all this, there are the crowds clapping in tune to the music, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUP5pn724E with Shy Guys chanting along]], too.

** Electrodrome, being a music-themed track, is built on medley magic. Its already [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESNXPACz2E pulse-pounding musical beat]] is accompanied by a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37bemWupRZg much stronger jangling percussive bass]] on an anti-gravity segment of road that drowns out the normal beat. Then, there's a really trippy anti-gravity area, where the soundtrack changes to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NkTGoMvl1Q twinkling variant]] as racers pass of a stretch of track with electronic musical waves and ripples, and even has several shimmering gold sparkles stimulating stronger beats popping up on the screen. Plus, the track itself sounds off some musical stings increasing in key as the player hops across several staggered platforms which light up.