Mario Kart U (alternatively known as Nintendo All-Star Racing) is the latest entry in the Mario Kart series, though it is often called the first entry in the Nintendo All-Star Racing series.
Gameplay[]
The game takes pages from every previous Mario Kart game. There are two racing modes: Single, the traditional mode, and Double Dash, which plays like Mario Kart DOUBLE DASH.
Kart customization is removed, and motorbikes are reinstated. The physics are somewhat a little more realistic, with tires popping, engines shutting down momentarily, characters sustaining visible injuries, and showing emotions such as anger, frustration, satisfaction, or fear.
Characters[]
For the first time in Mario Kart history, there are a plethora of guest characters, which often leads to this game being known as Nintendo All-Star Racing.
Default Characters[]
Mario Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Toad
- Koopa Troopa
- Baby Mario
- Baby Peach
- Baby Wario
- Shy Guy
Middleweight[]
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Yoshi
- Diddy Kong
- Bowser Jr.
Heavyweight[]
- Bowser
- Wario
- Waluigi
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
Zelda Series[]
Middleweight[]
- Link
- Zelda
Heavyweight[]
- Ganondorf
Pokemon Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Pikachu
Metroid Series[]
Middleweight[]
- Samus Aran
Mother Series[]
- Lucas
Unlockable[]
Mario Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Dry Bones
- Luma
- Baby Luigi
- Baby Daisy
- Baby Waluigi
- Paratroopa
- Toadette
- Goomba
- Baby Rosalina
Middleweight[]
- Daisy
- Birdo
- Dixie Kong
- Rosalina
Heavyweight[]
- Funky Kong
- Dry Bowser
- Dry Bowser Jr.
Zelda Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Young Link
- Saria
- Midna
Middleweight[]
- Toon Link
- Tingle
Heavyweight[]
- Zant
- Ghirahim
Pokemon Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Pichu
- Piplup
Heavyweight[]
- Lucario
- Zoroark
Mother Series[]
Lightweight[]
- Ness
- Paula
Heavyweight[]
- Pokey Minch
Kirby[]
Lightweight[]
- Kirby
Heavyweight[]
- King Dedede
Sega[]
Lightweight[]
- Tails
Middleweight[]
- Sonic
Konami[]
Middleweight[]
- Solid Snake
Heavyweight[]
- Simon Belmont
Rare[]
Middleweight[]
- Conker
- Berri (Pocket Tales version)
Heavyweight[]
- Banjo-Kazooie
- The Great Mighty Poo
Karts and Bikes[]
There are many, many karts and bikes for use by the weight classes. Many are karts from previous games.
Karts[]
Single[]
Lightweight[]
- Standard Kart S
- Formula Mushroom S
- Pipe Frame S
- Baby Booster
- Mini Beast
- Tiny Titan
- Blue Falcon
- Cheep Charger
- Mushmallow
- 4-Wheel Cradle
- Egg 1
- Cucumber
- Dry Bomber
- Banshee
- Thunderbolt
- Star Power
- Kokiri Bullet
- No Face
- Golden Mushmallow
- Twilight Dasher
- PK Racer
Middleweight[]
- Standard Kart M
- Formula Mushroom M
- Pipe Frame M
- Wild Wing
- Classic Dragster
- Super Blooper
- Sprinter
- B-Dasher
- Hylian Racer
- Star Dasher
- Barrel Scotsman
- Bayou Racer
Heavyweight[]
- Standard Kart L
- Formula Mushroom L
- Pipe Frame L
- Offroader
- Flame Flyer
- Piranha Prowler
- Honeycoupe
- Jetsetter
- Gerudo Tromper
- Royal Hammer
- Usurper Kart
- Aura Racer
- Humvee
- Vampire Crusher
Double Dash[]
Lightweight[]
- Toad Kart
- Toadette Kart
- Goo-Goo Buggy
- Rattle Buggy
- Koopa Dasher
- Para Dasher
- Kokiri Racer
- PK Dasher
- Barrel Train
- Bullet Blaster
Middleweight[]
- Red Fire
- Green Fire
- Heart Coach
- Bloom Coach
- Turbo Yoshi
- Turbo Birdo
- Waluigi Car
- Hylian Dasher
Heavyweight[]
- Koopa King
- DK Jumbo
- Wario Car
- Piranha Pipes
- Boo Pipes
All Classes[]
- Parade Kart
Bikes (Single only)[]
Lightweight[]
- Standard Bike S
- GP Bike S
- Bullet Bike
- Bit Bike (Not for Tails)
- Quacker
- Magikruser
- Jet Bubble
Middleweight[]
- Standard Bike M
- GP Bike M
- Mach Bike
- Sugarscoot
- Zip Zip
- Sneakster
- Dolphin Dasher
Heavyweight[]
- Standard Bike L
- GP Bike L
- Flame Runner
- Wario Bike
- Shooting Star
- Spear
- Phantom
Tracks[]
Like previous games starting with Mario Kart DS, there are 32 tracks: 16 original and 16 from previous games.
Mushroom Cup[]
- Luigi Circuit
- Yoshi Forest
- Goomba Beach
- Hyrule Castle Town
Flower Cup[]
- Twoson Street Course
- Delfino Beach
- Daisy Highway
- Waluigi's Powerhouse Junction
Star Cup[]
- Sarassaland
- Mushtona International Speedway
- Mario Circuit
- Lost Woods
Special Cup[]
- Wario Stadium
- Pewter City Street Circuit
- Bowser's Castle
- Rainbow Road
Shell Cup[]
- N64 Toad's Turnpike
- GBA Boo Lake
- DS Figure 8 Circuit
- SNES Choco Island 1
Banana Cup[]
- GBA Snow Land
- 3DS Wuhu Island Loop
- SNES Mario Circuit 4
- DS Shroom Ridge
Leaf Cup[]
- SNES Vanilla Lake 1
- N64 Yoshi Valley
- WII Toad Factory
- GCN Mushroom City
Lightning Cup[]
- N64 Royal Raceway
- 3DS Koopa Bazaar
- WII Wario's Gold Mine
- GCN Rainbow Road
Items[]
Returning[]
- Green Shell
- Red Shell
- Banana
- Fake Item Box
- Mushroom
- Golden Mushroom
- Boo
- Triple Banana
- Triple Green Shell
- Triple Red Shell
- Bomb-omb
- Blue Shell
- Bullet Bill
- Blooper
- POW Block
- Cloud
- Star
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Flower
- Super Leaf
- Lucky 7
Racer Excusive[]
- Fireball - Burns whoever it hits (Mario)
- Thunderhand - EMP Effect (Luigi, Baby Luigi)
- Heart Shield - Deflects items (Peach)
- Poison Mushroom - Slows whoever hits it (Toad)
- Egg - Same as Red Shell, spews items when it hits (Yoshi & Birdo)
- Metal Shard - Briefly shuts down engine (Wario)
- Barrel - Squishes anyone unlucky to be hit (DK)
- Firebreath - Incinerates target (Bowser)
- Bottle - Same as Green Shell (All babies)
- Flower Nuke - Just a Bomb-omb with a wider blast radius (Daisy)
- Flash-Bang Mushroom - Briefly disorients racers (Toadette)
- Eggplant Carpet Bomb - Calls an airstrike that knocks players into the air (Waluigi)
- Black Shell - Explodes when it hits racer (Koopa & Para-Troopa)
- Hat Trick - Causes Diddy to swap places with the leader (Diddy Kong)
- Beret Throw - Same as standard shells (Dixie Kong)
- Boogie Board - Causes racers to flip (Funky Kong)
- Luma Power - Longer version of Star (Rosalina, Baby Rosalina)
- Bone Rush - Similar to Pokemon move (Dry Bones)
- Bone Shell - Same as Bowser Shell (Dry Bowser)
- Majora's Mask - Makes Shy Guy invisible (Shy Guy)
- Paintbrush - More effective version of Blooper (Bowser Jr.)
- Shoe Throw - Causes racers to get very angry & very slow (Goomba & Para-Goomba)
- Sword Beam - Same as standard shells (Link and Toon Link)
- Sheik - Makes Zelda turn into Shiek & increases speed for a short time (Zelda)
- Dark Portal - Sends target to the Mirror Version of the track (Ganondorf, Zant, Ghirahim)
- Fairy Ocarina - Effect varies: the user gains a small speed boost (it's more powerful if used by both Young Link and Saria at the same time in Double Dash Mode), while opponents are shrunk as if they had been hit by a Thunderbolt; song is "Saria's Song" (Young Link and Saria)
- Thunderbolt - Pikachu makes the target "blast off" (Obvious)
- Suck - Steals item (Kirby)
- Cannon Blast - All racers ahead of Samus are blasted sky-high (Samus Aran)
- Super Dash - Makes the user go Super FAST! (Sonic)
- Chaos Emeralds - Turns the player into Super Sonic or Super Tails (Sonic and Tails)
- Honeycomb - Similar to Banana. (Banjo)
- Fire Arrow - Causes near catastrophic engine fire. (Conker, Berri)
- Grand Star - A mix between the Mega Mushroom and Star. (Baby Rosalina, Rosilina)Racer-Exclusive (Most are new).
- PSI Rockin - Sends every racer (except Lucas and Paula, if applicable) skyward (Ness)
- PK Fire - Same effect as Fire Flower and Fireballs (Paula)
- PK Thunder - EMP Effect (Lucas)
- Dragonuv Sniper Rifle - Pinpoint hit on racer (Snake)
- Whip - Briefly stuns drivers (Simon Belmont)
- Shadow Beam - Sends racers into the abyss; racers are put back on track by Lakitu as if they fell into a pit (Midna)
- A Huge Supply of Tish - Seriously slows racers and make them extremely grossed out; While throwing poop, the Great Mighty Poo will sing his famous song (censored, of course) (The Great Mighty Poo)
Modes[]
- Grand Prix - A 4-track race for first place. All racers, karts, bikes, and cups are unlocked here
- Time Trials - Try to set the fastest time.
- Vs. - A free-form mode where you can tailor the rules to your liking and practice for Grand Prix.
- Battle - An intense game of skill and luck. There are three modes:
- Balloon Battle - If all your balloons get popped, you lose. Last man standing wins.
- Coin Runner - Have the most coins at the end of a certain time period
- Demolition Derby - Be the last man standing in this game of pure strength. A great way to relieve stress when you are frustrated with Grand Prix!
- Story Mode - Play through an engaging story across dimensions in several different cities against dark forces seeking world domination. Complete missions, recruit racers to your cause, upgrade your kart, access new areas, defeat enemies, or simply just cruise around town.
Double Dash Mode Recommended Pairings[]
These are the best pairings for Double Dash mode. You can, of course, choose any combination, but these combinations have the best chemistry.
- Mario/Luigi
- Mario/Peach
- Mario/Yoshi
- Luigi/Daisy
- Luigi/Rosalina
- Peach/Daisy
- Peach/Toad
- Peach/Toadette
- Toad/Toadette
- Yoshi/Birdo
- Yoshi/Any Baby Character
- Bowser/Bowser Jr.
- Bowser/Koopa Troopa
- Bowser/Paratroopa
- Bowser/Goomba
- Bowser/Dry Bones
- Donkey Kong/Diddy Kong
- Donkey Kong/Dixie Kong
- Donkey Kong/Funky Kong
- Diddy Kong/Dixie Kong
- Wario/Waluigi
- Link/Zelda
- Link/Midna
- Young Link/Saria
- Ganondorf/Ghirahim
- Ganondorf/Zant
- Pikachu/Pichu
- Pikachu/Piplup
- Piplup/Pichu
- Lucario/Zoroark
- Ness/Lucas
- Ness/Paula
- Samus/Snake
- Conker/Berry
- Koopa Troopa/Paratroopa
- Koopa Troopa/Goomba
- Goomba/Paratroopa
- Dry Bones/Bowser Jr.
- Any Baby/Any Baby
- Rosalina/Luma
- Sonic/Tails
[]
A few characters just couldn't find partners. Thes are the unlucky ones confined to Single mode:
- Great Mighty Poo
- Tingle
- Simon Belmont
- Shy Guy
- Pokey Minch
- Banjo-Kazooie
- King Dedede