As we get closer to the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2 (now that we know it’s coming at any rate), many people have been starting to speculate about the arrival of a long-awaited sequel to a game that we’ve had for a whopping 10 years now. I am of course, (as the title completely gives away), talking about Mario Kart 9.
Yes, the last iteration of the series, Mario Kart 8, dropped back in 2014! I can remember purchasing a Wii U + Mario Kart 8 bundle from a shop called Grainger Games here in York and taking it home to see what the new game had in store for me, marveling at the new tracks and indeed the new twist that made the game so special – literally twisting upside down while driving on crazy courses.
Getting to choose new wheels, vehicle bodies, and gliders, as well as downloadable content in the form of Link and the Yoshi’s with new tracks – it had it all. Over the years, we’ve had more DLC to both keep us occupied and the game feeling fresh when it dropped onto the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but after a point where Nintendo could no longer rehash old courses from previous games, they’ve finally called it quits with the updates and called time on Mario Kart 8.
Which means it’s about time that we had Mario Kart 9, don’t you think? I’m certainly ready for some new tracks…NEW, Nintendo, not old ones from Mario Kart 64 with a few more turns in them… new! With that in mind, I’ve searched the internet to bring you all of the latest rumours and speculations surrounding the game, as well as my own thoughts and predictions as a games journalist and someone who has lost a heap of races against friends over the years.
Table of Contents
Mario Kart 9 Release Date Rumours
As you might well know (and one to get sorted quickly just in case you didn’t), there is no set date for a Mario Kart 9 release. Nintendo hasn’t actually come forward to say ‘Hey, we’re making a new Mario Kart game’, although their actions at finally fulfilling their commitments to Mario Kart 8 a full 10 years after it launched has everyone in the same frame of mind that there is one coming.
Back in 2022, rumours circulated that an announcement on Mario Kart was imminent and the game was, in fact, in active development. Still, we had a rumour about Metroid Prime 4 about 4 million years ago and it never appeared. Delays happen, and with the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon, it could well be that Nintendo is waiting for the new console to drop before they announce the game.
And don’t forget that Ninty likes to shadowdrop titles too; remember when they just dropped Metroid Prime: Remastered on us from nowhere? I think it is highly likely that Mario Kart 9 is already made and sitting in a warehouse waiting to be bundled out with the new Switch once it launches, but time will tell.
Super Mario Kart was released in 1992; it’s now 2024, which means we’ve already passed the 30-year anniversary mark. I don’t think that Nintendo would wait another three years until the 35th anniversary to bring out Mario Kart 9, not with the new console on the way. It’s more likely that they would use the opportunity to bring out extra DLC or themed peripherals, and you can bet that they’ve already got some designs in the pipeline (get it… Mario uses warp pipes… anyway).
Mario Kart 9: Characters
If Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is anything to go by, then one of the things that Mario Kart 9 will need to do is open up the game to a whole new host of characters. I’ve read a lot of rumours, all of which I agree with, that state Nintendo is thinking of opening the game up to characters from other Nintendo series, which makes sense as we’ve had the same characters for 10 years now. If Mario Kart 9 is also going to be around for 10 years, then I want a variety of characters to choose from this time… and I’m talking at least a hundred!
Think about it; we’ve got some of the Pokémon greats such as Pikachu, Charmander, Mewtwo, Gengar, and so many more that would create massive hype with Nintendo fans. There’s Kirby and King DeDede, the F-Zero crew (that would make an amazing crossover), Pac-Man, Banjo-Kazooie & Mumbo Jumbo, Fox McCloud, and so many more. We’ve already had Link and Animal Crossing characters entering the roster, so we already know that Nintendo is open to bringing more familiar faces into the character selection screen. I really want to see Tom Nook going up against Gruntilda; now that would be something!
This might be controversial, but I don’t think we need characters like Dry Bowser or Bowser’s extended family this time, nor Cat Mario and Cat Peach. There are so many characters to choose from that I don’t want any annoying duplicates.
I think an influx of characters will also bring way more scope for more racers on a course too. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had an online multiplayer mode that followed in the footsteps of F-Zero 99, Fall Guys, and Sonic Rumble with more characters on the screen than you can shake a stick at (or a Sudowoodo if we’re keeping with the Nintendo theme).
The Levels
If my hunch is right about the characters (and I’m known for crunching hunches), then there’s a good chance that we’ll be getting courses that delve into different Nintendo IPs too. Just imagine taking Samus Aran around Zebes, Fox around Dinosaur Planet, Pikachu through Kanto, Ganondorf through the Gerudo Desert – this is where the series needs to go in my opinion.
There’s also the other option of using worlds from the previous Super Mario games, levels from Super Mario Odyssey, or from Super Mario Wonder. Heck, if DK is gonna be there then why not have the Mine Cart level as one of the tracks?
Here’s a feature that you might not have thought of too – how about a Track Building mode? It would make total sense; it’s the kind of thing that Nintendo is into and it would tie nicely in with the idea of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit too. All the old multiplayer games used to have course builders, so why not this?
Let’s not forget battle modes too; I’m not a huge fan of the battles in Mario Kart, but I think I’m in the minority here. My friend Josh Hardy absolutely loves them and has beaten me into the dirt more times while playing Shine Thief than I care to count. I think these will make a comeback and remain pretty much untouched, though more ‘minigames’ would be a good shout. A battle in the middle of Hyrule Field would be pretty gnarly too if we were to get more themed levels!
Nintendo, if you haven’t made Mario Kart 9 yet and you’re looking for ideas, then you’re welcome.
The Karts & A New Game Twist
How do we top the selection of karts from the previous game? There are so many vehicles and wheel options that I still seem to be unlocking them even now! I think Mario Kart 9 will take things one step further, and there have been lots of rumors about vehicles covering different surfaces in this new game.
Let’s take one of my favourite racing games, Diddy Kong Racing, as an example. That game had planes, hovercrafts, and karts available to choose from. Mario Kart 8 had a variety of bikes and karts as well as a couple of quads, but they just dealt with air and water by creating spinning wheels. How amazing would it be if we had racers on hovercrafts going over the water while other racers in karts went underneath? Imagine Daisy in a plane while Monty Mole was on a bike; now that would be cool!
I think we might see a Mario Strikers: Battle League Football system of using coins to upgrade parts on vehicles too, perhaps with drivers earning coins from completing races or challenges, and a tournament similar to Mario Strikers where players can make a four-person racing team and take on teams from all over the world.
And, as the image from the previous segment of Mario and pals racing along Rainbow Road from the Super Mario Movie shows, we might also get some epic vehicles like Toad’s massive Monster Truck!
Story Mode
Keeping with the Diddy Kong Racing theme, I think the one thing that Mario Kart 9 needs and something that the series has failed to incorporate into its games thus far is a Story Mode. It worked for Diddy Kong racing and CTR, so why not Mario Kart?
The arcade racing mode is great and what Mario Kart will mainly be used for, but there needs to be something else, something new and fresh that gives us a reason to upgrade to Mario Kart 9, and I think a Story Mode would do it. It would make playing single-player mode much more exciting too, giving us bosses to fight and new characters to unlock in the process.
Heck, the best bit about Smash Bros. for me was seeing the silhouette of a new challenger approaching and hoping to beat them and add them to my fighter roster. If we had Burnout-style showdowns with new characters in order to win them or a system like Disney Speedstorm (although less convoluted) where we had to beat them to unlock them, then that would add so much more excitement.
And bosses; we need boss battles. Beating back King Bob-omb, thwarting King K.Rool (they don’t have to be kings, but all the kings seem to be evil in Nintendo games…), just the feature of having to defeat a boss before a new set of tracks open up in story mode would be amazing, making those tracks then available for multiplayer mode too.
Final Thoughts
If you haven’t already realised, I want Mario Kart 9 and I want it now. It’s been 10 years: enough is enough. Of all the rumors floating around the internet and all my thoughts and wishes, a Story Mode is probably the highest up on the list of things that I would love to see, and time will tell as to whether it becomes a reality or not. For now, all I can do is wait with bated breath like I have been doing for about two years now for Mario Kart 9 to finally release. And when it does, you can bet your bottom shine sprite that I’ll be shouting from the rooftops about it!
