Mario Kart Tour
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Template:Infobox Mario Kart Tour is a mobile game in the Mario Kart series. First announced during a financial briefing on January 31, 2018,[1] it is the third Mario mobile game overall, following Super Mario Run and Dr. Mario World, and the 16th installment in the Mario Kart series. Like Super Mario Run, it is free-to-start from the App Store and Google Play.[2] Unlike Super Mario Run and similar to that of Dr. Mario World, the game more heavily incorporates a free-to-play microtransaction mechanic, where players have restrictions and timers unless they spend some of the various types of currencies in-game, as well as having loot boxes in the form of items being launched out of pipes. The game reuses many assets from Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, and Mario Kart 8, as well as returning gameplay mechanics such as gliding and character specific special items. In addition, the game introduces some features new to the Mario Kart franchise such as reverse tracks and ability to deploy a large amount of any item during a race, including Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills. On April 23, 2019, Nintendo opened applications for participating in a closed beta test of the game to Android users in North America and Japan, which began on May 22, 2019 and ended on June 4, 2019.[3]
The game officially launched for both iOS and Android devices on September 25, 2019 in 163 territories, which covers nearly the same roster of availability as Super Mario Run, with the exceptions of Belgium and Vietnam, the former of which banned games with loot boxes in 2019. Users who pre-registered acquired the game a day early.
Gameplay
As a racing game, the goal of Mario Kart Tour is to best rivals and come in first, using items obtained by driving through Item Boxes to the player's advantage. The game is played in a portrait position, where the phone's touch controls are used to play the game, such as dragging the finger across the screen to steer the kart.[4] Unlike other Mario Kart games in the series, karts accelerate automatically and can steer players away from walls and drops if they approach too closely. The game returns the gliding mechanics from Mario Kart 7, where players can glide through the course whenever they drive over certain ramps, and players can perform tricks. Unlike Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, however, players cannot customize their vehicle's tires. In addition, Bikes, ATVs, anti-gravity courses, and 12-player races do not return in this game.
Every time players complete a race, they are awarded with Grand Stars and rubies, rubies being the game's premium currency. Rubies are used to purchase pipes which randomly shoot out a driver, a kart, or a glider, all which have their own rarities.[4] Each driver, kart, and glider have favored courses, where they offer advantages if they are used on particular tracks. A character that drives on a preferred course earns extra items per Item Box. A new mechanic is Frenzy mode, which can be achieved by collecting three of the same item; when active, it grants the racer invincibility and an unlimited supply of that item for a period of time.[5][6][7] Rarer characters have better bonuses and more preferred courses. In addition, characters have special items exclusive to them, similar to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s item system. All drivers and karts can be leveled up, and they all come with upgrades when done so. Duplicates can be earned from pipes, and those go towards the repeat character's level up progress. Coins can be obtained in races as well depending on the player's performance, and these can be used to purchase new items from the store and also can be used to purchase more rubies.[4] Rubies can also be spent in Coin Rush where players can obtain as many coins as possible.
Drivers
Upon launching the game for the first time, players start with either Toad, Toadette, or Peachette. Unlike other Mario Kart games, there are no weight classes between characters, but they are sorted by their rarity of unlocking them, via opening up randomized green pipes with rubies. There are three tiers of rarity: Normal, Super, and High-End. While the Normal characters are easier to unlock, rarer characters have a greater amount of starting points, have a higher top speed, higher coin-earning rates, likelihood of picking up mid-race weapons and items, and have more favored courses. Once players clear the tutorial, they are rewarded with a random Super-class character. In Coin Rush, players play as Gold Mario.[8]
The following lists the playable characters and their special item.
Normal
- ShyGuyMSS.PNG
Super
- Diddy Kong MPDS.png
High-End
- Pauline MKT.png
- MKT Mario Musician Outfit render.png
Mario (Musician)[7]
New York Tour-exclusive
File:MKT Icon DoubleBobomb.png
Double Bob-ombs
Other
The following characters have been confirmed to be playable, though their rarities are unknown, as they are currently not available.
- Luigi
- Rosalina
- Wario
- Waluigi
- Larry
- Roy
- Wendy
- Iggy
- Morton
- Lemmy
- Ludwig
- King Boo
- Baby Luigi
- Baby Rosalina
- Bowser Jr.[10]
- Lakitu[10]
- Mario wearing a hakama[10]
- Peach wearing a pink yukata[10]
- Shy Guy wearing a chef outfit[10]
Courses
In addition to the courses listed below, many alternate courses are also featured in the game; courses can have an "R" and/or "T" variant. Courses marked with "R" are driven in backwards orientation; the track will have altercations if necessary to make this possible. Courses marked with "T" feature many additional (glider) ramps and obstacles, and are otherwise the same.
New
- New York Minute, a course inspired by New York City, featuring Times Square and Central Park as traversable areas.[13]
- New York Minute R
- New York Minute T
- New York Minute R/T
- Tokyo Blur, a course inspired by Tokyo, featuring the Rainbow Bridge and Ginza as traversable areas.[10][14]
- Another course inspired by Tokyo, featuring traditional Japanese architecture including Sensō-ji.[15]
- Paris Promenade, a course inspired by Paris, featuring the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe as traversable landmarks.[10][14]
Returning
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Mario Circuit 1
Mario Circuit 1R
Mario Circuit 1T
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Koopa Troopa Beach
Koopa Troopa Beach R
Koopa Troopa Beach T
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)
- MKT Icon BowserCastle1GBA.png
Bowser's Castle 1
Bowser's Castle 1R
Bowser's Castle 1T
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN)
Dino Dino Jungle
Dino Dino Jungle R
Dino Dino Jungle T- MKT Yoshi Circuit.png
Yoshi Circuit[16]
Yoshi Circuit R
Yoshi Circuit T
Mario Kart DS (DS)
- Nocoverart.png
Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
- Nocoverart.png
Cheep Cheep Lagoon[10]
Cheep Cheep Lagoon R
Cheep Cheep Lagoon T Toad Circuit
Toad Circuit R
Toad Circuit TRock Rock Mountain
Rock Rock Mountain R
Rock Rock Mountain TDaisy Hills
Daisy Hills R
Daisy Hills TShy Guy Bazaar
Shy Guy Bazaar R
Shy Guy Bazaar T
Tours
New York Tour
This section is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.
File:MKT Icon MarioCup.png Mario Cup |
New York Minute T | 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon | SNES Mario Circuit 1 |
Ready, Set, Rocket Start Mario, 3DS Toad Circuit |
---|---|---|---|---|
File:MKT Icon DonkeyKongCup.png Donkey Kong Cup |
GCN Dino Dino Jungle |
3DS Toad Circuit |
3DS Rock Rock Mountain |
Ring Race Donkey Kong, SNES Mario Circuit 1 |
File:MKT Icon YoshiCup.png Yoshi Cup |
File:MKT Yoshi Circuit.png GCN Yoshi Circuit |
3DS Daisy Hills |
3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon | Do Jump Boosts Yoshi, New York Minute |
File:MKT Icon KoopaTroopaCup.png Koopa Troopa Cup |
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach |
New York Minute | 3DS Rock Rock Mountain R | Big Reverse Race Any character, N64 Koopa Troopa Beach |
File:MKT Icon ToadCup.png Toad Cup |
3DS Toad Circuit |
3DS Shy Guy Bazaar |
GCN Yoshi Circuit R | Goomba Takedown Toad, 3DS Toad Circuit |
File:MKT Icon PeachCup.png Peach Cup |
SNES Mario Circuit 1R | File:MKT Yoshi Circuit.png GCN Yoshi Circuit |
3DS Daisy Hills T | Glider Challenge Peach, 3DS Daisy Hills |
File:MKT Icon BowserCup.png Bowser Cup |
GBA Bowser's Castle 1 | GCN Dino Dino Jungle |
New York Minute R | Do Jump Boosts Toadette, N64, Koopa Troopa Beach |
Dry Bones Cup | 3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon T | SNES Mario Circuit 1 |
3DS Rock Rock Mountain T | Steer Clear of Obstacles Dry Bones, GCN Dino Dino Jungle |
File:MKT Icon ToadetteCup.png Toadette Cup |
3DS Toad Circuit T | New York Minute R | GCN Dino Dino Jungle T | Vs. Mega Bowser Any character, 3DS Toad Circuit |
File:MKT Icon DaisyCup.png Daisy Cup |
3DS Daisy Hills |
GCN Dino Dino Jungle R | 3DS Shy Guy Bazaar T | Ring Race Daisy, GCN Yoshi Circuit |
Diddy Kong Cup | ||||
Baby Mario Cup | ||||
File:MKT Icon ShyGuyCup.png Shy Guy Cup |
||||
Baby Peach Cup | ||||
File:MKT Icon DryBowserCup.png Dry Bowser Cup |
||||
File:MKT Icon MetalMarioCup.png Metal Mario Cup |
Items
Items
Image | Name | Description | Characters |
---|---|---|---|
Banana[17] | "Don't let this one give you the slip! Your kart will spin out if you hit one. You can carry one behind your kart to protect yourself from a single attack." | All | |
File:MKT Icon GiantBanana.png | Giant Banana[18][19] | "Not only does this big banana spin out karts that hit it, but after being struck it breaks into three regular-sized Bananas. The only banana split you'll be sad to see!" | File:MKT Icon DK.png |
File:MKT Icon GreenShell.png | Green Shell[17] | "Flies straight and crashes any kart it hits. Keep it behind your kart to protect yourself from a single attack." | All |
File:MKT Icon TripleGreenShell.png | Triple Green Shells[19] | "Three Green Shells revolve around your kart. Tap the screen to throw all of them at once and they'll fly in a straight line." | File:MKT Icon Koopa Troopa.pngFile:MKT Icon Dry Bones.png |
File:MKT Icon RedShell.png | Red Shell[19] | "Homes in on a kart in front of you and crashes whatever it hits. Keep it behind your kart to protect yourself from a single attack." | All |
Spiny Shell[17] | "Chases down the kart in 1st place, crashing through anyone it hits before reaching its target. This will make you regret being in 1st place! Or even near the kart in 1st place..." | All | |
File:MKT Icon BowserShell.png | Bowser's Shell[17][19] | "This big ol' shell on loan from Bowser will crash any karts it hits and keep on going. It can only be thrown forward." | |
File:MKT Icon Bobomb.png | Bob-omb[17] | "This will walk towards opponents who get too close, and then explode when it touches a kart or when some time has passed. Karts caught in its blast will crash." | All |
File:MKT Icon DoubleBobomb.png | Double Bob-ombs (new)[19] | "Two Bob-ombs will revolve around your kart. Tap the screen to throw them both at once. Two is better than one, right?" | File:MKT Icon Shy Guy.pngMario (Musician) |
Mushroom[17] | "This classic item gives your kart a speed boost. Doesn't get much simpler than that!" | All | |
File:MKT Icon TripleMushroom.png | Triple Mushrooms[18][19] | "Why use just one Mushroom when you can use three? Tap the screen to use them all at once for a longer-lasting speed boost." | |
File:MKT Icon MegaMushroom.png | Mega Mushroom[17] | "Increases your kart's size, allowing you to crash any opponents you hit. You'll return to regular size after some time or when you're hit by an item." | All |
File:MKT Icon BulletBill.png | Bullet Bill[17] | "Transforms you into a Bullet Bill for a set amount of time. You'll dash forward with all the power of a Bullet Bill and crash any opponents that you hit." | All |
Blooper[17] | "Squirts ink onto the karts in a higher position than yours, blinding the other drivers for a set amount of time. You can wipe the ink off by swiping the screen." | All | |
Lightning[17] | "Calls down lightning to spin out your opponents and destroy the items they hold. Those struck will be smaller and slower for a set amount of time." | All | |
File:MKT Icon FireFlower.png | Fire Flower[20][19] | "Three fireballs will revolve around your kart. Tap the screen to throw them all at once, spinning out any kart they hit. You're really burning up the track now!" | File:MKT Icon Metal Mario.png |
File:MKT Icon BoomerangFlower.png | Boomerang Flower[19] | "Tap the screen to throw a boomerang. Not only will it spin out any karts it hits, but it will collect any surrounding Coins for you, too." | File:MKT Icon BBMario.png |
File:MKT Icon SuperHorn.png | Super Horn[17] | "The loudness of this horn will blow away any surrounding items and karts. It can repel Bloopers, and even Spiny Shells!" | All |
Coin[17] | "This gives you two Coins. It's used automatically once you pick it up." | All | |
Heart[21][19] | "This protective Heart revolves around your kart for a set amount of time, shielding you from attacks. It will vanish upon taking damage. You can stack up to five at once." | ||
File:MKT Icon YoshiEgg.png | Yoshi's Egg[19] | "Homes in on the kart in front of you and crashes once it hits. Three more items will fly out when it breaks. It's the item that keeps on giving!" | |
Bubble (new)[22] | "Briefly envelops your kart and protects you from damage for a set time. While in the bubble, you will get a speed boost and float in the air. Watch out, because it will vanish upon taking damage!" | File:MKT Icon BBPeach.pngFile:MKT Icon BBDaisy.png | |
Banana Barrels (new)[23] | "Arm your kart with two fully-loaded barrels of Bananas! Continually shoots out Bananas in front of your kart for a set time." | File:MKT Icon DD.png | |
Mushroom Cannon (new)[24] | "A cannon designed to resemble a Mushroom. Continually shoots out Mushrooms in front of your kart for a set time." | ||
Lucky Seven[7] | "Seven items (Red Shell, Banana, Green Shell, Bob-omb, Super Horn, Mushroom, and Blooper) revolve around your kart. Tap the screen to use all seven items at once." | ||
Star*[25] | N/A | All |
"*" denotes items exclusive to challenges.
Karts
Normal
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
Super
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
High-End
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
Other
The following karts were revealed in the game's trailers:
Gliders
Normal
Super
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
High-End
- Nocoverart.png
- Nocoverart.png
Challenges
This section is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.
Challenges are similar to the Missions mode from Mario Kart DS and the tournaments from Mario Kart Wii, and are found at the end of each cup.
- Ready, Set, Rocket Start: "Pull off a Rocket Start!"
- Ring Race: "Clear (number) rings."
Reception
Initial impressions of the beta have been mixed. Journalists have praised the gameplay and graphics, but have criticized the free-to-play gacha elements of the game. Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica has compared the game's in-app purchases to Spiny Shells, blowing up the classic Mario Kart experience. He has suggested that "the developers pick a side: attach an annoying economy to a deeper control scheme and more legitimate online options, or make it cheaper and less obnoxious to watch Mario drive himself."[4] Ethan Gach of Kotaku has also stated that the game is "a mostly faithful but stripped-down recreation of Mario Kart decked out with all the microtransactions and lottery mechanics mobile games are infamous for" and also lamenting the lack of a multiplayer mode.[27] Steven Asarch of Newsweek has complained about the game's "freemium greed" and that it is "ruined by microtransactions".[28]
Pre-release and unused content
- Main article: List of Mario Kart Tour pre-release and unused content
In the game's beta version, rubies were originally emeralds.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart Tour.
- MKT Icon BowserShell.png
References to other games
- Super Mario Kart: Mario Circuit 1, Choco Island 2, and Rainbow Road appear as returning courses.
- Mario Kart 64: Koopa Troopa Beach and Kalimari Desert appear as returning courses.
- Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Bowser Castle 1 appears as a returning course.
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Special Items return. Yoshi Circuit and Dino Dino Jungle appear as returning courses. The Turbo Yoshi, Koopa Dasher, and Bullet Blaster return as karts.
- Mario Kart DS: Waluigi Pinball and DK Pass appear as returning courses. The Mushmellow and Royale return as karts. Challenges with unique objectives return as the fourth and final races in every cup.
- Mario Kart Wii: The Daytripper, Super Blooper, and Flame Flyer return as karts.
- Mario Kart 7: The graphical engine appears to be derived from this game. Toad Circuit, Daisy Hills, Cheep Cheep Lagoon, Shy Guy Bazaar, Mario Circuit, and Rock Rock Mountain appear as returning courses. The Birthday Girl and Soda Jet return as karts, and the Barrel Train retains its design from this game. The Swooper returns as a glider. The Lucky Seven appears as a Special Item.
- Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: The Mach 8, Badwagon, and Prancer return as karts, and the B Dasher retains its design from this game. The Parafoil, Peach Parasol, and Flower Glider return as gliders, retaining their design from this game. The Boomerang Flower and Super Horn return as items.
- Super Mario Odyssey: Mario has an alternate outfit derived from his Musician outfit from this game. The Yellow Taxi is based on the taxis from this game.
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: Peachette appears as a playable character.
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | マリオカート ツアー[?] Mario Kāto Tsuā |
Mario Kart Tour | |
Chinese | 瑪利歐賽車 巡迴賽 (Traditional)[29] Mǎlìōu Sàichē Xúnhuí Sài 马力欧卡丁车 巡回赛 (Simplified)[30] Mǎlìōu Kǎdīngchē Xúnhuí Sài |
Mario Racing Tour Mario Kart Tour |
External links
References
- ^ Nine Months Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ending March 2018 (2018). Nintendo. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Takashi Mochizuki (February 7, 2018). 'DeNA CEO said "Mario Kart Tour," a Nintendo-DeNA smartphone game planned for FY18, will be free-to-start.' Twitter. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Romano, Sal (April 24, 2019). Mario Kart Tour Android closed beta test set for May 22 to June 4. Gematsu. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Machkovech, Sam. (May 22, 2019). Mario Kart Tour beta hands-on: Microtransactions land like a nasty blue shell. Ars Technica. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Mario Kart Tour on the App Store
- ^ Nintendo Mobile (August 27, 2019). Mario Kart Tour : Race. YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Nintendo Mobile (September 24, 2019). The race begins September 25th! Mario Kart Tour News, Vol. 1. YouTube. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ TaoaceyusTM (May 22, 2019). Deutsches MARIO KART TOUR Gameplay! YouTube. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ https://twitter.com/mariokarttourEN/status/1169807683219673093 Mario Kart Tour Twitter
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Nintendo Mobile (August 27, 2019). Mario Kart Tour - Trailer. YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ https://twitter.com/mariokarttourEN/status/1170411414332133377
- ^ https://twitter.com/mariokarttourEN/status/1170524657134366721 Mario Kart Tour Twitter
- ^ Tweet by @MariokarttourEN. Twitter. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Nintendo Mobile (September 25, 2019). Mario Kart Tour - Launch Trailer. YouTube. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Nintendo Mobile (August 27, 2019). Mario Kart Tour - RACE AROUND THE WORLD. YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Tweet by @mariokarttourEN (Item introduction: Banana). Twitter. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Footage uploaded to Streamable
- ^ a b Jaron (May 22, 2019). MARIO KART TOUR BETA GAMEPLAY + SOUND 🔈. YouTube. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ziphonix (May 22, 2019). 15 Minutes of Mario Kart Tour Gameplay! YouTube. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Screenshot uploaded to Imgur (May 22, 2019, 9:06 UTC)
- ^ Screenshot uploaded to Google Drive (May 22, 2019, 12:12 UTC)
- ^ https://twitter.com/ToonTris/status/1176553126461083649
- ^ Tweet by @mariokarttEN. Twitter. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- ^ Tweet by @mariokarttEN. Twitter. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Phoenix King Gaming (May 30, 2019). Mario Kart Tour Android Closed Beta Episode 13 Wario Cup YouTube. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Nintendo Mobile (September 24, 2019). 【9/25開幕!】マリオカート ツアー ニュース #1.YouTube. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ Gach, Ethan (May 22, 2019). Mario Kart Tour Is Pretty Good When It’s Not Nickel And Diming You. Kotaku. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Asarch, Steven (May 23, 2019) ‘Mario Kart Tour’ Beta Potential Bogged Down By Microtransactions. Newsweek. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ https://mariokarttour.com/zh-TW
- ^ https://mariokarttour.com/zh-CN
Mobile games and applications | |
---|---|
Super Mario franchise | Super Mario Run (2016) • Dr. Mario World (2019) • Mario Kart Tour (2019) |
Miscellaneous | Nintendo Music (2024) |