Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developer	Velan Studios
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Release date	October 16, 2020 October 16, 2020 October 16, 2020 October 16, 2020 December 17, 2020 October 16, 2020 December 20, 2021
Languages	English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Dutch French (Canada) French (France) German Italian Korean Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Spain)
Genre	Racing
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] CERO: - All ages[?] ACB: - General[?] USK: - All ages[?] SMECCV: - All ages[?] GRAC: - All ages[?] FPB: - Parental guidance[?]
Format	Nintendo Switch: Digital download
Input	Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is an installment in the Mario Kart series for the Nintendo Switch announced as part of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. The game makes use of physical kart products of Mario and Luigi with a camera attached to the back of the kart, which live streams the surrounding area to the player's Nintendo Switch. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit released worldwide on October 16, 2020.

Creating an ID card for the game was one of the related My Nintendo missions for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary (though purchasing the game itself was not necessary to complete it).

Gameplay

The game screen

To set up a course, the player has to place the four gates around the room. Lakitu will come down and paint the kart, and the player has to then drive through the gates, marking how they want the course to appear on the screen. The appearance can be from a simple loop to a curvy track through their furniture. The gates can also be customized, having Item Boxes, Boosts, or hazards. The controller connects to the kart product and controls it, similar to an RC Car. Items affect the kart product when used, such as Mushrooms making the toy move faster or a Koopa Shell making the toy stop momentarily. Using augmented reality, items, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the player's screen, as well as the second player's kart.

Modes

Explore Mode

Explore Mode is the mode the player starts off in. Here, they are free to drive around and are able to customize gates. Any items collected in this mode will always be Mushrooms, Triple Mushrooms, Golden Mushrooms, or Stars. Stopping in front of Gate 1 and pressing will call Lakitu and bring up the menu for the other modes. The previous race created can be viewed in this mode.

Grand Prix

The player can compete against CPU opponents in cups, in which trophies can be obtained. There are four different engine classes: 50cc and 100cc are available from the start, while 150cc and 200cc are unlocked when the player has collected a trophy on respectively 5 and 10 different cups. When the player has collected a trophy on 15 different cups, they will unlock Mirror Mode. Each race in Grand Prix is five laps long, regardless of how long or how short the player makes the race.

Point spread
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
15	11	8	5	3

Time Trial

In Time Trial, the player has to complete their course in the fastest time possible. The player can change the kart speed, the number of laps (3, 5, or 7), the music that plays, and the environment to play their course in. After creating the course, the player will then have to race through it as fast as they can, and the customized gates are taken into account. The only items that can be obtained in this mode are Mushrooms. After racing, the player has the option to keep the current course or change it; changing it will result in inaccurate times and ghost data, which the player is also given the option to clear for a new race. Any coins earned will count toward unlocking a new kart customization.

Custom Race

The player can create courses using their own rules. The player can change the kart speed, the number of laps (3, 5, or 7), the music that plays, and the environment to play it, and the customized gates are taken into account. After creating the course, four random Koopalings will come down for the player to race against. Any coins earned will count toward unlocking a new kart customization.

Characters

Racers

Playable

• Mario
• Luigi

Outfits

Classic Outfit		Cowboy Outfit		Pirate Outfit		Explorer Outfit		Swimwear		Space Suit
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi
Santa Outfit		Builder Outfit		Chef Suit		Painter Outfit		Baseball Uniform		Football Uniform
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi
Snow Suit		Doctor Outfit		Knight Armor		Pumpkin Costume		Silver Suit1		Gold Suit2
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi

¹ - Unlocked when the player has collected a gold trophy on all 100cc cups.
² - Unlocked when the player has collected a gold trophy on all 150cc cups.

Allies (Relay Mode)

• Princess Peach
• Toad
• Yoshi

Opponents

• Bowser Jr.
• Ludwig von Koopa
• Larry Koopa
• Lemmy Koopa
• Wendy O. Koopa
• Morton Koopa Jr.
• Iggy Koopa
• Roy Koopa

Other

• Lakitu

Kart parts

Karts

Standard Kart		Cattle Cruiser		Landship		Adventure Buggy		Scuba Driver
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi
Rocket Kart		Candy-Cane Cruiser		Big Scoop		Sweet Ride		Box Kart
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi
Fastball		Quarterback		Snow Drifter		Rescue Wagon		Noble Rider
Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi
		Haunt Rod		Super Yoshi3		Poltergust G-004
		Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi	Mario	Luigi

CPU drivers only

• Koopa Clown

Horns

• 

  Standard Horn

• 

  Cowbell

• 

  Conch Shell

• 

  Safari Horn

• 

  Dive Alarm

• 

  Cosmic Clamor

• 

  Jingle Bells

• 

  Construction Horn

• 

  Bike Bell

• 

  Clown Horn

• 

  Rallying Cry

• 

  Air Horn

• 

  Sled Horn

• 

  Siren

• 

  Battle Horn

• 

  Pumpkin Organ

• 

  Yoshi Horn³

• 

  Spooky Horn⁴

³ - Unlocked when the player finishes in the top 3 of the Mario Cup.
⁴ - Unlocked when the player finishes in the top 3 of the Luigi Cup.

Courses

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Shell Cup	Star Cup	Banana Cup
Live Circuit	Freezie Frosts	Work Zone	Royal Highway	Mushroom Fields
Lightning Lagoon	Glazed Gardens	Cheep Cheep Reef	Wibble Woods	Boo Fortress
Piped Wetlands	Piranha Paradise	Bowser's Castle	Windswept Prairie	Tornado Tundra
Leaf Cup	Lightning Cup	Special Cup	Mario Cup	Luigi Cup
Magikoopa Mirage	Jolly Workshop	World 1-1	Slick Circuit	Windmill Meadows
Crafty Tropics	Chain Chomp Stadium	Chain Chomp Glacier	Barrel Temple	Music Broadway
Gusty Galaxy	Ember Island	Rainbow Road	Fossil Fields	King Boo's Courtyard

There is also a Random Cup, which includes 3 courses with randomized environments and gate features.

Stickers

Sticker	Name	Challenge
	Power Drifter	"Complete 200 power-drift boosts while at the maximum charge level."
	Course Constructor	"Build 50 unique tracks."
	Weather Collector	"Unlock 9 or more additional environments."
	High Frequency	"Unlock 8 or more additional MK Radio stations."
	Be the Bullet	"Use 50 Bullet Bills."
	Shell Shooter	"Hit your opponents with 100 Red Shells."
	Bob-omb Blaster	"Hit 10 opponents with Bob-ombs"
	Mushroom Maniac	"Use 500 Mushrooms"
	Well Travelled	"Complete 100 races."
	Over the Rainbow	"Finish Rainbow Road in 1st place at any cc."

Update history

Ver. 1.0.1

Release date: October 27, 2020

• General Fixes
  • Adjusted kart camera settings to allow for improved play in indoor areas with bright light, such as direct sunlight.
  • Kart update will occur upon connecting kart, after the software has been updated.

Ver. 1.1.0

Release date: July 1, 2021

• "Mario Cup" has been added to "Grand Prix". Fulfill certain conditions in "Mario Cup" and receive three new "Environments" and a "Gate" to use in course creation.
• "Super Yoshi" and "Yoshi Horn" have been added to the kart designs in the game. Unlock them by fulfilling certain conditions in Mario Cup.
• Made general changes to improve enjoyment of the game.

Ver. 2.0.0

Release date: November 17, 2021

• Additional Features
  • Luigi Cup was added to Grand Prix. Fulfill certain conditions in Luigi Cup to acquire two new Environments and three new Gate Types to use in Course Creation.
    • The POLTERGUST G-00 and SPOOKY HORN have been added to Kart Customization in game. Acquire them by fulfilling certain conditions in Luigi Cup.
  • Relay Race was added to Multiplayer. This is a cooperative mode where up to four players take turns driving one kart, playing as Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Mario/Luigi (depending on the kart used) against Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings.
    • Enough controllers to match the number of players is required to play Relay Race.
  • Split Screen was added to Multiplayer. Connect two karts to one Nintendo Switch console, to play together at the same time. The video feed from the karts will be divided onto the screen, allowing two feeds to be displayed at once.
    • Playing Split Screen requires two karts, and two Joy-Con, or Pro controllers.
• General Fixes
  • Adjustments made to enhance the play experience of the game.

Reception

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit received generally positive reviews. In most cases, the unique gimmick of the game was praised, along with the more independent concept offered. However, certain factors, such as the boundaries of a player's actual living area, were mentioned. Two different reviews mention Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as being an ultimately superior, though just as intriguing, installment.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo Switch	Janet Garcia, IGN	7/10	"Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit’s mixed reality novelty excels when you have the space and motivation to make your courses flourish, but occasional tech hiccups and clogged wheels are hazards just as dangerous as any Blue Shell. That said, when I took the time to really lean into the creative challenge building a track presented me with, I was often rewarded by having a blast racing on it. Some familiar mechanics get lost in the translation to AR, but this is still an enjoyable Mario Kart game no matter what roadway I made."
Nintendo Switch	Martin Robinson, Eurogamer	N/A	"There's real magic at the heart of this brilliantly faithful AR take on Mario Kart, but a fair few caveats abound."
Nintendo Switch	Steve Watts, GameSpot	7/10	"There's fun to be had in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, but you have to invest in it. The more work you put into making your go-kart track craftwork unique, the more enjoyment you'll get out of racing, with or without some frustration and repetition. Mario Kart Live isn't going to have the long-term appeal of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but with some imagination and ingenuity, you can make it something special."
Nintendo Switch	Brain Shea, Game Informer	7.5/10	"Despite its shortcomings, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit still brings hours of fun. While firing up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is more convenient and fully featured, Mario Kart Live’s unique take on the series is worth checking out for those looking for exciting twists on a well-worn concept."
Nintendo Switch	Damien McFerran, Nintendo Life	8/10	"Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a startlingly authentic "mixed reality" recreation of Nintendo's most popular racing series which encourages you to be inventive with your course designs and does an excellent job of combining your real-world surroundings with the fantasy environments of the Mushroom Kingdom; add in a second player (or three) and it becomes even more compelling. The tech side of things is undeniably impressive and it's impossible to not raise a smile the first time you play; the question is how long that magic will last, especially if your home limits your track designs and you've only got the budget to cover the cost of a single car."
Aggregators
Compiler		Score
Metacritic		75

Sales

By December 31, 2021, the game had 1.58 million downloads worldwide.

References to other games

• Super Mario Bros.: The retro environment uses 8-bit sprites from this game.
• Super Mario Bros. 3: Part of the music that plays when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the track is based on the "Fortress Boss" theme from this game.
• Dr. Mario series: The Doctor Outfit of Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi reappears.
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: The Chain Chomp returns as an item. In the rainbow environment, Stars can fall from the sky onto the track, like in the Rainbow Road from this game. The Turbo Yoshi reappears as a kart in the 1.1.0 update.
• Super Mario Galaxy: The beginning of the music that plays when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear on the track is based on the "Enter Bowser Jr." theme from this game.
• Mario Kart Wii: The Spiny Shell appears in its winged form for the first time since this game.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2: Gold Mario appears as unlockable content.
• Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Many assets are reused from this game, including models and music. The Koopa Clown reappears. In the rainbow environment, the boost gates from N64 Rainbow Road appear.
• Super Mario Maker: Builder Mario reappears.
• Super Mario Odyssey: Many outfits from this game reappear as unlockable content, with various outfits being also used on Luigi with adjusted proportions and color schemes.
• Super Mario Maker 2: Builder Luigi reappears. The Twisters reappear as obstacles in the Blizzard environment.
• Mario Kart Tour: The Super Yoshi retains most of its redesign from this game. The stickers are based on the badges from this game.
• Luigi's Mansion 3: The Poltergust G-00 is based off the vacuum model of the same name in this game.

References in other games

• Mario Kart Tour: A commemorative badge of Mario in the Standard Kart with its design from this game was available during the 2020 Mario vs. Luigi Tour. Luigi's Painter Outfit and Knight Outfit return as standalone playable characters named Luigi (Painter) and Luigi (Knight) respectively.

Staff

Main article: List of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit staff

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit was developed by Velan Studios. Shinya Takahashi served as the general producer of the game, while Kosuke Yabuki, one of the key staff of the Mario Kart series, served as a supervisor. The game's original music was composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, who previously composed for Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.

• 

  Mario

• 

  Luigi

• 

  Koopalings

• 

  Promotional picture

• 

  Screenshot of the game

• 

  Japanese Mario RC racer bundle

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マリオカート ライブ ホームサーキット[?] Mario Kāto Raibu Hōmu Sākitto	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Chinese (simplified)	马力欧卡丁车实况：家庭赛车场[?] Mǎlì'ōu Kǎdīngchē Shíkuàng: Jiātíng Sàichē Chǎng	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Chinese (traditional)	瑪利歐賽車實況：家庭賽車場[?] Mǎlì'ōu Sàichē Shíkuàng: Jiātíng Sàichē Chǎng	Mario Racing Live: Home Circuit
Korean	마리오 카트 라이브: 홈 서킷[?] Mario Kateu Raibeu: Hom Seokit	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

External links

• North American website
• Japanese website
• Instruction manual