Mario Kart Wii

Moby ID: 33820
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Description official description

Mario Kart Wii is an installment of the long-running Mario Kart series, but here for the Nintendo Wii, where you take control of various Nintendo characters to race through different tracks and win the Grand Prix, using a variety of vehicles and items spread through the track to help you.

There are various additions to the series. Players can now also play with motorbikes, which can do wheelies but are lighter and can't super boost, in contrast with karts. There's 6 varieties of each for each character class to choose from, and 4 new characters have been added as well as being able to drive with your Mii. Finally, there's 16 new tracks as well as 16 returning from previous games.

Gameplay has also been modified. Drifting has been tweaked so that it's easier to use and players only get a turbo boost based on how well they perform the drift. It can be set to Manual, where players press a button to drift, or Automatic, where it's automatically triggered on curves but provides no turbo boost. Stunts can also be performed in the air to gain turbo boosts. Races have also been bolstered to support up to 12 players now.

There's 4 modes of play to choose from: Grand Prix, where you race through series of tracks in the 50cc (karts only), 100cc (bikes only) and 150cc (karts and bikes) cups; Time Trial, where you take on ghost replays and try to finish in the least time; Versus, where you race against opponents on a single track; and Battle, where you can compete against your foes in either hitting them with weapons or collecting coins.

Multiplayer is also supported, allowing up to 4 players in hotseat and 12 online on Nintendo Wi-Fi, where you can take on strangers and friends (with Friend Codes) in any game mode, play in competitions, beat other's ghost replays or check online rankings. The game can be played using a Wii Wheel (included), Wii Remote, Nunchuck, Classic Controller, or Gamecube Controller.

Spellings

  • マリオカートWii - Japanese spelling
  • 마리오 카트 Wii - Korean spelling

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Credits (Wii version)

156 People (148 developers, 8 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 108 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 80 ratings with 1 reviews)

Ridding on Victory Lane

The Good
Mario Kart has always been about delivering top notch racing thrills while combining fun for all ages, and this title fires on all cylinders to bring you some of the best racing on the Nintendo Wii.

One of the best features of the game is the return of 16 classic stages from the previous Mario Kart in a "Retro Cup Series". Stages from the Nintendo DS, the SNES, Game Cube, and the Nintendo 64 return in their own Cup Series along with 16 new tracks for a whopping total of 32 tracks to race on.

The game now includes a much needed variant to the Mario Kart series: The ability race on Motorcycles. While they perform the same as the Karts, these Motorcycles are capable of doing wheelies to get speed boosts, while the Karts can power drift for speed boosts. These balances between the bikes and carts make the game fun for anyone to play and ensure no one is getting the short end of the stick with a handicapped vehicle.

Nintendo also finally got into the 21st Century by finally bringing online play to Mario Kart. Players can choose to just race against friends, around their region (North America for example), and from around the world. This helps to keep Mario Kart challenging and ensures you will never run out of worthy opponents to challenge.

The Bad
For all it does right, Mario Kart kind of takes a few missteps in its transition to the Wii. Unlike the previous title Double Dash, where players got to use two racers per kart, players can only use individual racers this time around. While this adds more racers to the track, at the same token it removes a unique element from the previous Mario Kart title that made it such a great game to play.

The Mario Kart Wheel accessory is also not quiet as good as it could have been. While it makes sense to have the accessory on the Wii, in the end it becomes a nuisance and ends up being a handicap rather than an enhancement on the experience. Since the Wheel is not connected to a base or anything, the game has a hard time trying to recognizing when you are trying to drive straight. Also due to this problem (and the fact that you instinctively place your hand right where the remote sensor goes), making a turn in this title is extremely difficult with the Wheel, and former Game Cube owners will be reaching for their controllers (a much less frustrating alternative than the Wheel).

The Bottom Line
Mario Kart Wii, like any good racing title, is fast, addicting, and most importantly, fun. The game limits its renovations to adding some much needed elements to the genre while keeping the basics solid, and in turn, strikes a very strong chord with racing and Nintendo crowd. While the game maybe lacking in the control department with an obtuse peripheral, the rest of the game manages to stick to its guns and deliver one heck of a solid game the whole family can enjoy. In Short, Mario Kart Wii is a clean sweep and a sure fire winner.

Wii · by Lawnmower Man (137) · 2009

Discussion

Subject By Date
The wheel So Hai (261) May 27, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Mario Kart Wii appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Sales

According to publisher Nintendo, Mario Kart Wii sold 36.53 million copies worldwide (as of September 30, 2015).

Tracks

There are eight classic tracks you can race on from the beginning. The tracks in order of the game in which they appeared are: Super Mario Kart: Ghost Valley 2 * Mario Kart 64: Mario Raceway, Sherbet Land * Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Shy Guy Beach * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Peach Beach, Waluigi Stadium Mario Kart DS: Yoshi Falls, Delfino Square

In addition to these eight tracks, there are eight more classic tracks you can unlock. The tracks once again in order of the game in which they appeared are: Super Mario Kart: Mario Circuit 3 * Mario Kart 64: DK's Jungle Parkway, Bowser's Castle * Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Bowser Castle 3 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Mario Circuit, DK Mountain Mario Kart DS: Desert Hills, Peach Gardens

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2008 – Wii Game of the Year
    • 2008 – #5 Multiplayer Game of the Year
    • 2008 – Wii Racing Game of the Year

Analytics

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Related Sites +

  • Iwata Asks - Mario Kart Wii
    NCL president Satoru Iwata interviews NCL senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideki Konno of Nintendo EAD & Kenichiro Ashida of Nintendo's Integrated R&D division.
  • Mario Kart Wii
    Official game web site by Nintendo of America.

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  • MobyGames ID: 33820
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by SupSuper.

Additional contributors: Freeman, gamewarrior, CalaisianMindthief, Patrick Bregger, Grandy02, FatherJack.

Game added April 28, 2008. Last modified March 27, 2024.