The Characters Next in Line for Mario Kart Stardom

Image courtesy of NintendoBase on YouTube

By Tim McGuire

This is an independently submitted op-ed and does not reflect the views of The Tower.

If Nintendo’s recent effort with Mario Kart World proved anything, it’s that there’s never enough characters to include in the chaotic racing championships held around the Mushroom Kingdom. Across the multiple games, we’ve been able to race as various enemies, baby versions of characters, five different Marios, and characters from outside the Mario universe. And even then, despite all the variety, the internet still clamors for more new characters. In this article, I’m going to go over what I believe to be the best next picks to include in the inevitable next installment, a couple of years down the line.

Image courtesy of Super Mario Wiki

Midbus

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were first added to Mario Kart Double Dash!! as a homage to the RPG series Mario & Luigi. Since then, there’s been more baby characters than needed, and I feel like we need a new representative of the RPG side of Mario. Out of all the characters from Mario & Luigi, Starlow seems like the obvious choice, but I feel that we have too many small characters, so that’s why I’m leaning towards Midbus. He’s under-appreciated in general, so let’s give him some love and put him in a go-kart.

Image courtesy of Super Mario Wiki

Cappy

When the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC announced Pauline was a new playable character, I assumed Cappy would be next… and then he never came. And then Mario Kart World came along, and he still wasn’t there. As much as I love Pauline (and proudly pick her as my main for Mario Kart), it’s funny to see Cappy get sidelined by her as the representative for the new 3D Mario era. You would think they would put Cappy in games like these, but he’s oddly absent. Where’s the love for Super Mario Odyssey‘s most important character?

Image courtesy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Captain Falcon

Imagine you are Captain Falcon, a racing legend, unfortunately known more for showing his moves in Super Smash Bros. than his own racing game series. But then, when Mario Kart 8 gets DLC, they pay homage to your series, which has been dead for over a decade! Finally, your big break back into the Nintendo hemisphere: Two maps from F-ZERO, the Blue Falcon added as a kart, and… you don’t get invited to join the race yourself. If I were Captain Falcon, I’d be absolutely pissed and ask to see Mario on the battlefield. It seems like one of the easiest lay-ups possible, and I think the window for this is still quite open.

Image courtesy of Eurogamer

KirbyOn the topic of characters from outside the Mario Universe, I think Kirby would also be a great pick, especially considering the success of Kirby Air Riders. He’s no stranger to a chaotic race with his friends, and it’s really not that far out there since we’ve had Link from The Legend of Zelda, the Inklings from Splatoon, and Villagers/Isabelle from Animal Crossing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s next in line for crossovers in Mario Kart.