While we await the Nintendo Switch 2 and a new Mario Kart, the few clips we’ve seen from the latest entry in the biggest racing game franchise on the planet leave us speculating on not just how but also where Mario and his friends will be racing around.
The biggest pause for thought Mario Kart 9 leaves around our heads is the possibility of it being an open-world racer. Nintendo has a track record of integrating an open world setting into an ongoing franchise, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, Pokémon Violet and Scarlet, and the hybrid open world design of Super Mario Odyssey, to name a few.
Since we don’t have long to wait until the next Nintendo Direct on April 2, where they’ll surely (hopefully) dive into the games that will sunset the original Switch and launch the Switch 2, let’s speculate on how Mario Kart could best utilize an open world and which older titles they could pull inspiration from.
Racing around an open world in Mario Kart 9, akin to The Crew, isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility, and with it comes a lot of potential equally sized for an open world. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if the core racing is still divided into tracks and an open world is reserved for alternative game modes.
One such alternative game mode could take inspiration from one of Nintendo’s rarest games: Kirby Air Ride for the GameCube. Besides essentially being a Kirby version of Mario Kart, swapping karts for stars. Kirby Air Ride is best known for its “City Trial” game mode, where a group of players have free reign in a moderately sized open world and can upgrade their vehicles, while free roam events add excitement to the mix. All in preparation for a mini-game where a specific stat you upgrade or star you choose could give you an advantage.
Mario Kart 9 could include this style of mini-game on the fly while being a grand-scale race across the countryside. With an extensive roster of 24 racers battling it out for first place, an open world could naturally house a sizable cast. Merging skillful driving with the chaos of the mini-games contained in Mario Kart’s Battle Mode. Much like Kirby Air Ride, an open world could take you over the many areas Mario Kart presents in one map. Racing over ice caps, underwater, and flying over mountains.
Mario Kart prides itself on including iconic levels from other titles, fusing their designs into race tracks, including Bowser’s Kingdom, Yoshi’s Island, and the ever-infuriating Rainbow Road. An open-world mode could see these distinctive tracks combined into an expansive biome. Imagine a road trip starting in the Mushroom Kingdom, racing through the busy streets of New Donk City and waving the checkered flag over Bowser’s first domain. Seriously, Nintendo, you’d better give us a New Donk City track.
Despite the name, it’s not just Super Mario characters who are gunning for first place in Mario Kart these days. Familiar faces include Link from The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing’s Isabelle, and the Inkling from Splatoon; Nintendo isn’t shy about guest stars appearing in Mario Kart, even including tracks from older games with Big Blue and Mute City from their other blitzing speed racer, F-Zero. If Nintendo made an open world for the base game and reserved these crossovers for DLC, we could see another open world that looks like something out of Universal Studios’ Super Nintendo World theme park.
Depending on how large and intricate this potential open world is, we could see something similar to free-roam events in Grand Theft Auto V Online. Swapping the arms smuggling, werewolf fighting, and general criminal activity for family-friendly mini-games and jazzy tunes. We’ll still have explosions, don’t worry; instead of rocket launchers, we’ll have Bob-ombs.
The Service Stations in the teaser could contain a pit crew mini-game where you fix up the kart if it’s damaged, replace tires, and fuel up the engine. Consider an event where you’ll upgrade your vehicle mid-race with quick decision-making, almost rogue-like elements, for short-term gain bonuses.
Coins could also come into the fray, replacing the increased speed boost and instead becoming the requirement to gas up your car, boost your tank, or even repair your kart as the odd blue turtle shell and bullet bill could damage your vehicle in a “survival” mode. A marathon of a race where finishing it at all becomes the challenge, let alone in first place.
Mario Kart 9 can potentially be Nintendo’s biggest racer yet, and an open world is the most natural course of action to create larger and more engaging race courses. The company’s track record with new entries in existing franchises’ getting the open word treatment, and the small teasers we’ve seen may leave us guessing, but one thing is for sure: we can’t wait to see what’s in store in Mario Kart 9 on the Nintendo Switch 2.