Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: overview trailer, more details, Battle Mode arenas and modes
The Nintendo Switch came out last week worldwide, and most players are busy with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the other launch titles (not to mention this week’s new Nintendo eShop releases, such as Blaster Master Zero). But of course, there are more games coming soon, and Nintendo thought it would be a good idea to remind people of that.
That’s why the company shared the usual overview video for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe today. It showcases the various elements of the game, starting with the new characters (for a total of about 40 playable characters, including Gold Mario, unlocked by beating all cups in 200cc), the various courses (48 in total, with those from the two DLC packs included from the get-go), and more.
We also get to see the new items added / brought back in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, such as the infamous feather from Super Mario Kart (only useable in Battle Mode), or Boo (that lets you turn invisible, and steal items). Of course, it does mention how you can now use double items, now.
After that, the trailer shows the extreme 200cc difficulty, which is as fast as in the original release on Wii U. Finally, there’s the new Smart Steering feature, that helps new players with their driving, so they don’t fall off the tracks (it’s not activated by default).
After that, the trailer moves on to the various gameplay modes of the Nintendo Switch: TV mode (for up to 4 players on the TV screen), Tabletop Mode (for up to 2 players on the main unit screen, playing with the Joy-Cons), and Handheld mode (for up to 8 players, via local wireless).
After that, we get to see the various game modes:
- Grand Prix: the classic Mario Kart (8) experience, where you’re free to customise your kart and race for glory;
- VS Mode: to race against friends;
- Time Trials: to race against the clock;
- Battle Mode: it made its comeback in Mario Kart 8, but it’s been expanded in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with new modes and proper arenas (8 in total).
Here’s the 5 Battle Mode modes to be found in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:
- Balloon Battle: pop all the balloon of other players / the other team;
- Renegade Roundup: players are divided into two teams. The first one has to escape, while the second one has to catch players from the first one using Pirhana Plants. If all players from the first team are caught before the end of the time limit, then the second team win. Naturally, it’s the opposite if even one players from the first team is still free at the end. If a player is caught, they’re trapped inside a cage, and their teammates can go and try to free them;
- Bob-omb Blast: same rules as Balloon Battle, but with Bob-omb as only weapons. You can stock up to 10 of them;
- Coin Runner: you have to collect as many coins as possible within the time limit. You can steal them by hitting enemies with items, or by using a Mushroom;
- Shine Thief: you have to take/steal the Shine, and keep it for a certain amount of time.
- with up to 4 players on the TV screen
- with up to 12 players online
- with up to 8 players via local wireless
- with up to 2 players in Tabletop Mode
- up to 12 consoles can be connected via LAN Play, with one or two players per console
The trailer ends with amiibo. Just like in Mario Kart 8, you can scan various amiibo in order to unlock special race suits fo your Mii (such as Mario, Kirby, Link, Inkling Girl, and more). More amiibo are compatible this time around, such as the Splatoon amiibo for example.
Oh, and yes: Mario Kart TV is back in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and should work just like it did in Mario Kart 8 (though there most definitely will not be a separate website this time around).
Here’s the overview trailer for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:
Finally, here’s some more screenshots for the game:
Source: Nintendo
