6 Things We Want To See In Mario Kart 9

Finally, after years of cursing at our siblings every Christmas over who threw that blue shell from the back of the pack in Mario Kart 8, it seems we’re on the brink of a new entry into the series.

With a Nintendo Direct scheduled for this 2 April with a deep-dive into the Switch 2, the rumours are that Mario Kart 9 will be revealed alongside it. No surprise, given we saw some screenshots of an unfamiliar MK title in the announcement trailer.

Before anything is made official, though, we wanted to get our wishlist in. Here are six things we want to see in Mario Kart 9.

A proper career mode Mario Kart has always been best enjoyed with other people, but we’d love to see its single player given a bit more love. There are only so many times you can race through Grand Prix alone before it gets tedious.

With that in mind, we’d love to see a proper career mode. Start your own team at 50cc, work your way through the ranks and pick up new drivers and karts along the way. Heck, throw in some endurance races while we’re at it, Gran Turismo 4-style.

Pokémon as drivers Pikachu

Given that Nintendo doesn’t wholly own the rights to Pokémon, despite the video games being exclusive to its platforms aside from some mobile bits, this one might not be as easy as we’d hope.

We’re still surprised there has never been a Pikachu appearance in Mario Kart yet, though, given just how marketable its cute little face is. Personally we think it’d be funnier to see Arceus, the Pokémon god, in a tiny little kart, though.

You could make the argument that it’s called Mario Kart, but then Link and Princess Zelda appeared in MK8, as did Isabelle from Animal Crossing, plus the Inklings from Splatoon. Oh, and Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. So, why not?

Double Dash to return Mario Kart Double Dash

It’s haunting to think there’s probably a whole generation of you out there reading this who never got to experience Mario Kart: Double Dash. Time for you to be exposed to the most infuriating co-op experience of your life.

Double Dash saw you pair up with another character. One drove, and one dealt out items to your opponent, with the option to swap around at any point in a race.

We’re not too hopeful of that mechanic making a return in MK9, but we’d be delighted if it did. Until we had to work with our bigger sisters once again, anyway.

All of MK8’s tracks carry over Mario Kart 8 in-game screenshot

Mario Kart 8 did a fantastic job of carrying over some of the classic tracks from the series’ past while adding some brilliant new layouts, and it’d be a shame to lose all of that between games.

We’re crossing our fingers that Nintendo wholesale ports over the existing tracklist – booster pack courses and all – while adding some additions to keep things feeling fresh.

Full-blown kart customisationMario Kart 8’s customisation settings are nothing to get too upset about, but for those of us who have plied our trade on Forza, Need for Speed and Gran Turismo, we’d love to see that go further.

Let us change bumpers, wings and maybe even engine sounds. Throw a proper livery editor while you’re at it, too, and maybe some neons. Probably wishful thinking.

Rainbowring Roadschleife Artist’s awful impression

Rainbow Road has always been one of the most difficult, exhausting and rewarding circuits in Mario Kart history, no matter the layout.

You know what else is difficult, exhausting and rewarding? The Nürburgring Nordschleife. Combine the two… hello? Is anyone still there?