Nintendo has big plans for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario Kart 9. For starters, it was the only game shown as part of the Switch 2 reveal trailer, meaning we can expect it to act as a launch title for the new console later this year. While we only saw a few seconds of footage blazoned upon the fresh screen throughout the footage, it was enough to learn that MK9 is going to have an aesthetic unlike anything we’ve seen from the series before, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a higher player count, and a wider, more ambitious world for players to explore that might just hi🌄nt at an unexpected evolution.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Donkey Kong looks different. There are gas canisters on the side of karts🦋 that might hint towa𓆏rds a new gameplay mechanic, and Yoshi has a diner in the shape of a bꦉurger. It’s going to be very interesting, and part of me hopes Nintendo will push the boat out to create a Mario Kart exp🐻erience like we’ve never seen before. In fact, I hope it’s open world.

Mario Kart 9 Needs An Open World Campaign Mode

At first glance, this suggestion might seem ridiculous. Aside from the occasional battle mode or experimental outings in🌠 previous titles, Mario Kart has always stuck to its beloved mixture of Grand Prix tournaments and local multiplayer that assist in making the beautiful combo of driving and drifting shine all the brighter. Toying with this format is dangerous, and risks diluting a formula that, for decades now, has remained untouched, except for a few gimmicks like zero-gravity or stuffing two characters into a single kart.

I also have questions about the roster. If the 24-player races are indeed true, we will see a lot of ch꧂aracters, both new and old, joinin♛g the ranks.

Switch 2 playing the new Mario Kart game.

But I think it’s time for a change, and time for Nintendo to push the Mario Kart experience to places it was never meant to occupy. I want the series to go full 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Forza Horizon by giving you an open world𓆏 to explore filled with missions to complete, races to win, trophies to earn, and characters to meet both new a꧟nd familiar.

Mario Kart already has you customising karts and choosing from an extended roster of characters, so what is stopping us from picking one of them and going on our own journey across the Mushroom Kingdom? Or Motorway Kingdom, as I’ve creatively conjured up in my head. Even putting aside Forza Horizon, there are other titles like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lego 2K Drive that have taken the kart racer open world with great s𝕴uccess.

And It Can Learn From Forza Horizon And Lego 2K Drive

A blue Ford hi-riser racing other cars through a desert canyon in Forza Horizon 5.

Few people played or cared about Lego 2K Drive, but I admired how it took thღe mechanics of the kart racing series and the humorous charm of brick-building across multiple different biomes that all told their own stories with a roster of unique characters. New gameplay ideas were shown off with each new world you explored.

There is nothing stopping Mario Kart 9 from letting us loose in huge regions or even taking a level-based approach with tracks and zones while rewarding us for progressing. There is so much potential here if Nintendo is willing to ta🔴ke a few risks, and considering we’ve had two relatively safe versions of Mario Kart 8 during the last decade and nothing else, I think it’s about time to push the boat (or kart) out.

Lego 2K Drive

Exactly how diverse this open world ends up being will depend on how much Mario Kart 9 intends to incorporate other Nintendo properties into the experience. We can expect many 🎀of the usual suspects, like Mario,

Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Daisy, and plentiful others, but there is also the possibility of Zelda, Animal🗹 Crossing, and Splatoon drivers if the latest game is any indic🐈ation.

Nintendo isn’t afraid of letting Mario Kart g🎐o the way of Super Smash Bros. if it means creating a more enjoyable and diverse game at the end of it all. I hope that’s the case, as it will turn my dream concept of an open world ripe with Nintendo homages and oodles of things to do that much more enjoyable.

It’s time for a change, and what better way to usher in a new 🍃console generation than daring to push Mꦯario Kart to heights once thought unimaginable.

nintendo-switch-2-tag-page-cover-art_upscayl_1x_ultramix_balanced-1.jpg
Brand
Nintendo
Original Release Date
Ju🅘ne 5, 2025
Original MSRP (USD)
$449.99
Operating System
Proprietary 🐼
Storage
256GB internal / MicroSD 🐟
Resolution
10꧙8𝓰0p (handheld) / 4K (docked)

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch, scheduled for release on June 5, 2025. Confirmed as backwards compatibl🌠e, it will play both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games.