Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis still carrying the franchise’s presence on the Nintendo Switch well into 2023 with its Booster Course Pass DLC offering players 48 new tracks total across six waves. With four of the six waves available now, it’s clear Nintendo is intent on keepingMario Kart 8 Deluxeas the series' flagship entry for the foreseeable future. However, whenMario Kart 9does eventually hit the scene, it’s going to need something to help it stand out from previous entries, and a rework of how coins function in the series could do just that.
EachMario Karttitle has introduced its own unique gimmick that throws a twist on the kart racer formula to help keep gameplay fresh and entice players to check out what the latest entry has to offer. Most ofMario Kart’s series gimmickshave fit naturally within the established mechanics of the game and many have become staple features for the franchise, such asMario Kart Wii’s addition of bikes alongside karts,Mario Kart 7introducing underwater and air traversal as well as vehicle customization, andMario Kart 8’s zero gravity mechanic allowing for unique new track designs. While it seems like these features will be hard to top, the series' most underutilized item could be the answer.
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Mario Kart 9 Could Make Coins One of the Game’s Most Useful Items
As a recurring item in theMario Kartseries, coins can be found in most entries. But despite their prevalence, they are not the most useful among the series' items.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s coinscan be found scattered around certain tracks, as well as in item boxes, and give the player a brief speed boost after they collect them. Additionally, collecting coins during a race can help contribute to the player’s overall speed, with 10 being the maximum they can collect.
Beyond affecting speed during races, coins are also used to unlock new parts for vehicles, with the coins a player collects during a race adding to their total, and unlocking new customization options after a certain milestone has been reached. While these features give coins some use in the series, there’s still nothing more disappointing than getting a coin from an item box when it could have potentially been a one ofMario Kart’s best items, such as a Red Shell or a Bob-omb. As such, the nextMario Kartentry should look for a way to rework coins to make them a more appealing item to collect.
One simple way to accomplish this task would be to include a mechanic that allows players to spend coins collected during a race to unlock premium power-ups. The game could feature special item boxes that are guaranteed to give highly sought after items like Triple Red Shells orMario Kart’s infamous Blue Shells, but can only be collected if the player has enough coins on them when they drive through the box. This could add a sort of resource management aspect to the game as players will have to decide between saving coins for the speed boost they provide and spending them at the most opportune moment to get a powerful item.
The game could even include toll roads that function asshortcuts inMario Kartfor specific tracks but can only be accessed by paying a certain number of coins. There are a variety of ways this type of mechanic could be implemented and iterated upon, and it would help spice up gameplay for theMario Kartseries. Not only would being able to spend coins in a race add an interesting new layer of strategy, but it would help make one ofMario Kart’s worst items into one of its most important.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available on Nintendo Switch.
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