Mario Kart 8 is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo that was originally released in 2014 for the Wii U. It preserves the game principles of the Mario Kart series, in which players control Mario franchise characters in kart racing, collecting a variety of objects to hamper opponents or gain an edge in the race. Mario Kart 8 features anti-gravity racing on walls or ceilings, as well as the ability for players to collide for a temporary boost. It contains single-player and multiplayer modes, as well as online play over the Nintendo Network.

Mario Kart 8 was a commercial and critical triumph. Critics appreciated the game's new improvements, songs, visuals, playability, and orchestrated music, but chastised its restricted fighting mode. With over eight million copies sold globally, it is the best-selling Wii U game. Nintendo continued to deliver patches and downloadable content, including new characters, cars, and tracks, as well as Amiibo figurine compatibility. In April 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, an improved version for the Nintendo Switch, was launched. It was also a critical and economic success, with reviews praising the fight mode's expansion, and it became the best-selling Switch game. Both versions have sold over 53 million copies combined, making them one of the best-selling video games of all time.

Platforms: Wii U, Nintendo Switch

Website: mariokart8.nintendo.com

Mario Kart 7 is a kart racing video game released in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS by Nintendo EAD in collaboration with Retro Studios. Like previous games in the Mario Kart series, players race on various Mario-themed circuits as one of seventeen distinct Mario characters. While racing, players can use power-up items to help their character or harm opposing characters. Hang-gliding attachments for karts, the option to drive underwater, the ability to drive in the first person, and the ability to fully modify the vehicle constructions are all new elements to the game.

For up to eight players, the game supports both local and online multiplayer. It was met with favorable reviews, with acclaim for the new improvements, music, and gameplay, but criticism for the restricted single-player modes (such as the loss of the customizable Versus mode), item balancing, and difficulty curve. Following Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 was the second 3DS game to sell over five million units. In 2012, the game was published digitally on the Nintendo eShop. Mario Kart 7 is the best-selling game for the Nintendo 3DS, with 18.95 million units sold globally as of September 30, 2021.

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Link to buy: nintendo.com/store/products/mario-kart-7-3ds

Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii is a kart racing game for the Wii that was developed and released by Nintendo. It was launched in April 2008 as the sixth chapter in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart Wii, like its predecessors, features playable characters from the Mario series that compete in races on over 30 distinct race circuits while employing specialized items to impede opponents or gain benefits. The game has a variety of single-player and multiplayer game types, as well as two to four-person split screens. Online multiplayer was enabled until Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was discontinued in May 2014. Mario Kart Wii takes advantage of the motion capabilities on the Wii Remote to deliver intuitive and traditional steering controls.

The game garnered favorable reviews at its first release, with acclaim for its multiplayer mode, characters, novel gameplay, tracks, and karts, but criticism for its item balancing and rubber-band difficulty adjustment. The game sold over 37 million copies, making it the second best-selling Mario Kart game behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as one of the best-selling video games of all time.

Platform: Wii

Link to buy: amzn.to/3NFqRxp

Mario Kart DS is a racing game in which the player competes as one of 12 different Mario characters in a kart against other racers. By default, the player gets access to Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser, with Daisy, Dry Bones, Waluigi, and R.O.B unlockable during gameplay. Each character originally has access to only two karts. Once some progress is achieved, an extra kart will be unlocked, and when all 150cc cups are finished with a B rating or above, each character will have access to all 36 karts.

The top screen of the Nintendo DS provides a third-person perspective of the player's kart during racing or dueling, while the bottom touchscreen displays the race's current standings, items carried by each racer, and a map of the track. The bottom screen may be toggled between showing an overview of the entire course and a birds-ey perspective of the player's kart and the local surroundings, which includes adjacent racers, course hazards, item boxes, and impending assaults.

Each circuit has item boxes that the player may drive through to acquire a randomly picked item that can be used to gain an edge over other racers. Some things allow the player to attack other racers in order to slow them down, while others allow the player to speed up their own kart in order to pass other racers more easily.

Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U

View Details: nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-DS/Mario-Kart-DS-271518.html

Super Mario Kart (commonly known as Mario Kart) is a kart racing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Nintendo. The first game in the Mario Kart series, it was launched in 1992 in Japan and North America, and the following year in Europe. The game went on to become the fourth best-selling SNES game of all time, selling 8.76 million copies worldwide. Super Mario Kart was re-released in 2009 on the Wii Virtual Console, 2013 on the Wii U Virtual Console, and in 2016 on the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. Super Mario Kart was re-released by Nintendo in 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.

The player controls one of eight Mario franchise characters, each with unique skills, in Super Mario Kart. In single player mode, users compete in multi-race cups against computer-controlled characters at three different difficulty levels. To get an edge during races, offensive and speed boosting power-ups can be deployed. Players can also race against the clock in Time Trial mode. In multiplayer mode, two players can compete in the cups at the same time or race against each other one-on-one in Match Race mode. The goal of the third multiplayer option, Battle Mode, is to vanquish the other players by assaulting them with power-ups and destroying the balloons that surround each kart.

Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Wii U

Link to buy: amzn.to/3GjBp2S

Mario Kart: Double Dash (stylized as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!) is a kart racing video game released in 2003 for the GameCube by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development. After Mario Kart 64, this is the fourth main entry in the Mario Kart series and the third for home consoles. It was preceded by Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, and it was followed by Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS in 2005. It is the first game in the series to use 3D polygon visuals instead of sprites for the racers.

Double Dash, like the preceding releases, pits Mario series playable characters against each other on Mario-themed tracks. The game added a lot of new gameplay elements, such as the ability to play co-op with two riders per kart. One player controls the kart, while the other utilizes items. Players can change roles at any moment. So far, Double Dash is the only game in the Mario Kart series that allows cooperative play. Double Dash features LAN play using the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter, which allows up to 16 people to participate at the same time. There are a total of 20 characters to choose from, each with a unique item, and eleven of them are new to the series.

Double Dash received favorable reviews from critics, with an overall Metacritic score of 87 out of 100. The visuals, new gameplay features, character and item rosters, arcade look, and track design were all acclaimed by critics, however, aspects of the voice acting were panned. It was a commercial success, selling over 3.8 million copies in the United States and over 802,000 copies in Japan. It is the second best-selling GameCube game of all time, with around 7 million copies sold worldwide, after only Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Platform: GameCube

Link to buy: amzn.to/39W1VTO

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a kart racing video game released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance by Intelligent Systems. Following Super Mario Kart (1992) and Mario Kart 64, this is the third main installment in the Mario Kart series and the first for handhelds (1996). It was followed by Mario Kart: Double Dash, a console game published in 2003 for GameCube. The game incorporates basic Mario Kart game characteristics established by its predecessors and gained critical acclaim upon release.

Super Circuit is a kart racing video game in which the player races against other teams on various circuits in a kart. The game keeps the basic Mario Kart gaming components established by its predecessors. The game screen displays the current race standings, the number of laps required to complete the race, and approaching weaponry. Players can pick up item boxes, like in previous versions, to acquire a randomly picked item and utilize it to delay the enemy and win the edge. Some things, such as shells and banana peels, allow the player to strike others to slow them down, while others, such as the star power-up, make them impervious to assaults for a limited time. This is the second Mario Kart game in which coins appear.

Platforms: Game Boy Advance, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS

Link to buy: amzn.to/3wMGa1O

Mario Kart 64 is a kart racing video game for the Nintendo 64 that was developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo. The game is the sequel to Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the second main entry in the Mario Kart series. The game was initially published on December 14, 1996, in Japan, February 10, 1997, in North America, and June 24, 1997, in the United Kingdom. Later, in 2007, 2016, and 2021, it was published as a Virtual Console game for the Wii, Wii U, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.

Changes from the original include the transition to polygon-based full 3D computer graphics for track creation, as well as the addition of four-player functionality. Players control characters from the Mario franchise as they race through several circuits equipped with gadgets that can either injure or help the user. The transition to three-dimensional graphics enabled course elements such as elevation changes, bridges, barriers, and pits that were not feasible with the original game's Mode 7 visuals. Characters and things, on the other hand, remain 2D pre-rendered sprites. The game was financially successful and was well appreciated for the enjoyment and replay value of its multiplayer features, however, some reviews considered it a letdown after Super Mario Kart.

Platforms: Nintendo 64, iQue Player, Wii U, Wii

View Details: nintendo.com/games/detail/mario-kart-64-wii-u/

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a racing mixed reality game released in 2020. It is the fifteenth chapter in the Mario Kart series, released to commemorate the Super Mario franchise's 35th anniversary. It was created by Velan Studios and will be released on October 16, 2020, for the Nintendo Switch. Its radio-controlled toy vehicles drive about the player's house, broadcasting footage from onboard cameras into the video game. It garnered positive reviews and sold 1.27 million copies worldwide.

Players construct racing playsets all over the house. The radio-controlled automobiles have video cameras that are controlled by the Nintendo Switch. Many classic Mario Kart objects may be found on the circuit. The game may accommodate up to four players, either human or AI. The Grand Prix mode pits the player against Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, unlocking additional character customization choices and costumes. Home Circuit levels are created by placing guide arrows along four gates to create checkpoints that move the player through the five-lap race.

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Link to buy: amzn.to/3wOfLRp

Mario Kart Tour is a 2019 kart racing mobile game developed by DeNA and released by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. It is the fourteenth installment in the Mario Kart series. The game was revealed in January 2018 and will be available on the Apple App Store and Google Play on September 25, 2019. This game offers monthly, downloadable themed tours with several cups, each with three courses and a bonus challenge. In addition to circuits from the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart Tour features courses in major locations across the world (New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Berlin, Sydney, Singapore, and Amsterdam).

Anyone expecting a clone of the console games from this free-to-play version will be disappointed - this free-to-play version will never be able to compete with the beauty of Mario Kart 8! The game is designed for one-handed mobile play and cannot be played in landscape mode. Coupled with some perplexing and dubious monetisation processes, it's tempting to perceive this as a stain on the series' good name.

Platforms: Android, iOS

Link to download:

• For iOS: apps.apple.com/us/app/mario-kart-tour/id1293634699
• For Android: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nintendo.zaka&gl=US