Mario Kart D

<soundcloud url="soundcloud.com/agentmuffin/mario-kart-d" height="100px" width="250px" />Mario Kart D is an upcoming racing game in the Mario Kart series, being developed by Ninkancho for the Display. It will feature the usual sets of new tracks, items, and kart parts alongside a brand-new Story Mode, in addition to introducing the ziplining mechanic. Mario Kart D aims to be the biggest, most pleasing title in the series to date.
A tie-in level editor, Mario Kart Maker, was announced for an autumn 2016 release.
==Gameplay==
Mario Kart D plays like previous installments in the series. is used to turn the kart, is used to accelerate, to brake and reverse, or to use items, and to hop and drift. After moving enough while drifting, sparks will fly from the kart's wheels, indicating that a speed boost will occur once is released. Drivers can also trick off of ramps, bumps, and bouncy platforms by hopping with just before flying off the object in question.
By touching special pads and rings and entering certain zones, karts will activate modes that change the gameplay and controls. For instance, they can drive underwater with a propeller, use hang-gliders to move through the air, Spin Boost on walls and ceilings in antigravity, and now zipline down ropes and poles. On ziplines, karts can be swung back and forth to collect coins and break Item Boxes, or dodge other racers and obstacles. In antigravity, drivers can swing their karts all the way around a zipline, but have a noticeably greater amount of inertia. Finally, if the glider's pitch is angled a certain way, the driver's vehicle will skim across the surface of water, which lets them use bouyant objects most effectively. However, this leaves a wake that can be tricked off of by others.
==Characters==
Mario Kart D features an initial roster of 24 characters, all from the Mario franchise. Purchasing a DLC pack will unlock four crossover characters each, with Pack 1 unlocking Don-chan, Isabelle, Kirby, and Link, and Pack 2 unlocking Pac-Man, Pikachu, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer, for a total of 32 playable characters.
 	
Pack 	Characters
Mario Kart Dunlockable by default	
DLC Pack 1 	
DLC Pack 2 	
===Recolors===
:Suggest recolors in the comments section!
Each character on the roster has nine recolors or skins, which can be selected from a dropdown. An exception lies in the Mii, which allows you to choose from any Mii saved to any of the Display systems being used, as well as from six Guest Miis.
 	
Character 	Recolors
Baby Luigi 	
Baby Mario 	
Birdo 	
Bowser 	
*Bowser
*Dry Bowser
Bowser Jr. 	
Daisy 	
Diddy Kong 	
*Diddy Kong
*Dixie Kong
Donkey Kong 	
*Donkey Kong
*Funky Kong
Kamek 	
King Boo 	
Koopa 	
*Koopa
*Black Koopa
*Dry Bones
*Kooper
*Koops
*Light-blue Koopa
*Pink Koopa
*Red Koopa
*Yellow Koopa
Luigi 	
*Luigi
*Cat Luigi
*Dress Luigi
*Fire Luigi
*Ice Luigi
*Kitsune Luigi
*Purple Luigi
*Red Luigi
*Thunder Luigi
Mario 	
*Mario
*Cat Mario
*Dress Mario
*Fire Mario
*Green Mario
*Ice Mario
*Tanooki Mario
*Thunder Mario
*Yellow Mario
Mii 	
*Mii
*Guest A
*Guest B
*Guest C
*Guest D
*Guest E
*Guest F
Nabbit 	
Peach 	
*Peach
*Cat Peach
*Fire Peach
*Ice Peach
*Tanooki Peach
*Thunder Peach
Petey Piranha 	
*Petey Piranha
*Bone Petey Piranha
*Putrid Petey Piranha
*Venus Fire Trap Petey Piranha
*Venus Ice Trap Petey Piranha
Rosalina 	
*Rosalina
*Cat Rosalina
*Rosalina and Luma
*Tanooki Rosalina
Shy Guy 	
*Shy Guy
*Black Shy Guy
*Blue Shy Guy
*Green Shy Guy
*Light-blue Shy Guy
*Orange Shy Guy
*Pink Shy Guy
*White Shy Guy
*Yellow Shy Guy
Toad 	
*Toad
*Banktoad
*Blue Toad
*Captain Toad
*Mailtoad
*Red Toad
*Tanooki Toad
*Toadsworth
*Yellow Toad
Toadette 	
*Toadette
*Captain Toadette
*Blue Toadette
*Gray Toadette
*Green Toadette
*Light-blue Toadette
*Purple Toadette
*Red Toadette
*Yellow Toadette
Waluigi 	
*Waluigi
*Dinner Suit Waluigi
*Dress Waluigi
*Green Waluigi
*Yellow Waluigi
Wario 	
*Wario
*Dinner Suit Wario
*Dress Wario
*Foreman Spike
*Purple Wario
*Red Wario
Yoshi 	
*Yoshi
*Black Yoshi
*Blue Yoshi
*Light-blue Yoshi
*Orange Yoshi
*Pink Yoshi
*Red Yoshi
*White Yoshi
*Yellow Yoshi
Don-chan 	
*Don-chan
*Hero Don-chan
*Strawberry Don-chan
Isabelle 	
Kirby 	
*Kirby
*Blue Kirby
*Brown Kirby
*Green Kirby
*Meta Knight
*Purple Kirby
*Shadow Kirby
*White Kirby
*Yellow Kirby
Link 	
Pac-Man 	
Pikachu 	
*Pikachu
*Pichu
*Raichu
*Shiny Pikachu
Villager 	
*Villager
*Blue Tie-Dye Villager
*Daisy Shirt Villager
*Flame Tee Villager
*Four-Ball Tee Villager
*Racer 6 Tee Villager
*Rugby Tee Villager
*Turnip Top Villager
*Yellow Bolero Villager
Wii Fit Trainer	
==Kart parts==
Players can once again customize their kart's body, tires, and glider to create a customized kart combo. Up to eight combos can be saved to a Display system, and these saved combos can be shared locally and online. However, to avoid rendering the part-unlocking system useless, players who recieve saved combos will be unable to customize them.
===Body===
The vehicle's autobody, or its main frame to which tires and gliders are added and decals are stuck.
Karts
 	 	 	 	 	 	
Body 	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction	Mini-Turbo
Standard Kart 	±0.00	±0.00 	±0.00 	±0.00 	±0.00 	±0.00
SNES Pipe Frame 	±0.00	+0.25 	-0.25 	+0.50 	-0.50 	+0.25
DS B Dasher 	 	 	 	 	 	
DS Shooting Star	 	 	 	 	 	
DS Egg 1 	 	 	 	 	 	
DS Mushmellow 	 	 	 	 	 	
Gold Kart 	 	 	 	 	 	
Bikes
 	 	 	 	 	 	
Body 	Speed	Acceleration	Weight	Handling	Traction	Mini-Turbo
Standard Bike	±0.00	+0.25 	+0.50 	+0.50 	-0.50 	+0.25
WII U Varmint	 	 	 	 	 	
Gold Bike 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Tires===
The wheels placed on the kart's axles; the number used varies depending on the type of body.
===Glider===
The non-motorized hangglider that allows the kart to maneuver in midair, popping out of the back of the body when the kart drives over a Glider Panel.
===Decals===
Up to five decals, found by playing Story Mode, can be applied to a player's kart at any time. As opposed to boosting specific stats like most abilities in Splatoon, which the decal system is loosely based on, decals provide special effects in specific situations. The same decal can be applied multiple times, and its effect will stack.
 	
Decal 	Description
Banana Peel-Off 	Triple Bananas will rotate somewhat quickly around your kart instead of trailing behind.
Double Trouble 	You have a slight chance of receiving a double item from an Item Box when you would normally get a single item.
Fake Check 	Fake Item Boxes will appear dark red to you from farther away.
Feedback Loop 	After every successful orange mini-turbo, your kart's handling will increase.
Fifty-Six-Leaf Clover	When you are in first place, computer players will be somewhat less likely to get Blue Shells and Lightning from Item Boxes.
Five-Leaf Clover 	You will be somewhat more likely to get better items from Item Boxes.
Four-Leaf Clover 	You won't get single Bananas or Green Shells from Item Boxes quite as frequently.
Frontrunning Flee 	Your kart's speed will increase when you are front-running.
Heavy-Hearted 	When using the Heart, your kart's weight will increase by a factor of the number of hearts left.
Home Stretch 	Your kart's acceleration will increase on the final lap.
Kart Kombat 	Upon being bumped into, your kart will gain weight.
Lakitu Life Insurance	Lakitu will rescue you more quickly.
Light-Hearted 	While the Heart is in use, your kart's acceleration will increase for every remaining heart.
Mega-Hop 	Hopping will launch your kart slightly higher into the air.
Mushroom Leak 	Mushrooms being held in reserve will slightly increase your kart's speed until they are consumed.
Panel de Prisa 	All panels provide a speed boost for your kart.
Recovery 	Your kart won't spin and flip out for quite as long.
Runaway 	Upon being bumped into, your kart will gain speed.
Shooting Super Star 	While under the effects of a Super Star, all of your kart's stats will slightly increase.
Silver Lining 	You can get a somewhat long speed boost after Lakitu rescues you by starting to accelerate when you hit the ground.
Spark Shield 	A shield will briefly form around your kart after sparks appear from drifting.
Spin-Off 	Your kart will stop spinning out rather more quickly, but will flip out for just as long as it would otherwise.
Standing Mini-Turbo 	Spin Turning for long enough will allow your kart to get a mini-turbo.
Super Mushroom 	Mushrooms provide a speed boost that is somewhat more powerful.
==Items==
As usual, items can be collected by driving through Item Boxes. Many items can be used for offense and defense, while others are speed-focused.
The item system has been reverted from its Mario Kart 8 incarnation, allowing racers to once again keep a second item in reserve. The developers have actively worked to make the random item selection more balanced as well, significantly toning down the luck factor.
In team-based gameplay, items have different color schemes depending on the user's team, an attribute formerly specific to Bob-ombs, their explosions, and Fake Item Boxes. The coloration of items has a minor effect on friendly fireproofing as well. When an item from a member of one team is dislodged (e.g. when they are hit by Lightning, or when the item is stolen by a Boo) and used by a member of the other team, the new user may then be able to hit their own team members with it.
A starburst (✺) indicates a new item to the series.
 	
Item 	Description
Banana 	The lowly Banana is a simple item causing whomever touches it to spin out. You can drag it behind your kart to protect it from oncoming projectiles, or throw it onto the track in a strategic place.
Triple Banana 	Upon using this item, three Bananas will automatically trail behind your kart. They can then be thrown one by one if need be.
Green Shell 	Another basic item, the Green Shell can be dragged behind your kart or thrown as a projectile. It will bounce off of walls after being tossed, flipping out anyone it crashes into before breaking.
Triple Green Shell 	When you use a Triple Green Shell, three Green Shells will orbit around your kart, ready to be fired off at any time.
Red Shell 	The Red Shell can be dragged and thrown just as its verdant counterpart, but will home in on the racer in front if thrown forwards.
Triple Red Shell 	This item makes three Red Shells orbit your kart. This works just as you'd expect by now.
Spiny Shell 	Feared by all (competent) racers, the Spiny Shell flies to the racer in first place and explodes, setting them back several places for no fault of their own. It had to be included, though, having become a staple of the series since the second installment. But due to being universally loathed, and entirely unhelpful to whomever gets one from an Item Box, the Spiny Shell is now much more rare.
Heart 	Using the Heart will split it into two small hearts that circle your kart, acting as a shield for up to two projectiles.
Mushroom 	The iconic Mushroom boosts your kart forward when used. This is especially great for cutting corners across the off-road.
Triple Mushroom 	Three Mushrooms in one item. They are now packed snugly into your item slot, rather than rotating around the kart. This means opponents can't steal precious speed boosts just by jostling your vehicle.
Golden Mushroom 	A regal Gold Mushroom allows you to use as many speed boosts as you want for a limited time. A timer will start ticking down after you first use the Golden Mushroom, and when it runs out, the item will disappear. Check the border of your item slot to see how much shroompower you have left.
Fire Flower 	The Fire Flower can be used multiple times in rapid succession, letting you throw bouncy fireballs at other karts. A fireball will char and stun anyone it hits before dying out.
Boomerang Flower 	The Boomerang Flower lets you throw a boomerang up to three times to hit other racers.
Super Leaf 	With the Super Leaf in use, your kart will sprout a tail that can be swung around five times. The item is useful for close-combat situations, as well as destroying multiple projectiles at a time.
Bob-omb 	This explosive can be dragged behind a kart or thrown onto the track. It will always explode when hit, so using it as a shield isn't a safe plan. If tossed onto the track, the Bob-omb will explode when someone drives too close or after a few seconds.
✺ Double Cherry 	The Double Cherry clones you and your kart. Either clone can take a hit before vanishing, upon which the remaining copy will have been the "real" one. It's Schrödinger's You.
Star 	The Star makes you invincible for a while when used. Hitting another vehicle will flip it out. Your kart will also go faster while invincible, letting it cross off-road terrain with ease.
✺ Metal Cap 	The Metal Cap turns you and your kart to metal for a while, greatly increasing its weight in the process and letting you knock others aside with ease.
Bullet Bill 	Upon using this item, your kart will turn into a Bullet Bill and automatically fly ahead, causing anyone who touches it to flip out.
Fake Item Box 	This tricky bootleg Item Box will stun and flip out whomever breaks it. The Fake Item Box looks like a regular Item Box from afar, but its façade begins to falter the closer you are to one. The item is most effective when placed along existing rows of Item Boxes.
Super Horn 	The rare Super Horn unleashes a large circular shockwave around your kart when used. The shockwave can flip out other racers and break items, including the Spiny Shell.
✺ P-Switch 	The P-Switch temporarily transforms all Coins on the track into solid Brick Blocks.
Potted Piranha Plant	The Potted Piranha Plant will automatically be dragged in front of your kart when used, providing quick speed boosts by chomping periodically. It can eat other items and flip out whomever it bites. You can make it chomp manually by using the item again, but this will also deplete the timer faster.
Boo 	This mischievous ghost makes your kart invisible for a while, and may steal the reserve item of the nearest racer for you.
Blooper 	The Blooper sprays ink on every racer ahead when used, making it hard for them to see and harder for them to drive. While rarer than ever, the item has received a considerable buff since previous games, making it viable for comebacks.
Lightning 	When this item is used, a bolt of lightning will strike every racer ahead of you, shrinking them down and letting you squish them by driving over them. Place is inversely proportional to how long the effect lasts.
==Courses==
Mario Kart D is set to feature 32 tracks in the racing modes at launch, though DLC has been confirmed. As in Mario Kart DS, retro tracks will be split up evenly between the previous eight games, at the cost of using an already-remastered retro course from Mario Kart 64 in the main Cups.
Retro courses in the DLC cups will include never-remastered tracks, already-remastered tracks, Mario Kart Arcade GP-subseries courses, selections from other Fantendo Mario Kart games (used with permission), and even remakes of tracks and levels from other titles.
Battle Mode allows access to sixteen arenas, eight new and eight remastered. As Mario Kart 8 did not have any courses specific to Battle Mode, two stages from Mario Kart: Double Dash were remade instead, with one being an unlockable course in that game.
Nitro Grand Prix
 	 	 	
Mushroom Cup 	Flower Cup 	Star Cup 	Special Cup
Turbo Raceway 	Ice Cream Circuit 	Sunken City 	Tightrope Circus
Yoshi Atoll 	Colossus Forest 	Halfpipe Skatepark	Glacial Raceway
Buzzsaw Woodland 	Desolate Ruins 	Aerial Armada 	Bowser's Castle
Savannah Speedway	Roundabout Motorway	Mario Circuit 	Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix
 	 	 	
Shell Cup 	Banana Cup 	Leaf Cup 	Lightning Cup
SNES Choco Island 1 	GCN Mushroom City 	SNES Vanilla Lake 2 	N64 Wario Stadium
WII U Water Park 	N64 Frappe Snowland	GCN Wario Colosseum 	GBA Sunset Wilds
DS Shroom Ridge 	WII Toad's Factory 	WII Moonview Highway 	DS Bowser Castle
3DS Rock Rock Mountain	WII U Electrodrome 	3DS Rosalina's Ice World	GBA Rainbow Road
DLC Pack 1
 	 	 	
Coin Cup 	Brick Cup 	Spring Cup 	Hammer Cup
 	Goldsands Resort 	 	
 	Manic Mansion 	 	Galactic Glide
 	 	Marauder Moorage 	Koopaling Fort
 	Power Star Casino	 	
Donut Cup	Vanilla Cup 	Hammer Cup 	Spring Cup
 	 	 	
 	 	WII Maple Treeway	
 	WII U Wild Woods 	GBA Sky Garden 	
 	WII Koopa Cape 	 	ARCADE Rainbow Downhill
DLC Pack 2
 	 	 	
Egg Cup 	Feather Cup 	Moon Cup 	Cloud Cup
Turnip Gardens 	 	 	
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Heart Cup 	Bell Cup 	Cherry Cup 	Rainbow Cup
 	DS Waluigi Pinball 	 	GBA Broken Pier
GBA XXL Circuit	WII U Dolphin Shoals	 	
 	 	 	N64 Bowser's Castle
 	 	GBA Lakeside Park	GCN Mute City
Battle Mode
 	
Semisphere Arena	SNES Battle Course 3
Reroute Hills 	N64 Double Deck
Tinsel Timber 	GBA Battle Course 2
Spaghetti Oasis 	GCN Block City
Phantasm Point 	GCN Luigi's Mansion
Frostburn Desert	DS Tart Top
Display 	WII Chain Chomp Wheel
Rainbow Ring 	3DS Honeybee Hive
==Modes==
===Grand Prix===
The quintessential Mario Kart mode, Grand Prix has from one to five players competing in one of several Cups, alongside seven to eleven computer-controlled racers, depending on the number of players. Each Cup has four tracks, which themselves take three laps or sections to complete. Mario Kart D's Grand Prix noticeably features heavier use of the kart modes and section tracks than any previous game in the series.
===Time Trials===
Time Trials is a single-player mode in which the player has to complete three laps around a specified race course as quickly as possible, whether to get a faster time than Ghosts, to beat one's personal record on the course, or to go for a world record. As with previous entries in the series, Mario Kart D comes with Normal and Expert Staff Ghost data for every Grand Prix course, with new Staff Ghosts available for DLC Pack courses on purchase. Nintendo Ghosts' names are prefixed with Nin★, and Ninkancho Ghosts' with Nkt★ (with the letters corresponding to the first consonant of each syllable in their Japanese company name, ニン間諜).
Based on a similar feature in Mario Kart 7, eleven manually- or automatically-selected Ghosts can be raced against at the same time, simulating a twelve-player race but with behaviorally static opponents.
===VS Race===
VS Race is a mode similar to Grand Prix, where races follow custom rules and, thus, trophies cannot be achieved for any of the Cups. VS Races can be single- or local multiplayer. AI of any difficulty level is able to fill in remaining places with random computer-controlled drivers, as in a Grand Prix.
===Online===
Players can battle opponents from around the world in online races. Courses can be voted for from a random selection before each round. A driver's place at the end of a race impacts their VR, as does quitting a race prematurely. However, other than by getting last place or quitting, there is no way to lose VR.
====Tournaments====
Online tournaments can be set up and joined as in Mario Kart 8. However, returning from Mario Kart Wii are bimonthly, one-player Official Tournaments. These cannot be recreated by players as they often use special conditions or even courses that otherwise cannot be accessed normally.
===Story Mode===
The new Story Mode is a simplistic mode based in part on New Super Mario Bros., Diddy Kong Racing's adventure mode, Mario Kart DS's missions, and even Splatoon's Hero Mode. Players drive through levels collecting coins, using items to defeat enemies, finding decals, and completing tasks when needed. Cannons and the Glider mode are heavily used in this mode as a means to travel from area to area. On the world maps, players can drive to tunnels to play their respective levels, upgrade their kart or buy new vehicles for Story Mode, and even find special items.
====Plot====
On what seems like a normal race at Turbo Raceway, a cape-clad perpetrator descends onto the track and begins duplicating Item Boxes, presumably for their own use. A Lakitu is dispatched with a red flag to warn the drivers. The race is quickly brought to a halt as officials catch and arrest the tamperer. A week later, racing continues. During a race held at WII U Water Park, the figure strikes again, blotting out the sun as a shield of eight Heart items circles around them, and preparing an attack. Just after the racers notice, the mysterious tamperer vanishes. The scene cuts to a Mushroom Kingdom news program announcing that Mario has been called upon to track down and defeat the criminal, and that go-karting has been cancelled until further notice. The other non-DLC characters convince Mario to let them help with the search, and suggest using their go-karts for faster transportation, as they aren't planned for use in future races anyway.
The track-down begins in World 1, the closest sector of the Mushroom Kingdom to Princess Peach's Castle. The player must complete predetermined objectives in W1-1 Toad Town, W1-2 Mineshaft Depths, W1-3 Treetop Drive, and W1-4 WII Toad's Factory, such that completing the levels will demonstrate that they have searched the areas thoroughly. When World 1 is completed, the characters meet again, only for all to turn up without any leads. Unfazed, the group moves on to World 2.
However, in this area, they begin to find strange variations on the typical Item Boxes. There are Item Boxes that only give out specific items, that get rid of held items, that are made out of dark matter and cause whatever touches one to disintegrate, and even more. Double Item Boxes also begin appearing alongside older Item Box designs from throughout the series. The levels also contain many discarded and broken items. Partway through completing the world, a breadcrumb trail of shattered iridescent glass, question marks, and bricks appears, and the player may follow it to W2-4 The Villain's Lair. This level is nothing but a small, dusty cave, the mouth of which is suddenly blocked by a large set of cell bars sliding down, trapping the player. After a couple of seconds, a strange Item Box appears in the center of the cave, ejecting the driver from their kart and thus allowing the player to run between the bars and leave the level. The player character meets with the rest of the team to share what happened, to learn that the same caped figure was the one to trap them before escaping again. However, the others were able to make out a few details, namely a spiky head, dark shoes, and a bright, creepy smile. When all four World 2 levels are completed, the characters race to track down the tamperer once and for all.
==Trivia==
*The number D can be converted to 13 in decimal from tetradecimal (base 14) and numeral systems of greater bases. Ninkancho has hinted that this may be relevant to their Mystery Milestone™ of April 13, 2016.
*Mario Kart D was originally to be named Mario Kart 9. As such, a Cloud Nine item was planned. This would spawn nine items circling the user's kart, similar in concept to the Lucky Seven and Crazy Eight. After the game's name was changed, one of the staff members jokingly suggested a replacement called the Big D; the concept was not expanded on afterwards.
*Another planned item was the Traffic Cone. It could be dragged behind the kart as a shield, but would have no effect when thrown other than slightly slowing down anyone who knocked it over. There would be a Triple variant, as well.
*Characters including Goomba, Professor E. Gadd, Olimar, Pianta, R.O.B., and Samus were considered for the roster, but ultimately had to be cut. The development team has hinted that these characters and more may be playable in the next game.
*Kirby's reveal as a playable character was a hint towards the then-upcoming Kirby's Air Ride Spectacle, which had not yet been revealed.
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