Mario Kart Ultimate (TBOL's version)

Mario Kart Ultimate is a game developed for the switch, and is the ninth in the main series. Counting Mario Kart tour on mobile and the three arcade games, it is the thirteenth installment.
==Gameplay==
Mario Kart Ultimate functions similar to other Mario Kart games, as the player races on a track against opponents in an attempt to get 1st place. First, the player select a driver, then the vehicle they ride on, which consist of Kart parts, wheels, and gliders. After doing so, they select a cup (which has 4 tracks) or a track to race on. During the race, the player races around the track, picking up items from item boxes, collecting coins to slowly increase speed (maximum is 10 coins), drifting, and using shortcuts and speed boosts to their advantage.
Races can have up to 16 players, which is a first timer in the series. Below is a distribution of points depending on the placement.
Driver # 	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th
16 racers	20 	17 	15 	14 	12 	11 	10 	9 	8 	7 	6 	5 	4 	3 	2 	1
12 racers	15 	12 	10 	9 	8 	7 	6 	5 	4 	3 	2 	1 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A
10 racers	12 	10 	8 	7 	6 	5 	4 	3 	2 	1 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A
8 racers 	10 	8 	6 	5 	4 	3 	2 	1 	N/A	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A 	N/A
For the first time in Mario Kart history, players can select between a few different music tracks to play during races and battles.
==Game Modes==
There are many different ways to play in Mario Kart Ultimate, including single player, multiplayer, and online modes.
===Grand Prix===
Grand Prix in Mario Kart Ultimate functions similar to previous games. There are four different classes: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and 200cc. However, mirror mode has been removed, but is still playable in custom game mode. The game starts off with only the first three classes unlocked, and the player must have the following requirements to unlock 200cc:
*Have at least 16 characters unlocked
*Beat all cups in 150cc
*Win at least one cup in both 50cc and 100cc
As present in Grand Prix modes for other games, the player will race against CPU's in 4 tracks in an attempt to gain the most points by the end of the game. Each class has a different amount of racers in each of its cups. 50cc has 8 racers, 100cc has 10, 150cc has 12, and 200cc has 16. This mode can also be played in multiplayer with up to 4 players.
===Time Trial===
This mode works similarly to previous time trials in Mario Kart games. The player must try to make their way through the track in the shortest time possible. They can choose either 150cc or 200cc, similar to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. There is one huge change though: The player only completes one lap around the track, meaning some tracks, like GCN Baby Park, will have times and scores much different from other tracks.
===Battle Mode===
Unlike previous games, this version of Battle Mode has each of its courses divided into cups, similar to tracks. But they still take place in Battle arenas. There are 6 different modes: Balloon Battle, Coin runners, bob-omb blast, Shine theif, Renegade roundup (which can now be played in free-for-all style instead of teams.), and a new mode, bumper karts.
Balloon Battle has drivers start off with 5 balloons. By hitting an opponent with an item, they can gain a point. When a player is hit by a shell or banana, or goes off-stage, they will lose a balloon. Once they lose all of their balloons, they're out of the round for good. Balloons can also be gained or restored by speeding into an opponent with a mushroom, or getting a balloon item (new item, exclusive to Battle Mode). At the end, the person with the most points AND sill undefeated wins.
Coin runners functions the same as the last home console installment, MK8D. Players have to get the most coins at the end to win, and it is not possible to be eliminated for the remainder of the round, unlike balloon battle.
Bob-omb blast is the same as in MK8D, the only items you can possibly get are bob-omb and triple bob-omb. Just like coin runners, no one can be eliminated permanently, instead, drivers respawn after losing all of their balloons and lose half their points.
Shine thief is similar to that of MK8D, except the counter goes down by one every second and the counter starts at 40.
Renegade roundup can still be played the same way with teams, but it works much differently without teams. In free-for-all style, every player starts off as a renegade, being unable to put each other in a floating jail cell. In item boxes, each driver has a much higher chance of getting a limited-time lasting, renegade roundup version of the pirahna plant item. Drivers with this temporary ability can try to put other renegades in jail and earn a point for each driver captured. Another pro about this is that they have invincibility from other pirahna plants, though the only con about it is that they cannot put other people with the same ability in jail. When someone is a renegade and gets put in jail, they lose a point and have to wait for someone to open the jail cell. Opening the jail cell awards the driver a point for each opponent freed, and although it is helping the enemies, it also gives them at least one point.
Bumper karts is a brand new mode in Battle Mode. Drivers start with 5 balloons and once they lose them all, they're out for the rest of the round, similar to balloon battle. The most important aspect of this is how there are electric fences on the edges of every wall, and if the player touches them, they will lose a balloon. Whenever the player gets hit by an item, they will NOT lose a balloon. Instead, they will spin out of control, regardless of what the item was.
Unlike races, which can hold up to 16 players, battle Mode limits the amount of racers to 12.
===Custom Game===
Custom Game mode functions in a similar manner to vs race mode in previous games. The player gets to choose between the following combinations for races:
*Amount of racers
**Either 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 16
*Difficulty
**Either easy, normal, hard, or extreme
*Engine class (50cc, 100cc, 150cc, 200cc)
*Mirror mode
*Team mode
**It is also possible to change the amount of teams, like 3 teams of 4, 6 teams of 2, etc.
*Items, which includes returning options like bananas only, mushrooms only, no items, etc.
*Number of races, which allows some options from 1-128
**Due to the increased length of some options, like 128 races, players can save their progress
*Wether courses are chosen, in order, or random
Battle Mode has similar options, except the engine class option is gone.
==Characters==
There are 65 (not including alternate costumes) playable characters in Mario Kart Ultimate. Every character from past installments (except for the arcade games) makes an appearance. There are 8 different classes available: All-rounder, Speed, Boost, Acceleration, Drift, Turn, Luck, and Off-road. The original eight characters from the first Mario Kart game are available by default, while the rest of the drivers have to be unlocked by completing a one lap race against them after each cup in Grand Prix.
Driver 	Image	Size 	Stats 	Alternate costumes 	 		 		
Mario 	 	Average	All-rounder 	Tanooki 	 		 		
Luigi 	 	Average	All-rounder 	Fox 	 		 		
Peach 	 	Average	Acceleration	Cat 	 		 		
Toad 	 	Small 	Boost 	Captain, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple 	 		 		
Yoshi 	 	Average	Speed 	Red, Blue, Cyan, Pink, Purple, White, Black, Orange 	 		 		
Bowser 	 	X Large	Speed 	Meowser 	 		 		
Koopa Troopa 	 	Small 	Turn 	Red 	 		 		
Donkey Kong 	 	X Large	Off-road 	DK Jr. 	 		 		
Wario 	 	Large 	Luck 	Biker 	 		 		
Waluigi 	 	Large 	Luck 	None 	 		 		
Daisy 	 	Average	Acceleration	None 	 		 		
Diddy Kong 	 	Small 	Off-road 	None 	 		 		
Birdo 	 	Average	Turn 	None 	 		 		
Bowser Jr. 	 	Small 	All-rounder 	None 	 		 		
Baby Mario 	 	Small 	Acceleration	None 	 		 		
Baby Luigi 	 	Small 	Acceleration	None 	 		 		
Toadette 	 	Small 	 	None 	 		 		
Paratroopa 	 	Small 	Drift 	Green 	 		 		
King Boo 	 	Large 	Turn 	None 	 		 		
Petey Pirahna 	 	Large 	Speed 	None 	 		 		
Dry Bones 	 	Small 	Off-road 	None 	 		 		
R.O.B. 	 	Large 	 	None 	 		 		
Shy Guy 	 	Small 	Drift 	Green, Blue, Cyan, Yellow, Pink, Purple, White, Black, Orange	 		 		
Baby Peach 	 	Small 	 	None 	 		 		
Baby Daisy 	 	Small 	 	None 	 		 		
Rosalina 	 	Large 	 	None 	 		 		
Funky Kong 	 	X Large	Boost 	None 	 		 		
Dry Bowser 	 	X Large	Speed 	None 	 		 		
Lakitu 	 	Small 	Luck 	None 	 		 		
Metal Mario 	 	Average	 	Gold 	 		 		
Wiggler 	 	Large 	 	None 	 		 		
Honey Queen 	 	X Large	 	None 	 		 		
Larry 	 	Average	 	None 	 		 		
Roy 	 	Large 	 	None 	 		 		
Wendy 	 	Average	 	None 	 		 		
Iggy 	 	Average	Boost 	None 	 		 		
Morton 	 	Average	Off-road 	None 	 		 		
Lemmy 	 	Small 	Drift 	None 	 		 		
Ludwig 	 	Large 	 	None 	 		 		
Baby Rosalina 	 	Small 	 	None 	 		 		
Pink Gold Peach	 	Average	 	None 	 		 		
Link 	 	Large 	 	BOTW outfit 	 		 		
Villager 	 	Average	 	Female 	 		 		
Isabelle 	 	Small 	 	None 	 		 		
Inkling 	 	Average	 	Male 	 		 		
Pac-Man 	 	Average	 	Mrs. Pac-Man 	 		 		
Kamek 	 	Average	 	None 	 		 		
Pauline 	 	Large 	All-rounder 	None 	 		 		
King K. Rool 	 	X Large	Drift 	None 	 		 		
Dixie Kong 	 	Small 	Off-road 	None 	 		 		
Hammer Bro 	 	Average	 	Fire, Boomerang 	 		 		
Spike 	 	Small 	Turn 	None 	 		 		
E. Gadd 	 	Small 	Luck 	None 	Cappy		Small		None
Madame Broode 	 	X Large	 	None 	 		 		
Kirby 	 	Small 	Luck 	None 	 		 		
Captain Falcon 	 	Large 	Speed 	None 	 		 		
Mii 	 	Any 	All-rounder 	Optional 	 		 		
Unlocking Criteria:
Note: Completing these actions only gives the player the ability to try unlocking the specified character through a one lap race against them.
Character 	GP Criteria 	Other Criteria
Wario 	Win the 50cc Green Shell Cup 	Play 50 races
Toadette 	Win the 50cc Bob-omb Cup 	Play 30 Battles
Bowser Jr. 	Win the 50cc Boomerang Cup 	Play 100 races
Dry Bones 	Win the 50cc POW Block Cup 	Play 60 battles
Daisy 	Win the 50cc Blooper Cup 	Play 150 races
Waluigi 	Win the 50cc Fire Flower Cup 	Play 90 battles
Birdo 	Win the 50cc Pirahna Cup 	Play 200 races
Rosalina 	Win the 50cc Bullet Bill Cup 	Play 120 battles
Baby Mario 	Win the 50cc Mini Mushroom Cup 	Play 250 Races
Shy Guy 	Win the 50cc Storm Cloud Cup 	Play 150 battles
King Boo 	Win the 50cc Boo Cup 	Play 300 Races
Metal Mario	Win the 50cc Rainbow Cup 	Play 180 battles
Baby Peach 	Win the 50cc Propeller Mushroom Cup	Play 350 Races
Ludwig 	Win the 50cc Heart Cup 	Play 210 battles
Paratroopa 	Win the 50cc Triforce Cup 	Play 400 Races
Wendy 	Win the 50cc Crown Cup 	Play 240 battles
Alternate costumes are available for purchase in the shop with coins.
==Items==
*Banana
*Triple Bananas
*Green shell
*Triple Green Shell
*Red shell
*Triple Red Shell
*Mushroom
*Triple Mushroom
*Golden Mushroom
*Fire Flower
*Star
*Blooper
*Bob-omb
*Triple Bob-omb
*Spiny Shell
*POW Block
*Lightning
*Bullet Bill
*Boomerang Flower
*Pirahna
*Super Horn
*Feather
*Ice flower (New)
*Propeller Mushroom (New)
*Balloon (exclusive to Battle Mode) (New)
===Function's of the new items===
Ice Flower: Similar to the Fire Flower, it will send small balls either in front or behind the player. When a driver is hit, they will be covered in an ice block for 1 second, sliding them straight forward uncontrollably.
Propeller Mushroom: The driver will hover above the track for 10 seconds, being immune to the danger of items.
Balloon: Gives players an extra balloon (extra life).
==Courses==
There is a grand total of 128 tracks in Mario Kart Ultimate, a record high in the series. As with Super Smash Bros Ultimate, MKU focuses on reviving a lot of its courses from previous titles, and because of this, 120 of the tracks are retro, and only 8 of them are nitro. 
The total 128 tracks are spread out into 32 cups (2 with all nitro tracks, 30 with all retro) and are displayed in 4 rows of 8. The first cups in each row at the left are available by default, and completing each one (placing in the top 3 or 4) unlocks the cup next to it on the right. 
Mushroom Cup 	Green Shell Cup 	Banana Cup 	Bob-omb Cup 	Coin Cup 	Boomerang Cup 	Feather Cup 	POW block Cup
TBD (New) 	DS Shroom Ridge 	GCN Dry Dry Desert 	N64 Luigi Raceway 	SNES Donut Plains 2	3DS Daisy Hills 	Wii U Water Park 	Wii Mushroom Gorge
TBD (New) 	GBA Lakeside Park 	DS Luigi's Mansion 	GBA Bowser's Castle 4	N64 Royal Raceway 	SNES Ghost Valley 1	Wii U Cloudtop Cruise	N64 Kalamari Desert
TBD (New) 	Wii Wario's Gold Mine 	N64 Frappe Snowland	 	 	 	 	DS Bowser's Castle
Shiveria Raceway (New)	N64 Koopa Troopa Beach	GCN DK Mountain 	Wii Toad Factory 	 	 	 	Wii Rainbow Road
Leaf Cup 	Blooper Cup 	Red Shell Cup	Fire Flower Cup	Egg Cup 	Pirahna Cup	Propeller Cup	Bullet Bill Cup
3DS Rock Rock Mountain	Wii U Dolphin Shoals	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	3DS Bowser's Castle
Wii Maple Treeway 	 	 	 	GCN Yoshi Circuit	 	 	N64 Rainbow Road
===Battle Courses===
For the first time in Mario Kart history, battle Mode is split into cups, similar to grand prix. There are 32 battle arenas spread evenly into 8 cups. The names for the cups are based on consoles from which the stages came from, besides the Bonus Cup and the Nitro Cup (the retro cup is based on arenas from the first 3 MK games).
Although GBA Luigi Circuit and N64 Yoshi Valley are race courses, they are also battle arenas.
Nitro cup 	Retro Cup 	GCN Cup 	DS Cup 	Wii Cup 	3DS Cup 	NS Cup 	Bonus Cup
Nintendo Switch (New) 	SNES Battle Course 1	GCN Block City 	DS Palm Shore 	Wii Thwomp Desert 	3DS Sherbet Rink 	NS Battle Stadium 	GBA Luigi Circuit
New Donk City (New) 	GBA Battle Course 2 	GCN Cookie Land 	DS Tart Top 	Wii Chain Chomp Wheel	3DS Wuhu Town 	NS Dragon Palace 	N64 Yoshi Valley
Bowser's Carnival (New)	SNES Battle Course 4	GCN Pipe Plaza 	DS Twilight House	Wii Block Plaza 	3DS Honeybee Hive	NS Urchin Underpass	Dream Land (New)
Mario's Galaxy (New) 	N64 Skyscraper 	GCN Luigi's Mansion	DS Nintendo DS 	Wii Funky Stadium 	N64 Big Donut 	NS Lunar Colony 	GBA Tilt-a-Kart
==Online==
Like certain previous games, there is online play available. Players are able to do races or battles with other players online (up to 12). When in the lobby, each player chooses 1 of 12 available courses, and the track with the most votes will be played. Depending on how the player preformed in the race or battle, their score (starting at 0) will either go up or down. The maximum score is the same amount of players who have played at least one game online.
There are also tournaments available for play, and they function similar to MK8D's tournaments.
There is also an online exclusive mode called knockout, where 12 players will be put in one server and will race together for 10 races. In each of the first 9 races, the person who comes in last will be eliminated, and the final 3 racers will face off in the 10th and final race. The winner would get 1000 points added to their score. Additionally, the first place finisher in each of the first nine races would earn 100 points.
==Trivia==
*This game has the most Characters, courses, and items in the series
*This is the first Mario Kart game to:
**Divide it's battle stages into cups, similar to grand prix
**Bring back every character in Mario Kart history
**Have an all time low number of nitro tracks, with 8, due to the insane amount of retro tracks
**Shorten the length of time trial mode, being only 1 lap
**Turn formerly fully playable characters (Donkey Kong Jr., Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Female Villager) into alternate costumes
**Make a track return for a 5th game (SNES Rainbow Road)
Category:Racing Games