Rowdy Relay

Rowdy Relay (Japanese: 極端な中継 Extreme Relay) is a kart racing game developed by Existence Software. Loosely based upon the ideas of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Team Sonic Racing, Rowdy Relay heavily features team-based mechanics in order to make it stand out from Nintendo's Mario Kart series and other kart racing titles. The game can be considered a spin-off of the highly successful Super Smash Bros. series, as it features a cast of characters hailing from a large variety of different Nintendo franchises.
== Gameplay ==
Rowdy Relay is a kart racing game that sees up to eight racers competing against each other all at one time. Starting off in a 2×4 grid-based layout, eight competitors race on courses based around familiar landmarks from a variety of Nintendo properties. Courses feature a variety of terrain types, and vehicles are capable of transforming into hovercrafts in order to travel above pools of water or lava. The aim of the game is to complete a race and earn points, with the amount of points earned corresponding to the player's position once they finish; the better their placement, the greater amount of points the player will earn. In order to hinder their competitors, racers can drive through Item Presents to gain items that will power them up temporarily, or weapons to use against their foes.
Placement 	1 	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Points Earned	10	8	6	4	3	2	1	0
Gold background signifies victory results, with a unique winning animation and music.Silver background signifies moderate win results.Bronze background signifies losing results, with losing animations and music.
The main gameplay component of Rowdy Relay, and the source of the game's title, stems from the Relay mechanic. Upon completing one of the race's three laps, the player's character will be switched out for the next-in-line that they have chosen. All playable characters belong to one of three classes, which determines the types of items they obtain during a race - Offensive, Defensive, or Speed - meaning that players must choose their line-up of three characters strategically based upon their gameplay styles. The order that the three racers switch out is determined on the character select screen. Though all characters grant different stat changes to the vehicles they drive, the player may only choose one vehicle for use, and thus must juggle the stat bonuses accordingly to all factors. While the different classes of characters can earn different items, players will not lose unused items that they possess should they switch out with a character of a different class upon completing a lap. All characters are sorted into default teams that the player must choose between in the singleplayer Championship Mode, though can freely create their own teams characters in all other modes.
== Playable Characters ==
Teams
Team Mario · Team Luigi · Team Peach · Team Bowser · Team Yoshi · Team DK · Team Kremling · Team Wario · Team Zelda · Team Ganon · Team Tetra · Team Kirby · Team Dedede · Team Halberd · Team Aran · Team Phazon · Team Star Fox · Team Star Wolf · Team Squidbeak · Team Deepsea · Team Falcon · Team Goroh · Team Archanea · Team Ylisse · Team Nohr · Team Hoshido · Team Dozer
The game features a number of different teams, each of which consist of a racer from all of the three different classes of characters. Additionally, all teams share a special item that all members of the team can obtain regardless of which class they belong to. The teams are often named after the "captain" of the team, who serves as the first racer in the line-up in the Championship mode. Outside the aforementioned Championship mode, players are free to mix-and-match characters to their liking to create their own teams, and as such can be granted the special items of any teams with members in their line-up.
Team Mario
Team Mario is made up of three characters that hail from the Super Mario series. Team Mario's special item is the Mega Mushroom, which temporarily allows the racers to grow to a large size in order to flatten their foes while also giving them a speed boost and immunity to most other items.
Team Luigi
Team Luigi is made up of three characters that hail from the Super Mario series, and are especially prevalent within the Luigi's Mansion series. Team Luigi's special item is the Polterpup, which increases the user's speed for a short time and causes the player to become invisible to their enemies, and thus also invulnerable to all items.
Team Peach
Team Peach is made up of three characters that hail from the Super Mario series. The members of this team feature a heavy focus on acceleration over all other stats. Team Peach's special item is the Poison Mushroom, which players can drop on the track to cause those who run into them to shrink for a short period of time.
Team Bowser
Team Bowser is made up of three villains that hail from the Super Mario series. The members of this team feature a heavier focus on speed than most other stats. Team Bowser's special item is the Bowser Shell, a large indestructible projectile that will bounce off up to seven walls before shattering and throw aside any racer it comes in contact with.
Team Yoshi
Team Yoshi is made up of three characters that make major appearances within the Yoshi series. Team Yoshi's special item is the Chain Chomp, which pulls the player along the course's track automatically, lunging at other racers as they pass by.
Team DK
Team DK is made up of three characters that hail from the Donkey Kong series. The members of this team feature a heavier focus on speed than most other stats. Team DK's special item is the Giant Banana, a giant banana peel that explodes into four smaller banana peels upon being hit by another racer or item.
Team Kremling
Team Kremling is made up of three villains that hail from the Donkey Kong series. Team DK's special item is Mad Jack, a Jack-in-the-box character that will become attached to the front of the player's vehicle for a short time and punch nearby opponents to spin them out. The team is named after the Kremling Krew, which the team's captain, King K. Rool, leads.
Team Wario
Team Wario is made up of three characters that hail from the WarioWare series. Team Wario's special item is the Giant Bob-omb, which creates a giant explosion once it is dropped on the ground. It detonates automatically after a fair amount of time has passed, though can not be manually detonated by being hit by another item or racer.
Team Zelda
Team Zelda is made up of three characters that hail from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The members of this team feature a heavier focus on handling than most other stats. Team Zelda's special item is the Spinner, which travels forwards and will bounce off walls or other racers, causing the latter to spin-out on contact, while it is on the course for a limited amount of time.
Team Ganon
Team Ganon is made up of three villains that hail from The Legend of Zelda series. The members of this team feature a heavier focus on speed than most other stats. Team Ganon's special item is the Bombchu, which homes into the racer ahead of the player and creates a small explosion upon coming in contact with them, a wall, or another item.
Team Tetra
Team Tetra is made up of three characters that hail from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Team Tetra special item is the Wind Waker, which temporarily creates a tornado around the player's vehicle that pushes away non-homing items that come in contact with it.
Team Kirby
Team Kirby is made up of three characters that hail from the Kirby series. Team Kirby's special item is the Crystal Shards, which summons three crystals around the player's kart as a shield. The player can throw the crystals forward by pressing the item button, which causes those who are hit by them to spin-out.
Team Dedede
Team Dedede is made up of three characters that hail from the Kirby series. Team Dedede's special item is the Mallet, which, when used, has the player's current character smack the ground to both the left and sides of their vehicle, flattening any opponent they may hit.
Team Halberd
Team Halberd is made up of three villains (or anti-heroes) that hail from the Kirby series. Team Halberd's special item is the Meta Point, which grants the player a constant speed boost for a short period of time. The team is not named for its captain, Meta Knight, but rather his flying battleship, the Halberd.
Team Aran
Team Aran is made up of three characters that hail from the Metroid series. Team Aran's special item is the Screw Attack, which propels the player forwards a fair distance at a high speed while they spin along the x-axis to cause any they run into to spin-out. Although the team is named after its captain, it uses Samus' surname rather than her first name.
Team Phazon
Team Phazon is made up of three villains that hail from the Metroid series. Team Phazon's special item is the Phazon Leech, which will latch onto a racer that drives into it to slow their overall movement speed and traction for a short time. The team is named after Phazon, a substance originating from the planet Phaaze that assisted in the birth of Team Phazon's captain, Dark Samus.
Team Star Fox
Team Star Fox is made up of three characters that hail from the Star Fox series. Team Star Fox's special item is the Mole Missile, which, when thrown forwards or dropped behind the player's kart, burrows into the ground to become nearly invisible (marked only by light patch on the ground) before flying up and detonating once driven over. Team Star Fox is named for the Star Fox series and the titular group of bounty hunters of which all of these characters are members.
Team Star Wolf
Team Star Wolf is made up of three villains that hail from the Star Fox series. Team Star Wolf's special item is the Spread Missile, which sees the player fire three missiles simultaneously in a forwards direction that explode on contact with other racers, items, or walls. Team Star Wolf is named for the team of the same name that appears within the Star Fox series, who act as the main rivals of the titular group of bounty hunters.
Team Squidbeak
Team Squidbeak is made up of characters that hail from the first entry in the Splatoon series. Team Squidbeak's special item is the Bubbler, which creates a shield around the player's vehicle for a short period of time that will protect them from up to three items. The team's name is derived from the Squidbeak Splatoon, of which all of the team's members are part of.
Team Deepsea
Team Deepsea is made up of characters that hail from Splatoon 2. Team Deepsea's special item is the Torpedo, which homes in on the racer in front of the player and detonates upon coming in contact with them to release a spray of ink that slows down any that travel through it. This ink remains on the course for a fair amount of time, though the initial explosion does not cause the initial target to spin out as a consequence. The team's name is derived from the Deepsea Metro, the main setting of Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion campaign.
Team Falcon
Team Falcon is made up of characters that hail from one of Nintendo's racing game series, F-Zero. The members of this team feature a heavy focus on speed over all other stats, a reference to the fast-paced gameplay of the aforementioned series. Team Falcon's special item is the Super Scope, which allows the player to fire a stream of small projectiles straight forwards for a short time by tapping the item button.
Team Goroh
Team Goroh is made up of characters that hail from the F-Zero series. The members of this team feature a heavy focus on speed over all other stats, similar to Team Falcon. Team Goroh's special item is the G-Diffusor, which increases the user's top speed for a short period of time and negates off-road effects.
Team Archanea
Team Archanea is made up of characters that hail from the first entry in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Team Archanea's special item is the Pegasus Flute, which transforms the player's vehicle into a Pegasus for a short period of time, allowing them to fly at a fairly high speed slightly above the ground and over items and other racers. Team Archanea is named after the continent that the characters on this team hail from.
Team Ylisse
Team Ylisse is made up of characters that hail from Fire Emblem Awakening. Team Ylisse's special item is the Dracoshield, which reflects incoming items back at those who throw them for the short time that it is active behind the player's vehicle. The team is named after the continent of Ylisse, the main setting of Fire Emblem Awakening and from which all of this team's members hail.
Team Nohr
Team Nohr is made up of characters that hail from Fire Emblem Fates. Team Nohr's special item is Nosferatu. In the Fire Emblem series Nosferatu is a magic spell that drains the target's HP for the user, but in Rowdy Relay the magic spell instead acts as a single-use boomerang-like projectile that steals the item held by the enemy hit by it. The team is named after the kingdom of Nohr, from which two members of this team hail.
Team Hoshido
Team Hoshido is made up of characters that hail from Fire Emblem Fates. Team Hoshido's special item is Aureola, a magical beam attack that temporarily slows the movement speed of enemies hit by it. The team is named after the kingdom of Hoshido, from which two members of this team hail.
Team Dozer
Team Dozer is made up of characters that hail from the Game Boy Advance title Drill Dozer. Team Dozer's special item is the Drill, which attaches to the front of the player's vehicle for a short time to allow them to run into opponents to cause them to spin-out. The team's name is derived from a number of different sources: the title of Drill Dozer, the titular machine, and the Red Dozer gang that all of the team's members are part of.
== Items ==
=== Offensive-type Items ===
=== Defensive-type Items ===
=== Speed-type Items ===
== Courses ==
Just as in the Mario Kart series, Rowdy Relay features cups consisting of four racecourses each. There are eight cups in the base game, making for a total of 32 courses. Eight courses originate from the Mario Kart series, and have received alterations when needed to account for the lack of gliding and underwater segments present since Mario Kart 7.
== Trivia ==
* The game was originally revealed under the title of Rowdy Riders Relay, though this was later shortened to its current name.
Category:Crossover Racing Games
Category:Crossovers