Highlights

  • Mario Kart 9 may feature F-Zero elements, creating the ultimate Nintendo racing experience for fans of both franchises.
  • With 96 tracks and 48 characters in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, its sequel faces the challenge of surpassing this beloved entry.
  • The potential for a high-speed mode in Mario Kart 9 inspired by F-Zero could provide a thrilling challenge for players.

With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass now fully available, many fans are turning their attention to the future of the series and a potential Mario Kart 9. Given the overwhelming success of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, it seems likely that Nintendo is gearing up to have a sequel ready when the successor to the Switch launches. While it might seem like a massive undertaking for a Mario Kart 9 to top all the content packed into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game could set a new standard for the franchise by incorporating a core element from one forgotten Nintendo franchise.

The Booster Course Pass added a ton of content to refresh Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, including 48 new tracks and eight new playable characters. Between the 96 total tracks, 48 total characters, and the creative zero-gravity mechanic, Mario Kart 9 has its work cut out in trying to improve upon what many fans would consider the definitive Mario Kart experience. In order to top Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart 9 could pull out all the stops and include a new mode based on the F-Zero franchise to create the ultimate Nintendo racing experience on the company's next console.

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Mario Kart 9 Should Take a Page Out of F-Zero’s Book

One of the Nintendo series most highly requested to get a new entry is F-Zero, the high-octane racing franchise that has gained notoriety from the inclusion of Captain Falcon in the Super Smash Bros. series. F-Zero fans have been very vocal about wanting to see a revival of the franchise, and this desire was only amplified by the inclusion of F-Zero tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the release of F-Zero 99. Although it seems unlikely that a new mainline F-Zero game will be released anytime soon, Nintendo could appeal to fans of the franchise by including more of its core elements in a future Mario Kart game.

F-Zero was historically the more hardcore racing game compared to Mario Kart's casual kart-racing gameplay, but Mario Kart has developed a hardcore fanbase over the years in the absence of new F-Zero titles. As such, Mario Kart 9 could end up being the best of both worlds by including features of the F-Zero series alongside the classic casual gameplay fans expect. There is already a precedent for F-Zero content in Mario Kart, and Nintendo could further solidify the connection between these two series by doubling down on classic F-Zero features in Mario Kart 9.

Mario Kart 9 Can Build Upon the F-Zero References in MK8

Mario Kart 8 Big Blue

Some of the toughest challenges in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe come from its 200cc mode, requiring players to navigate courses at the highest speeds available in the game. However, these speeds still don't compare to those of the F-Zero franchise, potentially setting up Mario Kart 9 to include a mode that goes beyond 200cc and plays more like F-Zero. While these types of high-speed races would be a great challenge for seasoned players, they would likely need to be distinguished from the rest of Mario Kart 9 given how different F-Zero's races feel compared to the standard Mario Kart ones.

For this type of mode to work, Mario Kart 9 would need to design entirely separate tracks specifically for it, potentially building on the F-Zero tracks like Big Blue and Mute City already in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With the type of speeds players reach in F-Zero games, most of its tracks are designed to be easily navigated at those speeds, avoiding the inclusion of hazards like the cows in Moo Moo Meadows or the Thwomps in Thwomp Ruins. Perhaps Mario Kart 9 could have a variant of each standard track designed to be played in this F-Zero-style mode that removes some of the track hazards and streamlines them to work with the drastic speed increase of this mode.