Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still carrying the franchise's presence on the Nintendo Switch well into 2023 with its Booster Course Pass DLC offering players 48 new tracks total across six waves. With four of the six waves available now, it's clear Nintendo is intent on keeping Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the series' flagship entry for the foreseeable future. However, when Mario Kart 9 does eventually hit the scene, it's going to need something to help it stand out from previous entries, and a rework of how coins function in the series could do just that.
Each Mario Kart title has introduced its own unique gimmick that throws a twist on the kart racer formula to help keep gameplay fresh and entice players to check out what the latest entry has to offer. Most of Mario Kart's series gimmicks have fit naturally within the established mechanics of the game and many have become staple features for the franchise, such as Mario Kart Wii's addition of bikes alongside karts, Mario Kart 7 introducing underwater and air traversal as well as vehicle customization, and Mario Kart 8's zero gravity mechanic allowing for unique new track designs. While it seems like these features will be hard to top, the series' most underutilized item could be the answer.
Mario Kart 9 Could Make Coins One of the Game's Most Useful Items
As a recurring item in the Mario Kart series, coins can be found in most entries. But despite their prevalence, they are not the most useful among the series' items. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's coins can be found scattered around certain tracks, as well as in item boxes, and give the player a brief speed boost after they collect them. Additionally, collecting coins during a race can help contribute to the player's overall speed, with 10 being the maximum they can collect.
Beyond affecting speed during races, coins are also used to unlock new parts for vehicles, with the coins a player collects during a race adding to their total, and unlocking new customization options after a certain milestone has been reached. While these features give coins some use in the series, there's still nothing more disappointing than getting a coin from an item box when it could have potentially been a one of Mario Kart's best items, such as a Red Shell or a Bob-omb. As such, the next Mario Kart entry should look for a way to rework coins to make them a more appealing item to collect.
One simple way to accomplish this task would be to include a mechanic that allows players to spend coins collected during a race to unlock premium power-ups. The game could feature special item boxes that are guaranteed to give highly sought after items like Triple Red Shells or Mario Kart's infamous Blue Shells, but can only be collected if the player has enough coins on them when they drive through the box. This could add a sort of resource management aspect to the game as players will have to decide between saving coins for the speed boost they provide and spending them at the most opportune moment to get a powerful item.
The game could even include toll roads that function as shortcuts in Mario Kart for specific tracks but can only be accessed by paying a certain number of coins. There are a variety of ways this type of mechanic could be implemented and iterated upon, and it would help spice up gameplay for the Mario Kart series. Not only would being able to spend coins in a race add an interesting new layer of strategy, but it would help make one of Mario Kart's worst items into one of its most important.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available on Nintendo Switch.
