Mario Kart 7

 MARIO KART 7

Today, let's go over Mario Kart 7, the Mario Kart entry for the 3DS. This wasn't too memorable of a game, but it did introduce such concepts as the parasail, letting you float through the air for a short time, and the ability to drive underwater. Diddy Kong beat them to the three-terrain concept a few decades earlier, but hey, I'm glad to see it here.

An . . . interesting thing about our roster is that, instead of the main eight like most previous games, this game's base roster goes all the way back to Super Mario Kart's roster, with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Toad, Koopa, and, well, not Donkey Kong Jr. but just regular Donkey Kong, which is an understandable trade. Wario shows up instead in the unlockables, alongside Daisy, Rosalina, Shy Guy, and the Miis all returning (sad Waluigi noises), and new characters in the form of Metal Mario, Wiggler, Lakitu, and . . . the Honeyqueen from Super Mario Galaxy? Weird flex but okay. Beyond our parasail and underwater motor, we also add in the items of the Super Leaf, which gives you a Tanooki tail and lets you flick away items coming your way; and the Lucky Seven, which gives you seven items to use at once.

Now, we do still have Lakitu as a referee, which the game justifies by having the driver Lakitu have a red shell instead of the standard green. We also see Goombas, giant Bouncing Notes, Cheep Cheeps, Chain Chomps, Clampies, Fishbones, Frogoons, Mountain Goats, Penguins, Piranha Plants, Rocky Wrenches, Sidesteppers, Mr. Blizzards, Stingbies, Thwomps, Swoops, and Tiki Goons in the backgrounds and as obstacles.

As far as stages, once again we have sixteen new courses and sixteen retro courses. The new courses include: Toad Circuit, the generic starter; Daisy Hills, a mountainous Alpine-looking course; Cheep Cheep Lagoon, a water level that takes you underwater; Shy Guy Bazaar, a desert level with some serious Arabian Nights vibes; Wuhu Loop, based on Wuhu Island from the Wii Sports games; the standard Mario Circuit around Peach's Castle; Music Park, an awesome stage made out of musical instruments; Rock Rock Mountain, a tall mountain with some seriously steep inclines; Piranha Plant Slide, a stage based heavily on the original Super Mario Bros.; Wario Shipyard, which I choose to believe was the final resting place of Captain Syrup and her ship after Wario took his revenge; Neo Bowser City, a rain-soaked city course; Maka Wuhu, another stage based on Wuhu Island; DK Jungle, a course based on Donkey Kong Country Returns; Rosalina's Ice World, a snow and ice stage; and this game's versions of Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road, which, by the way, is the best version of Rainbow Road.

As for Battle Stages, we have three new and three retro. The three new are: Honeybee Hive, a giant beehive; Sherbet Rink, an ice rink; and Wuhu Town, also based on Wuhu Island. That's about it.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario Kart: drive, brake, jump, turn, skid, etc., Banana Peel, Green Shell, Red Shell, Feather, Mushroom, Star, Ghost, Coin, Lightning, Egg, Fireball, Poison Mushroom, Triple Mushroom, Super Mushroom, Fake Item, Banana Bunch, Triple Green Shells, Triple Red Shells, Spiny Shell, dual driver, Blooper, Bob-Omb, Bullet Bill, Mega Mushroom, Thundercloud, POW Block, parasail, swim, Super Leaf, Lucky Seven

Mario: fireballs

Luigi: fireballs

Peach: heart

Yoshi: giant egg

Bowser: Bowser shell

Donkey Kong Jr.

Toad: golden mushroom

Koopa: triple shells

Donkey Kong: giant banana

Wario: bob-omb

Daisy: heart

Birdo: giant egg

Baby Mario: Chain Chomp

Baby Luigi: Chain Chomp

Toadette: golden mushroom

Paratroopa: triple shells

Diddy Kong: giant banana

Bowser Jr.: Bowser shell

Waluigi: bob-ombs

Petey Piranha

King Boo

Dry Bones

ROB

Shy Guy

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Rosalina

Funky Kong

Dry Bowser

Mii

Metal Mario

Honeyqueen

Wiggler

Lakitu

Toadsworth

Kamek

Boo

Piranha Plant

Cheep Cheep

Monty Mole

Thwomp

Chain Chomp

Penguin

Mr. Blizzard

Bob-Omb

Hammer Bro

Little Mouser

Mechakoopa

Pianta

Goomba

Pokey

King Bob-Omb

Wiggler

Spiky Topman

Tiki Goon

Bosses:

Big Bully

Eyerok

Goomboss

King Boo

King Bob-Omb

Chief Chilly

Wiggler

Stages:

Mario Circuit

Donut Plains

Ghost Valley

Bowser's Castle

Choco Island

Koopa Beach

Vanilla Lake

Rainbow Road

Luigi Raceway

Moo Moo Farm

Koopa Troopa Beach

Kalimari Desert

Toad's Turnpike

Frappe Snowland

Choco Mountain

Mario Raceway

Wario Stadium

Sherbet Land

Royal Raceway

Bowser's Castle (64)

DK's Jungle Parkway

Yoshi Valley

Banshee Boardwalk

Rainbow Road (64)

Peach Circuit

Shy Guy Beach

Riverside Park

Mario Circuit (SC)

Boo Lake

Cheese Land

Luigi Circuit

Sky Garden

Cheep Cheep Island

Sunset Wilds

Snow Land

Ribbon Road

Yoshi Desert

Lakeside Park

Broken Pier

Bowser's Castle (SC)

Rainbow Road (SC)

Big Donut

Block Fort

Double Deck

Skyscraper

Luigi Circuit (DD)

Peach Beach

Baby Park

Dry Dry Desert

Mushroom Bridge

Mario Circuit (DD)

Daisy Cruiser

Waluigi Stadium

Sherbet Land (DD)

Mushroom City

Yoshi Circuit

DK Mountain

Wario Colosseum

Dino Dino Jungle

Bowser's Castle (DD)

Rainbow Road (DD)

Cookie Land

Block City

Nintendo Gamecube

Pipe Plaza

Luigi's Mansion

Tilt-a-Kart

Figure-8 Circuit

Yoshi Falls

Cheep Cheep Beach

Luigi's Mansion (DS)

Desert Hills

Delfino Square

Waluigi Pinball

Shroom Ridge

DK Pass

Tick Tock Clock

Mario Circuit (DS)

Airship Fortress

Wario Stadium (DS)

Peach Gardens

Bowser's Castle (DS)

Rainbow Road (DS)

Nintendo DS

Twilight House

Palm Shore

Tart Top

Luigi Circuit (Wii)

Moo Moo Meadows

Mushroom Gorge

Toad Factory

Mario Circuit (Wii)

Coconut Mall

DK Summit

Wario's Gold Mine

Daisy Circuit

Koopa Cape

Maple Treeway

Grumble Volcano

Dry Dry Ruins

Moonview Highway

Bowser's Castle (Wii)

Rainbow Road (Wii)

Block Plaza

Delfino Pier

Funky Stadium

Chain Chomp Wheel

Thwomp Desert

Galaxy Colosseum

Toad Circuit

Daisy Hills

Cheep Cheep Lagoon

Shy Guy Bazaar

Wuhu Loop

Mario Circuit (7)

Music Park

Rock Rock Mountain

Piranha Plant Slide

Wario Shipyard

Neo Bowser City

Maka Wuhu

DK Jungle

Rosalina's Ice World

Bowser's Castle (7)

Rainbow Road (7)

Honeybee Hive

Sherbet Rink

Wuhu Town

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover Mario Kart 8 (just the original version and DLC though)!