Nintendo’sSuper Marioracing franchise hasn’t been short on innovation lately.Mario Kart 7and8both put a major emphasis on new racing terrain, including hang-gliding segments and dizzying anti-gravity sections, resulting in some very creative new courses. With this recent progression in place, it only stands to reason thatMario Kart 9will push the boundaries of courses in some other creative way. There are plenty of directions that the game could go, such asadding new vehicle types toMario Kart,but it would also be interesting to get the option to fundamentally modify the way that courses play by blending them together.
IfMario Kart 9really wants to stand apart from its predecessors, then it could let players chop up courses and rearrange them in whatever way they’d like. While it would be an unorthodox way to playMario Kart,it would introduce a level of variety and challenge to each sitting of the game that the franchise hasn’t really offered before. If the game really is a large-scale Nintendo crossover product likeMario Kartleakshave suggested, then it could also be a simple but effective mechanic to reflect that theme of Nintendo worlds colliding.
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How Mario Kart Course Blending Could Work
Mario Kartcourse blending would be a relatively simple mechanic to implement. Since mostMario Kartcourses are divided into three laps,Mario Kart 9could allow players to choose individual tracks for each lap. Then, whenever players finish the lap in the race, they briefly drive through a tunnel before loading into the next course. Depending onthe amount of courses inMario Kart 9,this could add a ton of variety, especially if players can select a course multiple times when making a blend; if it has at least 48 likeMario Kart 8 Deluxe,then there could be thousands of possible combos when duplicate laps are allowed.
Admittedly there are a couple obstacles to this concept; not allMario Karttracks have 3 laps, and loading multiple courses at once could require a lot of rendering power. However, there are a few fairly easy solutions to this. Nintendo can simply omit courses with an unusual number of laps if players are playing in a course-blending mode, reserving those courses for standard modes like Grand Prix. As for the rendering, the long-termMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Passsuggests thatMario Kart 9won’t release until Nintendo’s next console appears, and if it’s on par with the mighty PS5 and Xbox Series X, then rendering large racetracks shouldn’t be much of an issue. Even if it’s on the Switch,Mario Kart 9could consider making a course blending mode playable only when the Switch is docked to streamline performance a little.
The Benefits of Mario Kart Course Blending
The new replayability that course blending would add toMario Kart 9can’t be understated. The potential thousands of course combinations would make everyMario Kartsession unique, since there’ll almost always be some new combo for fans to try. It could also be a boon forMario Kart 9’s difficulty level; constantly changing courses would demand skillful driving from players, soMario Kartdie-hards could get a kick out of that kind of variety, especially in already demanding modes like time trials.
Course blending would also be a fantastic way to reflect any major Nintendo crossovers that happen inMario Kart 9.If theSuper Marioworld’s characters are going to cross over with other Nintendo stars, then the places they come from could cross over in a very literal way through course blending. Players might find themselves starting out in anAnimal Crossingvillage, teleporting to Hyrule Castle, then warping again to Rainbow Road, giving them a grand tour of some of Nintendo’s greatest hits in a singleMario Kartrace.
For the moment, it remains to be seen if Nintendo is willing to implement such an experimental feature. Course blending seems like it has something to offer both casual andcompetitiveMario Kartplayers, but it may be a little too abstract for Nintendo’s liking. Still, abstract would be a good thing forMario Kart.The franchise has a huge fanbase; it can afford to take a couple risks. Nintendo would be wise to letMario Kartspread its wings in order to keep this long-lived series fresh.
Mario Kart 9is rumored to be in development.
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