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There is a lot to love about Mario Kart World, even despite its ridiculous price tag. Nintendo has put a lot of effort into making this the superior Mario Kart entry, both in the game’s visual and mechanical design. A lot of what Nintendo has showcased so far through the initial reveal and subsequent Direct all point towards it being the best game in the series, and, for $80, one would absolutely hope so. Many, Nintendo included, of course, want this to be a smash hit at launch.
To achieve this, Mario Kart World is implementing a number of novel and innovative features. The somewhat disappointing Mario Kart World Direct delved deep into all of these, from the vast open-world and Free Roam mode to interconnected tracks and an eye-wateringly big roster. It is the latter feature that has gotten so many people talking, especially as it trumps those of its predecessors. However, while it is incredibly large, Mario Kart World has absolutely proven that size does not matter.
Mario Kart World’s Roster Is Huge
There Are At Least 50 Characters
Mario Kart World’s humongous roster consists of 50 racers, at least so far. Nintendo hasn’t officially announced every racer coming to the game, but it has unveiled a lot of them through the initial announcement, Direct, player footage, and Treehouse gameplay. This is the biggest roster in Mario Kart history, surpassing even Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which contained 48, including its numerous DLC characters. That’s nothing to scoff at, especially when you consider that each character also has alternate outfits, leading to an even greater number of playable racers.
There are also a lot of karts in Mario Kart World to complement each character, leading to a truly staggering number of combinations and customization options. That’s a lot of content for players to sift through, perhaps enough to even justify MK World’s exorbitant price, although that’s up to each player’s discretion. Regardless, 50 racers is a great selling point, one that worked well for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when it brought every fighter from across the series to the one game. Nintendo will likely get a lot of mileage out of this statistic in the game’s marketing.
A lot of Mario Kart World’s best characters have already gone viral, including perhaps the most adorable newcomer, Cow. However, as great as it is to have such an enormous roster from the outset, especially considering that Mario Kart World doesn’t have a huge number of tracks, there is a significant problem with the lineup that Nintendo has curated for this entry. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Mario Kart World’s roster already feels like a waste, especially when there was the potential to make it really amazing.
Mario Kart World’s Roster Is A Waste
There Are Too Many Characters No One Has Heard Of
Mario Kart World’s roster makes absolutely no sense to me, largely because I have no idea who any of these characters are – outside of the obvious familiar recurring characters like Mario, Luigi, and even folks like Monty Mole. I mean, I certainly recognize some of the designs, like that trio of spikey orange balls or the American Football dinosaur creatures that send me flying in Super Mario Party. However, I don’t know their names, what their deal is, or why they’re suddenly driving karts instead of getting in my way like they have in every other Mario Kart game.
Honestly, has anyone heard of a Cataquack? It seems bizarre to me that Nintendo felt it was right to add in all of these minor Mario characters – I say characters, but they have little character to speak of – when there are so many key characters missing from World in the first place. It isn’t even just major Mario characters that have been left behind, ones that haven’t even had a chance in the Mario Kart spotlight. There are also all of the DLC characters from other games, like Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda, that are absent here.
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A Lack Of Animal Crossing Has Ruined Mario Kart World For Me
The roster for Mario Kart World may be filled with a lot of Mushroom Kingdom characters, but an absence of Animal Crossing casts a pall over it.
One of MK 8 Deluxe’s best features was its expanded multiverse roster that drew from a number of exciting Nintendo games and even added tracks inspired by them. It was a unique experience to play as Inklings from Splatoon or Isabelle from Animal Crossing, and it gave me hope that we’d get even more obscure Nintendo characters like Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles racing around with Mario and his friends. Unfortunately, at least at launch, that isn’t the case, as Nintendo thought we’d prefer Cataquak and Para-Biddybud instead.
Nintendo Should Have Added Abilities Rather Than More Characters
It Would Have Made Each Character Feel Unique
These missing characters feel like cut content in MK World, as if Nintendo has saved them for future DLC rather than just giving them to players from the outset. That would be a huge shame if that is the case, although, by the same token, it would be a shame to never get them. I also feel like adding so many random Mario characters, all of which needed to be modeled and animated, took away from time that could have been spent adding a more unique feature to a smaller but better curated roster.
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Mario Kart World Doesn’t Use The Switch 2’s Best New Feature
Mario Kart World has many exciting new gameplay modes, but it unfortunately won’t be using one of the Nintendo Switch 2’s best new features.
I’ve always thought it was strange that, beyond appearances, each character in Mario Kart largely plays the same. I know there are differences in weight, but I’ve never found it made a noticeable difference, likely to ensure that children get to play as whomever they want without being negatively penalized. However, considering how Mario Kart World feels like the most skill-focused entry, it would have been interesting had it introduced unique abilities and skills, transforming it into the very first Hero Racer.
These abilities would be based on each character’s skills or personality across other entries, such as giving Mario the ability to warp to another player’s location through a pipe or having Bowser shoot flaming balls at nearby players. Other racing games, like the severely underrated indie gem Beach Buggy Racing, have a similar feature that works alongside power-ups. However, these could even replace power-ups in Mario Kart World altogether, forcing players to choose wisely who they want to use and when best to activate their ability in order to speed ahead.
Mario Kart World’s roster is a wasted opportunity, one that doesn’t take advantage of Nintendo’s vast library of characters or even those specific to Mario, and, as a result, feels too random, sporadic, and meaningless.
Of course, this may upset some players who are used to the current formula, or make it harder for newcomers to get ahead. After all, a lot of Mario Kart is based around benefiting players in last place, and focusing exclusively on abilities could make that harder. Nevertheless, I still believe that Mario Kart World’s roster is a wasted opportunity, one that doesn’t take advantage of Nintendo’s vast library of characters or even those specific to Mario, and, as a result, feels too random, sporadic, and meaningless.
- Released
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June 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Prequel(s)
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Number of Players
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1-24
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
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June 5, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
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June 5, 2025
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