Mario Kart 8: Are we running out of maps?

new cover image trial - let me know what you think!

Well hey there lovely readers, I promised some backlog content and here I am with my backlog content! Some of these are older than others, but content is content right? I'm hoping to build up this blog as much as possible over the coming months, with goals to expand it even further than it already is, grow readership, grow following, etc. all that good stuff because we are going for 'content creator' role now. How weird is that? Previously a journalist and a now content creator? Well we will see how that one goes but the goal to be recognised by major gaming companies and organisations as a content creator feels like a pretty a good one. We are kicking off all this new content (non journalistic and more bloggy) with an old piece I wrote on Mario Kart (I am a huge Mario Kart person what can I say?), this one is specifically based on how many maps there are in the various games, plus the new booster for the Deluxe 8 as well as my own thoughts on some things that could be added to spice it up a little bit! So without further ado, let's get into it!

Mario Kart has been around as early as the 1990s (which I am sad to say does make it older than me), and since its' conception, we have seen over 170 maps from the original games. But is it time for Nintendo to go back to the drawing board and come up with some new maps? Having bought back many of the OG maps in the Mario Kart Waves on the Booster Course Pack, with the addition of a few new maps, it is obvious that a change is being made more or less - but maybe some new maps could become fan favourites as well as the OG maps?

170 original maps!?!

Yep, you read that right. I was honestly quite stunned too when I googled it after falling down a rabbit hole for this blog. Mario Kart has over 170 original maps since the beginning of the game (which is older than I am - big sad). All of which can be broken down into their respective cups such as the Mushroom cup and others. 170 maps and tracks is no mean feat, and I can say I appreciate the OGs wholeheartedly, coconut mall was an absolute banger map to play and I took great pleasure in knowing the shortcuts when racing against my friends and family - they soon learnt not to let me near the map. Consider coconut mall the equivalent of a ban among my friends and family if I was playing rather than spectating.  

(Some of) the OG maps of Mario Kart - image via Nintendo Official Mario Kart page

The OGs include maps from across the various gaming platforms and consoles such as Wii (I'm really showing my age here, aren't I) and others, all the way up to the Nintendo Switch of today. And talking of Nintendo Switches, mine really needs some dusting off as it is someone under my uni stuff, wrapped carefully in the case but definitely not in use as I do not have the space to set it up with any large screen. Side note - I have the smallest room in my uni house and boy do I know about it whenever I want to game...

The Booster Course adds 48 new maps

I won't lie, I'm a big fan of the booster pack (even if I haven't purchased it) as it brought back my favorite OG map of all time, Coconut Mall. The map originally from the Wii was a childhood favorite, and it along with many other OG maps made a return with the booster pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. 

Wave 1 of the official Booster Course Pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - image via official Nintendo Mario Kart

The booster pack also featured new maps and tracks, such as Squeaky Clean Sprint - who would have thought cleaning products could make for an awesome Mario Kart race?

What else could be a Mario Kart map of the future?

As I'm writing this I'm thinking about the kind of maps I want to see that I haven't played before, in some ways I would love to see a map themed around a school building, racing through classrooms and going down the main stairs. Niche? Probably, but I think it would be cool. 

The most recent additions to Mario Kart as part of the booster pack - image via official Nintendo Mario Kart 

I was also kind of bummed to see Seoul didn't make it as a booster course - so that would be a nice nod to another big city and could be fun to play around with graphics.

So, is Mario Kart running out?

With a bit of creativity, absolutely not. But I for one would love to see some more new maps added to the game to spice things up outside of bringing back the OG maps - the OG maps are great, I love them for the nostalgia but I would be excited to see something new too. But that's just me, let me know what you think!

A few more maps just for good measure, featuring one of my faves (the Animal Crossing Map) - image via Official Nintendo Mario Kart

Thanks for reading and see you on the next blog

byeeeeeeeeee