Mario Kart Games Ranked Worst To Best

The mustachioed plumber has been burning rubber on the racetracks for over thirty years. During this time, he has handled karts of all shapes and sizes, driven to the outer bounds of the Mushroom Kingdom, and been rescued by Lakitu countless times.

Let’s take a brief pit stop, look back at the racetrack’s legacy, and see which Mario Kart games are at the top of the leaderboard.

#14 Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Velan Studios
• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Release Date: October 16, 2020

Without a doubt, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is an innovative concept as you construct a racing track around your home and then control a radio car that has a built-in camera. At first, creating your tracks around your real-life surroundings and whizzing your radio car all over the course you make is reasonably fun.

But this gimmick to bring Mario Kart to life may not hold your attention for too long, as each time you play will require a spacious environment with no mess or obstructions in the way. Of course, this won’t be a problem for someone who continuously ensures their home is spick and span; however, if you sit on the other side of the fence and actively avoid house chores, you might find it easier to play another game instead.

#13 Mario Kart Tour

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EPD
• Platform: Android, iOS
• Release Date: September 25, 2019

When this game was first announced, it piqued a lot of interest as the idea of playing a Mario Kart game conveniently on your mobile phone, no matter where you are, sounds incredibly enticing.

However, Mario Kart Tour received a mixed reception at launch, with its awkward control layout, point system and heavy emphasis on microtransactions. Since its initial release, it’s received massive updates, including multiplayer and the option to play in landscape mode, which fans have welcomed with open arms. If you are curious about Mario Kart Tour, it’s free-to-play and still receives regular support, including a new tour every fortnight.

#12 Mario Kart Arcade GP

• Publisher: Namco
• Developer: Namco
• Platforms: Arcade
• Release: November 19, 2005 (JP)

The original coin-guzzling Mario Kart game was the first in the franchise to feature characters from a different game property. It featured three Namco characters, including the renowned ghost hunter Pacman.

Regrettably, some of the courses are a bit repetitive. Even though there are twenty-four courses, a good chunk of the tracks are pretty much the same, the only difference being you drive through either day or night. However, there is a bit of spice to the formula; when you finish all four tracks in a cup, one last challenge will appear, and completing this mission will earn you a special item. These challenges range from smacking a bunch of Koopas Troopas with the iconic 10T Hammer to pushing a watermelon down a pathway, a clear homage to Super Mario Sunshine.

However, Mario Kart Arcade GP’s biggest claim to fame is out of every Mario Kart game; it has the biggest pool of items. We’ll skip past the fact that you can only use three of these items in a single race, which dramatically dampens this feature; it’s the number of items you could potentially have that counts, right?

#11 Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

• Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
• Developer: Bandai Namco Games
• Platforms: Arcade
• Release: March 14, 2007 (JP)

This sequel didn’t include loads of new content, but the small changes implemented improved the overall experience. Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 contains all the previous characters from its predecessor and now introduces Mametchi from the virtual pet series Tamagotchi. In addition, every character in the roster has two karts available, allowing a little bit more wiggle room in how you choose to drive.

It also includes all the former cups from the original arcade game, alongside two-brand new cups. Sadly, the items available have significantly dropped from Mario Kart Arcade GP, but they’re still over fifty items, which is more than the majority of other Mario Kart titles.

#10 Mario Kart: Super Circuit

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Release: August 27, 2001

Mario Kart: Super Circuit maintains a lot of the core features of the original Super Mario Kart, which is not bad by any stretch but doesn’t do much in terms of improvement for the series. Fans have dubbed this game the unofficial sequel to the original Super Mario Kart, which included all the original tracks and twenty brand-new courses. Unfortunately, some of these retro courses have lost their bite as many hazards have been removed, like the oil slicks in Mario Circuit, making them a lot less fun.

On the gameplay side, it borrows a lot of beats from Super Mario Kart as you tightly drive around the race track, attempting to avoid the track’s curves. But this is a more demanding act than it sounds, as the controls were not too refined, most notably when trying to steer in a particular direction.

You could also play up to four players through the Game Link Cable; remember those? Sigh, kids nowadays won’t know the struggles…

#9 Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

• Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
• Developer: Bandai Namco Games
• Platform: Arcade
• Release: July 25, 2013 (JP)

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is the most recent instalment to the coin-op cabinet repertoire. This arcade title also saw another guest character, this time around being the titular Bandai Namco character Don-chan from the Taiko No Tatsujin series. Furthermore, each character on the roster is broken into five unique weight classes, allowing far more flexibility in your play style compared to the prior arcade instalments.

There are fourteen maps, with ten of them being reimagined takes of previous tracks in the earlier arcade titles. For the most part, they are massive improvements to the courses, and they are reasonably enjoyable to play. However, this game committed one big sin; this is the only Mario Kart game not to include a Rainbow Road course of any form, blasphemous!

#8 Super Mario Kart

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: September 1, 1992

When this game was first released, it had an undeniable footprint on the gaming landscape and eventually became one of the best-selling games on SNES. The fact the heinous villain Bowser was reduced to hunching over a small go-cart in the hopes of beating the red-hat plumber in a race blew everyone’s minds; the concept was so silly and simple that it worked. If it hadn’t been for this game kick-starting everything, there would probably be no Mario Kart legacy today.

Super Mario Kart is based in the same world as the original Super Mario World, which is in Dinosaur land. Yep, that’s right; you’re not cruising around in the Mushroom Kingdom. The controls are not necessarily the easiest to go back to, as moving the kart around can feel a tad stiff, but they are definitely not bad, especially when you compare them to other SNES games. Again, to modern standards, the course length is relatively short, but it was a reasonable effort for its time. In total, there are twenty circuits, although some of the courses were just rehashes of the same track, like there were four different versions of Mario Circuit.

#7 Mario Kart 64

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Nintendo 64
• Release: February 10, 1997

Mario Kart 64 was the first polygon-designed Mario Kart game. For that reason alone, it heavily resonated with people who grew up in that era; it felt like a pure marvel driving through circuits in these graphics.

The game saw the introduction of a few mechanics still present in the series. This entailed the introduction of drifting and the debut of an item we’ve all grown to have a love-and-hate relationship with, the infamous blue shell. Admit it; we’ve all rage-quit after losing a match to this darn thing.

From the get-go, you had all the tracks available at your disposal, which accumulated to sixteen overall, oddly less than its predecessor. The races themselves were challenging, you could pull off the slickest of shortcuts, yet there would still be a good chance the AI would overtake you. Safe to say, the rubber banding in this game is easily the most difficult out of all the entries. So you’ll have to utilize racing lines and drifts to ensure victory.

#6 Mario Kart 7

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Release: December 4, 2011

In Mario Kart 7, you were able to customize your kart for the first time, which felt like an overdue addition by this point. It also brought another two stables to the series, as you could now use gliders to soar the skies after jumping from considerable heights, and the ability to drive underwater, which really changed the dynamic and atmosphere of the races.   

In the gameplay department, the controls felt great and relatively responsive. For this game only, we also had a first-person mode, which might sound like an interesting mechanic, but it definitely had some shortcomings. For example, whenever you get hit by an item or fall off a stage, you would automatically be put back into the third-person mode, sometimes leading to a seasick sensation.

#5 Mario Kart Wii

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Wii
• Release: April 27, 2008

There is a good chance you have fond memories of playing Mario Kart Wii, as it’s the second-best-selling Mario Kart game of all time. The game massively encouraged motion controls with the Wii Wheel, and to be fair, the motion controls were not too shabby. Although these controls are moderately amusing in a group setting playing against others, playing with the traditional Mario Kart controls is the way to go when you’re playing seriously.

We saw the first appearance of jump boosts, a method where after jumping from something like a ramp, you could pull a trick which would give you a momentary speed boost. Using these boosts to your advantage could sometimes be the difference between winning or losing, so it’s essential to master jump boosts. Alongside that, you were able to hit the ground running with two wheels instead of four, as you could use a motorcycle instead of a traditional kart.

Mario Kart Wii also has a ridiculous amount of shortcuts, and they definitely were not intentional by the developer. These shortcuts, labelled as ultra shortcuts, would skip an enormous amount of the track. There honestly in a league of their own. 

#4 Mario Kart 8

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Wii U, Nintendo Switch
• Release: May 30, 2014

Mario Kart 8 was a great game in the series that optimized the Wii U capabilities superbly, although a few hiccups pulled it away from being the best in the franchise. One of the most significant changes was anti-gravity, where certain sections of the map would defy the laws of physics itself as you drive on walls and ceilings, which would even make the Matrix envious.

This element allowed some beyond-fantastic track designs, arguably the best in the series. The way you twist and turn on some tracks even gives the Hot Wheels courses a run for their money; it’s that good.

However, the battle mode was abysmal, and perhaps one of the worst in any of the Mario Kart titles, as they take place on actual tracks, not on a designed battle map, which made this mode feel like a flat-out afterthought.  

#3 Mario Kart DS

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Release: November 14, 2005

Mario Kart DS saw a one-off mission mode, which hasn’t been replicated in the series ever since. Frankly, this is a travesty, as it was a fantastic addition to the modes catalogue, giving players more playability; who doesn’t want to see how far they can get while driving backwards?

The game cleverly exploited the design of the Nintendo handheld, as, on the bottom screen of the DS, you could see all the racers on a top-down map, which certainly helped when trying to optimize the best driving path for yourself. The controls were great; the tracks were even better; this game was bursting with personality, and anyone who has ever played it only has high praise. 

#2 Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EAD
• Platform: GameCube
• Release: November 17, 2003

Mario Kart: Double Dash embodied frantic and almost chaotic gameplay, making the action extremely compelling. It had a unique mechanic of having two characters in a kart, where one would be driving and the other hanging at the back, ready to throw a dastardly item at a moment’s notice. But here’s the thing: both characters can hold an item at any time and could switch positions and then double-team up on an opponent.

This added a layer of strategy to each race because if you wanted to increase your chances of winning, you’d have to pre-plan your moves in advance. This dynamic complimented the co-op excellently, as it’s hard to gauge what your opponent is precisely planning, and if you are not careful, a barrage of items can be flung at you. In addition, the controls were brilliant, which made driving, switching, and throwing items an absolute breeze.

Mario Kart: Double Dash was also one of the few games that supported LAN on the GameCube. Where you could connect up to eight GameCube consoles, allowing up to sixteen people to partake in a match, that is one big house gathering!

#1 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo EPD
• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Release: April 28, 2017

At the top of the podium, we have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It improved on virtually every fault Mario Kart 8 had and turned this diamond in the rough into a true masterpiece. It included all the DLC packs from Mario Kart 8 and added new content, including many new tracks and racers from other Nintendo properties, like Inkling Girl and Boy from Splatoon.

This one has the smoothest controls out of all the games, making it incredibly easy to pick up and play. This time around, you can carry two items instead of one, which allows a bit more freedom regarding how you want to utilise your items in races. It also revamped the entirety of battle mode and made it fairly decent to play with friends.  

The game is still receiving content, as you can buy the Deluxe Booster Course Pass, which will have six waves of tracks. Wave one and two were released earlier this year, with a scheduled third wave of tracks coming before the end of the year. It’s no real surprise that this game is the best-selling title on the Nintendo Switch, and, simply put, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best way to experience Mario Kart.