Mario Kart 7

Mario Kart 7 is a 2011 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD in cooperation with Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. As with the previous games in the Mario Kart series, players participate in racing on various Mario-themed tracks, playing as one of seventeen different Mario characters. While racing, the players make use of power-up items that either assist their character or hinder opposing characters. New additions to the game include hang-gliding attachments for karts, the ability to drive underwater, the ability to drive in first person, and the ability to fully customize the vehicles’ builds.

The game supports both local and online multiplayer for up to eight players. The game was a critical and commercial success, with it going on to be the best-selling game on the Nintendo 3DS, with over 18.98 million copies sold worldwide. Mario Kart 7 carries on traditional Mario Kart gameplay in which players race against each other in go-karts across 32 courses (new and retro). Most are based on various locations in the Mario series, but two new courses are set on Wuhu Island location from the Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort games. 

In addition to traditional button controls, Mario Kart 7 can be played using the Nintendo 3DS gyroscope, in which the action is viewed in first person and the player steers the kart simply by tilting the entire game system. While most gameplay occurs on the top screen of the 3DS hardware, the bottom screen shows an overhead map of the race course. While driving, the players may use power-up items, obtained from running into item boxes located at specific points on the track, that are used to hinder the progression of opponents or to help the player in the race.

Some of these power-ups include the series staple items Koopa Shells, Banana Peels, and Super Mushrooms. Three new items were added: Fire Flower, which allows the player to shoot up to ten fireballs, the Super Leaf, which gives the player a tail that allows them to flip over nearby players, collect nearby Coins, and deflect items, and the Lucky Seven, which bestows seven items at once. Coins are also scattered about the tracks; collecting them increases the kart’s top speed. Up to ten coins can be collected in each race, but some will be lost if the player comes into contact with hazards or goes out of bounds.

Jump actions let players obtain a brief burst of speed when hitting a button prior to driving off ramps, hang glider attachments sometimes allow for controllable gliding segments as well. In the previous installments, driving the kart into a body of water has been considered going out of bounds and would penalize the player by delaying them or being picked up by Lakitu. In Mario Kart 7, however, the karts are fully submersible thus adding fully underwater track segments.