Now that two of the twelve DLC cups have been released for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it’s clear that Mario Kart 9 needs to add more content in order to be a replacement. Nintendo has worked itself into somewhat of a corner by making nearly every DLC track a pre-existing retro course so far, and if the trend continues, it may run out of tracks to remake from previous games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be a much more exciting package after all the DLC tracks are added to the game, but it does mean that Mario Kart 9 won’t have much of the past left to pull from.
The bar has been set incredibly high for Mario Kart 9 and it needs to prove that it can stand on its own after the large amount of content that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had in store. Much like Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, any game released after the ultimate collection of retro content will need to step up its game to be worth the full $60 price tag. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will have over double the content of its predecessors, meaning that Mario Kart 9 will probably have to use retro content to satisfy returning players.
The Mario Kart 8 DLC tracks may be good even for re-used content, but it also leaves room for Mario Kart 9 to iterate. 48 tracks is a lot for a racing game, but it’s become the baseline number of tracks needed for a Mario Kart game. The way that Mario Kart 9 could add more tracks is to put more time and effort into new references and unique courses. Mario Kart has always been remembered fondly for its creative tracklists and original designs from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so Nintendo should learn from the DLC and make streamlined tracks with new themes.
Mario Kart 9 Should Take Cues From Remastered Tracks and Beautify Them
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC has remakes of some strange tracks from Mario Kart Tour like the Paris and Tokyo maps. Although they are interesting tracks to race on due to their modified course layouts, their real-world themes don’t feel inventive enough when compared to the wild imagination of the base game’s tracks. The best tracks in Mario Kart are ones with unique themes, like Waluigi Pinball and Dino Dino Jungle. What Mario Kart 9 needs at launch is new content that captures the fantasy of the Mushroom Kingdom and covers ground that hasn’t been seen before - like Electrodome did in Mario Kart 8.
Re-used content could definitely round out the edges of a new game, but the weight of the title has to be carried by new content and new racers in Mario Kart 9. The HD remasters of the tracks would need to be more than slightly better-looking than the original games - they need to be full re-imaginings like the remake of Sky Garden. The tracks included are great as Mario Kart 8 DLC. However, these tracks should serve as a blueprint for how to innovate and create wildly imaginative and stylish redesigns like Rainbow Road for 3DS rather than just make tracks three-dimensional.
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC hasn’t fully come out yet, with more waves releasing in the future, so there may be more surprises along the way. Mario Kart 9 may be years out from being designed, but it’s important to look at the present and understand what could be better in the future. Almost assuredly, Mario Kart 9 will have time in development to make many new courses now that the DLC for the previous game is being released, and hopefully, those new tracks will be created with returning audiences in mind.