There are rumors circulating that Nintendo is developing Mario Kart 9 for the Nintendo Switch and that it will have some sort of new twist. The Mario Kart franchise has experimented with different ideas in the past, but there are still places the series can go, without losing its core identity.
If the Mario Kart 9 leak is correct, then it will be a first for the series. Nintendo has never released more than one Mario Kart game on the same system, discounting Virtual Console or retro Nintendo Switch Online releases. The Nintendo Switch might be unique in this regard, as it received Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The original Mario Kart 8 was developed for the Wii U, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was a port that included all of the DLC. Nintendo wanted a killers row of games for the Switch's first year, so it made sense to port Mario Kart 8 with extra content, as it was the Wii U's best-selling game by far, and was a perfect fit for the Switch.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game and it continues to ship copies, even though it has been available for five years. It might seem odd for Nintendo to want to rock the boat by releasing a new entry in the series, but the Switch doesn't have a unique Mario Kart experience. A recent report revealed that Mario Kart 9 is in development for Switch, but this has yet to be confirmed by Nintendo and the information should be taken with a grain of salt until it's officially announced. The report claimed that Mario Kart 9 would have some kind of new twist and fans are wondering what that could be.
The Surprise Twist In Mario Kart 9 Could Look Familiar
The Mario Kart series has used karts with multiple drivers, motorcycles, underwater stages, and anti-gravity devices on the wheels, allowing karts to drive up walls. One obvious direction for the series to go is to include flying segments, in a similar manner to Diddy Kong Racing. A Mario Kart game that had tracks where the karts had wings and jet boosters, allowing for the player to move in all directions, like the Arwings in Star Fox, would definitely be a new twist on the series. The ability for the karts to fly would also be a major addition to the battle mode in the game, turning Mario Kart into a dogfighting game with shells.
The other way the series could expand is by going the Super Smash Bros. route and including more Nintendo characters and stages. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe already experimented with this concept, as there are characters and stages from Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Splatoon, and The Legend of Zelda series in the game. A full Mario Kart game developed with crossover DLC would be a new direction for the series and could even take Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's place as the game that gets big DLC announcements during Nintendo events. A Mario Kart game that added third-party characters/stages could try and evoke the same feeling that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate did with its ever-expanding roster.