Mario Kart 7 (stylized as MARIOKART7 and commonly abbreviated as MK7) is a Mario based racing game exclusively made for the Nintendo 3DS (however, it can be played on the 2DS and New 2DS XL, just like every other 3DS game). It's the seventh Mario Kart game in the series, (ninth including the arcade games) and the third for a handheld console. Returning from Mario Kart Wii, players are able to exchange Ghost Data and play online or wirelessly in multiplayer mode. Mario Kart 7 introduces a few new features to the tracks, including Blue Boosters (which trigger Gliding sections) and underwater turbines specifically made for underwater racing. This game introduces kart customization as well, allowing players to toggle parts on their karts to fit their preferences.
Gameplay[]
New Features[]
- There are three new Items: The Fire Flower, the Lucky 7, and the Super Leaf*.
- You can now unlock Wheels, Gliders, and frames to build your own kart.
- After going over a Blue Booster (or a Blue Mushroom in Wii Mushroom Gorge), you will activate a Glider. The glider makes you glide through the air for a certain amount of time.
- You can drive underwater in most tracks (for example, you will drown in Daisy Hills, but not in Cheep Cheep Lagoon).
- Anyone who is in 4th place or lower receives an extra point.
- You can race in a first-person perspective*.
- The Race timer is now exclusive to Time Trials.
- Metal Mario, Wiggler, Shy Guy, Honey Queen*, and Lakitu are now playable (Shy Guy was actually playable in Mario Kart DS, but only in Download Play).
(* Exclusive to this game)
Returning Features[]
- Coins return in Racing mode after an absence since Mario Kart: Super Circuit. However, players can only collect a maximum of 10 at a time.
- The Super Mini-Turbo returns from Mario Kart Wii, which is done by drifting until the sparks turn orange and gets a more powerful boost.
- The Spiny Shell returns to its wingless form, just like its first two appearances.
- Tricks return from Mario Kart Wii, as well as the character and item icons and results music.
Removed Features from Mario Kart Wii[]
- Bikes are not usable in this game due to system limitations and complaints that they were overpowered compared to Karts due to wheelies.
- The race is back to eight racers due to space limitations.
- The single-player VS Race is removed for unknown reasons, an omission that many fans feel reduces the game's replay potential.
- Waluigi was not included as a playable character, but his course from Mario Kart DS is featured as a Retro Track. However, he was planned to appear beforehand.
- Speaking of not being included, Toadette was another character who was originally planned to appear but wasn't included as a playable character either.
- In fact, only 11 out of 24 characters (not counting Miis) from the previous installment, Mario Kart Wii, returned in this game.
- The Fake Item Box from previous installments is absent, but was initially planned.
- Speaking of another item that didn't appear in this game, the Mega Mushroom from Mario Kart Wii was also going to appear in this game.
- The POW Block and the Thunder Cloud from Mario Kart Wii are also absent.
Game Modes[]
Grand Prix[]
In Grand Prix, the player selects an Engine Class and a cup to race. Each cup contains four courses that are played in order. After each individual race, the place in which the racer comes is translated into a number of points to go to the racer's total. At the end of the cup, the points are cumulatively tallied, and whichever racer has the most, second most, and third most points wins a gold, silver, or bronze trophy, respectively. Below is a table showing the amount of points garnered for coming in a certain place in a race.
Grand Prix Points System:
| Finishing Places | Points Received |
|---|---|
| 1st | 10 |
| 2nd | 8 |
| 3rd | 6 |
| 4th | 5 |
| 5th | 4 |
| 6th | 3 |
| 7th | 2 |
| 8th | 1 |
Time Trial[]
Time trial allow players to race for the best time possible, either on their own or against a ghost. It is not possible to play this mode with more than one player.
VS Race[]
VS Mode allows players to race, but with their own custom rule sets set such as changing which items appear, or modifying the difficulty. You can also pick any track to race on, rather than only a whole cup. This mode is only available in Multiplayer in Mario Kart 7.
Battle[]
There are 2 types of Battle Modes: Coin Runners and Balloon Battle. Balloon Battle requires players to hit each other with items to pop their Balloons. If you run out of Balloons, your score gets halved. In coin Runners, players pick up as many coins as possible. If they get hit by an item, they lose some of their coins.
Controls[]
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Circle Pad | Steer (left and right), Shoot item forward/backward (up and down) |
| A/Y | Gas (Press and hold during the countdown = Rocket Start) |
| B | Brakes |
| X/L | Use item |
| R | Jump (R + Circle Pad = Mini-Turbo) |
| Touch screen | Switch between outlined and detailed map (visible on the Touch Screen) |
| D-Pad | Switch to first-person view (up when in normal view); switch back to normal view (left, right and down when in first-person view) |
Characters[]
Mario Kart 7 has a total of 17 characters.
8 characters are available from the start and the rest are unlockable.
(The Image Above Displays The Character Select Menu with All Characters Unlocked)
Starting[]
| Character | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Mario | |
 |
Luigi | |
 |
Princess Peach | Light |
 |
Yoshi | |
 |
Bowser | Heavy |
 |
Donkey Kong | Cruiser |
|
Toad | Feather |
 |
Koopa Troopa | |
Unlockable[]
| Character | Weight | How to Unlock | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Daisy | Light | Win the 150cc |
 Mushroom Cup
|
 |
Wario | Heavy |  Flower Cup
| |
 |
Rosalina | Cruiser |  Star Cup
| |
|
Metal Mario | Heavy |  Special Cup
| |
 |
Shy Guy | Feather |  Shell Cup
| |
 |
Queen Bee | Heavy |  Banana Cup
| |
 |
Wiggler | Cruiser |  Leaf Cup
| |
 |
Lakitu | Feather |  Lightning Cup
| |
 |
Mii | Medium | ||
Vehicles
In Mario Kart 7, players can mix and match vehicle parts to create their own vehicle. This includes karts, gliders, and wheels. Here is a list of these items:
Note: Names in bold are from the American version while names in italics are from the European and Australian versions, if there is no italicized name, then the vehicle's name is unchanged in all regions.
Karts[]
| Kart | Unlocked at Start? | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Standard | Yes |
 |
Pipe Frame | No |
 |
Bolt Buggy | Yes |
 |
Blue Seven | No |
 |
Zucchini Gherkin | |
 |
Cloud 9 | |
 |
Koopa Clown | |
 |
Cact-X | |
 |
Tiny Tug | |
 |
Barrel Train | |
 |
Egg 1 | |
 |
B Dasher | |
 |
Soda Jet | |
 |
Bruiser Growlster | |
 |
Bumble V | |
 |
Birthday Girl Royal Ribbon |
Yes |
 |
Gold Standard Gold Kart |
No |
Wheels[]
| Wheel | Unlocked at Start? | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Standard Normal |
Yes |
 |
Gold Tires Gold Wheels |
No |
 |
Roller | Yes |
 |
Slim | No |
 |
Slick | |
 |
Sponge | |
 |
Mushroom | |
 |
Wood Wooden | |
 |
Red Monster | |
 |
Monster | Yes |
Gliders[]
| Glider | Unlocked at Start? | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Super Glider | Yes |
 |
Peach Parasol | No |
 |
Paraglider Parafoil | |
 |
Flower Glider | |
 |
Swooper Swoop | |
 |
Beast Glider Ghastly Glider | |
 |
Gold Glider | |
Items[]
Present[]
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Item Box |
Gives you an item when you pass through it. |
 Coin |
Collecting Coins increases the top speed of your kart (you can collect a maximum of 10, also in Coin Runners). |
 Banana |
Karts that run over a banana will spin out. They can be thrown forward or dropped behind your kart. |
 Triple Banana |
Gives you three bananas that trail behind your kart. You don't need to hold the X- or L-button to hold them. |
 Green Shell |
Travels in a straight line and knocks over the first kart it hits. Breaks after hitting obstacles too many times. |
 Triple Green Shell |
Three Green Shells that spin around your kart. You will shoot one at a time, and they are able to be shot forward or behind. They can also guard your kart against shells if you have them on your back. |
 Red Shell |
Fires at the kart in front of you, according to the track. When shot backward, it will follow a straight line. Breaks after contact. |
 Triple Red Shell |
Three Red Shells, the stats are the same for Triple Green Shells. |
 Spiny Shell |
Hovers over to the first place and explodes. It will topple any kart in its path, but not explode. They can be diffused by a well-timed Bob-omb, or be escaped with a mushroom. |
 Bob-omb |
Will explode when thrown or dropped, knocking over any kart in its blast radius. One of the only items that can stop a Spiny Shell. When released, it will throw itself forward, unlike a Banana. |
 Mushroom |
Provides your kart with a small speed boost. |
 Triple Mushroom |
Provides your kart with three separate speed boosts. |
 Golden Mushroom |
Gives you a speed boost whenever you press L or X, but only for 7.5 seconds. |
 Bullet Bill |
Transforms you into a Bullet Bill and knocks over the karts in the front. |
 Blooper |
Sprays ink on all the karts ahead of you and reduces their visibility. |
 Lightning |
Causes all opponents to shrink in size. They drop their items and slow down, and the time it takes to grow back to normal size depends on your position. A fully-grown racer can squish a small racer. |
 Star |
Increases your speed for a short time. It will keep you safe from everything; including Spiny Shells and Lightning (Does not include falling off the course). |
 Fire Flower (New Item!) |
Allows you to throw fireballs that cause other karts to spin out of control for a short time (1/3 of a Banana). |
 Super Leaf (New Item!) |
Gives your kart a tail that can be used to deflect items and knock over opponents. It is helpful to grab out of reach Coins. |
 Lucky Seven (New Item!) |
Surrounds your cart with 7 usable items. These include a Red Shell, a Green Shell, a Banana, a Bob-omb, a Star, a Blooper, and a Mushroom. All of which will be used when you press X or L when the item is in front of your car and CPU-racers can also hit them, with the effects working for them. |
Absent items from Wii[]
| Item | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
 Fake Item Box |
Likely either replaced by Coins or Nintendo ran out of time to add the item. |
 Mega Mushroom |
Nintendo likely ran out of time to add the item, or the item was excluded due to hardware limitations (as the 3DS's processor wasn't powerful enough to handle the Mega Mushroom's effects as the Wii was), or they decided to leave it out as it is very similar to the Star. |
 POW Block |
Unknown |
 Thunder Cloud |
Likely due to complaints |
Item Probabilities[]
| Placement | Probabilities |
|---|---|
| 1st |    Banana: 35% |
| 2nd | Red Shell: 25% |
| 3rd |     Red Shell: 20% |
| 4th |   Mushroom: 20% |
| 5th |   Triple Mushroom: 20% |
| 6th |  Triple Mushroom: 25% |
| 7th | Triple Mushroom and Golden Mushroom: 25% |
| 8th | Bullet Bill: 30% |
Other Information About Item Probabilities[]
| Item | No.
Positions Available |
Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 55 | 18.3333333333% |
|
|
4 | 65 | 16.25% |
|
|
5 | 70 | 14% |
|
|
5 | 65 | 13% |
|
|
4 | 30 | 7.5% |
|
|
2 | 25 | 12.5% |
|
|
4 | 30 | 7.5% |
|
|
3 | 25 | 8.33333333333% |
|
|
6 | 110 | 18.3333333333% |
|
|
4 | 30 | 7.5% |
|
|
3 | 20 | 6.66666666667% |
|
|
3 | 30 | 10% |
|
|
3 | 15 | 5% |
|
|
4 | 30 | 7.5% |
|
|
4 | 55 | 13.75% |
|
|
4 | 60 | 15% |
|
|
3 | 50 | 16.6666666667% |
|
|
2 | 35 | 17.5% |
Courses[]
Just like its predecessors, Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 has 8 Cups and 32 courses: 16 new tracks and 16 remakes from the previous games' tracks. Italics denote course name in PAL version.
Nitro[]
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mushroom Cup | Flower Cup | Star Cup | Special Cup |
Toad Circuit |
Wuhu Loop |
Piranha Plant Slide |
DK Jungle |
Daisy Hills |
Mario Circuit |
Wario Shipyard |
Rosalina's Ice World |
Cheep Cheep Lagoon |
Music Park |
Neo Bowser City |
Bowser's Castle |
Shy Guy Bazaar |
Rock Rock Mountain |
Maka Wuhu |
Rainbow Road |
Retro[]
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell Cup | Banana Cup | Leaf Cup | Lightning Cup |
N64 Luigi Raceway |
|
N64 Kalimari Desert |
Wii Koopa Cape |
GBA Bowser Castle 1 |
SNES Mario Circuit 2 |
DS DK Pass |
GCN Dino Dino Jungle |
Wii Mushroom Gorge |
Wii Coconut Mall |
GCN Daisy Cruiser |
DS Airship Fortress |
DS Luigi's Mansion |
DS Waluigi Pinball |
Wii Maple Treeway |
SNES Rainbow Road |
In Mario Kart 8 x The Legend of Zelda DLC, or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is required. In Mario Kart 8 x Animal Crossing DLC, or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is required.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC is required.Battle[]
| Nitro | Retro |
|---|---|
 Honeybee HiveHoneybee House |
 GBA Battle Course 1also in Mario Kart Tour |
 Sherbet Rink |
 N64 Big Donutalso in Mario Kart World |
 Wuhu Townalso in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
 DS Palm Shore |
Gallery[]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart 7.
Update History[]
Version 1.1[]
Release Date: May 15th, 2012
- Fixed Exploits in certain tracks.
Version 1.2[]
Release Date: December 13th, 2022
- Many issues have been resolved to improve the gameplay experience.
- As of December 13th, 2022, all players must install this update in order to access online multiplayer.
Reception[]
Mario Kart 7 received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic holding a metascore of 85/100 based on 73 critic reviews.[1]
Trivia![]
- When you get a Lucky Seven with the items set to either Shells only, Bananas only, Mushrooms only, or Bob-ombs only, you will get seven Red Shells, Bananas, Mushrooms, or Bob-ombs surrounding your kart respectively.
- This is currently the only Mario Kart game where Wario is initially locked as a character.
- This is the only post-Mario Kart: Double Dash!! game where Waluigi is not a playable character (though he was supposed to appear in the game as a playable character, but was scrapped due to time constraints). Despite this, DS Waluigi Pinball returns as a retro course.
- This and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! are the only Mario Kart games after Mario Kart 64 that have no single-player VS Mode. However, VS mode is accessible in local multiplayer.
- This is the second Mario Kart game to feature several incarnations of Rainbow Road after Mario Kart: Super Circuit. In this case, similar to that game, its own and the SNES version.
- None of the “partners” from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! return in this game (despite the fact that Waluigi and Toadette were initially planned to return). The only two that returned are Luigi and Daisy (the former of which is a starter and the latter of which is unlockable). Only the main team members from that game make a return in this game. The two pairs that are completely absent from this game are Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, and Petey Piranha and King Boo.
- All items introduced in Mario Kart 7 were removed in Mario Kart 8, except for the Fire Flower.
- Additionally, the Lucky 7 is replaced with the Crazy 8 in said game which fills the role for the Lucky 7.
- Some of the playable characters voice clips were recycled from Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii.
- This and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! are the only two console Mario Kart games that cannot be played on the Wii U.
- This is the only Mario Kart game with 3D effects.
- All four retro tracks from Mario Kart Wii that appear in this game are also in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Tour.
- This is the only game in the series to have SNES Rainbow Road but not SNES Mario Circuit 3.
References[]
- ↑ Metascore for Mario Kart 7Metacritic, Retrieved April 21, 2020
External links[]
| Mario Kart games | |
|---|---|
| Main Titles | Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES) • Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64) • Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001, GBA) • Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GameCube) • Mario Kart DS (2005, DS) • Mario Kart Wii (2008, Wii) • Mario Kart 7 (2011, 3DS) • Mario Kart 8 (2014, Wii U) • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017, Switch) • Mario Kart Tour (2019, Mobile) • Mario Kart World (2025, Switch 2) |
| Arcade Titles | Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005) • Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007) • Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013) • Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017) |
| Spin-off Titles | Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (2020, Switch) |