Mario Kart Wii is a multiplayer-oriented racing game for the console, developed. It is the sixth main installment in the series and the tenth overall. Mario Kart Wii retains the traditional item-based weaponry familiar with the franchise, where players can select a franchise driver and themed vehicles.
While Chain Chomps DO appear in Mario Kart Wii as obstacles in courses such as Mario Circuit or Chain Chomp Wheel/Roulette, there is an icon for the Chain Chomp item, as seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Next to the mouth is the kanji for 'temporary' (仮).
As with most racing games, the overarching goal is to place first among other competitors, through the usage of such items and taking the fastest routes to secure the leads. Several new key elements introduced to Mario Kart Wii include increasing the number of racers to 12 racers from 8 racers from previous entries in the series, as well as introducing a new type of vehicle to the franchise:. The game takes advantage of features unique to the Wii, most notably its motion control capabilities. A is included in most Mario Kart Wii packages, though the game is still compatible with other controllers such as a regular held sideways, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Nintendo GameCube controller, and the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. Game modes are also present such as the traditional Grand Prix, Versus, Battle, and Time Trial modes, many of them made use of the before its discontinuation for worldwide online play.This game requires 23 blocks of storage on the player's Wii system to save game data.
Also, the game data cannot be copied onto another Wii. The game also includes its own, called the, which allows players to play in special tournaments and trade their racing profile with other players around the world. This channel uses 74 to 88 blocks (depending on the game's region), but unlike the game data, players can copy the channel onto their SD cards.With over 37 million copies of the game sold, Mario Kart Wii is the second best-selling Wii game (after ) and the best-selling Mario game for the Wii console.was terminated by Nintendo starting on May 20th, 2014, therefore making it no longer available to play Mario Kart Wii (as well as and other games that support WFC) online. This map shows all the countries listed in the in Mario Kart Wii.
Not all regions registered on the Wii system are registered in the game. Some countries that have lost their independence, such as, and , as well as others that have disappeared or disintegrated, are still registered as separate regions on the Wii system or the game. In addition, and are still registered together as 'Sudan', even though they split.Mario Kart Wii retains most of the elements from previous Mario Kart games, especially. Players select a racer from a cast of Mario characters, who are all divided into size categories in relation to their stats, and they need to select a vehicle from the class they belong in, all with their own stats. All races start with players at a line corresponding to their proper position, where signals the countdown time. Once the time is finished, players race three laps around a race course in an attempt to be first of the pack.
Once the third lap is completed, players are ranked points depending on how well they placed in the race. While every previous Mario Kart game allowed for a maximum of eight racers on each course, up to twelve are on the course at a time in Mario Kart Wii. In Grand Prix and VS mode, player characters always start out on the latter positions; once they finish the race, their position is saved as they move on to the next race. Like and, Mario Kart Wii shows a rating of how well a player performed after the trophy presentation: ★★★, ★★, ★, A, B, C, D, and E (E being the lowest ranking and ★★★ being the highest).Integral to the Mario Kart series is the usage of Mario-themed items to use as weapons against other racers in the track, either directly benefiting the player or hurting another player's progress. Players can receive these items at random from scattered around the track. The quality of the item received depends on the position of the racer: racers who are further down the line receive stronger items to help compensate their poorer performances.
For examples, lower racers receive as speed boosts, for faster invincibility, etc. While higher-placed racers receive weak items such as. When players receive an item, they can stop the item roulette faster by pressing the corresponding item button.Several advanced techniques are retained in Mario Kart Wii from prior Mario Kart titles, although several tweaks have been made to them.
Players can drift through tougher curves to maintain speed; players can perform a when players receive color-coded sparks from drifting, which depends on how long players can hold the button for drifting and the angle at which they drift. Introduced in Mario Kart Wii are two drift modes: Automatic and Manual. Automatic drifting allows players to automatically drift when turning very sharply, though players cannot perform Mini-Turbos regardless of how well they drift. Manual mode requires players hold down a button to drift, but releasing the button may release a Mini-Turbo, the strength of it depending on the color of the sparks. Players are now able to perform when they driver over specific types of ramps. When drivers perform a trick and land successfully, they gain a momentary boost of speed. Tricks consist of mid-air acrobatics and are performed by shaking the upward, shaking the in the Wii Remote + Nunchuk combo, pressing the on the Classic Controller, or pressing the on the GameCube controller.Motorbikes are introduced in this game, alongside having a wider variety of karts to select from.
Motorbikes can perform to increase top speed on straights, though motorbikes cannot perform the most powerful Mini-Turbo that karts can. Motorbikes also come in two classes: drift type and hang-on type. Drift type bikes drift in a similar way to karts, while hang-on type bikes commit to the turn instead.Prior to discontinuation of online services, Mario Kart Wii featured a text chat in Online Multiplayer Mode when racing or battling against Friends. Users can send pre-written phrases to other users before the series of races starts. However, there is no facility for a user to type custom messages.Another new change is the point system used for Grand Prix races.
With twelve racers competing in each race, the point value has increased from 10/8/6/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to eighth place respectively to 15/12/10/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to twelfth place respectively. Also, 4th and 5th place are not losing positions. Controllers that can be used in Mario Kart Wii.Mario Kart Wii takes advantage of the 's motion-sensing ability. By tilting the remote, players can steer their karts. Since the Wii Remote is designed to be inserted into the Wii Wheel for better grip, players can also play without the Wheel if they choose to. Mario Kart Wii can also be played by connecting the or the, or using the. Controlling the vehicle is divided up into two sections: Basic and Advanced.Basic controls and actions.
Accelerate: When drivers hold down the corresponding button, the vehicle goes forward. Accelerating time depends on the type of karts: Lightweight karts have a high acceleration, but low speed. Heavyweight karts tend to have a low acceleration, but a high top speed. Middleweight karts tend to have an average top speed and acceleration. Steer: Steering lets drivers move around corners. Brake: Braking slows the vehicle to an abrupt stop.
Reverse: The driver's kart goes backwards if the driver continues holding the brake button after the vehicle comes to a stop. If a vehicle reaches maximum top speed, the vehicle will drift instead. If the player tries to accelerate while going in reverse, the vehicle will start to build momentum. When blue sparks start to appear, the player can release the brakes to get a small speed of boost. Look Behind: Drivers can look behind their vehicle. In this way, drivers can be alert from other drivers incoming to steal their place.
Drivers can also use this feature to see where they are going while backing up, or to aim a weapon at an opponent following up. This feature once appeared in. Drift: Drivers drift to keep the vehicle's speed and take corners more easily, with the benefit of getting mini-turbos. The feature can be set to happen automatically or when a button is held.Advanced control modes.
Performing a successful Rocket Start at.: Drivers can perform a speed boost when a race begins. If drivers hold down the corresponding acceleration button right after the countdown timer displays the number 2, then they will receive an extra speed boost when the word GO! Appears on the screen. However, if drivers hold down the button for too long, when the final beep is heard, their engine bursts and they get an even worse start than a regular one and take a few seconds to recover.: When drivers for a reasonable amount of time varying on the vehicle used, blue sparks erupt from the vehicle's rear tires. Releasing the drift button gives them a short burst of speed. In a kart, drivers can keep drifting for longer periods to get orange sparks and a longer boost.
However, orange sparks cannot be created on bikes. The amount of time the player must drift also depends on the vehicle's drifting stats.
Drivers can also perform a 'standing mini-turbo' by holding the brake/drift and acceleration buttons at the same time. This is helpful for vehicles with slow acceleration, as it will get the vehicle to top speed. A mini-turbo can't be performed when drifting is set to automatic, but the standing mini-turbo can. Jumps: If players jump over ramps or mushrooms, the length of the jump can be controlled by (shorter jump) and (longer jump).: Drivers can pull off a trick when they jump in order to gain a momentary mini-turbo. Drivers can perform a trick by flicking the Wii Remote, pressing the on Classic Controller, or on the GameCube Controller in any direction when going off a ramp or hill. They obtain a speed boost when landing.: Wheelies can be performed only when drivers are riding.
Drivers can increase their speed by lifting up the front of their bike. While drivers perform a wheelie, the bike cannot be easily steered. The wheelie can be ended by braking, hopping, waiting for the wheelie to end, or simply setting the Wii Wheel or Wii Remote back down or pressing. If drivers are bumped into while they are performing a Wheelie, they lose most of their speed.: If flying as Bullet Bill, its route can be controlled a little bit with. The range may differ for every part of a track.Game modes. In.
Grand Prix (1 player) In this mode, the player races against eleven other CPU players to finish in first. There are eight cups to choose from, ranging from the most to the least difficult. Drivers earn points by placing within twelve positions (see ).
A driver with the most points at the end of the four races wins the cup. The driver will be awarded a grade for their racing performance at the end of the cup. Time Trial (1 player) Drivers race for the fastest time on a selected course. The fastest record is saved as a and can be raced against at a later time. Drivers can also race staff records, Regional Records/Champions, World Records/Champions (Wi-Fi must be used), and Friend Records (Friend must be registered and must send the Ghost for Ghost Races, and Wi-Fi also must be used.).
VS Race ( 1 to 4 players, up to 12 online) Drivers can race with their own custom settings, but it is otherwise relatively the same as Grand Prix, other than the fact that drivers can see the other racers' character's names. The driver may choose a Solo Race, where they try to win for themselves, or Team Race, where two teams, red and blue, try to win by gathering the most points and beating the other. Battle (1 to 4 players, up to 12 online) Drivers team up in two teams of six in a battle for the most points within a 3 minute time limit. Work only against the opposite team and have no effect on the team that uses them.
Players can select only the Standard or, color-coded for the team they are on. There are two ways to battle:. Balloon Battle: All drivers get three balloons and must use the items to hit the opponents to pop their balloons and get one point for every hit. If drivers lose all their balloons, one point is deducted and remain out for a while to be brought back to the battle with three balloons once more. Coin Runners: The goal for drivers is to obtain more coins with their team than the other.
In the top right corner of the screen, the score shows, which are the coins obtained altogether for each team. If drivers hit opponents, opponents drop their. The number of dropped depends on the item that hits the player and the number of coins that the player has already gathered.
Ghost Race (Mario Kart Channel, 1 player) A Time Trial race with Ghosts made by players around the world with relatively the same skill level to the actual player. Tournament (also known as Competition) (Mario Kart Channel, 1 player) Drivers would compete in a timed competition with specific goals (see list below). This mode served as the replacement of Mission Mode from. New tournaments were posted twice a month.
The tournaments were discontinued after the first tournament in May 2014 was over.Grand Prix Mode initially allows only Karts in 50cc and only Bikes in 100cc; if all the Grand Prix's are won in a single engine class, the other vehicle type will become available for it. Mirror Mode is unlocked by scoring first place on all 150cc Grand Prix.Other information. Additionally, in this game, both normal races and battles are playable online through the use of (WFC). This is the second game in the series to utilize the WFC, the third to support online connectivity, and the first to allow for online battles.
Races and Battles will now cater up to 12 players via Wi-Fi connection. Just like in Mario Kart DS, it is not possible to play Grand Prix with multiple players. Players can now only win cup trophies by playing alone. In Battle Mode, the player can only play in teams. Also, the makes its first appearance in Battle Mode.
It chases the player of the opposite team with the most points. Also, is an item in Battle Mode. It shrinks the drivers of the opposite team and makes them lose their items, but does not take a balloon or drop coins.TournamentsA list of Tournaments up to the most recent one can be found. Collecting in Tournament Mode.Mario Kart Wii introduces a new mode for the Mario Kart series, entitled 'Tournament Mode' (also known as Competition mode in the European version).
Tournament Mode is somewhat similar to Mission Mode from. Tournaments can be played on the Mario Kart Channel, as long as the Mario Kart Wii disc is in the Wii. Tournaments require an Internet connection and WiiConnect24 to be turned on before they can be played. After a while, a tournament is retired to make room for a new one. However, the rankings of older tournaments can still be viewed on the rankings table. The tournaments began in May 2008 and continued even after all WiiConnect24 services were discontinued on June 28, 2013.
The tournament service itself was later discontinued on May 20, 2014, the date on which the Nintendo WFC servers shut down.The varieties of tournaments include the following:. VS Race - A standard VS race; however, race courses were somewhat altered. Time Trial - A standard Time Trial; however, race courses were somewhat altered. Numbered Gates - The player had to drive through ordered gates as fast as possible. Coin Collecting - The player had to collect the coins on the stage as fast as possible. Boss Battle - The player had to fight against a special boss.Licenses.
An example of a Mario Kart Wii license.Licenses replace normal save files. It is the first Mario Kart game to feature more than one save file.Each license contains each player's data, their, nickname, Friend Code, and a table including all categories and cups with an empty space.
After a cup is won, the corresponding space is filled in with a colored square: gold for first place, silver for second, bronze for third. If at any time the Mii being used for Mario Kart Wii is deleted from the Mii Channel, the in-game Mii is also deleted.Friend roster.
A friend roster.Players can add different people around the world on to their Mario Kart Wii Friend Roster. Two people need to add the Friend Codes on their licenses.
A player can have up to 30 people on their Friend Roster.If two people are friends on a roster, one can open a room, which allows who is ever friends with the person to join that room. In the room, the players who joined can send messages. If a player who added the person who created the room, and another person joins and the player has not added them, they have an ability to do so. The host of the room can choose a VS Race, Team VS Race, Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners.If a player joins a race when another player is online and friends with them, the player who added the player in the race can join that race and race with the friend.
The game's cast.Mario Kart Wii features 12 starting characters, while 14 (if both Mii outfits are counted as separate characters) more can be unlocked for a total of 26 playable characters. Unlike with the past Mario Kart titles, however, the characters are categorized under a size class system, instead of the usual weight class system. Excluding the Mii, each size class has 8 characters, making Mario Kart Wii the only game in the Mario Kart series where the weight/size classes have an equal amount of characters, if including from.The size classes are as follows:. Small: Small drivers will drive small vehicles. They usually have good acceleration, handling, and off-road stats, but low top speed and weight.
Medium: Medium drivers will drive medium-sized vehicles. Most of the karts show average weight and off-road. Large: Large drivers will drive large vehicles. They mostly feature high top speed and weight, but low acceleration, handling, and off-road. LargeNew Driver. are also featured as an unlockable character with two different costumes to unlock – a racing suit and an outfit that varies depending on the gender (Males wear Mario-style overalls, while females wear a Peach-styled short dress). Races towards a steep downhill portion of.Race courses are divided into various again:, and for new courses and, and for old courses.
Notably, these are the same as.All thirty-two tracks have three laps, regardless of length and difficulty. At first, only two Wii and two Retro Cups are available, but clearing the former two in first place unlocks the Star Cup, while clearing the latter two in first place unlocks the Leaf Cup; likewise, clearing the Star and Leaf Cups in first place unlocks the Special and Lightning Cups, respectively. This process only applies for the difficulty level the player is in, so it must be repeated for all others to have the secret Cups available in each of them.This is the first game in the series to have different track names in the American and PAL versions; this applies to /DK's Snowboard Cross, /Chain Chomp Roulette, and /Galaxy Arena.New coursesThere are sixteen new courses in Mario Kart Wii.DK's Snowboard CrossRetro coursesThese are courses that appeared in previous Mario Kart installments, much like in. This includes two courses from and, and four from,.
These have been graphically updated and have some new details such as extra trees and ramps, new features such as jumps, pipe tricks, and even added shortcuts. These retro courses appear in the Shell, Banana, Leaf and Lightning cups. This game has the most retro courses of any Mario Kart game.Battle stagesThis game has the most battle courses of any Mario Kart game, and no two courses share the same music.New StagesRetro StagesChain Chomp Roulette.
Other stagesMario Kart Wii featured one course that was exclusive to certain online tournaments.Galaxy ArenaGhostsIn Mario Kart Wii, there are Normal Staff and Expert Staff Ghosts. Beating the normal staff Ghosts by a certain amount of time unlocks the Expert Staff Ghosts.
Unlocking Expert Staff Ghosts can help unlock certain characters and vehicles in the game. Reception Critical receptionMario Kart Wii has received positive reviews from critics. It has an average score of 82.07% from 74 reviews in GameRankings and an average of 82 based on 73 reviews on Metacritic.Bozon of IGN gave the game an 8.5 out of 10, praising the online play, the presentation, and the gameplay but criticizing the cheap AI in 150cc, the lack of voice chat, reliance on friend codes, and the random items. He finished off with, 'Every player is going to have their own love/hate relationship with Mario Kart Wii, but in the end the game does so many things right that it'd be foolish not to give credit where due.
Online seriously raises the bar for Nintendo, trumping even Smash in a big, big way. The sense of community you can get even with random racers online and ghost-supported leader boards is impressive, and the fact that you can head on to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection solo, with a friend via split-screen, or hook up with buddies across the world without worry of lag and never-ending disconnect notices makes Mario Kart Wii a pure joy to play online. It isn't the best Mario Kart in the series, but it's a must-play experience on Wii, and standard-setting offering as far as online, channel support, and connectivity are concerned. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some online stats to obsess over.'
Sammy Barker of Nintendo Life praised the game for its polished gameplay and being well-thought and brilliant. Though he criticized the presentation, he wrote, 'Poor presentation should not be an issue in this generation of gaming, particularly with the other consoles doing it so well, but, thankfully for us (as Wii owners), this game is a living, breathing example of gameplay over graphics.' He gave the game 9/10 stars. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer gave the game a score of 8/10. He praised the presentation of the game, the use of the Wii Wheel, and the smooth gameplay while criticizing the Battle Mode and the single player exclusive Grand Prix mode (though this was revised after being informed by Nintendo that four sequences of races with friends is still possible). He wrote, 'Ultimately, the sheer sensory pleasure of playing Mario Kart Wii - from the charming animations, to the bopping tunes, to the sugar-rush boosting, to the exquisite steering - far overcomes the few concerns we have about it. It still has to be docked a mark for the awkward structure and compromised battle modes - but it's still unreservedly recommended to anyone for whom Mario Kart is a gaming cornerstone.
And really, that should be everyone.' Ryan Davis of Giant Bomb criticized the game for being safe. He wrote, ' Mario Kart Wii is a good game stunted by its audience's apparently insatiable appetite for the exact same thing, over and over again. The addition of online play and motion controls are good, but they're also the most predictable choices possible. Personally, I'm completely tired of getting exactly what I expect.' He gave the game a 3 out of 5 stars. Edge gave the game 6/10, criticizing the game's compromising local, splitscreen multiplayer for online play.
They ended with 'Undercutting local multiplayer to benefit the online movement is a grievous error. Of all the multiplayer franchises, we struggle to think of a title in which four friends sat side by side seemed more natural. Having sacrificed racing integrity in Double Dash to side with social silliness, Nintendo has turned 180 degrees into an awkward halfway house.
It’s a residence from where it has attempted to regain time-trial credentials with the loosest racing yet, and sees the company finally find its online feet by betraying one of its great pastimes. Perhaps first place in Mario Kart Wii isn’t the least enjoyable location in gaming after all.'
ReviewsReviewer, PublicationScoreComment9/10With more features, modes and multiplayer options than ever before, fans should be revved up to get behind the wheel. May 2008, p.86.Official Nintendo Magazine UK9.4/10A fantastic racer and the best online Nintendo game ever.
AwardsMario Kart Wii won the 'Favorite Video Game' award at the, beating out,. The game won the Best Online Multiplayer Game from IGN in 2008. In the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition, Mario Kart Wii won the 'Best-selling racing game' accolade. SalesIn the week of May 4, 2008 in Japan, Mario Kart Wii became the best-selling game for the Wii, having sold over a million copies in Japan, less than a month after its release. In the UK, Mario Kart Wii was the 8th biggest selling video game in British history and the single best-selling Nintendo game in history. In the United States, at the month's release, Mario Kart Wii was the second best-seller at 1.12 million copies, being beaten out by the Xbox 360 version of, but outselling the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Mario Kart Wii currently is the second best-selling game on the Wii, beaten out by Wii Sports, and in turn the best-selling Mario game on the system; the game has sold a total of 37.24 million units as of September 30, 2019, making it the best-selling racing video game of all time and the best-selling Mario Kart game. Gallery For this subject's image gallery, see. Custom Mario Kart Wiiki. Retrieved January 26, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2013. Metacritic.
Retrieved December 11, 2013. Bozon (Apr 20, 2008) IGN.
Retrieved December 11, 2013. Barker, Sammy (April 14, 2008) Nintendo Life.
Retrieved December 11, 2013. Welsh, Oli. (March 20, 2008) Eurogamer.
Retrieved December 11, 2013. Davis, Ryan (May 7, 2008) Giant Bomb. Retrieved December 11, 2013. Edge. Retrieved December 11, 2013. IGN. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
Funk, John (May 21, 2010) The Escapist. Retrieved March 7, 2018. McWhertor, Michael. (March 8, 2008).
Retrieved March 5, 2018. Kotaku. Retrieved March 5, 2018. Sinclair, Brendan. (June 5, 2008) GameSpot. Retrieved March 5, 2018.External links.
Note: This only allows you to play as the Mii currently associated with your profile, however, you can easily switch the Mii associated with your profile any time you choose via accessing the license settings in the game's main menu, ultimately letting you play as any Mii stored on your system. Bowser Jr.Attain at least a 1-star rank in all 100cc Retro Grand Prix CupsDaisyWin 150cc Special CupDry BowserAttain at least a 1-star rank in all 150cc Wii Grand Prix cupsBirdoBeat 250 people onlineUnlock 16 fast staff ghosts. Note: This is not total races won, but the actual number of players you've beaten, meaning you can potentially net 11 per race.
After your 250th victory, you will need to restart the game for it to kick in). Alternatively, play Time Trial on 16 different courses.ToadettePlay Time Trial mode on all 32 courses.Funky KongUnlock 4 expert staff ghost data records in Time Trial mode.Baby LuigiUnlock 8 expert staff ghost data records in Time Trial mode.Rosalina There is some speculation that the means to unlock Rosalina are either random or enigmatic. This simply isn't the case, as she is actually both the easiest and hardest character to unlock in the entire game. To unlock her the hard way, you must complete all 150cc mirror Wii Grand Prix cups with a one star rank or higher.
To unlock her the easy way, you must have saved data on Super Mario Galaxy.Vehicles & Misc. Alternate Title ScreenWin every cup in 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc.Piranha Prowler (Large Kart)Win the 50cc Special CupSuper Blooper(Medium Kart)Win the 50cc Leaf CupCheep Charger (Small Kart)Earn at least a 1-star rank in all 50cc Retro CupsZip Zip (Medium Bike)Win the 100cc Lightning CupShooting Star(Large Bike)Win the 100cc Star CupSneakster (Medium Bike)Attain at least a 1 star rank in all 100cc Wii Grand Prix cupsDaytripper(Medium Kart)Win the 150cc Leaf CupQuacker (Small Bike)Win the 150cc Star CupHoneycoupe (Large Kart)Win 150cc Lightning CupDolphin Dasher (Med. Bike)Win Mirror Star CupPhantom (Large Bike)Win Mirror Special CupJet Bubble (Small Bike)Win Mirror Leaf CupBlue Falcon (Small Kart)Win Mirror Lightning CupTiny Titan (Small Kart)Unlock an expert staff ghost data record in Time Trial modeJetsetter (Large Kart)Earn at least a 1-star ranking in all 150cc Retro cupsSpear (Large Bike)Unlock 12 expert ghost data records in Time Trial modeMagikruiser (Small Bike)Play Time Trial on 8 courses.B Dasher Mk 2 (Medium Kart)Unlocked all 24 Expert Staff Ghosts.Victory Photo 1 Earn a trophy in every cup for any one class. After the credits you'll be greeted by a victory photo of your Mii hanging out track-side with Mario and Peach which you can then save to your Wii's Message Board and send to your friends.Victory Photo 2 Win every single Grand Prix cup and you'll be greeted by another neat group shot of your Mii, this time hanging out with all 24 fellow characters in the game.Expert Staff Ghosts On Time Trial mode, if you set a certain time on the course, you will unlock a special staff ghost that has a really good course time. If you think you're up to beat it, go ahead.Below are the times for the normal staff ghost and expert staff ghost.