The Mario Kart Series, Ranked

Without a doubt, Mario Kart is Nintendo's most successful franchise. Since the Super Nintendo, the series has always managed to attract audiences of all ages regardless of gaming experience. In fact, there has been a Mario Kart for every Nintendo platform since 1992. Offering incredibly smooth controls, a wide range of popular characters, and a bucketload of dazzling tracks, Mario Kart continues to reign supreme. It was co-created by Shigeru Miyamoto and offers a Grand Prix with varying difficulty levels, time trials, VS. races, battle mode, and local and online Multiplayer. Here is a list of every entry of the Mario Kart series, ranked. 11. Mario Kart Tour Initial ReleaseSeptember 25, 2019DeveloperNintendo EPDPlatform(s)– iOS– Android Mario Kart Tour is the official mobile game of the franchise by Nintendo. In a similar vein to the company's other titles on iOS and Android, Tour offers substantial value and play without the requirement of spending any money. For years, it featured biweekly, downloadable tours with various cups that included three courses and a bonus challenge. It is meant to be played with one hand, using your smartphone's gyroscope to tilt the screen in order to steer. Nintendo stopped releasing new content for the game back in October 2023, and now only offers reruns of previous events and tours. 10. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Initial ReleaseOctober 16, 2020DeveloperVelen StudiosPlatform(s)– Nintendo Switch Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a toys-to-life mixed reality game, announced in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series. It allows players to build racing playsets around the interior of their home. It comes with radio-controlled cars that are equipped with video cameras and respond when controlled by the Nintendo Switch console. 9. Super Mario Kart Initial ReleaseAugust 27, 1992DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– SNES Super Mario Kart is the one that started it all. It was a technological marvel at the time of launch. It took advantage of the Mode 7 texture mapping that allowed a plane to be scaled and rotated freely to achieve a pseudo-3D appearance. What's more, it introduced the ability to allow two players to be on the same game screen simultaneously, in contrast to the single-player-only gameplay from F-Zero. 8. Mario Kart Super Circuit Initial ReleaseJuly 21, 2001DeveloperIntelligent SystemsPlatform(s)– Game Boy Advance Mario Kart Super Circuit was the closest fans received in terms of a true successor to Super Mario Kart. It represents the very first handheld Mario Kart game and the only one to be developed by studio Intelligent Systems (Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, WarioWare). 7. Mario Kart 7 Initial ReleaseDecember 1, 2011DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo 3DS Mario Kart 7 offers up to seventeen different characters to race across various tracks, and it introduced the hang-gliding attachments for karts as well as the ability to drive underwater, drive in first-person, and fully customize the vehicles' builds. To this day, it remains the best-selling title on the 3DS. 6. Mario Kart 64 Initial ReleaseDecember 14, 1996DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo 64 Even without true 3D racer characters, Mario Kart 64 offers 3D tracks with massive, undulating circuits with obstacles, inclines, items, and a four-player multiplayer mode. 5. Mario Kart Wii Initial ReleaseApril 10, 2008DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo Wii Mario Kart Wii offers fully realized online multiplayer in addition to a wheel peripheral that came with the game to literally allow players to steer via motion control. 4. Mario Kart DS Initial ReleaseNovember 14, 2005DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo DS Mario Kart DS is the first 3D handheld entry and the first to offer online play, which was truly ahead of its time in 2005. It also introduced snaking, which is a technique that involves the use of power slide boosts. 3. Mario Kart World Initial ReleaseJune 5, 2025DeveloperNintendo EPDPlatform(s)– Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World explores new territory for the series, and serves as the premier launch title for Nintendo Switch 2. Aside from being the most graphically impressive entry to date, it introduces never-before-seen innovations in the form of driving on walls and grinding on rails, adding immense texture to the new modes including Knockout Tour and Free Roam. Furthermore, new power-ups in the form of the Feather, the Golden Coin shell, Ice Flower, Hammer, Mega Mushroom, and Kamek add flavor to the races. Despite now allowing for up to 24 players in multiplayer, Mario Kart World has drawbacks. Drifting has an incredibly different feel this time around compared to nearly every single past entry, there's no 200cc, and the open world exploration is lacking content and proper navigation, feeling like it was tacked on near the end. It's quite apparent the game was made by a new generation of developers, as Miyamoto confirmed he had no involvement. Still, Mario Kart World offers more pros than cons, and has the largest tracks the series has seen to date. 2. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Initial ReleaseNovember 7, 2003DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo GameCube Mario Kart Double Dash!! is nearly tied in first place for our choice as the best in the series. No other entry before or after has offered the ability for players to enjoy racers with up to two characters at once, and the mixing and matching of unique Specials to use on the gorgeous tracks makes it as addictive as ever. 1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Initial ReleaseApril 28, 2017DeveloperNintendo EADPlatform(s)– Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling title on the Switch and is truly the peak of the series. While the original Mario Kart 8 came out on the Wii U back in 2014, Deluxe is an enhanced version for the modern Switch, offering anti-gravity sequences, the ability to drive on walls and ceilings, as well as perfected online multiplayer. In addition to bringing back the original DLC, it offered other gameplay alterations and a revamped battle mode. Lastly, the Booster Course Pass introduced in 2022 offered 48 circuits with 8 characters.

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