Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Grounded 2
  • The Fantastic Four: First Steps
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 Starter Pack
Recommended reading
Princess Peach on bike with Mario and Bowser on track in backdrop.
Super Mario Full Mario Kart World track list for Grand Prix Cups and Knockout Tour Rallys
Mario performs a boost in Mario Kart World as he approaches a new circuit alongside other racers. The number '20' is lit up in front of them.
Racing Games Mario Kart World's free roam needs to take the lead from Forza Horizon if it wants to win me over
Mario Kart World
Super Mario Mario Kart World isn't even out yet, but dedicated modders have already made some of the Switch 2 game's tracks playable in Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Racing Games 8 years since making the jump from Wii U to Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 is more essential than ever
Mario Kart World screenshot featuring Mario and a P Switch
Super Mario Nintendo proves nothing is too niche for Mario Kart World's massive soundtrack with a remix of a drawing tutorial from a late 2000s DSi app
Screenshot from Mario Kart World's reveal trailer showing a Moo Moo Meadows cow on a bike.
Racing Games Mario Kart World has rail-grinding, wall-riding, and a ska remix of a classic Super Mario Bros 3 song so I think it's an unofficial Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game now
Complete Mario Kat World cast
Super Mario All Mario Kart World Outfits and all food locations for unlocking them
  1. Games
  2. Racing
  3. Mario Kart 8

Eight Nintendo games that NEED to become Mario Kart 8 tracks right now

Features
By Daniella Lucas published 21 April 2017

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is awesome, and if anyone else suggests otherwise I'll Blue Shell them. It's so awesome, in fact, that games which don't even have Mario in the title are allowed to join the dangerous dodgem party.

Both The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing now part of the standard track roster, its got me thinking about who else needs to join in on the banana-flinging, horn-tooting, self-green-shelling madness. With that in mind, here are eight classic Nintendo titles that NEED to become Mario Kart 8 tracks...

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
1. Pokemon

1. Pokemon

Each region in the monster-catching series has already been partitioned out into handy routes, screaming to be turned into lengthy tracks. Just imagine skidding through the long grass with wild Pokemon appearing as driving hazards, and throwing Pokeballs instead of bananas at your fellow racers. It's super effective!

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
2. Metroid

2. Metroid

Mario Kart already has the whole space thing covered thanks to the various Rainbow Roads, but what it hasn't got is a track that takes you on a journey around a suspiciously dangerous planet before launches you (in morphball form, of course) into the twinkling abyss to careen around Samus's shiny Gunship.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
3. Star Fox

3. Star Fox

Making full use of the antigrav wheels, this track could barrel roll through the sky, passing over the length of a Arwing before bringing you crashing down to ground level after a blue shell goes rogue. Added bonus: Slippy Toad and co provide unhelpful race commentary along the bottom of the screen. Don't forget about me!

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
4. Chibi-Robo

4. Chibi-Robo

This would be the closest Mario Kart could get to being Micro Machines, with everyone charging around a messy kitchen table, with jam spills placed just after tricky corners to slow you down, and boost jumps off of Chibi-Robo's little power cord. You could even collect happy points instead of coins! Ace.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
5. Professor Layton

5. Professor Layton

The brilliant battle mode arenas are back in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so why not give your cranium a workout with a stage that boxes all the racers into a giant traffic-puzzle cube and sees you all frantically shunt each other around until you reach the exit. And all the coins become hint coins, too. Every puzzle has an answer! And the answer is shells. 

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
6. Kirby

6. Kirby

Imagine all the vibrancy of a Mario Kart track, but with a lovely plasticine sheen to all those piranha plants trying to gobble you up mid race. Or perhaps this is just an excuse to get yourself behind the handlebars of a hamster-themed motorbike. Move over Epona bike! Your time is over.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
7. Fire Emblem

7. Fire Emblem

You drive along the edge of giant version of Lucina's sword, as she bravely battles with Chrom. The track could leap between their blades as they clash. Instead of your standard mushrooms and shells, you battle with the rock-paper-scissors set up of the traditional Fire Emblem weapon triangle of sword, axe and lance. And there would be awkward romance, too. Although I'm not sure how. 

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
8. Monster Hunter

8. Monster Hunter

It's the turn of the ever helpful Palico to get behind the wheel, meowing incessantly and spitting out cat puns as you navigate a prehistoric field while being chased by raptor-like Jaggis. Harvest speed-boosting meat chunks in place of coins by running over the local wildlife. No, it's not weird. YOU'RE WEIRD. 

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
CATEGORIES
Wii-u Platforms Nintendo
Daniella  Lucas
Daniella Lucas
Social Links Navigation
Dani's ears prick up every time the words 'final' and 'fantasy' are mentioned in the same sentence. Great when talking about JRPGs, but it becomes a real hassle when discussing the finals of your fantasy football league. Cloud would totally be a better striker than Rooney.
See more Platform Features
Read more
Princess Peach on bike with Mario and Bowser on track in backdrop.
Full Mario Kart World track list for Grand Prix Cups and Knockout Tour Rallys
Mario performs a boost in Mario Kart World as he approaches a new circuit alongside other racers. The number '20' is lit up in front of them.
Mario Kart World's free roam needs to take the lead from Forza Horizon if it wants to win me over
Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World isn't even out yet, but dedicated modders have already made some of the Switch 2 game's tracks playable in Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
8 years since making the jump from Wii U to Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 is more essential than ever
Mario Kart World screenshot featuring Mario and a P Switch
Nintendo proves nothing is too niche for Mario Kart World's massive soundtrack with a remix of a drawing tutorial from a late 2000s DSi app
Screenshot from Mario Kart World's reveal trailer showing a Moo Moo Meadows cow on a bike.
Mario Kart World has rail-grinding, wall-riding, and a ska remix of a classic Super Mario Bros 3 song so I think it's an unofficial Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game now
Latest in Racing
An orange car in The Crew.
Ubisoft CEO addresses Stop Killing Games after overseeing the deaths of The Crew and XDefiant: "Support for all games cannot last forever"
Trackmania player Wirtual
"I can't move my hands": After 92 hours, 264 attempts, and 12 days of grinding, Trackmania player beats 4-hour ice gauntlet after his opponent in the $3,800 race had finally gone to sleep
Umamusume fan art by DasDokter
Steam users obsessed with a pink horse girl sent so many kilograms of grass to the real horse she's based on that it broke the food donation website: "It's very crowded right now"
Umamusume: Pretty Derby horse girls racing
Horse girl gacha gamers are so obsessed with pink racer Haru Urara that the farm that owns the real-life horse she's based on, who never won a single race, had to respond
Bee Wario pops a trick off Crown City Bridge in Mario Kart World
Nintendo has made my biggest problem with Mario Kart World even worse
Jet The Hawk, Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog, Knuckles The Echidna, Eggman, and Tails The Fox race towards us on a variety of vehicles in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, emerging from ring portals depicting various levels from Sonic history
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is getting Minecraft characters and Hatsune Miku to make sure people are "not just playing it when it comes out, having fun, and that being it"
Latest in Features
Caleb Landry Jones as Walter in Harvest
I loved the folk horror elements of 28 Years Later, and this new nightmarish medieval movie follows in its footsteps in all the right ways
Karl Urban as Judge Dredd in 2012's Dredd movie.
As a life-long Judge Dredd fan, here's why I'm excited – and more than a little nervous – about Taika Waititi's new movie
Steam Deck OLED with game library on screen sitting on woodgrain desk
After 3 years of holding out, I finally bought a Steam Deck thanks to the same logic I used to talk myself out of a Switch 2
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild screenshot showing Link, a male character with elf-like ears, blond hair, and bright blue eyes
The Legend of Zelda movie is exciting, but I'm still begging for 5 specific video game movies to get adapted next
Ghost of Yotei screenshot of Atsu with her arms raised as she wields a katana
I had to stop playing Ghost of Tsushima after 47 hours, but Ghost of Yotei is winning me back by channeling the coolest anime ever made
A screenshot of the upcoming RPG, The Outer Worlds 2
I'm convinced that 2025 will bring us the next Baldur's Gate 3, and these are all the upcoming RPGs that may prove me right
  1. DK and Pauline look surprised in Donkey Kong Bananza
    1
    Donkey Kong Bananza Review: "Destruction isn't just a flashy gimmick for the Minecraft generation, it's one of the best inventions Nintendo has had in years"
  2. 2
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  3. 3
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  4. 4
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  5. 5
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...