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No matter how perfectly you drive, it’s always possible that a well-timed blue shell or other item will ruin your race. This is the cruel fallacy of any Mario Kart title, and Mario Kart World is no different. If you have no idea how to best counter the surprising array of items that can sprout out of the item boxes scattered around every course and the game’s open world, or how to use these items yourself to gain an advantage, you’re bound to lose.
Alongside recognizable and iconic favorites from across the series, there are a number of new Mario Kart World items to contend with in your race for first place. Not only that, unlike prior titles in the series, items are automatically held behind the player, rather than requiring a player to hold the item button in order to do so. Here is a list of every Mario Kart World item and what they do, so you can take your first step from 24th place to 1st.
Every item in Mario Kart World
There are a total of 24 Mario Kart World items, including triple items, each with its own unique effects.
Banana Peel
Bananas are an ever-present item of the Mario Kart series, one that can be placed directly behind you or thrown forwards. Once placed on the track, those who come into contact with these items will spin out and lose momentum. You can also obtain triple bananas, three bananas that spin around the player and can be used for the same results.
Mushroom
Another familiar item to Mario Kart fans, mushrooms act as speed boosts. Use this to gain a short burst of speed. Can also be collected as triple mushrooms, which allow you to activate the effect three times.
Golden Mushroom
Everything’s better in gold, as they say! This item allows you to repeatedly boost for a set period of time from its first use, allowing you to shoot past the competition.
Mega Mushroom
Rather than a speed boost like typical mushrooms, the mega mushroom makes you bigger! This item enlarges both you and the vehicle, it will make you slightly faster, but also allows you to squash nearby drivers, flattening them and slowing them down.
Green Shells
An offensive item present in the series since the beginning, these are non-homing offensive items that can be fired forwards or backwards. Any opponent that comes into contact with these shells will be damaged, losing coins and spinning out. Triple green shells work like triple bananas, initially spinning around the player like a barrier until they are used.
Red Shells
Red shells are very similar to green shells, except these items will hone in on enemies in front of the driver if fired forwards. If fired backwards, these shells will function identically to green shells. You can also get triple red shells, allowing you to fire shells three times instead of once.
Blue Shell
The bane of any player vying for the crown, this is a homing shell that, once thrown, flies through the center of the track towards the first-placed driver. Alongside damaging any driver it hits along the way, this blue shell will almost certainly damage the first place driver in their tracks unless they have a mushroom or can use a super horn to destroy the blue shell just before impact.
Coin Shell
An all-new Mario Kart World item, this shell when fired continues forwards along the center of the course for a set distance, damaging drivers it comes into contact with while dropping coins to be collected. More coins means faster driving, so this can be a valuable item for increasing your speed to gain an edge in a race.
Fire Flower
The iconic fire flower, in the context of Mario Kart World, allows the driver to throw fireballs forwards or backwards for a limited time, causing any driver it hits to spin out of control.
Ice Flower
A new, colder variant of the Fire Flower, this will also make the driver to spin out of control and will also freeze the driver, causing them to slightly skid when they resume driving.
Boomerang Flower
The boomerang flower allows you to throw a boomerang forwards or backwards three times, damaging anyone it comes into contact with on the initial throw or return journey towards the player. The final throw will not return to the player and instead continue in the direction thrown for a limited distance before disappearing.
Bullet Bill
A lifeline for struggling racers to put them back into contention, the bullet bill transforms the driver into the item for a short time, rocketing them forwards at high speed and sending any driver flying that it comes into contact with.
Bob-Omb
This iconic symbol of the Mario series, in the context of Mario Kart World, transforms into an explosive fired at your opposing drivers. Throw this item forwards or drop it behind you and, after a few seconds, it will explode. Anyone in the radius will spin out.
Hammer
An all new item for Mario Kart World, these function like the hammers used by Hammer Bros in Mario platformers. With three uses, throwing them forwards or backwards will leave behind four hammers in a row in the ground. Anyone running into these hammers will spin out.
Super Horn
This horn is not only one of the few ways to counter a blue shell, the item can be used at any time to fire a supersonic wave in a small radius around your character for a short time, damaging other racers and destroying any items that come too close.
Coin
The coin is a simple item, and if you’re out in front, will likely be one you will collect often from any item box you encounter. This item simply gives you two coins, helping to increase your top speed.
? Block
The ? Block is perfect for anyone seeking a burst of speed to gain an edge over the leaders. This item will place a block above your head and give the user coins any time they press the item button for a limited time. It also provides them with a slight speed boost on each press.
Boo
A Boo, turned into an item! This item will turn the driver transparent for a short time, allowing them to pass through other drivers, shells and bananas without being impacted. It can also steal other items from drivers that you can then use for yourself.
Blooper
The blooper, when used, will spray black ink on any driver in front of the user, temporarily obscuring their vision. Particularly good to use against your friends in a tight race!
Feather
The feather in Mario Kart World allows the driver to jump high in the air to avoid items or, in some cases, jump to a new section of the course. In battle mode, this can also be used to steal balloons if you can successfully use the feather to jump over another player.
Super Star
The super star is one of the most powerful items in Mario Kart World, making its user temporarily invincible and giving them a burst of speed. If you drive into another racer while using this item, they’ll spin out.
Lightning
The lightning, when used, will strike other drivers in front of you, shrinking them and slowing them down for a limited time while destroying any items they hold.
Kamek
A new item in Mario Kart World and one of the most unusual, Kamek will cause strange things to happen to drivers in front of the user. Other racers will be transformed into another creature racer for a limited time. Although this item has minimal impact on the racers themselves, if you are impacted by this item and transformed into a creature or minor character you have yet to unlock as a playable racer, you will unlock this racer to use in future races.
Dash Food
The final new item in Mario Kart World, collecting Dash Food in either free roam or Grand Prix races will give you a short burst of speed. If you are racing as a character that has unlockable costumes, eating this food will also transform the character into a random costume. Not only that, if you haven’t previously unlocked this costume, this will permanently unlock the costume for you to choose from the character selection screen.
There are a lot of items in Mario Kart World, but only by understanding each one and how they are used will you be able to take advantage of them and win the race. Happy racing!
