Mario Kart World almost cut iconic items like the banana peel and green shell, because Nintendo wasn't sure if they still made "sense" in the Switch 2's new generation

Mario Kart items like the green shell and banana are iconic, but that doesn't mean their inclusion in the upcoming Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World was a certainty. Speaking to GamesRadar+, producer Kosuke Yabuki says Nintendo went through every item to question whether their inclusion made sense.

"When we created this world from scratch, we re-reviewed all the elements that are included in this game, including the iconic banana skin," Yabuki says. "We actually did go through the exercise of asking ourselves, 'does it still make sense to include this item in Mario Kart World?'

"Another example is the green shell as well. Obviously, it's been there for time in memoriam in Mario Kart, but when we looked at it, we asked ourselves here, 'is it sufficient when you can just throw it over the course?' For example, the racers like Mario and such can ride over the guardrails. Should we not enable the shell to also slide over the rails?

"So in considering the implementation of each and every item, we've reviewed its specification and assessed whether they should remain the same as before or we should amend and add a different element to it."

As we share in our Mario Kart World interview, the good news is that the pair of iconic items made the cut. It may be harder to hit someone with a green shell or a banana peel, but it makes the accomplishment all the more worth it, I reckon.

Mario Kart World takes every possible advantage of its giant connected map, which has somehow turned me into a collectible fiend.