Having Mario Kart World include a roster of characters from other Nintendo series would have been “incongruous”.
That’s according to Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki, who recently discussed why the likes of Legend of Zelda’s silent hero Link and Animal Crossing’s Isabelle weren’t part of the game’s line up of racers, as they were in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
As spotted by Nintendo Everything, Yabuki told Ouest-France the inclusion of characters from other games in the Mario Kart World universe would have been both “incongruous” and, quite simply, unnecessary.
“It didn’t seem necessary, given everything we could already do with Mario,” Yabuki told the publication (via machine translation). “We inevitably wonder how players will perceive this cast. But there are so many characters and so many costumes that there’s sure to be something for everyone.”
Now, this isn’t to say that Mario Kart World doesn’t include new characters along with the likes of Peach, Bowser, Luigi and other regular faces in the Switch 2’s launch title. It’s just that these characters – such as the Piantas from Sunshine and of course the Moo Moo Meadows Cow – are already part of the Mario universe.
Yabuki said the Mario Kart World team always hoped these characters would “be a good surprise for players”, and the “welcome was so warm that it surprised even us”. As for the developer’s personal favourite racer, well like us the producer has a bit of a soft spot for Cow.
Nintendo’s approach is in contrast to Sega’s forthcoming rival Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which will include plenty of characters from outside the Sonic universe – including Hatsune Miku, Steve from Minecraft, and Spongebob Squarepants.
If you are still on the fence about giving Mario Kart World a spin, be sure to check out Eurogamer’s review, where our Tom said how the game “offers neat twists on the classic Mario Kart formula”, calling it all “entertaining, snackable, fun”.
Or, if you are already familiar with the bones of Mario Kart World, but need a little hand to get a bit more out of it (like unlocking that infamous Mirror Mode, for example), you can check out our guides. Here is one on the Dash Food locations in Mario Kart World to get you started.