A new member to the Mario Kart roster can mean only one thing: wishing for new characters we’d love to see in Mario Kart 8.
The most recent Mario Kart 8 DLC brings the game’s first new character: Birdo. But that’s not all; avid fans also notice spots available for five new racers.
Nintendo has yet to mention plans for adding new drivers, but it seems certain we’ll see them in upcoming DLC releases. So what new characters would we love to see in Mario Kart 8? Let’s list ten of our favorites.
Diddy Kong
Not only is Diddy Kong a Mario Kart veteran, but he’s also had his own racing game on the Nintendo 64.
Diddy Kong is a playable character in Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart Tour. Yet, he remains absent in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for some reason. It’s time to change that, Nintendo!
Pauline
She won our hearts in Super Mario Odyssey and proved she could be our 1-UP girl. So now it’s time to get her behind the wheel and racing.
Pauline has quickly become a fan-favorite character and is someone we’d love to see in Mario Kart 8.
Kamek
Kamek is no stranger to the Mario universe. Most notably, it seems like he’s been causing mayhem on our Mario Party boards as of late.
Why not allow him the chance to cause mayhem on the road as well? With the release of the Yoshi’s Island course, it makes sense to let us play as someone who debuted in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island many years ago.
Chain Chomp
Chain Chomp was a surprise character in Mario Tennis Aces. Despite feeling out of place at first, the character won us over. However, with the release of subsequent Mario Sports games and his absence from them, we’re wondering what the big buy is up to.
Maybe Chain Chomp is gearing up for his debut as a Mario Kart driver. We can only hope!
Hammer Bro
With the number of side characters that now appear in Mario Kart, it’s surprising that Hammer Bro is only playable in Mario Kart Tour.
All his friends seem to be getting their time in the racing spotlight. We don’t want Hammer Bro to feel left out, so we’d love to see him as a new character in Mario Kart 8.
Nabbit
After debuting in New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U, Nabbit eventually made his Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Tour.
He still hasn’t been called up to the big leagues, though.
Monty Mole
Fan-favorite Monty Mole is a Super Mario icon. He’s appeared in countless Mario titles, whether mainline Super Mario games or the spin-offs.
He’s a playable character in Mario Kart Tour and arguably one of the most requested characters for Mario Kart 8.
Zelda
We have Link already in Mario Kart 8, so why not Zelda? There’s already a precedent for non-Mario characters in Mario Kart, so let’s think outside the box.
What better way to help cross-promote Tears of the Kingdom with Zelda as a playable character in Mario Kart 8?
Tom Nook
We already have the Animal Crossing Villager, and Isabelle is a driver, too.
We don’t think Tom Nook is jealous, but you have to wonder if he often thinks about other Animal Crossing characters having fun outside city limits. So why not let him in on the fun?
Captain Falcon
If Nintendo isn’t going to make an F-Zero game, why not make its mascot a playable character in Mario Kart 8?
The franchise has already made its mark in Mario Kart with several F-Zero courses and the Blue Falcon vehicle. So it’s the least they can do to make F-Zero fans happy, right?
Wrapping Up
Who did we leave off our list of characters we’d love to see in Mario Kart 8? Do you agree or disagree with what we have? Is there anyone you’d love to see added to the game? Let us know in the comments!
