Mario Kart 7

North American box art.
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD Retro Studios
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
Nintendo 3DS	NA: December 4, 2011 JP: December 1, 2011 EU: December 2, 2011 AU: December 3, 2011 KO: May 31, 2012 CH: December 7, 2012
Nintendo 3DS	NA: December 4, 2011 JP: December 1, 2011 EU: December 2, 2011 AU: December 3, 2011 KO: May 31, 2012 CH: December 7, 2012
Nintendo 3DS (eShop)	NA: October 18, 2012 JP: November 1, 2012 EU: October 4, 2012 AU: October 4, 2012
Nintendo 3DS (eShop)	NA: October 18, 2012 JP: November 1, 2012 EU: October 4, 2012 AU: October 4, 2012
Platform(s)
Classification(s)	This game has playable Miis This game uses the Nintendo Network This game uses SpotPass This game uses StreetPass
Sales	18.92 million
Genre(s)	Racing
ROM Size	642.7 MB
Download Size	5,107 blocks
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
CERO	01
ACB	01
USK	01
GRAC	01

Mario Kart 7 <sup>(JPJapanese: マリオカート７

Romaji: Mario Kāto 7)</sup> (also called MK7, MK3DS, and originally called Mario Kart 3DS) is a 2011 racing game developed by Nintendo EAD and Retro Studios for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the eleventh installment of the Mario Kart series overall, the seventh in the main series (hence the game's title), and the third on a handheld console. This is the second (the first was Super Mario 3D Land, which was released a month before this game) installment in the Mario series overall (excluding the crossover installments) to be localized to Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian. Additionally, it is the first Mario Kart game to be developed by more than one video game developer, namely Nintendo EAD and Retro Studios, and the second Mario Kart to have a different video game developer (not including the Mario Kart Arcade GP series), the first being Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

The main new feature of this installment is the hang gliding and underwater driving, which allows racers to glide through the air and race in underwater sections of the new and old tracks. Kart customization is also introduced instead of racing in pre-made karts like the previous titles. In the game, players are able to exchange Ghost data and play online in multiplayer mode. Players can also receive Ghost data via SpotPass and race against other player's Ghosts from around the world. Nintendo stated that the game brings "a bunch of new elements" to the Mario Kart series.

Mario Kart 7 is the first Mario game to use the Nintendo Network service as it offers the ability to create custom communities, which would then become one of the features of the service. Once Nintendo introduced retail games that could be downloaded via the Nintendo eShop, Mario Kart 7 was released in 2012 for the eShop, where it requires 635.38 MB (5,083 blocks) to download.

Gameplay

Mario Kart 7 features the standard gameplay present in the preceding games in the series, with the gameplay style being very close to that of Mario Kart Wii. Players compete for gold trophies in the eight Grand Prix cups, consisting of four Nitro Cups and four Retro Cups, a returning feature from Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Along with Grand Prix, Time Trials, and Battle Modes also return. Time Trials have players race on tracks to set records, as well as race against their own or other racers' ghosts. Battle Mode features two different modes; Balloon Battle and Coin Runners, the latter returning from Mario Kart Wii. Players can set their own rules for Battle Mode, choosing CPU difficulty, which items will appear or team games. Online races and battles return, allowing up to 8 players to race or battle using the Nintendo Network online service. Players can also create custom communities, which can be accessed by other players via codes.

Mario Kart 7 also has some new features. Players can now use hang-gliders to navigate through the air and propellers to drive underwater. In addition, players now assemble their own karts, rather than select preset karts as in the previous games. It is possible to select the kart's body, wheels, and glider, although some parts need to be unlocked before they can be used, mainly through collecting coins during races. Mario Kart 7 returns to the traditional eight-driver race like in previous installments, instead of the total of twelve as seen in Mario Kart Wii. It is also compatible with both SpotPass and StreetPass.

In this new installment of the Mario Kart series, Coins make a prominent return. Coins have not been featured in this way in the recent Mario Kart games since Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Coins are to be found along a race track, and can be underwater, on the road, or in the air. Collecting coins up to a maximum of ten slightly increases the player's top speed and, if enough are collected, will allow the player to unlock vehicle parts used for customization. The option to select classic Mario Kart tracks is also available again in this game.

Similar to preceding games, an overall "game ranking" of ★, ★★, or ★★★ is shown next to the player's nationality flag if the player has earned the designated ratings in all cups and in all classes. The overall ranking can also be seen while participating at a Grand Prix. The game shows the overall ranking at the results of the last course before the overall results of the last cup being shown.

Among other gameplay mechanics is the vehicle's behavior in the courses. Each element to assemble the vehicle has a function that grants an advantage on certain courses. In other words, speed and handling alter if the player is driving through land, underwater, or in the air. Gliders also provide speed and duration for the vehicle when airborne and can be controlled using the Stick. Players can tilt the Stick either up or down to fall quickly or gently, respectively. Additionally, when driving underwater, the kart's handling, speed, and drifting can considerably change compared to when driving on land.

This Mario Kart installment also introduces the option to race and battle in a first-person view. This function allows the player to watch the race and battle from the character's perspective and can race by tilt the system. In first-person view, the player can also see the vehicle's steering wheel in front of the character with an emblem on it. The gyroscope, which gives the player the ability to steer the kart in first-person mode by tilting the Stick, can be enabled or disabled by going to the Mario Kart Channel, going to the player's Mii icon on the bottom right, going to "Settings", and lastly selecting "Use" or "Don't Use" when going to "Gyro Sensor".

In a minor note, an extra track with beats is added to the course's music if the player gets ahead in first place at top speed (frontrunning). This track fades when the player slows down via braking, going off-road, or getting hit by an item. This happens only in 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror class.

Motorbikes, which made their first appearance in Mario Kart Wii, do not return in the game. On the other hand, tricks return, known as jump actions, and are now the sole way of obtaining a boost, known as Jump Boost, when the kart jumps because of a ramp or an element of the course. The jump action can also be performed on glider ramps to receive a speed boost when gliding starts. The map is viewed in the bottom screen, but unlike in Mario Kart DS, the map doesn't display course hazards and obstacles. The Single Player version of VS. Mode from the other Mario Kart games and the mission mode from Mario Kart DS are also removed.

Elements

Starting Drivers

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Yoshi
• Bowser
• Donkey Kong
• Toad
• Koopa Troopa

Unlockable Drivers

• Princess Daisy
• Wario
• Rosalina
• Metal Mario
• Shy Guy
• Honey Queen
• Wiggler
• Red Lakitu

Items

There are a multitude of different items listed below which can be obtained from item boxes scattered around the track, which randomly generate items to the drivers according to their position in the race. They can be used to help the drivers, or disrupt their opposition with varying effects. The Fake Item Box from the previous installments is absent, as well as the POW Block, Mega Mushroom, and Thundercloud from Mario Kart Wii. 

Name	Image	Ability
Banana Peel		This can be placed on the road and cause drivers to slip around upon contact.
Triple Banana Peels		Ditto - the bananas can be dropped one at a time, or all at once.
Green Shell		This shell speeds forwards on the ground at a straight line, but can also deflect off walls. Drivers that collide with the shell will tumble over.
Triple Green Shells		Ditto - however, initially they will rotate around the driver, acting as a shield from most attacks.
Red Shell		This shell locks onto the next opponent ahead of the driver, and chases them to knock them over.
Triple Red Shell		Ditto - like the triple green shells, they will initially rotate around the driver as a protection.
Mushroom		Gives a speed boost.
Triple Mushrooms		Ditto
Super Leaf		When activated, a leaf tail will spout behind the driver's kart and can be twisted around multiple times by repeatedly pressing the L button. Other drivers and obstacles can get knocked away when the driver swipes the tail at them.
Fire Flower		With this item, the driver is granted fire powers and can throw multiple fireballs one-by-one at other drivers, which will spin them out upon contact.
Bob-omb		This can be thrown ahead (or be dropped just behind). The bomb will stay on the track for a few seconds, then explode - anyone caught in the blast radius gets thrown over.
Blooper		This pesky creature squirts black ink over all the opponents ahead, obstructing their view.
Spiny Shell		This infamous shell will launch away and slide on the track, to chase the unfortunate driver in first place and explode onto them. As it slides along the ground, other drivers that get in its way can also get knocked over.
Star		Makes the driver flash in rainbow and gives them invincible powers - any opponent that collides onto the driver will get knocked over.
Lucky Seven		The most special but rarest item available, this magic item grants the driver seven different items that will rotate around the driver to pick and choose from, one-by-one. They include a banana, one green and red shell each, mushroom, bomb, Blooper and a star.
Lightning		Shrinks all the drivers ahead. The drivers return to their normal size at a rate corresponding with their position i.e. the driver at first place will take the longest to return back to normal.
Golden Mushroom		Serves as an upgraded form of a mushroom, which can be used to provide multiple boosts over and over again for a period of time.
Bullet Bill*		Arguably the most powerful item in Mario Kart, this is given to drivers floundering in the worst positions. When activated the driver is turned into an auto-pilot bullet rocket that boosts across the track at high speed, and will knock away any opponents upon contact.

The items written in bold are newly introduced in this game.

Courses

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Toad Circuit	Wuhu Loop	Piranha Plant Slide	DK Jungle
Daisy Hills	Mario Circuit	Wario Shipyard	Rosalina's Ice World
Cheep Cheep Lagoon	Music Park	Neo Bowser City	Bowser's Castle
Shy Guy Bazaar	Rock Rock Mountain	Maka Wuhu	Rainbow Road
Shell Cup	Banana Cup	Leaf Cup	Lightning Cup
N64 Luigi Raceway	N64 Koopa Beach	N64 Kalimari Desert	Wii Koopa Cape
GBA Bowser Castle 1	SNES Mario Circuit 2	DS DK Pass	GCN Dino Dino Jungle
Wii Mushroom Gorge	Wii Coconut Mall	GCN Daisy Cruiser	DS Airship Fortress
DS Luigi's Mansion	DS Waluigi Pinball	Wii Maple Treeway	SNES Rainbow Road

Because there are 16 characters and 32 courses in the game, each character is the staff ghost of two courses each:

Default Characters
Character	Courses
Mario	Mario Circuit
	SNES Mario Circuit 2
Luigi	N64 Luigi Raceway
	DS Luigi's Mansion
Peach	Cheep Cheep Lagoon
	Wuhu Loop
Yoshi	Maka Wuhu
	GCN Dino Dino Jungle
Bowser	Bowser's Castle
	GBA Bowser Castle 1
Donkey Kong	DK Jungle
	DS DK Pass
Toad	Toad Circuit
	Wii Mushroom Gorge
Koopa Troopa	N64 Koopa Beach
	Wii Koopa Cape
Unlockable Characters
Character	Courses
Daisy	Daisy Hills
	GCN Daisy Cruiser
Wario	Wario Shipyard
	DS Waluigi Pinball
Rosalina	Music Park
	Rosalina's Ice World
Metal Mario	Neo Bowser City
	DS Airship Fortress
Shy Guy	Shy Guy Bazaar
	N64 Kalimari Desert
Honey Queen	Rainbow Road
	Wii Coconut Mall
Wiggler	Rock Rock Mountain
	Wii Maple Treeway
Lakit	Piranha Plant Slide
	SNES Rainbow Road

Controls

• Accelerate: Hold the A/Y Button.
• Rocket Start: Hold the A/Y Button when Lakitu's traffic light flashes in the middle, or when you see number 2.
• Brake/Reverse: Hold the B Button.
• Drift: When you find a curve, use R button to turn sharply without speed loss.
• Mini-turbo: When you curve, grey wisps can be seen coming out of your wheels. Move to make blue wisps. When you move longer, you can see red wisps. Releasing the button makes this action increase speed.
• Move: Use the Circle Pad and hold it to move. If it goes left, your vehicle will turn left and vice versa.
• Use Item: If you touch the an Item Box and you want to use the item, click the L/X button and something will happen.
• Stop Item Roulette: If you get an item and you want to stop the roulette, just click the L/X button immediately.
• Pause: If you want to stop playing the race and want to do something else, or when something happens around you, click Start Button. Then a list of choices will appear. Click the option you want.
• Gyro sensor (first-person view): Press up on the D-Pad.

Kart customization

Unlike all previous Mario Kart games, players can make their own karts. Seven are available from the start (hence the name of the game), but twenty four are unlockable. There are thirty one kart parts in the game. You need three parts to race: 1x kart, 1x set of wheels and 1x glider.

Karts

• Standard
• Bolt Buggy
• Birthday Girl
• B Dasher
• Barrel Train
• Egg 1
• Blue Seven
• Bumble V
• Cact X
• Cloud 9
• Zucchini
• Gold Standard
• Bruiser
• Koopa Clown
• Pipe Frame
• Soda Jet
• Tiny Tug

Wheels

• Standard
• Monster
• Roller
• Gold Wheels
• Mushroom
• Red Monster
• Slick
• Slim
• Sponge
• Wood

Gliders

• Super Glider
• Peach Parasol
• Gold Glider
• Beast Glider
• Flower Glider
• Paraglider
• Swooper

Unlocking Criteria:

All parts require the same amount of Coins. If the player gets enough Coins, they will get a random part. Gold parts require special tasks. The only non-gold part that requires a special task is the Beast Glider.

• Beast Glider: 5,000 Coins. But when using StreetPass, the price reduces.
• Gold Glider: 10,000 Coins, or using one hundred StreetPass connections.
• Gold Wheels: 15,000 Coins, Or getting Star Rank on all engine classes-no matter if single/double or triple Star Rank.
• Gold Kart: 20,000 coins, or getting 10,000 versus points.

Game modes

Grand Prix

As usual in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart 7 has the Grand Prix, where a single player has to compete against computer-controlled opponents in order to obtain the trophies of the eight cups in the game. The Grand Prix has three engine classes: 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. The higher the engine class, the harder the races will be against the opponents. In this mode, by beating the first cups available, the user unlocks the other cups as well as new elements such as the kart's parts (by collecting coins in each race) or a new playable character. By completing all the engine classes available at the start, the player unlocks the Mirror class.

A notable change featured in the game is the point system given to the racers after a race in Grand Prix mode. It is similar to Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, but racers who place below third get an extra point. Also, 4th place is not a losing place, similar to Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart Wii (which has 12 racers). Below is a chart of the point spread comparison between these seven games:

Point Spread Comparisons (GP)
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Super Mario Kart Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart: Super Circuit	9	6	3	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Mario Kart DS	10	8	6	4	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—
Mario Kart Wii	15	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
Mario Kart 7	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—
Grove-green bg signifies victory results (great clapping, character(s) cheering), best after-race music Yellow-limegreen bg signifies moderate results (mild clapping, moderate character reaction), same music in Wi-Fi as winner (different in MKDS GP) Normal bg signifies losing results, losing music; - means not available In Super Mario Kart, and Mario Kart Super Circuit, 5th or worse forces the player to retry the race. If the racer fares this badly four times, the Grand Prix must be started over. In Mario Kart 64, 5th or worse forces the player to retry the race, but without the restrictions on how many times the player can retry a race. Starting with Mario Kart: Double Dash to recent installments including this one, the Grand Prix normally goes forth.

Time Trials

Time Trials allows the player to complete all the laps of a race course in the fastest time possible. Mario Kart 7 saves the player's records, and a Ghost for the combo that he or she used. Through Nintendo Network connection, the player can exchange his or her Ghosts to other players, compare their records, and even compete with their Ghosts. Up to seven Ghosts can be raced against at the same time, making it an 8-player race.

VS. Mode

In Versus Mode, players can customize the races selecting personally the order of the racecourses and change other settings, such as setting the computer difficulty, the requirements to win the races, and the engine class of the player's and computer players' karts. Unlike in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, this mode is no longer available in Single Player mode. In Download Play, the players that do not have the Mario Kart 7 game card in their handhelds play as Shy Guy, like in Mario Kart DS, and are unable to customize their kart.

Point Spread
Number of Players	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
2 players	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
3 players	4	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
4 players	5	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
5 players	6	4	3	2	1	-	-	-
6 players	7	5	4	3	2	1	-	-
7 players	9	7	5	4	3	2	1	-
8 players	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Battle

In Battle Mode, the player can select one of the two types of battles available in Mario Kart 7 and one of the six battle courses that appear in this mode. There are three new courses, and the remaining three are from previous installments in the series.

Balloon Battle

Racers compete by popping their opponents' balloons to gain points in a time limit of two minutes. All racers start with three balloons and must use the items from the Item Boxes to take away a balloon from their opponents. Hitting a rival is worth a point. Players who lose all of their balloons will have half of their points deducted. Up to three points can be taken away, and the player re-spawns with three balloons.

Coin Runners

In Coin Runners (Coin Battle in the British English version), racers collect the Coins scattered in the battle course within the time limit of two minutes. The racer that has the most Coins at the end wins. Racers can use the items to hit their opponents and make them drop a maximum of three coins that they have collected. Unlike in Mario Kart Wii, only up to ten coins can be held at once. Coins collected in this mode do not count toward the coin total to unlock kart parts.

Online multiplayer

With the Nintendo 3DS's online capabilities, players can look for other users for online play, local or global range. Players can choose a worldwide competition to race against other users that are connected, race with friends that were met via StreetPass, or play in communities formed by users with customized rules for the races. Just like in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 has the Mario Kart Channel that shows updates of online activity automatically through the SpotPass and StreetPass modes. With StreetPass, the users can exchange their Miis, Ghost Data from Time Trials, players' names, and information of communities, while the user will only receive Ghost Data from other users and community recommendations via SpotPass.

VR

When players take part in online races or battles, points are added to or removed from their VR (short for VS Rating) based on their finishing position. The main purpose of VR is determining the skill of players, to match them with players of a similar skill level. Players start with 1000 VR (rather than 5000 VR, as in Mario Kart Wii). Online play in Communities does not use the VR system. Also, a player's VR counts for both races and battles, as opposed to Mario Kart Wii with races affecting VR, and battles affecting BR (Battle Rating).

Normal ones:

Course	Staffs	Time	Selected Character	Kart bodies	Wheels	Gliders
Toad Circuit	Katie	1.35.135	Toad	Standard	Normal	Super Glider
Daisy Hills	Terui	2.06.351	Daisy	Royal Ribbon	Roller	Peach Parasol
Cheep Cheep Lagoon	Gonta	1.53.758	Peach	Royal Ribbon	Roller	Peach Parasol
Shy Guy Bazaar	Teague	2.31.167	Shy Guy	Standard	Roller	Super Glider
Wuhu Loop	Bryan	1.44.287	Peach	Standard	Sponge	Peach Parasol
Mario Circuit	Miki	2.25.001	Mario	Standard	Normal	Super Glider
Music Park	Wtnbt	2.19.336	Rosalina	Royal Ribbon	Roller	Super Glider
Rock Rock Mountain	Morimo	2.35.105	Wiggler	Standard	Red Monster	Super Glider
Piranha Plant Slide	Tbando	2.20.186	Lakitu	Standard	Monster	Super Glider
Wario's Shipyard	Miyamo	2.26.268	Wario	Bolt Buggy	Monster	Super Glider
Neo Bowser City	Chuck	2.11.032	Metal Mario	Standard	Normal	Super Glider
Maka Wuhu	Reed	1.50.607	Yoshi	Bumble V	Sponge	Paraglider
DK Jungle	Derek	2.24.040	DK	Bolt Buggy	Red Monster	Super Glider
Rosalina's Ice World	Rlingo	2.25.784	Rosalina	Standard	Sponge	Super Glider
Bowser's Castle	Matt	2.34.815	Bowser	Standard	Monster	Super Glider
Rainbow Road	Takamu	2.10.090	Honey Queen	Royal Ribbon	Slim	Peach Parasol
N64 Luigi Raceway	McCoy	2.04.317	Luigi	Standard	Slick	Super Glider
GBA Bowser Castle 1	Hayata	1.31.030	Bowser	Pipe Frame	Standard	Ghastly Glider
Wii Mushroom Gorge	Kataok	2.02.292	Toad	Cloud 9	Mushroom	Paraglider
DS Luigi's Mansion	Konno	2.09.982	Luigi	Gherkin	Slim	Super Glider
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach	Amanda	1.54.274	Koopa Troopa	Pipe Frame	Normal	Super Glider
SNES Mario Circuit 2	Itros	1.28.106	Mario	Pipe Frame	Normal	Super Glider
Wii Coconut Mall	Thomas	2.30.117	Honey Queen	Standard	Slim	Super Glider
DS Waluigi Pinball	Bill	2.44.372	Wario	Standard	Slick	Swoop
N64 Kalimari Desert	Nishim	2.01.932	Shy Guy	Cact-X	Wooden	Swoop
DS DK Pass	Sean	2.35.045	DK	Barrel Train	Wooden	Super Glider
GCN Daisy Cruiser	Dai8	1.49.564	Daisy	Pipe Frame	Sponge	Peach Parasol
Wii Maple Treeway	Asakaw	2.53.560	Wiggler	Standard	Wooden	Super Glider
Wii Koopa Cape	Quinn	2.49.046	Koopa Troopa	Standard	Monster	Super Glider
GCN Dino Dino Jungle	Iwaco	2.29.837	Yoshi	Egg 1	Roller	Paraglider
SNES Rainbow Road	Yabuki	1.34.459	Lakitu	Pipe Frame	Slim	Super Glider

Expert ones:

Course	Staffs	Time	Selected Character	Kart Bodies	Wheels	Gliders
Toad Circuit	Ishi	1.26.632	Toad	Standard	Monster	Super Glider
Daisy Hills	Sasaki	1.51.111	Daisy	Royal Ribbon	Sponge	Super Glider
Cheep Cheep Lagoon	Tkdr	1.42.011	Peach	Tiny Tug	Roller	Peach Parasol
Shy Guy Bazaar	Rwo	2.14.714	Shy Guy	Pipe Frame	Monster	Paraglider
Wuhu Loop	Nkm	1.32.854	Peach	Pipe Frame	Slick	Peach Parasol
Mario Circuit	Raba	2.10.018	Mario	B Dasher	Slick	Super Glider
Music Park	Masa	2.07.551	Rosalina	Soda Jet	Slim	Paraglider
Rock Rock Mountain	Hiroma	2.19.149	Wiggler	Standard	Mushroom	Flower Glider
Piranha Plant Slide	Jiku	2.06.540	Lakitu	Cloud 9	Sponge	Paraglider
Wario's Shipyard	Syun1	2.12.313	Wario	Bruiser	Slim	Ghastly Glider
Neo Bowser City	Matt	1.58.996	Metal Mario	Blue Seven	Monster	Paraglider
Maka Wuhu	Chucky	1.39.361	Yoshi	Standard	Monster	Super Glider
DK Jungle	Dupree	2.10.777	DK	Standard	Wooden	Swoop
Rosalina's Ice World	Dax	2.13.091	Rosalina	Gherkin	Red Monster	Super Glider
Bowser's Castle	Tom	2.15.244	Bowser	Bruiser	Red Monster	Ghastly Glider
Rainbow Road	Asakur	1.52.077	Honey Queen	Bumble V	Normal	Flower Glider
N64 Luigi Raceway	Miyakw	1.52.206	Luigi	Pipe Frame	Slick	Paraglider
GBA Bowser Castle 1	Hokwai	1.22.221	Bowser	Koopa Clown	Roller	Super Glider
Wii Mushroom Gorge	Jay	1.50.526	Toad	Pipe Frame	Monster	Super Glider
DS Luigi Mansion	Vince	1.58.539	Luigi	Egg 1	Monster	Paraglider
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach	Ueda	1.42.909	Koopa Troopa	Soda Jet	Sponge	Paraglider
SNES Mario Circuit 2	Kony	1.17.777	Mario	B Dasher	Slick	Super Glider
Wii Coconut Mall	Ryan	2.14.167	Honey Queen	Koopa Clown	Sponge	Paraglider
DS Waluigi Pinball	Nshhr	2.27.574	Wario	Bruiser	Slim	Ghastly Glider
N64 Kalimari Desert	Koz	1.48.707	Shy Guy	Bolt Buggy	Red Monster	Ghastly Glider
DS DK Pass	Matu	2.16.534	DK	Bolt Buggy	Red Monster	Paraglider
GCN Daisy Cruiser	Carlos	1.43.341	Daisy	Tiny Tug	Sponge	Peach Parasol
Wii Maple Treeway	Bill	2.34.877	Wiggler	Egg 1	Sponge	Flower Glider
Wii Koopa Cape	Shane	2.28.585	Koopa Troopa	Cact-X	Normal	Flower Glider
GCN Dino Dino Jungle	Will	2.14.430	Yoshi	Egg 1	Monster	Swoop
SNES Rainbow Road	Sriwtm	1.21.994	Lakitu	Cloud 9	Roller	Paraglider

World Records

Just like Mario Kart Wii, players have made world records for Mario Kart 7. Below is a table (as of June 2, 2015):

Course	Time	Player	Nation	Date
Toad Circuit]	1:19.270	Mr.L	Japan	May 24, 2014
Daisy Hills	1:38.328	ジャスミン	Japan	January 26, 2014
Cheep Cheep Lagoon	1:33.142	ZCrone	United Kingdom	June 19, 2014
Shy Guy Bazaar	2:02.855	ZCrone	United Kingdom	May 19, 2014
Wuhu Loop	1:23.166	Jacob	United States	May 18, 2014
Wuhu Loop (Glitch)	1:18.217	Alexony	Spain	August 28, 2013
Mario Circuit	1:58.647	Jacob	United States	November 7, 2013
Music Park	1:47.570	Demon	France	June 5, 2014
Rock Rock Mountain	1:58.986	ZCrone	United Kingdom	November 16, 2014
Piranha Plant Slide	1:48.476	Eric	United States	May 27, 2015
Wario Shipyard	1:53.965	Aiguille	France	December 27, 2013
Neo Bowser City	1:43.467	かミノせん	Japan	April 10, 2015
Neo Bowser City (Glitch)	1:21.970	Ray	Canada	May 2, 2014
Maka Wuhu	1:26.324	AdroMaster	Spain	November 24, 2013
Maka Wuhu (Glitch)	1:04.394	AdroMaster	Spain	December 13, 2013
DK Jungle	1:55.402	Ray	Canada	May 29, 2014
DK Jungle (Glitch)	1:52.923	Toad	Japan	September 26, 2014
Rosalina's Ice World	1:52.974	Toad	Japan	August 31, 2014
Bowser's Castle	1:58.150	Jacob	United States	December 18, 2013
Rainbow Road	1:36.261	Gogoku7	Netherlands	June 23, 2014
N64 Luigi Raceway	1:42.965	Demon	France	March 2, 2014
GBA Bowser Castle 1	1:11.736	Miracle	Japan	February 7, 2015
GBA Bowser Castle 1 (Glitch)	1:10.896	TvK	Belgium	January 23, 2015
Wii Mushroom Gorge	1:33.705	Weisse	Japan	June 16, 2014
DS Luigi's Mansion	1:43.482	Lee	United Kingdom	April 21, 2014
DS Luigi's Mansion (Glitch)	1:41.589	Marv	Germany	March 28, 2014
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach	1:30.498	Ray	Canada	March 27, 2014
SNES Mario Circuit 2	1:08.967	レンジでチン	Japan	March 20, 2015
Wii Coconut Mall	1:56.453	Diogo	France	February 8, 2014
DS Waluigi Pinball	2:11.258	mume	Japan	July 31, 2014
N64 Kalimari Desert	1:34.221	きゃわ	Japan	April 5, 2015
DS DK Pass	1:57.207	Diogo	France	February 20, 2014
GCN Daisy Cruiser	1:26.611	Nicola	Italy	April 24, 2014
GCN Daisy Cruiser (Glitch)	1:11.138	Diogo	France	March 5, 2014
Wii Maple Treeway	2:17.105	よっしー	Japan	December 11, 2013
Wii Maple Treeway (Glitch)	1:49.044	Samuel	United States	May 25, 2015
Wii Koopa Cape	2:06.816	Coco	France	May 28, 2014
Wii Koopa Cape (Glitch)	2:06.617	Coco	France	October 9, 2013
GCN Dino Dino Jungle	1:50.123	Okami	United Kingdom	May 30, 2015
DS Airship Fortress	1:54.233	AdroMaster	Spain	June 6, 2014
SNES Rainbow Road	1:12.949	Mr.L	Japan	May 21, 2014

Nintendo eShop description

NA Version

A New Dimension of Kart Racing! The newest installment of the fan-favorite Mario Kart™ franchise brings Mushroom Kingdom racing fun into glorious 3D. For the first time, drivers explore new competitive kart possibilities, such as soaring through the skies or plunging into the depths of the sea. New courses, strategic new abilities and customizable karts bring the racing excitement to new heights.

EU Version

Mario Kart 7 brings Mushroom Kingdom racing fun into glorious 3D - and that's just the beginning, as new courses, strategic new abilities and cutomisable karts bring the racing excitement to new heights. Up to 8 players can enjoy local wireless races or race together online.

Reception

Critical reception

The game has received generally positive reviews. As of December 12, 2013, Metacritic has an average score of 85, including 64 positive reviews, and 9 mixed. GameRankings has an average score of 85.17% based on 50 reviews. Critics generally praise the new glider and underwater mechanic that the game adds, but often cite how similarly it feels to past entries of the Mario Kart series.

GameXplain has given the game's Multiplayer 4.5 stars out of 5, and Single-Player a 3.5 out of 5. Audrey Drake of IGN gave the game a 9.0/10. She criticized the character roster for being small and the potential of the Spiny Shell "screwing up" the race, but she praised the innovation and the polish the game provides. Griffin McElroy of Joystiq gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. He praised the game for being well-polished with only a few flaws, noting the Spiny Shell as "unavoidable race-ruining bullshit". Adam Biessener of Gameinformer gave it an 8.5/10. He praised the first person view, the new tracks, and the new glider and underwater features while criticizing the Battle Mode, and online modes "being a distraction rather than a destination". 1up gave it a B- grade. Tom McShea of Gamespot gave it a 8/10. He remarked that the game has "been the same as previous entries of the series, but the innovations have kept it fresh", while criticizing the online structure and lack of mission mode. Justin Towell on Gamesradar gave it a perfect 10/10. He praised the fanservice and how "anyone can pick up and enjoy" the game. However, Jim Sterling of Destructoid rated the game a 5.0/10, criticizing how this game is "practically the same as any other game in the Mario Kart series". He ended it with, "Mario Kart is in need of a severe shake up. This stagnant, crawling, and indolent effort is not it".

Sales

The game sold over 420,000 units in its first 4 days in Japan. As of March 31, 2014, Mario Kart 7 is the 2nd best-selling game for the Nintendo 3DS, having sold about 9.62 million copies worldwide, and also the best-selling Mario game on the 3DS.

Gallery

Main article: Mario Kart 7/gallery

Glitches

Some of the most well known glitches are found in Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu, and GBA Bowser Castle 1. If executed correctly, they will allow the driver to skip sections of the track. On May 15, 2012, an update was released that made these glitches unusable in online multiplayer.

Differences in multiplayer modes

When playing in multiplayer mode, both locally and online, there are several changes made to the tracks, most likely to retain a stable connection.

• One of the two Mountain Goats was removed from Daisy Hills.
• There is only one Sidestepper in Cheep Cheep Lagoon, as opposed to two.
• In the bazaar section of Shy Guy Bazaar, one jar was removed. Also in the gliding section, there are fewer Shy Guys on flying carpets.
• In Wuhu Loop, the first group of cars consists of only two cars instead of three. The last group of cars near the finish line were removed entirely. Also, the wind turbines near the lighthouse have no rotor blades.
• In Mario Circuit, the coin placement in the castle area was changed. Also, one of the two Giant Goombas is absent.
• In Music Park, the second of three Bouncing Notes was removed.
• Piranha Plant Slide has no Item Boxes flowing with the water. Also in the section before the finish line, the Giant Goomba and the boards resembling it were removed.
• The Fish Bones in the tunnel in Wario Shipyard are absent as well as the Sidesteppers before the gliding section.
• One Tiki Goon and one Frogoon were taken out of DK Jungle, reducing their number to two and one respectively.
• There are no penguins in the underwater section of Rosalina's Ice World.
• One of the two Thwomps in Bowser's Castle is absent.
• The two ceiling lights in the second room of Luigi's Mansion were removed.
• In N64 Koopa Beach, three of the six Sidesteppers are absent: Two underwater and one before the finish line.
• In DS Waluigi Pinball, there is only one Pinball rolling around in the open area before the finish line.
• N64 Kalimari Desert has only one train on its rails as opposed to two.
• DS DK Pass does not have any snowballs in the part that goes uphill. Also most of the snowmen are absent.
• There are no Cheep Cheeps in the underwater section of GCN Daisy Cruiser.
• One of the two Wigglers in Wii Maple Treeway was removed.
• Wii Koopa Cape has no moving Item Boxes in the area where the water flows with the track. Also, there are no Cheep Cheeps in the underwater area.
• There are fewer Rocky Wrenches in DS Airship Fortress.

Names in Other Languages

Languages/Regions:	Name:	Meaning:
Traditional Chinese	瑪利歐賽車７ (Mǎlìōu Sàichē 7)	Mario Racing 7
Simplified Chinese	马力欧卡丁车７ (Mǎlìōu Kǎdīngchē 7)	Mario Karting Car 7

Trivia

• This is the only Mario Kart game where Wario is an unlockable character.
• This is also the only post-Mario Kart: Double Dash!! game where Waluigi is not a playable character (though he was supposed to appear in the game as a playable character, but was scrapped, due to time constraints). However, his course, Waluigi Pinball appears as one of the retro tracks.
• This marks the only time where Princess Daisy appears in a modern game without Waluigi.
• When the player has a strong lead in the race, a backbeat will kick into the music.
• The Nitro Courses use the current Mario Kart logo on their starting banners, while Retro Courses still use the classic logo.
• When unlocking a new kart part, if the player goes to the Mario Kart Channel to change parts, no jingle sound will play and the gift icon will not be there. However, it will still appear when going into the Grand Prix or Time Trials.
• This is the only Mario Kart game that doesn't have its corresponding year of release on the title screen.
• This Mario Kart game has the most track name differences in the American English and British English versions with a total of eight racetracks and one battle course.
• This is the first Mario Kart game since Mario Kart: Double Dash!! to not feature single player VS. Mode.
• The eight starting characters in this game resembles the eight playable characters in Super Mario Kart, the only difference is that Donkey Kong is in Donkey Kong Jr.'s spot.

External links

• Mario Kart 7 at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Mario Kart 7 at GameFAQs
• Launch Trailer
• Official Japanese Website
• Official European Website
• Official Oceanian Website
• Official American Website
• Official Korean Website
• Official Chinese (Hong Kong) Website
• Official Chinese (Taiwan) Website
• Official Chinese (China) Website