Erick N. Narvaez ‘23
On February 9th, 2022, Nintendo held a direct that detailed the release of a bunch of games from different franchises on the Nintendo Switch, including Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon 3, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and much more. One of the major announcements made during this direct had to do with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. After nearly an entire decade, the best selling game would finally be getting a large variety of new content with the Booster Course Pass.
While many fans were hoping for news on a new Mario Kart game as a whole, Nintendo made up for this by promising the release of 48 new courses with this DLC, essentially releasing an entirely new game for only $24.99 rather than the main game’s price of $59.99. This DLC will include courses from various Mario Kart games made before, spanning from retro games such Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 all the way to the very recent mobile game Mario Kart Tour.
The DLC will release in 6 waves, starting in early 2022 in March all the way to late 2023. Each wave will release two cups, consisting of 8 courses. The first wave of the DLC was released on March 18th, 2022, and includes the Golden Dash Cup and the Lucky Cat Cup. The Golden Dash Cup consists of Paris Promenade, Toad Circuit, Choco Mountain, and Coconut Mall, a popular fan favorite. Meanwhile, the Lucky Cat Cup consists of Tokyo Blur, Shroom Ridge, Sky Garden, and Ninja Hideaway.
This wave of the Booster Course Pass is merely the start of something more. Future waves will include the Turnip & Propeller Cups, Rock & Moon Cups, Fruit & Boomerang Cups, Feather & Cherry Cups, and Acorn & Spiny Cups. With the introduction of unique and new cups, combined with a whole new selection of courses, this DLC could bring even more traction to the already popular game. A wide variety of potential Mario Kart tracks could make its way into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe because of it. Fan favorites such as Koopa Cape and Maple Treeway from the beloved Mario Kart Wii or Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS could make a return. There’s a chance that even your favorite tracks might get added into the game, remixed and ready to be played in high quality.
The Salesian Spectator 