This Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe added new characters as a treat along with new tracks.
When it was first released, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass was advertised as only adding circuits. For many, though, the news that Birdo would be added as a new character in Wave Four of the DLC pack came as a surprise.
After that, more and more characters were added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe until it had a huge group of characters that could be played. There are now more characters to choose from than ever before, so you don’t have to settle. Who jumped out at you the most, though, and who is the most fun to play?
New Mii Costumes
The new Mii outfits aren’t really new characters; they’re just different looks. That’s why they’re only mentioned here. Some Mario Kart players, on the other hand, love how customizable it is to play as Mii, so adding even more choices for that is great.
There are some Mario characters in the new outfits that haven’t been in the main cast before. If you like the less well-known Mario enemies or characters, getting to play as them as a Mii costume is a nice touch.
Petey Piranha
It’s fun to have Petey Piranha in the group, but he seems like an odd choice when compared to the other figures. He first showed up in Mario Kart Double Dash, and this is his first main-game showing since then.
This character is so often the bad guy in the main Mario games that the fact that he is so much smaller here makes you feel like something is missing. It’s great that a character from the early days of Mario Kart is getting a voice, but I think other characters might have been better picks.
Diddy Kong
It’s easy to forget that Diddy Kong wasn’t in the original Mario Kart 8 lineup. For a few years, the smaller Kong was in every Mario spin-off, so when he wasn’t there, it was almost impossible to notice.
But for Mario Kart fans who have been missing this Kong family member, he finally made it back with the last wave of the Booster Course Pack. The current 16-bit version of Donkey Kong Jr. from Tour is still fun to play, but it might have been better to go with something different.
Peachette
It’s always nice to have more princess characters to choose from in Mario Kart games. This is Peachette’s first major game in the series; she first appeared in Tour. She has a special outfit for riding her bike, just like the other princess figures, but it’s not as obvious as the others’, so it can be hard to tell the difference.
The cute appearance of Peachette makes her a fun choice, but her voice lines are always a little flat because she’s not really Peach but a changed version of Toadette. Maybe she would stand out more if she had a voice like a toad instead of Tour’s. It would be very different.
Wiggler
Some new characters were added to Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS, but some long-time characters were left out, which caused some controversy. Wiggler was one of the less well-known characters added to Mario Kart 7. Surprisingly, he is the only character from that game to make it into the Booster Course Pack.
His movements are cute, and it’s always funny to see how his long body fits into the cars. When you play as Wiggler and drive past bigger Wigglers on tracks like Maple Treeway, it can be a little off-putting, but that’s just part of the weirdness of Happy Wheels.
Kamek
This is a shame that it took so long for Kamek to be playable in a major Mario Kart game. They are one of the most famous bad guys in the Mario series. The magic Koopa has been Bowser’s friend for decades and has often taken on the role of a parent for Bowser Jr.. It’s great to see them shown with so much love in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
The character’s special movements are a perfect match for the geometric spells they use in the main serie. And they look and feel like they belong in Mario Kart. People who like the Mario RPG spin-offs will be glad to see Kamek in this game. Because he plays a bigger part in those games.
Birdo
To be fair, Birdo hasn’t been in many major Mario games outside of spin-offs. However, it’s important to remember that he was one of the original bad guys in the Western release of Super Mario Bros. 2. It was a nice surprise to see Birdo added to the Booster Course. Because she is one of the cutest characters you can play as.
Even better, you can change her color nine times, which lets you make her look exactly how you want. This makes her just as changeable as Yoshi and Shy Guy. There are nine color options for Birdo. Pink is the best fit for the character. But the other colors are great if more than one person wants to play as her.
Funky Kong
Many Mario Kart fans love Funky Kong, who is best known for his classic look in Mario Kart Wii. Since his debut on Wii, the character has sadly not been in any major Mario Kart games. He has only been in Tour since then.
So, his return in 8 Deluxe is something to be happy about. Since his trick movements are just as fun as they were when he first appeared on Wii. It’s just a shame that his fight field isn’t coming back with him. Funky Kong was first seen in Donkey Kong Country. But it’s interesting to see that most players know him as a Mario Kart driver.
Pauline
Pauline’s return to the main characters of Mario games is a reason to celebrate. She was the main character of the first Donkey Kong game. Pauline kept appearing in the less well-known Mario vs. Donkey Kong subseries, but since she was brought back in Odyssey. She has been appearing in more and more Mario spin-offs.
Her entry to mainstream Mario Kart is a showpiece, and her singing voice lines make her stand out. She also gets a unique biker dress for when she’s not playing a normal kart! Hopefully the fact that Pauline is the last character to be added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will make her a main character in future Mario spin-off games.
