So Nintendo just released a brand new trailer for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and it shows off
some never before elements, most of which is focused around the Battle Mode.
And you know what that means--it’s time for the old analysis machine to take a crack
at it.
But since much of the trailer is old information, we’re only going to be focusing on the entirely
new stuff here, including the 4 never-before-seen battle tracks.
So let’s get to it.
Alright, so first up is that fact that we have another brand new character in the form
of Gold Metal Mario, which Nintendo confirmed via Press Release you’ll unlock for finishing
the 200cc mode.
Okay, so that’s cool, I guess...
But there’s something even cooler, because as the trailer is showing off 200cc, we can
see Waluigi’s drift sparks changing from Orange to Purple.
And that’s potentially a big deal, as we’ve never seen a Purple Drift before!
So does this mean they’ve added a third tier of drift beyond the usual Blue and Orange,
rewarding those who hold it even longer?
And if so, is it perhaps exclusive to 200cc since that’s the only mode we see it in?
And how fitting is it that Waluigi, of all characters, is the one showing off a Purple
drift?
Alright, so that covers it for the brand new features, so let’s move onto the Battle
Mode of which the trailer finally revealed all 8 tracks and that 5 modes they’re available
in, including Balloon Battle, Bob-Omb Blast, Coin Runners, Shine Thief, and Renegade Round-up.
Now as it turns out, all of those return from past Mario Kart games...except for that last
one which is brand new, being Renegade Round-up.
So let’s take a closer look at how that one works
So this mode is basically Mario Kart’s version of cops and robber, with everyone being split
into two teams.
You have the robbers, or renegades in this case, who are marked by blue flags on their
cars, and the cops rounding them up, who in this case, have Piranha Plants--as well as
a little Police Siren on top.
And our guess is that if the cops round-up all the Renegades within the time limit, they
win.
Whereas if the Renegades evade them long enough, they’ll win instead.
But there’s just a bit more to it than that.
So to capture a Renegade, all the cops have to do is drive close enough to have their
Piranha Plant buddy automatically gobble them up, which then traps them in Mario Kart prison,
being this little jail cell that hovers just above the course--you can even see the helicopter
blade holding it up.
And inside, we can see Bowser Jr. and Yoshi have already been caught.
The only thing we’re not sure about is if they’re transported there immediately, or
if you have to drop them off by driving them there yourself.
However, this scene may reveal the answer--but it can be a bit hard to see.
So do you see DK right there?
Well, a few frames later, Rosalina rolls in and scoops him up.
But check this out--the flashing light on her Piranha Plant immediately goes out, which
suggests she’s not able to pick up another Renegade until she drops the first one off
at jail.
So yeah, it may not be quite as easy as it looks.
And then there’s the fact that the Renegades can fight back.
Both with items, which stuns the Piranha Plants if hit, making them temporarily safe to drive
past.
But also the fact that the Renegades can break their friends out of jail, by driving over
the Blue Key Switch directly underneath that blows it open.
Now in another scene, we can see a second jail cell in a different portion of the level--so
are there multiple jail cells at once?
Well, we’re thinking there’s probably only one at a time, and that it moves around
each time you break it open.
In either case, we can see that the Platform the Blue Key Switch is on remains behind,
suggesting the jail cell can reappear here
So yeah, it looks like a pretty cool mode.
Alright, so that covers it for the modes, so let’s move onto the tracks, of which
we now know there are 8 in total.
Now we knew about half of them before, so we’ll be focusing only on the 4 new ones
here.
And the first new Battle arena is clearly based on the DLC track from Mario Kart 8,
Dragon Driftway.
Here, we can see much of the action takes place in a square courtyard around two Dragon
statues--one being gold, the other silver--both of which are, of course, modelled after the
same Dragon from the main racetrack, which itself, was based on Gobblegut from Super
Mario Galaxy.
Now the inner portion of the courtyard appears to be sunken in a little, which should make
driving through it a little more dynamic.
Oh, and we can see a diagram of Lakitu’s cloud in the middle--which is fitting since
artwork of Laxity could be found in the actual racetrack as well, inside the Temples
Beyond the courtyard, we can see a large entrance gate to one--although it's walled off, meaning
you won’t be driving through it.
And the same goes for the two smaller temples on either side, behind each of the dragons.
We get a close-up look at the one behind the Gold dragon as DK flies by--so close, in fact
that we can make out some artwork of Lakitu’s cloud.on the gold trim, as well as hills,
reminiscent of those from the original Super Mario Bros.
And we can also see a row of Koopa Troopas that appear to be practicing martial arts
out front--neat!
Now although we don’t get quite as good of a look at the temple on the opposite side,
we’re pretty sure it’ll share the exact same details.
Now while you may not be able to enter the smaller temples, the Giant Temple opposite
the gate is a different story, as we can see it actually has two main entrances--one on
either side, that are completely unbarred...well, sort of, but more on that in a second.
And we actually get to see the inside of that Temple in this scene.
And that interior is not only big, but also circular, with a sunken interior all its own,
as we can see DK coming in from a slight ramp--and also features the same Lakitu cloud emblem.
And this temple isn’t just a single floor, as we can see a ramp that leads up to a 2nd
one...well, sort of.
Because there doesn’t seem to be a true 2nd floor--instead, it seems to just be the
ramp, as well as probably a 2nd ramp that we can’t see on the opposite side.
But in either case, those ramps do lead up to another entrance--or more accurately, an
exit--located above and between the two main entrances--which we can better see in the
exterior shot right here.
So it seems like you’ll be able to make a surprise entrance into the courtyard from
here.
And by the way, it appears as if the doors at each entrance may slide open and shut,
seeing as we can see the lower floor’s left side is entirely closed here--whereas they’re
open in this scene from the outside.
And then in the establishing shot, all 3 sets of doors are closed.
So these doors may dictate the flow into--and out of--the building, and demand that you
pay close attention.
Finally, if we go back inside for a second, we can see some kind of platform above the
ramp that has some item boxes all its own.
But we have no idea how you get to it--do you need to use a feather to jump to it from
the ramp?
Or is there some other way to get some airtime inside the temple?
Or maybe it has something to do with the wall panel we can just barely opening up over here--is
there a hallway that connects them?
Anyway, let’s move onto the next track, which seems to take place on Wuhu Island...given
the fact there’s a Wuhu Island banner right there.
Yeah, nothing gets by the analysis machine.
And given that’s the case, that would mean that the Clock Tower centerpiece here is actually
the Broken Clock Tower, which was a landmark in Wuhu Island as seen in Wii Sports Resort.
But this time, the Clocktower is sitting in a large courtyard with a raised garden in
the middle that’s sure to give you some airtime when driven over.
And the entire thing is surrounded by a Compass marking each cardinal Direction, with the
Clocktower taking up residence at the Southern Side.
Now to either side of the Clowntower are a couple of business that we’ve seen elsewhere
in the game, including Tropical Bakery and Coconut Cafe.
And it looks like you may even be able to see inside some of them, such as this shop
on the lower floor of the clock tower--which is a neat touch.
And of course, we can see Piantas, Yoshis and Toads will be watching from the sidelines,
Now at the start of the clip, we can see a Ramp, directly opposite the Clocktower on
the Northern side.
And this next clip reveals what’s at the top of that ramp, since we can see the same
Clock Tower dead-ahead.
And it just seems to be a small elevated with some trees and an additional ramp on each
side--one there, and the other right there.
This scene also gives us our only look at Wuhu Island’s famous volcano in the distance,.
At any rate, we get a better look at those ramps in this scene from the East side of
the Courtyard.
See, there’s the Clock Tower again.
And we also can see a couple of other Wuhu Island landmarks from this angle, including
the lighthouse way off in the distance, as well as a bowling alley on the west side,
complete with a billboard that says Strike!
And from the establishing shot, we can tell you’ll be able to follow the western roadway
right past it, which appears to loop around and exits right here, just behind the clocktower.
And from this angle, we can see the street continue behind the clocktower, presumably
to an identical road on the opposite side that loops around to the one here, just east
of the Clocktower,
But what’s beyond the Street behind the Clocktower?
Well, it seems to be a harbor based on this scene, where we can see a cruise ship in the
background.
Which we get a close up look at in this clip--which includes a banner for Fountain Cafe..
A top-down view of that same scene also reveals that this section’s pretty narrow compared
to the courtyard, as an inner fence bounds you to the road as it wraps around to the
other side.
And that’s it for Wuhu Island, so next up is a rather Sweet looking course...being based
on Sweet Sweet Canyon from Mario Kart 8.
But unfortunately, this is the track we actually see the least of---but you know that’s not
going to stop us.
So from the get-go, we can see a castle that looks strangely like Peach’s Castle--only
made of sugary tweets, and featuring the logo of Peach and Daisy Royal Patisserie.
But the castle’s not just for show--as there’s a raised ramp that leads around the back,
as well as a second path behind and below it--and we get a better look at both of those
routes in this scene, with the lower one even featuring candy arches you drive through.
Now both paths not only to lead not to the opposite side of the castle, but also right
through the castle if you want, as that entrance is made up of two floors, with the lower path
one leading to the ground-level one, and the ramp leading to the 2nd floor--which we can
see karts flying through in this scene.
Now just in front and right of the castle is a gingerbread house on a delicious looking
island--and the entire thing acts as an obstacle you’ll need to drive around--and there appears
to be a second similar island just behind it.
And not surprising, there see, to be similar ones on the opposite side too
Finally, there’s this scene of Koopa Troopa being clobbered in front of a cinnamon twist.
Now this is the only scene we can’t connect directly to any other--except for one little
thing.
The railings here are green, as opposed t the orange and red on the right side of the
castle.
But if we keep playing the clip, we can see green railings on the opposite side, meaning
that scene likely takes place somewhere around there.
And with that, let’s move on to the fourth and final of the newly announced arenas, being
this space-station stage, based on Rainbow Road--especially since it features the same
TV ads for REXA, or the Rainbow Exploration Agency..
At any rate, the establishing shot provides a fantastic overview of the stage, with it
being split up into two main sections--the space station itself, and the planet’s surface--at
least in this one section which consists of a giant crater surrounded by a few smaller
ones--and that main crater looks as if it’ll give you some serious hang time--perhaps befitting
of the low-gravity environment.
But regardless of which section you’re in, it appears the entire stage takes place in
anti-gravity--which should make things a bit more interesting.
Now it appears there are 3 paths to get to the crater from the space station, being the
one in the middle, and two more to either side--but both those side routes actually
lead to raised ramps that we can just barely see here, which will give you some airtime
before entering the crater.
And speaking of the crater section, it looks like there’s nothing ahead of it beyond
a rock wall-however, based on this scene, there does appear to be an entire section
off to the side--which we’re guessing is mirrored on the opposite side as well, as
we can just barely see a path here.
Now unfortunately, we can’t make out too much of what’s over there, although we can
see that it’ll seemingly lead to a ramp on the opposite side of this wall in order
to reach the item boxes here.
And that’s about it--except for a few Toads we can see watching from the sidelines, including
on this raised walkway.
And with that, we’re done covering everything we could dig up from the latest Mario Kart
8 Deluxe traikler.
But as always, let us know if we missed anything by posting in the comments below.
Thanks for watchign and make sure to subscribe for more analysis videos and everything else
Nintendo too.