Ranking Every Mario Kart From Worst To Best
There can only be one winner.
Who'd have thought that way back in 1992, platforming superstar Mario would leap from saving the princess to riotous go-karting action? The formula worked though, ludicrously so, and with the latest release, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe fresh out on Nintendo Switch, there's never been a better time to look at the rich history of this venerable series.
The franchise has always offered a meaty amount of content for your money: single-player championships against fearsome AI, time trial runs, and - of course - the multiplayer, both head-to-head on a variety of courses, and the legendary battle mode. But this isn't just about content, this is about delivery.
Just how do all of the games in this 25-year-old franchise stack up against one another?
From handheld entries that defy belief to home console titans that sell tens of millions of copies, there's a good deal of debate to be had about which is best. But, as with any veteran series and a real racing championship, there can only be one winner...
10. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (Arcade, 2013-14)
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is not a bad game. It's actually the third iteration of the arcade version that began in 2005. In a smart move, the game came about as a co-developed project with Namco-Bandai (then just Namco) who had their own rich history of quality racing titles with Ridge Racer. Released on the 'Triforce' arcade hardware, so-called because SEGA, Nintendo and Namco created it jointly, the game looked slick and featured crossover characters like Pac-Man.
The DX edition came about in 2013 and offered players features from 3DS title Mario Kart 7 like gliding and underwater racing plus more characters like Rosaline from Super Mario Galaxy. Elsewhere there was a quirky co-op feature that let players combine into a tank with one player as the driver and the other the gunner.
This one hits my tenth spot because availability can vary wildly despite it being a great entry in the series.