Beginner Tips For Mario Kart World

Summary

Speed through Grand Prix to unlock new content like courses and characters in Mario Kart World.
Utilize food vendors to quickly unlock costumes by feeding characters different foods.
Hold off on using items in races to cheat the rubber banding system and gain an advantage.

There were many Mariospinoffs on the NES and in arcades, but something different emerged when Super Mario Kart launched on the SNES in 1992. It wasn't just a one-off racing game because it brought Nintendo a lot of success, unlike other odd spinoffs, including Mario is Missing and I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater.

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Years later, Mario's racing franchise is still going strong with Mario Kart World helping launch Nintendo's newest console, the Switch 2. While most players will know immediately what to do upon starting the game, others may be lost because this is their first time or because all of the new features are confusing. Here are some general beginner tips for Mario Kart World to help hone those driving skills.

8 Get Through The Grand Prix ASAP

On Any Difficulty Level

If players want to unlock four new courses and classic characters like Donkey Kong in Mario Kart World, then they should play through the main campaign as fast as possible. Each Grand Prix course has three playable difficulties, and no matter which one players choose, they will unlock content by completing it.

After completing each course, a new character will unlock, and a new Grand Prix will emerge after all courses are completed. Once credits roll, that’s when players will know they have completed a big chunk of the game.

7 Find A Food Corner, Swap Out Characters

Easy Way To Unlock Costumes

Daisy in Mario Kart World’s character select screen

Players will find food vendors spread throughout as they play through the Grand Prix and all other modes in Mario Kart World. If they are roaming around in Free Roam and find a food area with three or more vendors then they should stay put for a while.

Swap out unlocked characters and let each one chow down. Some food types will affect characters in different ways and some won’t be affected at all. Either way, it’s a good strategy to unlock new costumes quickly.

6 Look At The World Map

Check In On Characters And Costumes

Another great tip for unlocking costumes is to go to the World Map from the title screen. On the Map screen, players can see what their characters are doing. If they click on a character, they will start playing as them immediately, similar to how character switching works in Grand Theft Auto 5.

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Also, when players highlight a character, they will see what costumes are unlocked for them and how many more they need for a full set. For example, Pauline only has two costumes, so players can save time knowing that before they try to feed her every type of food.

5 Hold Off On Items

Cheat The Rubber Banding

Rubber Banding is something that beginners love in the series but veterans loathe. It’s a mechanics about luck rather than skill, as the person ahead of the pack will get worse items while those left behind will get good items.

Players can cheese the system by getting a good item like the Bullet Bill or Blue Shell in Mario Kart World and then holding off on using it until they reach the head of the pack. It’s like having insurance to stay in first place, especially in multiplayer, but it does take some skill to end up in the lead without using items.

4 A Different Way To Drift

Boosting Jumps

There are several ways to stay ahead of the pack without items. Players can get a drift boost by trailing behind other players. They can also drift around corners, which is tricky to master but effective when executed properly.

There is another form of charging that some players may not know about. If players drive straight and charge instead of drifting around corners they will create a jump in Mario Kart World. This can help players get onto rails, which is an easy way to get a speed boost similar to the speed panels found in courses.

3 Look For Shortcuts

Manipulate Photo Mode

Every course in the game has a shortcut, or at least an alternate path to travel from lower areas to branching roadways. Going through tracks on repeat is a good way to learn these shortcuts in Mario Kart World, but players can also repeat courses in Free Roam to get a better understanding of the layout.

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Furthermore, there is a Photo Mode in Mario Kart World. If players are going through the game in single-player, then they can pause the experience, hop into Photo Mode, and look around to see if there are any secrets they might have missed without having to drive there in-game, although the scope of Photo Mode is limited.

2 Deflecting Items

A Good Defense

Playing with Wario in Battle Mode in Mario Kart World

There is another reason to hold onto items in Mario Kart World, and that’s to use them as a defense mechanism. Players can send items like banana peels and shells at any enemies behind them with a tilt of the controller. Even things like Blue Shells can be countered with the right item, like a Super Horn, to cancel it out.

Green Shells and Banana Peels may seem like wasteful items, but they can be used to absorb a blow from items like a Red Shell if they are trailing behind the player. These tips can be useful in Battle mode, too.

1 Characters And Karts Are Cosmetic

But Bikes And Small Characters Have Advantages

Racing with Baby Mario in Mario Kart World

There are tons of characters to unlock while racing, along with vehicles that are unlocked in Mario Kart World with coins. No single character or vehicle is technically superior to the others, but there are compelling reasons to choose specific Nintendo classics.

Small characters, like Baby Mario or Swoop, will take up less space on-screen, meaning players who are using them can see around their character better. Wario and Bowser are great, but they are huge by comparison. Also, bikes are easier to maneuver and take up less screen space too, so a small character driving a bike is a good strategy to consider.

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