Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Pack (Switch, 2022)

 

The Switch version of Mario Kart 8 ended up adding an entire game's worth of extra DLC courses, which is kinda nuts. Especially considering how they started adding this stuff 5 years after the game came out (2022 vs 2017) which was an entire 8 years after the Wii U game came out. This adds 48 tracks (yes, 48, as many tracks as the main game). These are a mix of real-world "touring" tracks taken from the Kart phone game, retro tracks from other Karts, and some entirely brand-new tracks (usually one or two for every wave).

Basically, this was a Mario Kart 9 in everything except name, and it got a staggered release like FFIV: The After Years. Now that we have Mario Kart World, I guess this pack is Mario Kart 8.5. Which begs the question of why they didn't just put this out as a new game and rake in coin. They could have easily sold this for $50 (instead of the $25 total that it costs), plus an actual release would have gotten some fanfare and people like me wouldn't have forgotten it existed, so it would have sold a lot better as well.

So how is it? Well, right off the bat, they missed a big opportunity by not having this add Booster from Mario RPG as a playable character. This caused them to lose out on numerous potential sales from Booster-enthusiasts and Booster-maniacs the world over.

Alright, here we go, 48 (Jesus) new tracks over 12 (Jesus) new cups. I better pack a lunch, this is gonna take a while.

What do you do when you've 3-starred and gold medal'd every cup, including the four Wii U DLC cups? You download the Booster Pack. This is awesome because I'm getting the finished product. Did After Years the same way. Not really a fan of playing staggered things as they drop.

I mentioned how this had a staggered release. Well, every few months they put out two new cups, for a total of 12 new cups. Wave 1 (Golden Dash Cup and Lucky Cat Cup) went out on eShop on 3/18/2022, which is almost exactly five years after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as mentioned. Really curious what the thought process was with this whole thing, as very few games get a DLC five years later, much less a DLC that's bigger than the original game. In a way, it's a lot like how Bowser's Fury was included with the Switch version of Mario 3-D World. Like "alright, we're re-releasing the same game, so here's another game on top of it". I'm not complaining.

BTW, Bowser's Fury is pretty incredible.

This gives me an opportunity to play as the Koopalings, who I largely missed out on the first time. Starting with Ludwig because everyone knows he's the top Koopaling, the one that is second only to Bowser (...Bowser Jr who?)

Paris Promenade - A bunch of the Booster Pack courses are based on real-world locations. They lead off with probably the best out of all of them. This level is siiiiick, and has that Bioshock Infinite dreamlike aesthetic version of Paris complete with slightly-sad music and baguettes.

There's the Arc de Triomphe, but I gotta say, they messed it up by putting barriers under it to stop you from driving under it. You can still plow through the barriers (and get slowed down a bit) but it's weird because your every instinct is to drive through the arch. Still, A+ level for people who like (the idealistic version of) Paris and want to visit it without getting knifed.

Toad Circuit - This hellish level from Mario Kart 7 is full of giant inflated Toads, and is otherwise a pretty generic track.

Legend says that if you soar too close to one of the floating Toads, he will unhinge his jaw and devour your racer whole.

Choco Mountain - A retro track I didn't like on the N64. It's alright here, not quite as boring as it used to be since there's actual draw distance now.

Coconut Mall - The infamous Tony Hawk level. The mall itself is fun to ollie and grind through, but what I really liked was outside:

Shy-Guys in low riders, making the suspension bounce like they're in the Konnan music video. Yeah I haven't moved much past the year 2000.

Next up I go with the second-strongest Koopaling (in my headcanon), Roy Koopa. As a kid, this guy was my favorite of the bunch, because of his rad to the max sunglasses.

Lucky Cat Cup is the second half of Wave 1. Again we've got a Tour track and then retro tracks. But wait! Ninja Hideaway is an entirely new one. Wondering if the entirely-new tracks in this pack are the rejected tracks that didn't make it into Mario Kart World (considering this came out much closer to that game than it did to either of the MK8s).

Tokyo Blur - Unfortunately, a bland track, and a huge step down from Paris Promenade. There isn't really much to this one and I can barely tell it's Tokyo outside of a couple of shots (which I have here).

For some reason there are Thwomps on the freeway destroying it. Not sure why Japan is okay with this. Also, you'd think they would have gone all-out to make this particular Tour track super-good because it's Japan, so the bland-ness is surprising. Probably the worst track so far in the Booster Pack.

Shroom Ridge - This one is a highway, in an ominous portent of Mario Kart World's tracks. I kinda wonder what all of these regular drivers are thinking, having all of these batshit crazy Kart racers zipping around in traffic and knocking their cars around with the boombox weapon and so forth.

Sky Garden - A lot of folks don't like this track, but I think it's a good one. Any time a GBA track gets remade is a good time, because the GBA had some interesting tracks that suffered from the system they were on. It's basically the top of a beanstalk, which is an under-utilized Mario trope.

Ninja Hideaway - Alright, I can safely say this isn't a rejected track, it's pretty cool. However, it's a multi-floor fortress and it's actually possible to get lost in it (though unlikely) which is a first.

It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Ninja Fortress. Only thing missing are guards to take out ala Sekiro.

Wave 2 dropped on 8/4/2022 and consisted of Turnip Cup and Propeller Cup. They're really scraping the barrel for names here.

New York Minute - A rad NYC-themed level. Miyamoto's love for NYC is well-documented so no doubt a lot of extra oomph went into this one.

We've got a Central Park section! Oh yeah, I'm playing as Wendy Koopa now. The only woman in the Koopaling sausage-fest.

Whoa, now that's attention to detail: They re-created St Patrick's Cathedral here, with a rudimentary Empire State Building down the street.

Yeah, this level is really cool. The only downside is how short it is. Lots of drifting and turns, though.

Mario Circuit 3 - While I love the original SNES game, the basic-ness of the tracks from it is really apparent when you see one from the air.

Unfortunately, this track is pretty dull. Which is a bad sign considering we're heading into...

Kalimari Desert - My least-favorite N64 track because it makes you stop in the middle of the level to let a train pass by. Luckily, they fixed it here, the train doesn't cut across until you pass. The level got an insane visual upgrade too.

Just watch out for the other train that BARRELS STRAIGHT FOR YOU

Waluigi Pinball - Waluigi may be a terrible character, but his level here isn't bad at all! The centerpiece of the level is this pinball board with giant iron balls zipping all over the place. Watch out for the GIANT BALLS, Wendy!

Get hit by something while going through this warp-tunnel and Lakitu has to tow you out of hyperspace. It's what I imagine happens if a spaceship breaks down while in warp. Actually you'd probably just disintegrate. Anyway, that's it for ::checks notes:: Turnip Cup.

Next up is Propeller Cup. You'd think this would be full of sky levels, but none of these cups really match their namesakes track-wise. Sky-High Sundae is a new level created for this pack.

Sydney Sprint - Neat little city level right on the ocean, and it bears a striking resemblance to Boston. Thought that I'd misread and that's where the level was, until...

...the Sydney Opera House popped into view. Yep, there it is. Oh yeah, for this one I'm playing as Iggy Koopa. He was always my least-favorite Koopaling (unless Bowser Jr counts) because of his weird plant-haircut. He was the first boss in Super Mario World, though, that counts for something.

Snow Land - Pretty level here, another GBA level getting a much-needed tune-up. Looks super-slippery, isn't. This level made me think we need a "DKC Kart" game so we can get a Slipside Ride level with the music and everything. Maybe Diddy Kong Racing had something like that. Man, what a forgotten game that one is, considering how well-liked it was. Probably a prime candidate for remastering.

Mushroom Gorge - Fairly mundane level here with lots of bouncing off mushroom platforms. Folks who are into bouncing off trampoline platforms will have a good time here.

Sky-High Sundae - New level, it's got the rarely-seen "dessert theme" which is usually a colorful time in this series.

Playing on 100cc and I'm absolutely destroying these Booster Pack cups. They seem to all be roughly at Mushroom Cup level of difficulty, or Flower Cup at the most.

Wave 3 dropped on 12/7/2022 and gave everyone Rock Cup and Moon Cup. Worth noting is that these cups clearly exist in a post Mario Odyssey world with the Moon Cup here. For this one I'm wheeling out the smol Koopaling, Lemmy.

London Loop - Oh My Goooood. They've got Big Ben and red phone booths here. This is another awesome tribute to a touristy locale, right up there with the NYC level in "hey, I know what that is" moments.

Lots of London landmarks to be found here. However they got one thing wrong, it isn't pouring raining. It isn't even overcast! Come to think of it, there haven't been any weather effects in ANY of these Booster Pack levels.

There IS however a loose Chain Chomp barreling around on the track attacking people. This must be Whitechapel.

Boo Lake - GBA level remade and I've been vocal about how much I like those. It's more or less a standard Ghost House level from early in the series.

Alpine Pass - Now this one is a big step up from the previous level, with some glorious visuals. It's a climb up some mountains, through forests, with some huge jumps. One of the better tracks so far, even if it isn't new.

Maple Treeway - Not to be confused with "Maple Threeway", that one time when Peach and Daisy poured maple syrup all over themselves and Bowser. This level has more stupendous visuals, with a gorgeous Fall theme. Rather than normal laps, it has you going back and forth down one long path.

Moon Cup is my personal favorite cup so far. 3 out of 4 of these tracks are top-tier for the Booster Pack. Peach Gardens is the only real weak point and it isn't bad at all. Rainbow Roads and Tour levels are always welcome, and Merry Mountain is hands-down the coziest track in this whole deal.

Berlin Byways - Another terrific real-world level that covers most of the key landmarks. Most notable is Brandenburg Gate here. Bowser Jr is next up, and gets to be a Koopaling today.

The real-world version of Brandenburg Gate (definitely not game graphics...what do you think this is, PS5?)

I've always liked the four-horse chariot on top of this monument, also known as the quadriga.

Per Wikipedia:

A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in classical antiquity and the Roman Empire. The word derives from the Latin quadrigae, a contraction of quadriiugae, from quadri-: four, and iugum: yoke. In Latin the word quadrigae is almost always used in the plural^[1] and usually refers to the team of four horses rather than the chariot they pull.^[2] In Greek, a four-horse chariot was known as τέθριππον téthrippon.

...

They got the Autobahn right, with the train station signs and alerts using the actual German words.

WTF, the Berlin Wall is here, and parts of it are whomps that fall down as you approach.

This is actual genius

Peach Gardens - The one "mid" level of the bunch, it's a pretty standard course without much that stands out. Well, besides...

...Luigi sieg-heiling?? No! What are you doing! Bad Luigi! Bad!

Merry Mountain - A brand-new level, and a very special one. This is the best level in the entire Booster Pack so far. It's very Christmas-themed, looking like a Swiss mountain town, and would go well with a cup of hot chocolate. The only downside to this level is how short it is.

There's an ascent up a snowy mountain, followed by...

...a pitched high-speed descent down the same mountain, back to the cozy town. Fantastic little track, 10/10.

Rainbow Road (3DS version) - Gorgeous track here that I think was the beginning of the "super epic" Rainbow Roads. Maybe the Wii version was, not sure. This is the one where you LAND ON THE MOON:

It's almost as bumpy as city roads in 2025. Somebody repair our damn roads!

This is one of the better Rainbow Roads out there, and I think it might be my favorite pre-World. Yeah, I'm sticking to Mario Kart World having the best Rainbow Road thus far.

Wave 4, a high-quality wave, was on 3/8/2023 and added Fruit Cup and Boomerang Cup. These two are really strong sets of levels with few weaknesses. Fruit Cup in particular has super nice levels, including...Yoshi's Island??

Amsterdam Drift - Pot smoke fills the air as you cruise through the idyllic streets of Amsterdam, complete with electric buses. Don't forget to stop by the Red Light District and enjoy the company of a lady-goomba of the night. Or a lady-koopa. Or Toad. Whatever floats one's boat, they have it here.

The pot smoke gets particularly stifling as I cruise past the flower gardens. Gorgeous location.

Oh yeah, I'm Larry Koopa now. I think he might be the 2nd to top Koopaling behind Ludwig. He was the World 1 boss in SMB3 and the final world miniboss in Super Mario World. Which both seem like key placements. ...that or terrible placements because technically he didn't get his own world in SMW, unlike all the others. Originally he was supposed to be the boss of the Ghost Ship, which was a world rather than a level.

Riverside Park - Speaking of gorgeous locations, this is one of the prettiest in all of MK8. Sunlit woods that bathe you in warmth. It's pretty cool. The track is fairly basic though.

DK's Snowboard Cross - As much as I like snow levels, this one is a little mundane. The highlight is a cannon blast that rockets you up the mountain (and is the only time this level has much of anything in common with DK).

Yoshi's Island - That's right, it's YOSHI'S ISLAND. Probably the most exciting level on paper for long-time Nintendo fans. There's so much they can do with this concept...and they do a lot of it, too.

There's the giant dude from the box art. The floating ? blocks can actually be shot (surprisingly) with shells if aimed well. They just give you a coin, though. The fact that you can interact with them at all is pretty rad. All in all, it's a neat level with a Yoshi's Island aesthetic, brings back some memories.

Boomerang Cup is another top-quality one. Which Koopaling am I going to wheel out for this one?

Bangkok Rush - Morton Koopa Jr is next. He's the other "beefcake" besides Roy, and I always thought he was the less-beefcake of the two. Used to wonder if there was a Morton Koopa Sr and this guy is adopted, but no, it's just a reference to an actor.

In any case, Bangkok here is a cool tropical city with a big tent market. Not much to it compared to most of the other Tour levels. The tent market is cool to bounce off the top of.

Mario Circuit - This is basically the beginning of Mario 64 turned into a course. It's pretty forgettable, even though it's nice for long-time Mario fans.

Waluigi Stadium - This level is filthy, dirty, muddy, and gross. Just a real armpit of a level. Nintendo should be ashamed of themselves. It has a couple of good jumps though.

Singapore Speedway - This might be my favorite track in this entire Booster Pack so far, or a close second behind Merry Mountain. It feels like something from a different game entirely, a legit huge city.

Not just any huge city either, a super-advanced one with man-made waterfalls and blimps flying around.

There's also a town section with paper lanterns, and...

This rad tunnel. It also has huge laps compared to a lot of the other levels. Yeah, possibly the best new thing they've added so far.

There's a little bit of Fast and the Furious vibe to this place, even, with the light effects and the look of the place.

Wave 5 dropped on 7/11/2023 and included Feather Cup and Cherry Cup. ...My God, I still have four cups to go here

Hellllp....meeeeee

In any case, with all the Koopalings down, I'm going with the big boss this time.

Athens Dash - Lots of ancient Greek ruins here, great idea for a track. This is a place that laid the foundations for modern civilization, so it's a pretty big deal. Also, in the distant past, copious amounts of Gay Sex took place here, until one day someone had the crazy idea to start having sex with women instead. This was one of the more major advancements developed by the Greeks...eventually.

Daisy Cruiser - It's Daisy's personal yacht, since she is very wealthy you see. ...who exactly IS Daisy? Back in the day, Daisy was just another name for Toadstool. She was in the Super Mario Bros movie and pretty sure she was also Toadstool there. She was also in Super Mario Land, and was either a new princess or the old one with a different name.

Not sure when she split off from Toadstool and became an individual character, but I do know she's WAY hotter and sassier than Toadstool. And she wears super-tight shorts. Also her yacht is WILDLY UNSAFE:

Furniture is sliding back and forth in this place! How did this pass inspection??

One part of the yacht is flooded! This place is a DEATH TRAP.

Moonview Highway - Whoever designed all of Mario Kart World's tracks must have gotten their start here. It's a highway, like the first two laps of every MKW course. Bloog. At least it's moonlit.

Squeaky-Clean Sprint - Brand-new level here and it's another really awesome one. They really nailed it with some of the entirely new levels in the Booster Pack. This level takes place in a gigantic bathroom, with a bubble bath (seen here) and...

...a shiny porcelain toilet! Good to know people in the world of Mario still have bodily functions.

You can go down the drain of the bathtub and find things down here, like a lost wedding ring. Toadstool probably took it off while she was cheating on Mario.

3 left. This post is....so long

Keel....meeee

Los Angeles Laps - A boardwalk and a beach, more or less. Trotting out Wario for this one since he's the next big bad guy after Bowser.

The beach part is cool, otherwise a pretty unmemorable level. No burning Waymos here so that's good.

Sunset Wilds - This is some sort of archaeological dig site, most notable for the sections where you drive over massive dinosaur footprints. ...well, dinosaur footprints are way less notable in the Mushroom Kingdom where there are dinosaurs randomly walking around, but yeah. This has a lot of straightaways and feels like an old-school level from the distant past of the series (fittingly).

Koopa Cape - Not a lot to this one, it's got a lot of halfpipe-walls and a lot of goombas walking around. No koopas though. Why isn't it called Goomba Cape then?

Most noteworthy part is this underwater halfpipe. I wish the whole level was like this.

Vancouver Velocity - Some of these names sound like minor-league sports teams.

This means the game has both Paris AND Seacouver. This is a pretty ordinary level with a nice sky, featuring an aurora. However the most interesting thing here is...

...a full hockey rink, complete with Shyguy menaces batting a puck around. This would be an amazing arena for Battle Mode, if Battle Mode used specific parts of stages.

Finally, Wave 6 added the last two cups (Acorn Cup and Spiny Cup) on 11/8/2023 to make an even TWELVE new cups. Are they sure they don't want to add a few more while they're at it? Good God.

For this one, I bring back THE BLACK YOSHI. No relation to how Luigi sometimes claims to be "The Black Yoshi" when he's drunk.

Rome Avanti - It's Rome at night, straight out of one of the John Wick movies.

Unfortunately, no blistering melee fights between nearly-immortal assassins here. It does have a lot of waterways to traverse, and the level itself is a bit of a maze (every lap is different).

DK Mountain - A big mountain with lots of jungle and a rope bridge that sways around extremely unsafely. Did Daisy design this?

The high point (literally) is this cannon blast that sends you towards the top of the mountain. Pretty awesome level, one of my favorites from Double Dash.

Daisy Circuit - Wait a minute, are Luigi and Daisy supposed to be an item? In any case, this is the final retro track of the Booster Pack. I think at this point they've probably covered all of the retro tracks from throughout the series, huh? Not sure how much is even left, at least from the first five or so. No wonder MKW doesn't have any retro tracks in the normal sense.

As for this track, it's purdy. Not sure what it has to do with Daisy though. It looks like another real-world city level.

Piranha Plant Cove - This is basically "the ruins of Atlantis" in stage form. It's a brand new level, and a fun one.

Most of it is underwater, and it's a very pretty level.

Also has some huge jumps. Another grade-A new level. At this point, the Booster Pack mostly shines the most with the new levels made specifically for it.

It's fitting that the last cup is a Blue Shell. Looks like we're ending with another Rainbow Road. For those keeping score, this means Mario Kart 8 has not one, not two, but FIVE versions of Rainbow Road: SNES, N64, Wii, 3DS, and the new one. The only ones missing are N64, GBA, and Cube.

For the final battle, I'm going with Pauline.

Fookin' Pauline, man. Goddamn.

Madrid Drive - Last Tour level for this pack is another solid one, very European, lots of statues.

There's also a WIGGLER ON THE TRACK, LOOK OUT

The highlight of the track is a full-on soccer field. Of course there's a soccer field. This is another thing that would be amazing if converted into a Battle Mode arena. Not sure why the Booster Pack didn't add anything for Battle Mode.

Rosalina's Ice World - Very, very pretty track. They certainly saved some of the most breathtaking content for the end here.

Aside from how insanely pretty it is, the most memorable thing about this track is this one awesome super-drift around the edge of a pit. It goes on for a while and gives you an opportunity to reach the tier-3 drift sparks (purple). Mario Kart World doesn't even go that high for some reason, in addition to de-emphasizing drifting.

Bowser Castle 3 - An old Super NES track (one of the final levels in that game) revived and given a HUGE makeover.

I loved the Bowser Castle tracks on the SNES, and this was the toughest of them. They made it very three-dimensional in this version, like this section that tilts upwards.

Here we see Pauline bouncing off the top of a Thwomp. GREAT level

Spiny Cup was much higher difficulty than the earlier ones, and Donkey Kong was pretty much RIGHT behind Pauline for the entire thing. I know that "right behind Pauline" is a great place to be, but he needs to BACK OFF.

Rainbow Road (Wii version) - A very three-dimensional Rainbow Road, and one of the better ones in the series. Perfect thing to end the 'Pack on.

An example of how three-dimensional this track actually is. People with vertigo may want to avoid this one.

With all of Booster Pack finished in 1st place (100cc) I've cleared it. Surprisingly, the Booster Pack gets its own credits and ending screen. This is pretty much an entirely new game from MK8, we'll say MK8.5. They could have sold this separately as "MK9" and it would have been well-regarded / made a lot more money.

...wait, what is Luigi doing with his hand? Goddammit Luigi!

So what's the final verdict on this series? What's the best Mario Kart game? Well, it was definitely either MK8 or World. After playing both of them back to back a lot this past month, I'm going to go ahead and say that the clear winner is MK8 (Switch version in particular).

Mario Kart World has more advanced visuals and effects (and much larger environments), but Mario Kart 8 is actually easier on the eyes. The art direction is better, and the colors/contrast are both considerably better. With their normal lap system, MK8's tracks are shorter and much more drift-heavy (which makes them more fun) and they don't have all the filler highway routes that World does.

Super Mario Kart

Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Mario Kart: Double Dash

Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart 7

Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pack

Mario Kart World