Mario Kart 7

Overview & New Features

Mario Kart 7 — racing by air, land and sea on the Nintendo 3DS

The Garage — customise body, wheels and glider for every race

The character select screen — 17 drivers with distinct weight classes

Mario Kart 7 is the seventh mainline entry in Nintendo’s iconic racing series and the first designed from the ground up for the Nintendo 3DS, developed jointly by Nintendo EAD and Retro Studios. Released in December 2011, it builds on the foundations of Mario Kart Wii while introducing a suite of new features that fundamentally change how the game feels.

Key New Features

Characters

Mario Kart 7 features 17 playable drivers split across five weight classes (Feather, Light, Medium, Cruiser, Heavy). Eight are available from the start; nine are unlocked by winning Grand Prix cups. New to the series: Metal Mario, Wiggler, Honey Queen, and Lakitu (making his playable debut). Shy Guy is now a standard selectable character for the first time. Also notably absent from this entry: Waluigi, Birdo and Bowser Jr.

Default Drivers

MarioMedium

LuigiMedium

Princess PeachLight

YoshiLight

BowserHeavy

Donkey KongCruiser

ToadFeather

Koopa TroopaFeather

Unlockable Drivers

DaisyLight · Mushroom Cup 150cc

WarioHeavy · Flower Cup 150cc

RosalinaCruiser · Star Cup 150cc

Metal Mario ★Heavy · Special Cup 150cc

Shy GuyFeather · Shell Cup 150cc

Honey Queen ★Heavy · Banana Cup 150cc

Wiggler ★Cruiser · Leaf Cup 150cc

Lakitu ★Feather · Lightning Cup 150cc

MiiMedium · Clear every cup in one class

★ = New to Mario Kart series. Characters shown with their unlock condition — complete the listed Cup at 150cc to unlock. Mii character uses your system’s Mii, sits in the Medium class and unlocks once you’ve cleared every cup in any engine class. Shy Guy’s colour changes in multiplayer and Download Play, cycling through 8 different colour variants.

Courses

Mario Kart 7 features 32 courses — 16 brand new and 16 classic retro courses from previous entries in the series. Only the Mushroom Cup and Shell Cup are available from the start; all others unlock by completing each cup. Three new courses (Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu and Rainbow Road) span three sections each, with each section counting as one lap — a first for the series.

🆕 New Courses

🍄 Mushroom Cup

Toad CircuitOpening course — wide, simple layout great for beginners

Daisy HillsRolling European hillside village, glider section over the valley

Cheep Cheep LagoonTropical underwater course — first fully submerged track in the series

Shy Guy BazaarChaotic Middle Eastern market at night, tight corners and item boxes everywhere

🌸 Flower Cup

Wuhu LoopThree-section Wuhu Island circuit — each “lap” is a different section of the island

Mario CircuitClassic open circuit redesigned for MK7 with a large glider section

Music ParkGiant instruments as obstacles — the course literally reacts to the music

Rock Rock MountainAlpine mountain climb with hang-gliding descent and river rapids section

⭐ Star Cup

Piranha Plant SlideUnderground pipe course with Piranha Plants blocking the track

Wario ShipyardWario’s massive dark galleon ship — underwater inside the hull

Neo Bowser CityRainy futuristic Koopa city at night, glider over neon skyscrapers

Maka WuhuThree-section Wuhu Island mountain route ending in a massive cliff dive

🏆 Special Cup

DK JungleDonkey Kong Country Returns jungle track — designed by Retro Studios

Rosalina’s Ice WorldFrozen cavern with icy drift-heavy sections and underwater glacier tunnels

Bowser’s CastleLava fortress with moving platforms and a giant Bowser statue obstacle

Rainbow RoadThe iconic final course — three sections over an asteroid field in space

🕹️ Retro Courses

🐚 Shell Cup

N64 Luigi RacewayThe oval N64 classic — widened and updated with coins

GBA Bowser Castle 1The first GBA castle course, dark and obstacle-filled

Wii Mushroom GorgeBouncy mushroom platforms return — now you can glide between them

DS Luigi’s MansionThe fan favourite haunted mansion course from Mario Kart DS

🍌 Banana Cup

N64 Koopa Troopa BeachBeachside N64 classic now with underwater sections through rock arches

SNES Mario Circuit 2Super Mario Kart’s second course — remarkably still fun 20 years on

Wii Coconut MallThe beloved shopping mall course, escalators and parked cars return

DS Waluigi PinballOne of the most beloved retro picks — racing inside a giant pinball machine

🍃 Leaf Cup

N64 Kalimari DesertThe desert train-crossing course, now with a glider section over the canyon

DS DK PassSnowy mountain pass from Mario Kart DS with giant rolling snowballs

GCN Daisy CruiserThe cruise ship track from Double Dash — now the water sloshes around

Wii Maple TreewayAutumn treeway with caterpillars and falling leaves

⚡ Lightning Cup

Wii Koopa CapeThe underwater pipe section of Koopa Cape returns with improved physics

GCN Dino Dino JungleDinosaur-filled jungle from Double Dash with glider over the dino’s back

DS Airship FortressThe airship gauntlet from Mario Kart DS — still one of the hardest retro tracks

SNES Rainbow RoadThe original Rainbow Road, slightly widened and remastered, with bigger Thwomps that now topple racers

Battle Stages

Six battle arenas — three new and three classic. New stages: Honeybee Hive, Sherbet Rink, Wuhu Town. Classic: GBA Battle Course 1, N64 Big Donut, DS Palm Shore.

Balloon Battle — pop opponents’ balloons to earn points

Coin Runners — collect the most coins before time runs out

Items

Mario Kart 7 introduces three brand-new items alongside the returning classics. The Thunder Cloud, POW Block, Mega Mushroom, Fake Item Box and Boo from previous games are absent. Coins also return as a track collectible — gather up to 10 per race to boost your top speed.

Fire Flower NEWThrow bouncing fireballs at opponents ahead or behind. Karts that are hit spin out. One of the most offensive new items.

Super Leaf NEWA Tanooki tail swipes automatically around your kart, deflecting incoming items and spinning out nearby opponents. Doesn’t return in MK8.

Lucky Seven NEWSeven items at once orbit your kart as a shield AND as weapons. CPU racers can’t get it. Doesn’t return in MK8.

MushroomTemporary speed boost. Drive through to activate.

Triple MushroomThree single mushrooms orbit your kart — tap to use each one.

Golden MushroomRapid-fire mushrooms for several seconds — continuous boost. Rare and powerful.

Super StarFull invincibility and speed boost — spin out any kart you touch. Also deflects all items.

Green ShellThrows straight or bounces off walls. Triple Green Shell variant orbits as a shield.

Triple Green ShellThree green shells orbit your kart, blocking incoming items. Throw individually.

Red ShellHomes in on the nearest kart ahead. Triple Red Shell orbits as a shield.

Triple Red ShellThree homing red shells orbit your kart. Each one will chase down the nearest opponent.

Blue Shell (Spiny)Flies directly to first place and explodes — affects nearby karts too. Can be dodged with a Super Star.

BananaDrop it behind or throw forward. Karts that drive over it spin out.

Triple BananaThree bananas trail behind your kart as a hazard shield — or throw them.

Bob-ombThrow it and it explodes on impact or after a short timer, catching everyone in the blast radius.

Bullet BillTransforms you into an auto-driving Bullet Bill — invincible, fast, and immune to items temporarily.

BlooperSquirts ink on the screens of karts in higher positions, partially obscuring their view.

Lightning BoltStrikes all opponents simultaneously — shrinks them, slows them, and causes them to drop their items.

CoinFound scattered on every course. Collect up to 10 to gradually increase your top speed. They also drop from being hit.

Item BoxDrive through to receive a random item. The item you get depends on your current position — worse positions get better items.

Kart Customisation

For the first time in the series, Mario Kart 7 lets you customise your kart by separately choosing a body, wheel set and glider. Each component affects your kart’s stats: speed, acceleration, weight, handling, off-road grip, mini-turbo strength and drift. Parts unlock by collecting coins during races (random parts unlock at set coin totals from 50 up to 4,500 coins), while the gold parts and the Beast Glider are tied to bigger milestones.

The Garage — mix and match body, wheels and glider. Every combination changes your stat spread.

The Gold Standard kart, Gold Tires and Gold Glider are the ultimate unlockables — each requires completing specific challenges: the Gold Standard needs 10,000 VR online or 20,000 coins, the Gold Tires need at least a one-star rank in every cup of every engine class (or 15,000 coins), and the Gold Glider needs 100 StreetPass hits or 10,000 coins.

Game Modes

Note on online: Official online play ended when Nintendo shut down its 3DS online services on 8 April 2024. However, the Pretendo Network fan service restores online play for those with custom firmware, and local wireless (download play) still works fully.

Reception

Mario Kart 7 was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the best-reviewed and best-selling games on the Nintendo 3DS. It went on to become the best-selling Nintendo 3DS game of all time, with 18.99 million copies sold (as of March 2024).

Common praise: course design quality (especially DK Jungle and Neo Bowser City), the retro course selections, the feel of gliding and underwater driving, and the online community feature. Common criticisms: smaller character roster than MK Wii, some items removed, and the absence of Waluigi.

Trivia & Notable Facts

• Mario Kart 7 was co-developed by Retro Studios (creators of Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns), which focused on the remade classic courses and also created DK Jungle.
• The game was the first system seller for the 3DS following its slow launch — sales of the handheld jumped significantly in the weeks after MK7’s release.
• Rosalina marks her first appearance in a handheld Mario Kart — she was previously only playable in Mario Kart Wii.
• Honey Queen was criticised by some fans as an unusual character choice — she has since never appeared in another Mario Kart game, making MK7 her only playable appearance.
• The SNES Rainbow Road in the Lightning Cup keeps the original layout but is slightly wider, with seven bigger Thwomps that now topple racers and send out ripples you can trick off.
• Waluigi is the most notable absence — he had been playable in every mainline Mario Kart since Double Dash!! (2003), so MK7 is the first without him since Super Circuit. His omission caused significant fan discussion at the time and remains a talking point today.
• Shortcut exploits on Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu and GBA Bowser Castle 1 led Nintendo to release Version 1.1 in May 2012 — the first patch for any 3DS game — which blocked them online (they still work offline).
• The game introduced the Lucky Seven, seven items orbiting your kart at once — Mario Kart 8 expanded the idea into the Crazy Eight.
• Mario Kart 7’s online communities were a direct precursor to the lobby/tournament system seen in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s online mode.
• The coin mechanic was a core part of Super Mario Kart (SNES) and Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) before being dropped — its return in MK7 was very well received.

Videos

More Mario Kart 7

Sources

• Super Mario Wiki: Mario Kart 7 (characters, weight classes, unlocks, vehicle parts, items, courses, updates, reception, sales)
• Super Mario Wiki: SNES Rainbow Road
• Super Mario Wiki: DK Jungle (Mario Kart 7)
• Super Mario Wiki: Lucky Seven
• Super Mario Wiki: Crazy Eight
• Super Mario Wiki: Honey Queen
• Wikipedia: Mario Kart 7 (review scores, Retro Studios’ role)
• GoNintendo: Famitsu Mario Kart 7 review score details