Mario Kart 9 (Nintendo Switch)

Mario Kart 9 is an upcoming Mario Kart game for the Nintendo Switch that will be the follow-up game of Mario Kart 8, a Wii U title, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a Nintendo Switch title. It will also be the second Mario Kart game for the Nintendo Switch.

A prominent new addition is jetpacks, allowing players to zoom as fast as they can. Elements from Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8 are reused, such as Bikes and 2-Player online from Mario Kart Wii; and gliding, underwater driving, and kart customizing from Mario Kart 7; and anti-gravity, DLC, ATVs, and Mario Kart TV from Mario Kart 8. In addition, planes join the returning karts, bikes, and ATVs as a new class of vehicles.

Drivers

Mario Kart 9 includes 32 total drivers (16 starting drivers and 16 unlockable drivers). The following is the order of what weight classes go by in order from lightest to heaviest: Feather, Light, Medium, Cruiser, and Heavy.

Starting drivers

• Mario (Medium)
• Luigi (Medium)
• Peach (Light)
• Daisy (Light)
• Yoshi (Light)
• Birdo (Light)
• Bowser (Heavy)
• Wario (Heavy)
• Donkey Kong (Cruiser)
• Waluigi (Cruiser)
• Toad (Feather)
• Koopa Troopa (Feather)
• Koopa Paratroopa (Feather)
• Boom Boom (Heavy; New Driver)
• Toadette (Feather)
• Bowser Jr. (Medium)

Unlockable drivers

(Note - sorry I didn't include the Miis, but I wanted room for the characters. :( )

• Rosalina (Cruiser)
• Pom Pom (Heavy; New Driver)
• Shy Guy (Feather)
• Boss Sumo Bro. (Heavy; New Driver)
• Larry (Medium)
• Roy (Heavy)
• Lemmy (Feather)
• Wendy (Light)
• Iggy (Cruiser)
• Morton (Heavy)
• Ludwig (Heavy)
• Chargin' Chuck (Cruiser; New Driver)
• Metal Mario (Heavy)
• Pink Gold Peach (Heavy)
• Dry Bowser (Heavy)

DLC racers

Unlocking criteria

Like Mario Kart 8, characters are unlocked at random by completing cups where fixed characters were unlocked by completing specific cups on specific engine classes in many cases but, a new character cannot be obtained if the same cup is played in the same engine class again; for example, if the 50cc Mushroom Cup is played and a new character is unlocked, then another character cannot be obtained from the 50cc Mushroom Cup. Additionally, unlockable characters appear as CPUs during races when they are not yet unlocked, making this game the second Mario Kart game to do so.

Courses

There are 32 tracks consisting of 16 new tracks (so far) and 16 retro tracks. As with the retro tracks from the Wii U and Switch installment, the retro tracks in this game features altered sections that incorporate the game's hang-glider, underwater, and anti-gravity features. The game features live-recorded music for the new tracks and the retro tracks. Nintendo also announced that there will be DLC courses as well. (and yes, that means DLC courses from the Wii U game will appear as well)

Nitro courses

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Mario Kart Stadium	Flooded Beach	Chain Chomp Canyon	Kamek's Library
Acorn Plains	Boo Forest	Toad Highway	Peach's Castle U
Gigantic Beanstalk	Mount Yoshi	Boom Boom Airship	Bowser's Castle
DK Rainforest	Luigi Circuit	Abandoned Fortress	Rainbow Road

Retro courses

Shell Cup	Banana Cup	Leaf Cup	Lightning Cup
DS Figure-8 Circuit	N64 Wario Stadium	Wii Toad's Factory	Wii U Thwomp Ruins
Wii Daisy Circuit	DS Mario Circuit	GBA Riverside Park	3DS Rosalina's Ice World
GBA Ribbon Road	Wii U Electrodrome	3DS Neo Bowser City	Wii Bowser's Castle
Wii U Cloudtop Cruise	3DS Shy Guy Bazaar	GBA Snow Land	DS Rainbow Road

DLC courses

(Note - You guys can fill in this section! I am very busy at the moment. :) )

Items

Items found on the track

• Item Box - Gives the player a random item. Items given are based on the player's position.
• Coin - Gives the player a small boost and increase top speed when more are collected, up to a max of 10.

New Items

• Ice Flower - Same as Fire Flower, but shoots snowballs which will freeze opponents.
• Propeller Mushroom - Gives the kart a giant propeller which will allow the player to fly across the course for 20 seconds.
• Super Acorn - Allows the kart to have a tail and flying squirrel-like wings for a short time. With this item, racers can use them to fly across canyons for a short time.
• Awesome Nine - Gives the racer nine items that orbit around them. The items are: Green Shell, Red Shell, Banana, Mushroom, Star, Bob-omb, Blooper, Coin, and Mega Mushroom.

Returning Items

• Green Shell - Travels in a straight line and knocks over a kart it hits. Three green shells orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
• Red Shell - Homes in on the closest kart in front of the player and knocks it over. Three red shells orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
• Banana - Protects the player from incoming items, and spins out other racers that hit it. Three bananas orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks.
• Mushroom - Provides the player's kart with a small speed boost. Triple Mushrooms orbit the player's kart, providing them with three separate speed boosts.
• Feather - Causes the player to spin and leap in the air, providing a small speed boost upon landing, akin to a regular trick (characters will also perform a trick animation during the jump).
• Golden Mushroom - Provides the player's kart with continuous speed boosts for a short time.
• Fire Flower - Allows the player to throw fireballs for a short time that cause other karts to spin out on impact.
• Star - Provides the player invincibility from all terrain and items, and also giving a speed boost. Also, the player will not lose any coins if you fall.
• Blooper - Sprays ink on all racers ahead and reduces their visibility. The racers hit also lose a few of their traction while sprayed.
• Bob-omb - Explodes after a short time when thrown or dropped, knocking over any kart in its blast radius.
• Boo - Upon use, allows the player to become invisible to other racers for 10 seconds. While invisible, players will also be granted immunity to items and most obstacles. Activating the item will also allow Boo to steal an item from a randomly selected racer in front of the player. If there are no items to steal, Boo will bring back a single Mushroom by default. If Boo steals a part used triple item, or a timed item like the Fire Flower or Golden Mushroom, they will be returned to the player fresh.
• Spiny Shell - Targets the racer in first place, knocking over all other karts in its path.
• Lightning - Causes all opponents to drop their items, shrink, and drive slowly for a short time.
• Thunder Cloud - Hovers over the recipient, and strikes it with lightning after ten seconds. Before this happens, the user has much higher speed and acceleration while not losing speed when driving off-road, and may pass the cloud to an opponent by bumping into them. Each pass makes the total running time of the thundercloud about 1 second longer.
• Mega Mushroom - The driver grows bigger, which allows them to squash other racers by running over them making them lose their items and slow down for a moment, provide invincibility from all terrain and items, and giving a speed boost. Also, the player will not lose any coins if you fall.
• Bullet Bill - Transforms the player into a Bullet Bill, rocketing through the track with auto-pilot, and providing invincibility from all terrain and items.
• POW Block - Appears on screen and causes any racer on the ground ahead of the user to spin out and drop their items, only with a milder version of the effect.
• Boomerang Flower - Can be thrown up to three times, hitting racers forward and when it returns.
• Piranha Plant - Automatically chomps on obstacles and other racers, giving a short speed boost for each bite.
• Super Horn - Emits a radial shockwave hitting racers, as well as destroying all obstacles and items.