When the Booster Course Pass was first announced in February 2022, people always wondered when characters would also be added to the game. After all, Mario Kart Tour had some incredible characters, like Pauline, Kamek, Funky Kong and Petey Piranha, while Mario Kart 8’s own roster was in many ways rather lacking. And with the Booster Course Pass’ role being to preserve Tour’s content, it only made sense for the characters to be saved in the same way.
Yet despite this, it didn’t happen in 2022. Indeed, despite 3 whole waves coming and going, new characters were nowhere to be seen, leaving fans wondering whether the idea just wasn’t on the cards after all.
But now that’s all changed. Why? Because in the recent Nintendo Direct, the company announced that not only was a brand new Yoshi’s Island themed track coming to the game, but new characters would be too[note], including Birdo in a massive 9 different colours! Here’s the trailer showing both of them in action:
And honestly?
We’re not sure what’s the most amazing part here, because both Birdo and the Yoshi’s Island course fit into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe incredibly well here. The former has a character model that looks almost on par with the base game, and makes her feel like she was always there…
Whereas the latter is arguably the most impressive new course has made in years. It’s got a beautiful art style based on the classic SNES game. Characters like Poochy, Huffin Puffins and Nep E Nuts line the track among others.
Plus you’ve even got mechanics based on Yoshi’s Island providing course gimmicks too, such as a ? cloud that creates a bridge you can use for a shortcut! It’s an awesome level, and one we’re very excited to try out when this wave of DLC launches this spring.
So check out the gallery below to see Yoshi’s Island and Birdo in game:
Gallery
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- The main artwork for the track looks awesome!
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- If only Birdo is being added in wave 4… why would we have 6-7 characters in the next two waves?
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- Birdo selects her kart
Watch our video if you want to see Squishy’s thoughts on the trailer…
Then leave your thoughts about this stuff in the comments below, on social media, or over on our Discord server today!
Source:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass – Wave 4 Announcement – Nintendo Direct 2.8.23 (YouTube)
Note
While only Birdo was shown in the trailer itself, Nintendo mentioned in the official press release (and on the Japanese site) that more characters would be added too, including in future waves.
Birdo, who originally hit the track in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, is also being added. Returning characters from the Mario Kart series will be added in future waves