While this means it’s unlikelyMario Kart 9will be announced until at least 2024, plenty of people are still speculating about what the next iteration in this storied franchise will do to differentiate itself. A more crossover-focusedMario Kartwould still work, it’s just less appealing thanSmash Bros.considering the constraints of designing mechanics for a kart racer. One option might be forMario Kart 9to pull from its series' history with elements like theMario Kart DSMission Mode, giving it decidedly more single-player content in contrast to8 Deluxe’s increasingly verbose multiplayer races.
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Mario Kart DS' Mission Mode Was an Undersung Gem
Mario Kart DS, the aptly titled first and only entry released on the Nintendo handheldin 2005, had a lot of unique attributes. Beyond its use of the dual-screens to give players access to their live race and a map at the same time,Mario Kart DSwas the first in the series to feature online connectivity. It could also make use of the DS Download Play feature to let friends connect at a local level without multiple cartridges, andMario Kart DSofficially solidified the format of “retro courses” to expand its roster.
There were also features specifically taking advantage of the DS touchscreen like custom emblems. Yet the truly stand-out element ofMario Kart DSwhich has yet to make another appearance is Mission Mode. This gave solo players the chance to take on nine tasks across six levels (with a seventh unlockable level), more often than not corresponding to challenges like collecting a certain amount of items or attacking track obstacles such as Monty Moles. The ninth mission in each level was a boss fight against a returning foe likeMario Kart 64’s Eyerok orLuigi’s Mansion’s King Boo.
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Mario Kart 9 Can Forge a Solo-Focused Path All Its Own
Mission Mode is a beloved inclusion of the DS title because of the variety it provides. Boss characters only appear in Mission Mode, and their references to otherSuper Mariogames was noteworthy. The individual missions also went beyond the kind of arcade fare one might expect from a racing game, such as hitting an ordered set of gates. Many gave players the chance to appreciate individual courses from a new perspective, such as a mission in level 1 requiring the racer to pass throughLuigi’s Mansiondriving backwards.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis undoubtedly a juggernaut release for Nintendo. Not only is8 Deluxethe best-selling entry in theMario Kartfranchise, it’s also the best-selling Nintendo Switch game overall as of June 02, 2025 - beating out cultural phenomenons likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Giving the game a set of brand-new courses to capitalize on this built-in audience makes a lot of sense, and at the endMario Kart 8 Deluxewill have the most course variety of all its predecessors.
It’s nigh-impossible to imagine Nintendo topping this success on Switch, so the company has instead focused on adjacent projects likeMario Kart Touron mobile and thetoy tie-inMario Kart Live: Home Circuit. WheneverMario Kart 9releases it also shouldn’t aim to compete with milestones set by8; it should blaze its own path. Revamping Mission Mode’s single-player content fromDSseems as good an idea as any, and expanding the variety of content included would no doubt offerMario Kart 9an identity unique from the course-heavy multiplayer juggernaut.
