New Mario Kart 8 Deluxe trailer highlights modes, characters

Two new trailers for Nintendo’s “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” have dropped, and they spotlight the game’s diverse features, including new battle modes.








Battle Mode has been overhauled for the Switch. It comes with a slew of new options, one of them being Balloon Battle, which tasks players with popping competitors’ balloons. Another is Renegade Roundup, which has team members trying to put everyone in the other team in jail. The others include Coin Runners, Shine Thief, and Bob-omb Blast.

Additionally, there are 8 courses dedicated to Battle Mode, including one boasting a “Splatoon” theme.

The trailers also showcase the game’s 48 tracks, and its roster of more than 40 racers that includes characters from popular Nintendo franchises such as “Mario Bros.,” “The Legend of Zelda,” “Animal Crossing,” and “Donkey Kong Country.” New characters to be introduced in the game are Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, King Boo, and Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy from “Splatoon.”

Other features include the ability for players to hold two items simultaneously, and a beginner-friendly steer assist tool.

From the trailers, we also learn that Nintendo’s wheel peripherals are launching on the same day as “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.”

Launching worldwide for the Nintendo Switch this April 28, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” is an enhanced port of 2014’s “Mario Kart 8.” As such, it comes with all previously released DLCs, as well as new features unique to the Switch version. — TJD, GMA News