Originally arriving on the Wii U all the way back in 2014,Mario Kart 8was a pretty great deal at the time, offering 32 courses at launch, with another 16 also offered as DLC. A few years later,Mario Kart 8 Deluxewould release, allowing Switch users to get in on the action. ThoughMario Kart 8 Deluxewas criticized at the time for its lack of additional content, it still became thehighest-selling Switch game of all time, a title it still holds today. To capitalize on the game’s success even further, Nintendo has recently started to release new and remastered tracks as DLC, called theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass, but Nintendo missed a trick by not including Battle Mode tracks.
A staple of the franchise,Mario Kart’s Battle Modesees players take on opponents in a series of competitive games. From bursting balloons attached to the back of karts, to collecting the most coins, to throwing bombs at opponents,Mario Kart’s Battle Mode offers a fun side mode to the series' racing main course. One of the biggest criticisms ofMario Kart 8 Deluxewas its short supply of Battle Mode tracks, and the recent Booster Course Pass was the perfect opportunity to rectify that misstep.
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass Should Have Added More Battle Mode Maps
Battle Mode has been in theMario Kartfranchise since itsdebut in 1992 withSuper Mario Karton the SNES. Since then, Battle Mode has appeared in every singleMario Karttitle, becoming a staple of the franchise over the years. While Battle Mode is never considered as important asMario Kart’s main racing mode, it’s always been a neat addition that offers something exciting and fresh for those tired of just racing.
Mario Kart’s Battle Mode also makes great use of that installment’s specific mechanics and items, allowing players to use them in unique ways. For instance,Dash Mushroomsare no longer used to simply get ahead on the race track; instead they can be used in Battle Mode to evade opponents, or ram them. Piranha Plants are also used uniquely inMario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Battle Mode, appearing in the Renegade Roundup mode, and allowing players to capture opponents.
Battle Mode may not be the most important feature ofMario Kart, but it’s certainly still a worthwhile component. At launch,Mario Kart 8 Deluxehad eight Battle maps. When compared to the rest of the entries in the franchise, this isn’t too bad, considering that past successful entries likeMario Kart 64only had as many as four. But considering three of these maps are remakes of classic courses, and the fact thatMario Kart 8 Deluxeis the most recent flagship entry in the franchise, that number should be at least a little higher. With 48 racing tracks in the game, and just 8 Battle Mode courses, it really felt as though Battle Mode was an afterthought forMario Kart 8 Deluxe.
When Nintendo announced that it was bringing another 48 courses to the game via the Booster Course Pass DLC, fans were hoping that at least a handful of these unannounced tracks would be Battle Mode courses. However, sinceBooster Course Pass Wave 3 was just revealed, it seems as though fans will be out of luck once again. By the end of 2023,Mario Kart 8 Deluxewill have a whopping total of 96 racing courses, and those 8 Battle Mode tracks are only going to stick out even more.
