Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Reveals 4 New Playable Characters for Wave 6 DLC

Highlights

Wave 6 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass is adding four new playable characters. The announcement came as part of the September 2023 Nintendo Direct.

The Booster Course Pass was first announced in early 2022, almost five years into the lifespan of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It promised six waves of new DLC content by the end of 2023, primarily consisting of tracks from older games as well as the slowly winding down Mario Kart Tour. Initially, only tracks were promised, with eight of them dropping per wave, but starting in Wave 4, new characters were added to the already impressively large Mario Kart 8 roster alongside them.

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Wave 6 is set to include the usual eight new playable tracks alongside new playable characters. First shown off were Diddy Kong and the infamous Funky Kong, who have both been absent from the mainline entries since fan-favorite Mario Kart Wii. There were only two remaining character slots on the roster following Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Wave 5 DLC, but the reveals in this trailer revealed that to be a fakeout. Continuing with the Donkey Kong theme, Pauline was shown off next, having made her playable racing debut in Mario Kart Tour. Finally, Peachette, a transformation of Toadette, was revealed after also making her karting debut in that game.

Much like Booster Course Pass Waves 4 and 5 before it, the complete track selection for Wave 6 was not shown off in the reveal trailer. However, barring a few seconds set on prior DLC tracks, most of the footage did take place on Daisy Circuit from Mario Kart Wii, based on its appearance in Tour and sporting a remixed theme. It should only be a matter of time before the rest of the tracks are shown off, and with this being the final wave of DLC, it will be fascinating to see which retro courses Nintendo picks, as well as whether any original tracks will be included in it.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has proven to be quite a surprising game. Despite being expanded port and not an original release, it’s become a top seller on the Nintendo Switch and eclipsed Mario Kart Wii as the bestselling in the series. When this surprise DLC expansion eventually comes to an end, it should make for some amazing memories for fans to look back on, while also leaving the standards for the inevitable Mario Kart 9 incredibly high.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is out now for Switch.

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