How to Unlock Everything in Mario Kart 8

Want to know how to unlock everything in Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)? We’ve got the answers! And if you don’t find what you are looking for, check back often, because we will keep this updated as often as we can with new information.

Looking for how to unlock everything in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch? CLICK HERE

CHARACTERS:

Mario Kart 8 has been confirmed to have 30 playable characters. 16 characters will be available from the start of the game. The others will be unlocked after you complete certain aspects of the game.

Starters:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Daisy
• Yoshi
• Toad
• Koopa Troopa
• Shy Guy
• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Baby Peach
• Baby Daisy
• Bowser
• Donkey Kong
• Wario
• Waluigi

Unlockable:

To unlock these characters, you must win a cup (get first place). For example, a Gold in the Mushroom Cup will allow you to unlock a new character. In contrast to previous Mario Kart games, characters will unlock at random each time you win a cup. (We have tested this on a couple different game profiles, and we can confirm it is true.)

• Lakitu
• Rosalina
• Baby Rosalina
• Toadette
• Metal Mario
• Pink Gold Peach
• Iggy Koopa
• Larry Koopa
• Lemmy Koopa
• Ludwig von Koopa
• Morton Koopa Jr.
• Roy Koopa
• Wendy O. Koopa
• Mii

Downloadable Characters (DLC): To unlock these characters, you must purchase them from the in-game shop (after software update on August 27, 2014).

• Link (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Tanooki Mario (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Cat Peach (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Villager (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• Isabelle (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• Dry Bowser (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• Eight different colored Yoshis (Bonus if you purchase both DLC Packs 1 & 2)
• Eight different colored Shy Guys (Bonus if you purchase both DLC Packs 1 & 2)

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COURSES:

Original Courses:

Mushroom Cup is available from the start of the game. In order to unlock the next cup, you must win the cup before it (i.e. To unlock Flower, you must finish Mushroom in first place.) 

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Mario Kart Stadium	Mario Circuit	Sunshine Airport	Cloudtop Cruise
Water Park	Toad Harbor	Dolphin Shoals	Bone Dry Dunes
Sweet Sweet Canyon	Twisted Mansion	Electrodome	Bowser’s Castle
Thwomp Ruins	Shy Guy Falls	Mount Wario	Rainbow Road

Retro Courses:

As with previous games, there is another set of four cups, which each contain courses from past Mario Kart titles. Shell Cup is available from the start of the game. Similar to the original courses, you will unlock each cup by defeating the cup before it.

Shell Cup	Banana Cup	Leaf Cup	Lightning Cup
Moo Moo Meadows (Wii)	Dry Dry Desert (GCN)	Wario Stadium (DS)	Tick-Tock Clock (DS)
Mario Circuit (GBA)	Donut Plains 3 (SNES)	Sherbet Land (GCN)	Piranha Plant Slide (3DS)
Cheep Cheep Beach (DS)	Royal Raceway (N64)	Music Park (3DS)	Grumble Volcano (Wii)
Toad’s Turnpike (N64)	DK Jungle (3DS)	Yoshi Valley (N64)	Rainbow Road (N64)

Battle Courses:

All 8 battle courses are from the beginning of the game.

Moo Moo Meadows (Wii)	Mario Circuit	Dry Dry Desert (GCN)	Toad Harbor
Donut Plains 3 (SNES)	Sherbet Land (GCN)	Toad’s Turnpike (N64)	Yoshi Valley (N64)

CONFIRMED DLC TRACKS:

Mario Kart 8 will include 16 additional new courses, available via DLC. In order to unlock these cups, you must purchase the DLC Pack with the corresponding cups. Egg and Triforce Cups are available in DLC Pack 1. The Animal Crossing and Bell Cups are available via DLC Pack 2.

Egg Cup	Triforce Cup	Animal Crossing Cup	Bell Cup
Yoshi Circuit (GCN)	Wario’s Gold Mine (Wii)	Baby Park (GCN)	Neo Bowser City (3DS)
Excitebike Arena	Rainbow Road (SNES)	Cheese Land (GBA)	Ribbon Road (GBA)
Dragon Driftway	Ice Ice Outpost	Wild Woods	Super Bell Subway
Mute City	Hyrule Circuit	Animal Crossing	Big Blue

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ITEMS:

Except where noted, items are randomly unlocked by collecting coins. Every 50 coins will unlock another random kart, bike, ATV, tire, or glider. After a player reaches 1,000 coins, items are unlocked every 100 coins.

Karts:

• Standard Kart – Starter
• Pipe Frame
• Mach 8 – Starter
• Steel Diver
• Cat Cruiser
• Circuit Special
• Tri-Speeder
• Badwagon – Starter
• Prancer
• Biddybuggy – Starter
• Landship
• Sneeker
• Sports Coupe
• Golden Standard – Win all cups, including Mirror Mode
• Blue Falcon – Purchase DLC Pack 1

Bikes:

• Standard Bike – Starter
• Comet
• Sport Bike – Starter
• The Duke
• Flame Rider
• Mr. Scooty
• Jet Bike
• Yoshi Bike
• Moter Dozer
• Golden Bike – Obtain a minimum of one star ranking in all non-DLC cups of every engine class (unconfirmed)

ATVs:

• Standard ATV – Starter
• Wild Wiggler
• Teddy Buggy

Tires:

• Standard – Starter
• Monster – Starter
• Roller – Starter
• Slim – Starter
• Slick
• Metal
• Button
• Off-Road
• Sponge
• Wood – Starter
• Cushion
• Blue Standard
• Hot Monster
• Azure Roller
• Crimson Slim
• Cyber Slick
• Retro Off-Road
• Block
• Cream Blocks
• Ring
• Spicy Rings
• Golden Tires – Beat all 32 staff ghosts

Gliders:

• Super Glider – Starter
• Cloud Glider
• Wario Wing
• Waddle Wing
• Peach Parasol
• Parachute – Starter
• Parafoil – Starter
• Flower Glider
• Bowser Kite
• Plane Glider
• MKTV Parafoil
• Koopa Kite
• Golden Glider – Collect 10,000 coins

Downloadable Vehicles via DLC: To unlock these vehicles, you must purchase them from the in-game shop (after software update on August 27, 2014).

• Mercedes-Benz GLA (Part of Mercedes DLC Pack)
• Mercedes 300 SL Roadster (Part of Mercedes DLC Pack)
• Mercedes Silver Arrow (Part of Mercedes DLC Pack)
• Master Cycle (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Tanooki Kart (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Blue Falcon (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• B Dasher (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Streetle (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• P-Wing (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• City Tripper (Part of DLC Pack 2)
• Bone Rattler (Part of DLC Pack 2)

Downloadable Tires via DLC: To unlock these tires, you must purchase them from the in-game shop (after software update on August 27, 2014).

• GLA Tires (Part of Mercedes DLC Pack)
• Triforce Tires (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Leaf Tires (Part of DLC Pack 2)

Downloadable Gliders via DLC: To unlock these gliders, you must purchase them from the in-game shop (after software update on August 27, 2014).

• Hylian Kite (Part of DLC Pack 1)
• Paper Glider (Part of DLC Pack 2)

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STAMPS:

Similar to NES Remix and Super Mario 3D World, you will earn stamps, which you can use in Miiverse, after you meet specific requirements (i.e. win a cup, collect 50 coins, etc). There are 100 total stamps to collect. 28 of them are available right from the beginning. Another 62 stamps are unlocked by beating Grand Prix cups with every non-DLC character and completing Time Trials faster than the Staff Ghost on each non-DLC track. Ten more stamps were also added with the version 4.0 update. Note: Beating a Staff Ghost on a DLC track or using a DLC character to complete a Grand Prix cup will not unlock a stamp.

• Character Stamps – Win a Grand Prix cup with that character (non DLC)
• Other Stamps – Beat a staff ghost Time Trial for a specific track (non DLC)

There are staff ghost times for each track in the game. As stated above, if you beat one, you will be rewarded with a stamp for your collection.

Course	Staff Name	Country	Time	Character	Body	Tires	Glider
Mario Kart Stadium	Nin?Chris	United Kingdom	1:59.781	Mario	Sports Coupe	Standard	Super Glider
Water Park	Nin?Massim	Italy	2:02.954	Baby Luigi	Mr. Scooty	Roller	Super Glider
Sweet Sweet Canyon	Nin?Fausti	France	2:12.107	Baby Peach	Teddy Buggy	Wood	Peach Parasol
Thwomp Ruins	Nin?Sophia	Germany	2:11.157	Donkey Kong	Varmint	Monster	Super Glider
Mario Circuit	Nin?Sho	Japan	2:07.436	Mario	Standard Kart	Standard	Super Glider
Toad Harbor	Nin?Alice	United States	2:31.066	Toadette	Cat Cruiser	Retro Off-Road	Plane Glider
Twisted Mansion	Nin?Mark	Netherlands	2:16.195	Luigi	Mach 8	Slim	Super Glider
Shy Guy Falls	Nin?Frank	United Kingdom	2:19.528	Shy Guy	Flame Rider	Retro Off-Road	Super Glider
Sunshine Airport	Nin?Leonel	United States	2:24.429	Rosalina	Circuit Special	Standard	Super Glider
Dolphin Shoals	Nin?Skip	United States	2:19.160	Wendy	Landship	Wood	Bowser Kite
Electrodrome	Nin?Yuya	Japan	2:24.747	Larry	Sport Bike	Monster	Super Glider
Mount Wario	Nin?Elena	Russia	2:06.283	Waluigi	The Duke	Monster	Wario Wing
Cloudtop Cruise	Nin?Maria	Portugal	2:26.347	Baby Rosalina	Biddybuggy	Standard	Super Glider
Bone-Dry Dunes	Nin?Elena	Russia	2:13.391	Morton	Tri-Speeder	Monster	Super Glider
Bowser’s Castle	Nin?Polly	United Kingdom	2:23.872	Bowser	Badwagon	Standard	Super Glider
Rainbow Road	Nin?Mizuho	Japan	2:23.967	Pink Gold Peach	Comet	Slim	Super Glider
Wii Moo Moo Meadows	Nin?Chris	United Kingdom	1:46.099	Daisy	Varmint	Hot Monster	Super Glider
GBA Mario Circuit	Nin?Rie	Japan	1:49.158	Baby Mario	Yoshi Bike	Standard	Super Glider
DS Cheep Cheep Beach	Nin?Massim	Italy	2:11.220	Koopa Troopa	Steel Driver	Metal	Parachute
N64 Toad’s Turnpike	Nin?Alice	United States	2:08.059	Toad	Standard Bike	Standard	Parachute
GCN Dry Dry Desert	Nin?Maria	Portugal	2:29.678	Peach	Standard Bike	Slim	Super Glider
SNES Donut Plains 3	Nin?Frank	United Kingdom	1:39.148	Lakitu	Pipe Frame	Monster	MKTV Parafoil
N64 Royal Raceway	Nin?Skip	United States	2:21.371	Peach	Prancer	Wood	Peach Parasol
3DS DK Jungle	Nin?Rie	Japan	2:26.900	Donkey Kong	Varmint	Monster	Super Glider
DS Wario Stadium	Nin?Mizuho	Japan	2:14.213	Wario	Tri-Speeder	Off-Road	Wario Wing
GCN Sherbet Land	Nin?Fausti	France	2:21.192	Lemmy	Sneeker	Standard	Super Glider
3DS Music Park	Nin?Sho	Japan	2:24.468	Baby Daisy	Biddybuggy	Standard	Super Glider
N64 Yoshi Valley	Nin?Mark	Netherlands	2:28.814	Yoshi	Wild Wiggler	Standard	Flower Glider
DS Tick-Tock Clock	Nin?Sophia	Germany	2:13.712	Iggy	Standard Bike	Monster	Super Glider
3DS Piranha Plant Slide	Nin?Polly	United Kingdom	2:23.991	Ludwig	Jet Bike	Slim	Super Glider
Wii Grumble Volcano	Nin?Yuya	Japan	2:18.305	Roy	Badwagon	Off-Road	Super Glider
N64 Rainbow Road	Nin?Leonel	United States	1:33.731	Metal Mario	Standard ATV	Monster	Super Glider
GCN Yoshi Circuit	Nin?Adrien	France	2:11.299	Red Yoshi	B Dasher	Standard	Super Glider
Excitebike Arena	Nin?Pedro	Spain	2:06.483	Mario	Standard Bike	Slim	Super Glider
Dragon Driftway	Nin?Kaori	Japan	2:05.487	Lakitu	Varmint	Monster	Cloud Glider
Mute City	Nin?Laura	United States	2:10.427	Mario	Blue Falcon	Roller	Super Glider
Wii Wario’s Gold Mine	Nin?Pit	Germany	2:19.782	Wario	Standard Kart	Monster	Super Glider
SNES Rainbow Road	Nin?Anne	Netherlands	1:46.599	Cat Peach	Cat Cruiser	Retro Off-Road	Super Glider
Ice Ice Outpost	Nin?Pavel	Russia	2:07.868	Tanooki Mario	Tanooki Kart	Monster	Super Glider
Hyrule Circuit	Nin?Claudi	United Kingdom	2:11.156	Link	Master Cycle	Triforce Tires	Hylian Kite
GCN Baby Park	Nin?Joost	Netherlands	1:22.562	Baby Mario	Biddybuggy	Standard	Super Glider
GBA Cheese Land	Nin?Aracel	Spain	2:09.601	Orange Yoshi	Pipe Frame	Monster	Parafoil
Wild Woods	Nin?Akira	Japan	2:04.480	Villager (Boy)	Streetle	Leaf Tires	Paper Glider
Animal Crossing	Nin?Marie	United States	1:58.273	Isabelle	City Tripper	Slim	Paper Glider
3DS Neo Bowser City	Nin?Guile	United States	2:09.513	Dry Bowser	Bone Rattler	Metal	Super Glider
GBA Ribbon Road	Nin?Giulia	Italy	2:11.839	Villager (Girl)	Teddy Buggy	Button	Super Glider
Super Bell Subway	Nin?Juliet	France	2:07.175	Pink Shy Guy	City Tripper	Slim	Super Glider
Big Blue	Nin?Dylan	United Kingdom	1:44.100	Mario	P-Wing	Blue Standard	Super Glider

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Other Unlockables:

• Mirror Mode: Win all 150cc Cups (No longer needed after Version 4.1 update on May 1, 2015)

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amiibo Support:

After the release of Version 3.0 on November 13, 2014, players can scan in amiibo using the NFC function of the Wii U GamePad to provide additional racing suits for Mii characters. The following amiibo are supported:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Peach
• Donkey Kong
• Link
• Toon Link
• Kirby
• Captain Falcon
• Samus
• Fox

After the Version 4.0 update on April 23, 2015, nine additional amiibo are supported:

• Mega Man
• Sonic
• Villager
• Pac-Man
• Toad
• Wario
• Olimar
• Rosalina
• Bowser

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Game Updates:

• Version 2.0 (August 2014) – Allows for Mercedes DLC pack, view map on screen when enabled from GamePad, new records section, save last used vehicle combination (excluding DLC), edit others’ highlight reels, online stability improved, max online rankings increased from 9999 to 99999, ranking system altered, swaps Next Race to show up at the top of the list when finishing a race, adds Shop button to menu, character icons on map altered.
• Version 3.0 (November 13, 2014) – Allows for DLC Pack 1, amiibo support for Mii racing suits, save last used vehicle combination now includes DLC, light vehicles now pushed less when hit by heavy ones, online ranking system altered to not be as punishing for poor players.
• Version 4.0 (April 23, 2015) – Allows for DLC Pack 2, bug fixes, support for nine additional amiibo, adds 200cc racing class, ten new Miiverse stamps, enable onscreen map from any controller, CPU can be added to custom rules in online races (CPU will not get points, though), ratings of players who drop online will not be visible after a race/battle, additional tournament settings to accommodate for 200cc and all DLC packs.
• Version 4.1 (May 1, 2015) – General gameplay adjustments, bug fixes, Mirror and 200cc no longer need to be unlocked.

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UPDATES: We will try to keep this updated as we find out more information. So, keep checking back! And if we’ve missed anything, kindly let us know in the comments. Thanks!

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Looking for how to unlock everything in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch? CLICK HERE

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