The Wide World of Dirt

The recent release of the fourth wave of Nintendo’s Booster Course Pass saw the return of DoubleDash and Wii driver Birdo.

A popular video game character in the LGBTQ+ community, Birdo’s inclusion in the game revives the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe roster after not adding characters for nearly eight years. (Year 9 of Mario Kart 8, folks.)

The presence of Birdo in the Yoshi’s Island track trailer sparked speculation about which characters will arrive in the two remaining waves, and Nintendo was quick to confirm their suspicions in an ensuing press release following February’s Direct..

Since I spend a lot of time playing this game, I figured I’d throw my beanie into the ring and tell you which characters I’d like to see make it into the game.

Kamek

Kamek deserves justice!

Unfairly cut from the final roster of Mario Kart 64, Baby Bowser’s right-hand Koopa has yet to make his racing debut.

This should change, especially considering the release of the Yoshi’s Island track in wave 4. Kamek was what I would consider the main antagonist of that game, and it would be fitting to see the dramatic Magikoopa ripping around Twisted Mansion.

I’d like to imagine Kamek is high up on the priority list with Yoshi’s Island being called back to numerous times in the Booster Course Pass, and I anticipate his arrival!

Funky Kong

I know everyone is calling for Nintendo to throw in Funkiest of Kongs, and there’s a super good reason for that: he’s Funky Kong.

Making his lone appearance in Mario Kart Wii, Funky Kong has grown to become one of the most popular characters in the entire series.

Funky Kong is the most recognizable character associated with Mario Kart as a whole that hasn’t made his way into the game. That must change in the final waves.

Petey Piranha

An early boss you face in Super Mario Sunshine, Petey Piranha made his racing debut on the GameCube as well, being an unlockable character in DoubleDash.

Partnered with another powerful Super Mario antagonist in King Boo, Petey gained notoriety for being a versatile racer in DoubleDash and his unique design.

Piranha plants are one of my favorite enemies in the Super Mario series. It would be awesome to see one of my favorite characters from Sunshine return to the tarmac to weed out the competition and plant his wheels in victory lane.

Diddy Kong

DIddy Kong was so damn good at driving that he got his own kart racer with Rare in the late 1990s, but he’s since joined Mario and friends for more on-track action.

Appearing as Donkey Kong’s co-pilot in DoubleDash, Diddy returned for the MKWii, and he’s strangely been excluded from rosters ever since.

I hope this isn’t some weird IP snafu with Rare getting in the way of some sick Diddy Kong action. It would be great to see DK’s best pal back in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Zelda/Sheik

Link was one of the original DLC characters added to the first iteration of this game on the Wii U (damn near nine years ago, so if you don’t recall, that’s fair!)

Nevertheless, I think it’s time to add the Princess of Hyrule to Mario Kart. The newest Legend of Zelda title Tears of the Kingdom releases in May, so it would be a harmonious form of cross-promotion from Nintendo that would be hard to pass up.

Zelda is also one of the most recognizable characters in gaming. It’s a bit glaring to have Link on the roster and not Zelda, so let’s fix that.

Captain Falcon

O Captain! my Captain! Elbow for our people;

Drive into the Mute City night, zero in on the feeble;

Snatch every coin, slide all around, and keep your wheel straight,

As you cross the line, a Knee of Justice for all those you hate

But, O heart! heart! heart!

O the homing shells of red,

Clear out your path for triumph,

An MK8 race ahead.

Metroid/Samus

My final desired selection would be hopping behind the wheel for the very first time, but I have no doubt Samus would fit right in with Mario and the roster.

Much like the cross-promotion I mentioned in relation to Zelda’s potential addition, Metroid Prime just got remade earlier this year.

One way to bring more potential eyes to the Metroid franchise would be to put her in the Nintendo game with the largest user base to get more exposure.

I imagine Samus is an unlikely choice for Nintendo to add to the mix, but I believe Metroid being in Mario Kart could only be a slam dunk for both series.

Roster Consolidation

For those interested, I found a way to shorten the amount of character icons on the MK8D roster which can be found here.

Effectively, we can whittle the list down to 21 characters, so we could theoretically have 20 more characters added to the game if these same consolidations are made.

Some of the other noteworthy characters I want to add are Pauline, Chargin’ Chuck, Nabbit, Kirby, and King Bob-Omb.

One final selection I made (and I know it’s the longest of long shots) is Sir Lewis Hamilton. Yes, that Lewis Hamilton.

Let me explain!

Coinciding with the release of the first DLC pack for Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, Nintendo had a Mercedes-Benz commercial with Mario as the subject.

The advert was a cross-promotion (there’s that word again!) for the Mercedes-Benz GLA that would also be featured in the Mercedes-Benz DLC pack released all the way back in August 2014.

Since the release of that DLC, Lewis Hamilton has taken the Mercedes-Benz brand to never-before-seen heights in the world of motorsports, winning a record-tying seven world driver’s championships in Formula 1.

Hamilton also broke the all-time wins record in F1 with his 93rd win in 2020, and with the Mercedes-Benz collaboration already in the game (and the Circuit Special being a kart chassis option), the Brit could be a really cool addition to the game.

There are many ways that this Booster Course Pass can go in its last two waves, and I doubt any of my predictions will hold any substantial weight. However, I hope you enjoyed the read and leave your desired characters in the comments below.