Features:

  • Players can compete in local wireless matches or online over a broadband Internet connection.
  • The game supports both SpotPass and StreetPass features.Compatible with the 3DS
  • Players can show their own style by customizing their vehicles with accessories that give them a competitive advantage. For instance, giant tires help a kart drive off-road, while smaller tires work best on city courses.
  • People can choose to race as one of their favorite Mushroom Kingdom characters or even as their Mii character.
  • The Mario Kart franchise continues to evolve. New kart abilities add to the wild fun that the games are known for. On big jumps, a kart deploys a wing to let it glide over a track shortcut. When under water, a propeller pops out to help the kart cruise across the sea floor.
Mario Kart Wii levels of competition, Mario Kart: Double Dash levels of fun when playing online. A near-perfect blend!

As a lifelong Nintendo player, this game went where Mario Kart 8 failed for competitive games. It struck a great balance between casual players and hardcore players, and I love this title for it. Mario Kart 8 went overboard with the casual experience, alienating a lot of competitive players with its worsened drifting mechanics. Nintendo representatives, if you're reading this, I implore you to bring the next Mario Kart closer to this. Casual AND hardcore gamers can both enjoy a balanced engine like this.

Traditional Kart Racing

First off - I have been a kart fan since the SNES version many years back . . . with my most recent versions being Double Dash and Mario Kart Wii. This version brought to the 3DS far exceeded my expectations. This was my first attempt with a new handheld nintendo since the days of the GBA first came out. I was pleasently suprised by the fluid nature and natural controls the system and games offered. Mario Kart 7 was one of the first games I picked up with the new system (the new mario and zelda OoT being the others. The tradition has stayed true for the most part of the game, but brought back some old flare and new flare. You now get speed boost from coins, and loose coins as you get "hit" by other players power ups. They stack to a certain point, but then you don't receive anymore added benefit from them. They added in some new attacks which was nice, 7 is a fun one where you get 7 items to use, the spit fire works great as well for taking down multiple racers. The other new feature was the parachute. You have some control of them in the air and can get a series edge over the competition if you use them properly. So practice practice practice. Graphics: The graphics are amazing! If you blew them up on a larger screen they wouldnt be the most advanced, but on such a small platform screen with a 3D interface, it honestly looks better than my wii with HD hookups (480p ...) on a 32" LED tv. Sound: Excellent. Traditional voices, music, and sfx brings this game to life and keeps giving it an edge. Gameplay: Same as before in terms of control, the added benefit of a parachute makes it interesting and can give more players a leading edge who are new to the genre. It's fast, fluid, and the UI is friendly on and off racing. Replay Value: With ample tracks, cups, and game play options. Players old and new will continue to find a way to revisit this game. Time trials keep your competition driven. Online multiplayer keeps you in the loop with your friends. The replay value will always be there. For a quick 3 minute race to beat a time. Or a 15 minute circuit. Over all, I give this game 9 out of 10. There are some hicups - slow online connections, frequently lost games when users loose signals, hard to remember "Friend numbers" (Come on Nintendo, User names!)and still having moments where you want to throw the game because of the infinite numbers of blue shells that go into play ONLY when you're in first place causing you the match. If you're on the edge on buying this game, and you have a 3DS it's a no brainer. This should be on the top of your list. Whether you've played it on the original SNES, or just started with the Wii, you'll enjoy the competitions, fluid graphics, fantastic mario sounds, and immersive game play that is Mario Kart 7.

This was the only reason we got the 3DS

My 9 year old LOVES racing games like Mario Kart and Sonic All Stars. The other day we were at a brick and mortar and he was playing the 3DS there with Mario Kart 7 in it, and that was my first time really looking at the 3DS. I was quite impressed with what they were doing with such a small screen, and no glasses needed. We have an old DS, so I bought this for him behind his back. When it arrived and i "surprised" him with it, he was psyched. Then he was sad when it wouldn't fit in his old DS. I said, "Oh, it won't work in the DS? Only in the 3DS?" He sadly nodded at me, so I pulled out the new red 3DS from behind my back to give to him, telling him we were lucky I got one of those as well. Made his weekend. He can't get enough of this, and I got pretty hooked too. The controls are SO much better with the 3DS games, so the stick on the left makes driving a lot easier. Changing from one to another vehicle type is something we really enjoyed with the Sonic transformed on the Wii U, so I was glad to see that "updated" type of game play here. We really want Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U but we'll stick with this for the time being, it's a great way to pass the time till the next version comes out for the full sized consoles. There's familiar tracks here, as well as new ones, and the 3D effect makes it VERY enjoyable. Some different power ups and different car customizations give it a different feel as well. If you've enjoyed the Mario Kart franchise, but haven't seen it on the 3DS yet, get to a store and check it out. It's a whole new game...

Flying cars!!! ....err, floating cars??

I remember when the first Mario Kart was introduced on the Super Nintendo. I thought it was a fun game... I never thought it would garner the attention that it did. Six iterations later, and we have Mario Kart.... 7. Let's see, Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Double Dash, Nintendo DS Mario Kart, Wii Mario Kart... and yeap, I think that's all of them. 7 brings some fresh new ways of getting around the tracks... mostly through the air and underwater... All in all, it's the same game we all know and love, race, get items, get hit mercilessly by the blue flying shell of death whenever you're in first, and drift. There's nothing really different from the Wii version aside from the two new modes of transportation mentioned earlier. I have yet to play it online, so I do not have anything to write about that feature (but I probably will add it on... eventually...) All in all, a great Mario franchise title... I cannot wait to play 8 when it comes out later this month...

Great game, great price, great stories to make with friends.

Plays perfectly. Came with the red game case and I loved that so much. I ordered 2. One for me and one for my ex girlfriend to give to her on her birthday since she loves mario kart(maybe so much so to dump me ;u;). I look forward to racing anyone else who owns a 3ds through download play, the thing where only one person needs a copy of the game to race against 7 more players who don't. I even look forward to racing my ex because she is a rambungcious gal who is awesome and is awesome at MK.

Another great Kart game

Wonderful installment of Mario Kart. This game has come a long was since SNES days. Plenty of new and old tracks (revamped). All the same lovable characters. New kart customization, new game modes, etc. The great part of this game is that it utilizes "Download & Play" feature that not many others out there do. Essentially, this means you can buy one copy and have 2 people (on separate 3DS/2DSXL) play it off the one cart. The one that has it loaded opens apps, selects "Download & Play" and the other opens that app and enters that lobby to download the game and join the host (local network play only). The guest can only be Shyguy and use the generic kart, but you can play all modes together. Recommend to anyone who likes Mario Kart series and maybe wants to play with their kids/friends, but don't really care what char/kart they choose.

Hours of fun, perfect game for the 2ds/3ds.

This game is fun and challenging. My son is a HUGE Mario Kart fan, and just received a 2ds for his birthday. So this game seemed like the perfect gift for him. We already have Mario Kart 8 at home, and I was worried that this was going to be too similar to that and not provide enough fun for my son. Boy, was I wrong. There are a few different levels, different karts, and different challenges to overcome in this game. If you are a Mario Kart fan and own a 2ds or a 3ds, I would highly recommend this game.

Combining the Best of Mario Kart for Wii and DS

This review is with the help of my 12 year old son - a huge Mario fan for many years. He has played (for many hours) Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Double Dash (GameCube), Mario Kart for DS, and Mario Kart for Wii. So in his words... "I really like the feel of Mario Kart 7. It combined DS and Wii games and took out the inconveniences of both. While loving both of the other games, I couldn't get the hang of tilting the Wii remote to steer, or trying to get past anyone on 150cc DS. Luckily, MK 7 plays like a slightly easier DS with the design of a better-controlled Wii. There are 16 new courses, 2 of which take place on Wuhu Island, from Mii games. Some of these races are divided into sections instead of laps, which I found to be very interesting. The hang glider and underwater sections are actually more plentiful than I expected, varying from a little hang glider ramp to laps that are halfway underwater. It also has 16 Retro Courses, from all past games. Unlike other installments, they added more shortcuts and took advantage of water hazards, an example being the pool from Gamecube's Daisy Cruiser. There are many coins scattered over the courses to collect, which you use to unlock new cart customizations. I haven't tried out the best combinations, but racing with the standard cart is great, too. The battles add three new courses and bring back three old ones. While some of the better arenas were overlooked, like Pipe Plaza or Block Fort, I'm happy with the new ones. Overall, this is my second favorite Mario Kart game coming up behind Double Dash and a great addition to the 3DS lineup." As an adult playing it, it is fun but my finger gets tired holding down the button for gas and I get a little motion sickness playing it after awhile. A side affect of getting old(er).

The second best game of all time!

After Ocarina of Time 3D, of course. This game is great. Gameplay-5/5--The computer player are almost as smart as humans, they steal item boxes and Coins that are in front of you, so you can't collect them, they are dead-on precise with items such as Green Shells, the all-new Fire Flower, Bob-ombs, and those Bananas. The Circle Pad is great for the game, and the regular +Control Pad cannot be used. There's an all-new 1st-person mode, where you can tilt your 3DS family console to steer your racer. If you just want to use traditional controls in 1st-person, just use the Circle Pad and don't move the system, or turn the gyro-sensor off in the Mario Kart Channel. The Mario Kart Channel is not like the Wii Version, but an in-game "status and StreetPass" record. You can adjust StreetPass settings, and race time-trial ghosts and in the Grand Prix with Miis that you've met via StreetPass. If you win, you get a new kart-personalization from the Mii if you didn't have it before. Coins make a return, they're used to increase your top speed and unlock kart customizations. Kart customs are new, you can select your Kart body, wheels, and glider. Some Kart bodies return from previous MK games, like the B-Dasher from MKDS. Gliding is new, you go throught air as well as water. The customs each have their own stats. Music-4/5--This game references older Mario Kart Games, especially Mario Kart 64. The one thing I hate- when you're in first place in a race, there's an added beat to the background music. It's good for the Nitro Cups, but for Retro, it's awful. Some retro cups and battle courses have 100% remade music, and it's good for the GP, but for the Battle Courses, ESPECIALLY N64 Big Donut, and DS...(can't remember the name) are worse and is just bad. Most of the music is epic, that's all I can say. Graphics-4.5/5--I love them, they're bright and vibrant. Not much else. Online-3/5--I don't use it much. The loading is long and I have more fun with computers. Just buy it.

Lucky 7, right?

The 3DS has had a slow start, but it's slowly climbing it's way up to being an amazing handheld with an amazing list of games. Mario Kart 7 is just one of those staple games you have to have if you own the system. The graphics are great, and the 3D works pretty nicely (although it's not the best 3D i've seen on the system). Gliding is fun, and the kart customization is still pretty good. Some of the bonus character seem unnecessary, but hey you don't have to use them if you don't want. And of course, online increases replay value by so much.

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