Mario Kart Wii game, course and track information

Overview

Mario Kart Wii is the sixth mainline entry in the Mario Kart series and the most ambitious to that point. Bundled in the box with the Wii Wheel — a plastic steering wheel housing for the Wii Remote — it made racing feel genuinely physical and accessible to new players while delivering the deepest feature set the series had ever seen.

The game launched to enormous commercial success, eventually selling over 37 million copies worldwide — making it the best-selling Mario Kart game until Mario Kart 8 Deluxe surpassed it, and still one of the best-selling Wii games of all time. It introduced bikes alongside karts for the first time, added aerial tricks, expanded the roster to 24 characters and delivered 32 tracks — 16 brand new and 16 remade classics from across the series’ history.

The title screen — changes once you’ve gold-starred every cup in every class

New features for Wii: Motorbikes with wheelie mechanics, aerial stunts off ramps, 12-player online races, the Mario Kart Channel for tournament downloads, Mii characters as playable racers, and a Licence system replacing save files. The three weight classes return — Small, Medium and Large — each with six karts and six bikes available.

The title screen is a secret reward: It defaults to Mario and Luigi with Wii Wheels. But get first place on every cup in every class including Mirror Mode and it changes to individual portraits of Mario, Luigi, Peach or Bowser — a subtle but satisfying acknowledgement of your achievement.

The full character select screen — 24 playable characters, 12 starters and 12 unlockables

Controls

Mario Kart Wii supports four different control configurations — more than any other entry in the series. The Wii Wheel (included in the box) is the most iconic, but experienced players often prefer the Classic Controller for precision:

Advanced techniques

Several techniques separate competitive players from casual ones:

• Tricks/Stunts — shake the Wii Remote (or flick the stick) while going off a ramp for a mini-boost on landing
• Wheelies (bikes only) — flick the Wii Remote up to pop a wheelie, increasing top speed at the cost of handling
• Drifting — hold drift around corners to build up a Mini-Turbo boost. Blue sparks then orange = stronger boost
• Slipstreaming — draft closely behind another racer for two seconds to trigger a speed boost
• Rocket Start — hold the accelerator when the 2 fades during the countdown for a turbo launch off the start line

Game modes

Mario Kart Wii features six core modes, all available via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online play:

Licences

Mario Kart Wii replaces the traditional save file with a Licence system — each Licence stores an individual player’s records, rankings, Wi-Fi friend roster and ghost data. The Wii supports multiple Licences so the whole family can have their own profile. As you progress and win trophies, your Licence visually upgrades to reflect your achievements.

Characters — Small class

Small characters get the lightest vehicles with the best acceleration, handling and off-road performance — ideal for tight, technical tracks. They sacrifice top speed and weight to larger classes:

Baby MarioSmall · Starter

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Baby PeachSmall · Starter

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ToadSmall · Starter

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Koopa TroopaSmall · Starter

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Baby LuigiSmall · Unlockable

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🔒 8 Expert Staff Ghosts / 3,150 races / 100 WFC ghosts

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Baby DaisySmall · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all 50cc Retro cups / 1,950 races

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ToadetteSmall · Unlockable

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🔒 Unlock 4 Expert Staff Ghosts / 1,050 races

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Dry BonesSmall · Unlockable

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🔒 Win 100cc Leaf Cup / 1,350 races

Characters — Medium class

Medium characters strike the best all-round balance. Most of the main Mario cast falls here — familiar faces with well-rounded stats across speed, acceleration and handling:

MarioMedium · Starter

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LuigiMedium · Starter

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PeachMedium · Starter

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YoshiMedium · Starter

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BirdoMedium · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all 50cc cups / 16 online races / 1,350 races

Diddy KongMedium · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all 50cc cups / 450 races

Bowser Jr.Medium · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all 100cc Retro cups / 3,750 races

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DaisyMedium · Unlockable

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🔒 Win 150cc Special Cup / 2,850 races

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WaluigiMedium · Unlockable

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🔒 Unlock at least 1 Expert Staff Ghost / 1,950 races

Characters — Large class

Large characters bring the highest top speeds and heaviest weights — they’re harder to spin out and have excellent raw pace on straight tracks, but wider hitboxes mean more contact from shells. Funky Kong is particularly famous among competitive players for his outstanding stat bonuses:

WarioLarge · Starter

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Donkey KongLarge · Starter

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BowserLarge · Starter

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King BooLarge · Unlockable

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🔒 Win 50cc Star Cup / 750 races

RosalinaLarge · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all Mirror cups / 4,950 races / 50 races with SMG save

Funky KongLarge · Unlockable

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🔒 4 Expert Staff Ghosts / 2,250 races / 25 WFC ghosts

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Dry BowserLarge · Unlockable

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🔒 1★ all 150cc Wii cups / 4,350 races

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Mii (Outfit A)Small/Med/Lg · Unlockable

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🔒 Win 100cc Special Cup / 1,650 races

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Mii (Outfit B)Small/Med/Lg · Unlockable

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🔒 All 32 Expert Staff Ghosts / 5,100 races / 5,000 WFC ghosts

Vehicles

Mario Kart Wii features 36 vehicles — 18 karts and 18 bikes, divided equally across the three weight classes. Each vehicle has 7 stats that display during character selection: Speed, Weight, Acceleration, Handling, Drift, Off-Road and Mini-Turbo. Half the vehicles are available from the start; the other 18 must be unlocked through racing.

How bikes differ from karts

Bikes are a genuine strategic alternative rather than just aesthetic variety. The key differences: bikes can perform wheelies for a top-speed boost (at the cost of handling); bikes can perform sharper inside drift whereas karts use outside drift; bikes tend to have higher top speed but less Mini-Turbo potential. Expert players often favour bikes on straight-heavy tracks and karts on technical ones.

Mach BikeMedium Bike

High speed, excellent Mini-Turbo. One of the most popular competitive bikes.

Wild WingMedium Kart

High speed for a kart. Distinctive wing design. Competitive pick for Medium characters.

Flame RunnerLarge Bike

Arguably the single fastest vehicle in the game. A staple of competitive play.

Notable vehicles include the Bullet Bike (fastest Small bike), Flame Flyer (Large kart with exceptional speed), Sneakster (speed-focused Medium bike) and the Offroader (massive Large kart with high off-road stat). Funky Kong on the Flame Runner became an infamous meta combination in competitive play — the combination of Funky Kong’s +4 speed bonus and the Flame Runner’s own speed stats made it the fastest possible setup in the game.

Items

Mario Kart Wii features 18 items — the largest roster in the series at the time. Three debut here: the Mega Mushroom, POW Block and Thunder Cloud. All three were removed in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8.

Mushroom

Single speed boost — common in higher positions.

Triple Mushrooms

Three mushrooms orbiting your kart, used one at a time.

Golden Mushroom

Unlimited boosts for a few seconds — hold the trigger.

Mega Mushroom ★ New

Grow giant and flatten anyone you drive over.

Banana

Drop behind or throw forward — causes spin-out on contact.

Triple Bananas

Three bananas trailing as a shield and weapon.

Green Shell

Throw forward or back — bounces off walls.

Triple Green Shells

Three orbiting shells for attack and defence.

Red Shell

Homing — tracks the nearest racer ahead.

Triple Red Shells

Three homing shells as an orbiting shield.

Spiny Shell

Blue shell — homes in on and explodes on the race leader.

Star

Temporary invincibility, speed boost and ramming power.

Lightning

Strikes all opponents — shrinks and drops their items.

Thunder Cloud ★ New

Strikes you unless you pass it to an opponent by touching them.

Bob-omb

Throw or drop — explodes on impact or after a timer.

Blooper

Sprays ink on opponents’ screens to block their view.

Bullet Bill

Transform and auto-drive at speed, ramming everything in the way.

POW Block ★ New

Hits all grounded opponents — spin-out and drops items. Jump to avoid it.

New courses — Wii Grand Prix

Sixteen brand new courses across four cups — all three laps, full Wii-era design with tricks, ramps and shortcuts:

Mushroom Cup

Luigi CircuitMushroom Cup

The starter track — smooth and wide with a clean loop. Ideal for learning the game. Simple but satisfying.

Moo Moo MeadowsMushroom Cup

A pastoral farm with wandering cows as obstacles and rolling hills for trick opportunities.

Mushroom GorgeMushroom Cup

A cave course with giant bouncy mushrooms acting as trampolines. Timing your jumps is both tricky and exhilarating.

Toad’s FactoryMushroom Cup

An industrial conveyor belt factory with moving platforms and obstacles. One of the most distinctive tracks visually.

Flower Cup

Mario CircuitFlower Cup

A smooth outdoor circuit with Chain Chomps tethered dangerously close to the racing line.

Coconut MallFlower Cup

Set inside a shopping mall with escalators running the wrong way, cars reversing in the car park and Miis as spectators. A fan favourite.

DK SummitFlower Cup

A downhill ski resort — also known as DK’s Snowboard Cross — with half-pipes and barrel cannons to launch you skyward.

Wario’s Gold MineFlower Cup

A rickety mine cart track with mine carts crossing your path and huge speed sections through dark tunnels.

Star Cup

Daisy CircuitStar Cup

A harbour/marina circuit where the Daisy Cruiser cruise ship from Double Dash!! can be spotted in the background.

Koopa CapeStar Cup

A waterpark-style course with an underwater section through a glass tube and massive water slides.

Maple TreewayStar Cup

An autumnal course through giant maple trees with Wigglers patrolling the path and cannon shortcuts through the canopy.

Grumble VolcanoStar Cup

A volcano course with crumbling rock sections and lava. The track literally falls apart as the race progresses.

Special Cup

Dry Dry RuinsSpecial Cup

Ancient desert ruins with sandy sections, falling columns and wind gusts. The first ruins-themed course in the series.

Moonview HighwaySpecial Cup

Racing on a real city highway at night surrounded by moving traffic — cars and trucks to dodge at high speed.

Bowser’s CastleSpecial Cup

A massive fortress through Bowser’s domain with thwomps, lava and a truly intimidating final stretch.

Rainbow RoadSpecial Cup

Set in space above Super Mario Galaxy scenery with no barriers on many sections. Long, beautiful and brutal.

Retro courses

Sixteen classic courses from across the series — all graphically updated with new ramps, shortcuts and enhanced details. Two each from the SNES and GBA; four each from the N64, GameCube and DS:

Shell Cup

GCN Peach BeachOriginally: GameCube (Double Dash!!)

Peach’s sunny beach resort — wide and beginner-friendly with Cataquacks waddling across the track.

DS Yoshi FallsOriginally: Nintendo DS

A short falls course — the most beginner-friendly retro track in the game.

SNES Ghost Valley 2Originally: Super NES

Spooky ghost house track — old-school minimal design with dangerous edge drops.

N64 Mario RacewayOriginally: Nintendo 64

A simple outdoor circuit with Piranha Plants. Pure classic N64 Mario Kart charm.

Banana Cup

N64 Sherbet LandOriginally: Nintendo 64

Icy cavern course with slippery surfaces and Shy Guys on skates patrolling the track.

GBA Shy Guy BeachOriginally: Game Boy Advance

Tropical beach with crabs and Shy Guys bobbing on boats in the water.

DS Delfino SquareOriginally: Nintendo DS

A sun-drenched village based on Delfino Plaza from Super Mario Sunshine.

GCN Waluigi StadiumOriginally: GameCube (Double Dash!!)

Muddy motocross stadium with Piranha Plants and punishing terrain — a fan favourite.

Leaf Cup

DS Desert HillsOriginally: Nintendo DS

Sandy dunes with Pokeys and tornado hazards buffeting racers off course.

GBA Bowser Castle 3Originally: Game Boy Advance

Classic Bowser fortress with lava and Thwomps — one of the toughest GBA tracks.

N64 DK’s Jungle ParkwayOriginally: Nintendo 64

Jungle course with a river shortcut and the iconic massive DK logo arch.

GCN Mario CircuitOriginally: GameCube (Double Dash!!)

Chain Chomp-infested circuit — one of Double Dash’s most recognisable tracks.

Lightning Cup

SNES Mario Circuit 3Originally: Super NES

The toughest of the original SNES tracks — tight corners and very little margin for error.

DS Peach GardensOriginally: Nintendo DS

A garden maze with Chain Chomps breaking free and Monty Moles popping up from the ground.

GCN DK MountainOriginally: GameCube (Double Dash!!)

Barrel cannon to the mountain peak then a wild descent through hairpins. Spectacular course.

N64 Bowser’s CastleOriginally: Nintendo 64

The intimidating N64 Bowser castle — fire bars, lava and Thwomps everywhere.

Battle stages

Ten battle stages — five new and five retro — for Balloon Battle and Coin Runners:

New stages

Funky Stadium

A trick-friendly skate park arena — ramps everywhere for stunts.

Block Plaza

3D block maze — the signature new battle stage with multiple levels.

Delfino Pier

Flood-prone docks from Isle Delfino — the water rises and falls during battle.

Chain Chomp Wheel

Circular arena with rampaging Chain Chomps loose in the middle.

Thwomp Desert

Desert floor with Thwomps crashing down from above at intervals.

Retro stages

N64 SkyscraperOriginally: Nintendo 64

City rooftop battle stage — great vertigo-inducing layouts.

SNES Battle Course 4Originally: Super NES

The classic SNES arena — simple and clean.

GBA Battle Course 3Originally: Game Boy Advance

GBA fan favourite brought back in style.

GCN Cookie LandOriginally: GameCube (Double Dash!!)

Sweet-themed Double Dash stage — cheerful and chaotic.

DS Twilight HouseOriginally: Nintendo DS

Spooky DS mansion stage — atmospheric and tricky to navigate.

Online play

Mario Kart Wii was groundbreaking for Nintendo’s online ambitions. Via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, up to 12 players could race simultaneously — still among the biggest online player counts of any console Mario Kart. All tracks and modes are available online, including Balloon Battle and Coin Runners.

The WFC friend roster — exchange friend codes to race people you know

Mario Kart Channel

The Mario Kart Channel was a dedicated WiiWare channel installed on the Wii home menu — a first for the series. It let you check global rankings, download time trial ghost data from the world’s fastest players, see when friends were online and download Nintendo’s official tournament data. Tournaments ran periodically with unique rule sets and global leaderboards.

WFC options

Two online configurations: up to 12 players all playing from separate Wiis, or up to 10 online players with two playing locally on the same Wii. Ghost racing against downloaded ghosts didn’t count against your race total but earned ranking points.

Videos

Four videos from our collection covering Mario Kart Wii — gameplay, commercials and more:

Interesting facts

• Mario Kart Wii sold over 37 million copies worldwide — making it the best-selling console Mario Kart for over a decade, until Mario Kart 8 Deluxe surpassed it
• Motorbikes were introduced to the Mario Kart series for the first time — with unique wheelie mechanics and inside drift distinguishing them from karts
• The game includes 24 playable characters — the largest roster in the series at the time, including debuts for Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Funky Kong and Dry Bowser
• Every copy comes bundled with the Wii Wheel — a plastic steering wheel housing for the Wii Remote
• Up to 12 players can race simultaneously online — one of the highest player counts of any console Mario Kart
• Mii characters are fully playable — your personalised Wii avatar can race with stat bonuses dependent on their outfit
• The game was known internally as “Mario Kart X” during development
• The title screen changes after getting first on every cup at every engine class including Mirror Mode — a hidden reward few players ever see
• Rainbow Road in Mario Kart Wii uses scenery from Super Mario Galaxy — stars, planets and the observatory are visible throughout
• On Daisy Circuit, the Daisy Cruiser from Mario Kart: Double Dash can be seen in the background harbour
• The game introduces the Mega Mushroom, POW Block and Thunder Cloud — three items removed from all subsequent entries in the series
• Funky Kong on the Flame Runner became the dominant competitive meta — the combination of stat bonuses made it objectively the fastest setup available
• The Mario Kart Channel was the first time a Mario Kart game had its own dedicated Wii channel for rankings and tournament downloads
• Retro courses from every previous entry are represented — SNES, N64, GBA, GameCube and DS all contribute tracks
• While being developed the game had the working title “Mario Kart X” and the promotional slogan was “Get Behind the Wheel”

Reference and downloads