Mario Kart 9's Rumored Guests Shouldn't Edge Out the Franchise's Mainstays
Nintendo fans have been asking for Mario Kart 9 for a long time now, so it's great to suddenly hear from multiple leakers that the next step for the racing franchise is in development. Various sources claim that a new Mario Kart "with a twist" is on the way, and some of those sources say that the game is a crossover-focused title, potentially called Mario Kart Crossroads. In this game, Nintendo properties like Star Fox and Pikmin will join the roster, resulting in a racing game that brings Nintendo's biggest properties together under the roof of one multiplayer game, much like Super Smash Bros.
A Nintendo crossover racing game using the Mario Kart banner sounds like tons of fun, and it makes sense too. Recent Mario Kart games have already featured guests from other Nintendo properties like The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. If Nintendo intends to ramp up its number of guests, however, it should be careful not to scrap too many known Mario Kart characters to make room for other faces of Nintendo. As great as a crossover game could be, Mario Kart is also inherently a Super Mario game, and so it'd be a shame to see niche but well-loved Mario characters lose their place in Mario Kart in order to produce a crossover.
RELATED: Mario Kart 9 Could Learn from Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
If Mario Kart Crossroads is the future of the franchise, then Nintendo has two choices: Follow Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's lead with an "everyone is here" approach, or cut several Super Mario characters to make room for other Nintendo franchises. The latter option could be practical, just so that Mario Kart Crossroads doesn't swell to unmanageable proportions, but it would be pretty tragic. After all, there's quite a few characters who
Read more on gamerant.com
