Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's most successful and popular gaming franchises and there is no doubt that there will be more installments of the game coming in the future. That means new characters, with different people from the Mario and non-Mario world often being added to the game in order to draw in as many fans as possible.
However, to add new characters you have to remove a few, and within this article, we will rank five characters we want to add to the series, and five who we don't need to see return.
10 Should Join: Funky Kong
Funky Kong is a great, fun character who suits the Mario Kart franchise perfectly. With Donkey Kong having been utilized in the game plenty of times, it would be good to expand that franchise in this game. With his own funky mode, bringing this character into Mario Kart would add a funkier style to the traditional Donkey Kong tracks that we have seen in the past.
The character has been available in Mario Kart before, but only as an additional skin mod to the Donkey Kong character, so surely it's time he gets his own spot in the game?
9 Don't Return: Rosalina
Rosalina has been part of Mario Kart for quite some time now, with Nintendo deciding to add the game due to the popularity of the Super Mario Galaxy series, where she first entered the Mario world.
While it was great to see her included in Mario Kart, at this point she is no longer new and there are a large majority of new gamers who have never played the Super Mario Galaxy games. Now feels like the right time to take her out of this franchise for a while, at least until the point where another Super Mario Galaxy is made.
8 Should Join: Sonic
While Sonic the Hedgehog has his own racing game with characters from his own world, that doesn't mean that the character couldn't appear in the next version of Mario Kart, as he would be an incredibly fun addition to the game.
Characters from outside of Mario's world have appeared in the game many times before and considering the fact, Sega and Nintendo have worked together to include Sonic in other games, there is a strong potential for him to be added. Adding a popular character is never a bad idea, and there could be a Sonic themed racecourse added as well.
7 Don't Return: Lakitu
Firstly, Lakitu floats around on a cloud, so just seeing him driving around is very strange to start with. On top of that, he's one of those side characters from the Mario franchise that really doesn't warrant entry into the game. Sure, Nintendo had to flesh out the game somewhat and add in some characters that aren't as heavily featured, but that happened with the likes of Dry Bones and Toad, not Lakitu.
When the are only so many spaces for characters in each game, wasting valuable time on developing Lakitu seems like a total waste of time. There are other characters who deserve screentime.
6 Should Join: Venellope Von Schweetz
Speaking of characters from outside of the Mario world, it would be brilliant to see Disney's Vanellope Von Scweetz join the franchise. This character comes from the movie Wreck-It Ralph. While she isn't a video game character, she is part of a video game in the film that focuses on driving, so that would be perfect.
Not only does she come with her ready-built course and a new car, but she is a major name that will help draw people to the game.
5 Don't Return: Wiggler
What a ridiculous decision it was to add Wiggler to Mario Kart. Just look at that image: the character barely fits into the vehicle and considering that Wiggler has been used as a design for a vehicle in the past, this wasn't a great choice.
While Nintendo likes to add characters, it is better not to shoehorn them in like this when it simply doesn't work. No one was really interested in seeing this character. Wiggler is barely featured in Mario games as he isn't one of the main villains so his addition was confusing. Hopefully, he doesn't come back anytime soon.
4 Should Join: Kirby
We've seen Kirby and Mario in the same video game several times before through the Super Smash Bros. franchise, and it's always fun. Why not extend that into the Mario Kart world? Kirby is a very popular character who fits in well with the family-friendly nature of this video game.
While Kirby is obviously very small and his arms and feet might not actually be able to reach, this could allow for some really creative custom vehicles.
3 Don't Return: Peach (Kimono)
We get it, Princess Peach is one of the most popular characters in the Mario world, but that doesn't mean we need tons of different versions of the exact same character. Peach (Kimono) is the perfect example of a character that would make sense to get rid of as it is literally just Princess Peach but in a different costume.
Instead of doing this, why not make this a skin mod or a DLC and instead focus on adding a totally new character to the game?
2 Should Join: More Baby Characters
The baby characters have become a staple of Mario Kart and they're some of the most popular in the game. Since they were first introduced, we have seen a variety of baby characters, from Mario and Luigi to Princess Peach and more, but that doesn't mean that Nintendo should stop there.
We want more characters, simply to see what they look like. Bring us Baby Donkey Kong, bring us Baby Yoshi, bring us all the baby characters!
1 Don't Return: Metal Mario
While Mario himself is obviously the main focal point of this video game, given that his name is in the title, that doesn't mean that we need lots of different versions of the exact same character each time. Sure, it makes sense to have a couple, but it would be nice if Nintendo switched things up and gave us different characters each time which is why Metal Mario should head for a pit stop in the next game.
Metal Mario never seems to be one of the most talked-about characters in the game, so losing him wouldn't be a massive loss to the game at all.