I've been a lifelong Mario Kart fan ever since picking up Mario Kart DS in the late 2000s as a young kid, and while I was far from good at the game for several years, I'm now at a point where I have access to playing every game in the main console lineup (SMK through Tour, although I recently dropped Tour in exchange for the Booster Course Pass DLC) and can confidently say that I feel like I'm playing better now than I ever have before. It says a lot about my views on online gaming culture when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of only three games I play online multiplayer on anymore, and it's easily the one of the three I have the most enjoyment with- provided the competition isn't exactly stiff. Something just kind of clicks for me with the Mario Kart series that no other game has been able to replicate, so much so that I'd even say they're more enjoyable for me than a lot of the Super Mario platformers.
In its current state, Mario Kart is far from a perfect franchise. We have yet to see Double Dash ever be rereleased on a newer console as of the time I'm writing this (I would expect it to eventually show up on Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack at a later date, much like 64 and Super Circuit), the Battle Mode could use some improvements to get more people to play it consistently, and perhaps most infamous, we haven't seen a new main series home console release since the Wii U release of Mario Kart 8 in back in May of 2014. While I'm entirely satisfied with the Booster Course Pass containing an entire game's worth of content in place of a new 2022 game for the Switch, I remain excited to see where the Mario Kart I.P. can go from here in regards to new gameplay features, content variety, and more potential crossovers.
For anyone interested, here's a full list of I.P.s/series Mario Kart has collaborated with so far:
- Donkey Kong Country in every main series game since Mario Kart 64
- Pac-Man (Arcade games)
- Tamagotchi (Arcade games)
- R.O.B (Mario Kart DS)
- F-Zero (Mario Kart Wii, 8, & 8 Deluxe)
- I guess you could also include Super Smash Bros. on this list, but that would be the other way around
- The Legend of Zelda (Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe)
- Animal Crossing (Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe)
- Splatoon (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe- note the 2015 game on Wii U hadn't released in time for the original Mario Kart 8)
- Yoshi's Island (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe BCP)