Characters we'd like to see in Mario Kart

The roster of playable characters in Mario Kart has grown significantly over the years, tossing in characters from other franchises (like, Diddy Kong and Pac-Man). That, however, hasn't been enough for us, so we decided to come up with a list of characters we'd like to see make it into the franchise. So click on the image or that arrow in the top right-hand corner to get started and be sure to toss your own in, as well!

Okay, this one is kind of selfish, but we honestly can't find enough opportunities in life to tell you that you HAVE to play No More Heroes. And, with Travis cruising the streets of Santa Destroy on the back of his own bike in No More Heroes, we think he could be transitioned to ride it in a Mario Kart game easily. And, hey, bikes are allowed now!

With his recent inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it shows that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about the little guy. Well, give him more face time with the gaming public! Since cross-promotion of franchise characters hasn't been a problem for Mario Kart in the past, and with him being a Nintendo character after all, we see little reason why the guy can't hop into the race. As for what he'd drive, we're thinking a modified rocket ship or perhaps he could just rest atop a bunch of Pikmin who run the track for him.

Yes, it's a fact that none of you played Zack & Wiki (well, some did, but not enough), but we see this as an opportunity for Capcom and Nintendo to bury the hatchet (and for more of you to find out about the characters from this amazing game). Fine, Capcom may have not been able to get a character into Smash Bros. Brawl, but Nintendo can throw them a bone and include them in an upcoming Mario Kart game. It could happen, right? Right?!

We enjoyed BWii quite a bit, and even though the game focuses on combat, the sheer number of vehicles included within cause us to think that it would be easy to incorporate one of the title's characters into the Mario Kart experience. This individual could drive a tank kart or something.

When you include, say, Diddy Kong into the race, we wonder if the door is open for other popular Nintendo franchises to be represented in the game. Imagine Samus driving around the track in a little kart version of her badass ship. Awesome, right? We think so, and it would give Nintendo a chance to add some new weapons into the mix from her game, like the freeze ray or missiles or something.

With Hudson's Deca Sports due next month, it will be featuring its own kart racing. Of course, this in no way encroaches on Nintendo's racer, as Hudson's take on the sport is more realistic. But we still think tossing in a character from Hudson's game into the Mario Kart experience could be fun for all, however incredibly unlikely.

Mega Man is in no way a stranger to kart racing. He starred in his own take on the genre back on the original Playstation, actually. And with him missing out on Smash Bros. Brawl, this is a perfect opportunity for Capcom to get their character into a Nintendo game. The little blue bomber could ride in a modified version of Rush, kind of like you see right here (although, obviously, this is a toy RC car).

We think so. Link is arguably one of Nintendo's most identifiable and loved characters, so why not let him take a break from saving Hyrule for a change and hang out with some of his peers. If it were up to us, Link would ride on the back of a mechanical Epona that had wheels for legs and shot fire out of its ... well, you get it.

At least, it feels like that nowadays, thanks to Mario & Sonic at the Olympics and his inclusion in Smash Bros. Brawl. That isn't a bad thing, per se, but we don't see why Sega and Nintendo didn't get together to get Sonic in on a Mario Kart game before. Because, you know, having the two together in a game pretty much means it'll sell over a million.

There you have it, some of the gaming characters we'd like to see in Mario Kart. Hopefully you enjoyed our little feature and if you haven't tossed in your own ideas for characters that need to be included in Mario Kart, do so now! We want to hear them!

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