Mario Kart 8

	; North American game cover;
	Image gallery
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD (Wii U); Nintendo EPD (Nintendo Switch)
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Kosuke Yabuki (Wii U); Yusuke Shiraiwa (Nintendo Switch)
Platform(s)	Wii U; Nintendo Switch
Release date(s)	Wii U:; May 29, 2014; May 30, 2014; May 31, 2014; Nintendo Switch; April 28, 2017; December 15, 2017; March 16, 2020
Genre(s)	Racing
Modes	Single player; Multiplayer
Ratings	ACB: G; CERO: A; ESRB: E; FPB: 10-12 PG; GCAM: 12; GRAC: All; GSRR: 6+; NMC: 7; PEGI: 3; RARS: 0+; USK: 0;

Mario Kart 8 is a racing game for the Wii U released in May 2014. The game received a downloadable content pack on April 23, 2015, titled Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8, which adds Villager and Isabelle as playable characters, various Animal Crossing-themed kart parts, and an Animal Crossing-themed race course.

On April 28, 2017, an expanded version of the game titled Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which features all the Animal Crossing content from the original game, was released for the Nintendo Switch.

Content from the Animal Crossing series[edit]

Playable characters[edit]

Villager[edit]

Artwork of a male Villager

Villager appears with both a male and female variant. Both variants are in the medium weight class, with slight variations in stats between the two. Their emblem is the leaf icon from the Animal Crossing series.

In the original Mario Kart 8, the male and female variants of Villager are combined into a single slot on the character selection screen. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, both variants initially had separate slots, before being merged again following the addition of more characters in Wave 6 of the Booster Course Pass DLC.

Isabelle[edit]

Artwork of Isabelle

Isabelle made her playable debut in Mario Kart 8, being added to the game seven months prior to her playable debut in the Animal Crossing series with Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. She is in the light weight class, and her emblem is an apple.

Crossing Cup and Animal Crossing course[edit]

Icon for the Crossing Cup

Preview of the Animal Crossing course

Main article: Animal Crossing (course)

The first cup of the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 DLC pack is the Crossing Cup, which features the leaf emblem of the Animal Crossing series. The final course of the cup, Animal Crossing, is themed after a town from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The course has as variation for each season that is randomly chosen each time it is played.

Kart parts[edit]

There are three kart parts based on the Animal Crossing series: The City Tripper bike, which features various icons representing Animal Crossing; the Leaf Tires, which features the triangle grass pattern from the Animal Crossing series on its treads and the leaf icon in the center; and the Paper Glider, which Animal Crossing icons and the series logo.

The City Tripper was later added to Animal Crossing: New Leaf as a furniture item in the Welcome amiibo update known as the Isabelle scooter.

City Tripper
Leaf Tires
Paper Glider

Mii racing suit[edit]

Beginning in version 4.0.0 of Mario Kart 8, a free update released alongside the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 DLC, a Mii racing suit called the Animal Crossing Suit can be unlocked by scanning the Villager Super Smash Bros. amiibo figure. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the suit can additionally be unlocked by scanning any Animal Crossing series amiibo figure or card, or the Isabelle Super Smash Bros. amiibo figure.

Miiverse stamps[edit]

Three Miiverse stamps based on the Animal Crossing series were added to Mario Kart 8 in version 4.0.0: Isabelle, an apple tree, and a player house. These stamps could be inserted into Miiverse posts and were automatically unlocked upon downloading the update.

Isabelle
Apple tree
Player house

Related media[edit]

European cover of the soundtrack

A two-CD soundtrack collection known as Mario Kart 8: Original Soundtrack was released via Club Nintendo in 2015 in Japan, Europe, and Australia. Among the 68 tracks are five Animal Crossing ones: the four seasonal variants of the Animal Crossing course theme, and the course's result screen theme.

Disc	#	Title	Length
2	12	"Animal Crossing (Spring)"	2:02
	13	"Animal Crossing (Summer)"	2:20
	14	"Animal Crossing (Autumn)"	2:17
	15	"Animal Crossing (Winter)"	2:10
	31	"Animal Crossing Result Screen"	1:16