The only unlockables in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — outside of a certain Gold plumber — are the kart parts players can select before they race.
Kart parts determine how fast and nimble (among other things) you can be. While at first you don’t have a lot of options to choose from, you can win more by gathering coins through Grand Prix races.
Coins in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe help players increase their top speed, but you can only hold 10 at one time. However, you can continue to gather coins to increase your total number. Play some Grand Prix with a friend and you’ll gather coins twice as fast.
After every Cup is finished, the coins you collect are added up and you’ll be notified if you unlocked any kart parts.
For every 50 coins you collect, you’ll unlock a bike, wheel or glider. However, once you hit 550 coins that number jumps to every 100 coins. In the original Mario Kart 8, the ratio was every 50 coins until you reached 1000.
Considering Mario Kart 8 Deluxe already has every character and track unlocked for you, this adds more replay value to the Nintendo Switch version, encouraging players to continue to play Cups until all of the kart parts are unlocked.
From all accounts, it seems the parts that were in Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U will return for the Nintendo Switch version. So if you have a favorite or preferred kart combination from that game, you’ll eventually be able to get it. Kart parts from previous Mario Kart 8 DLC are also present, as well as some new Switch-exclusive parts.
The more coins you collect and kart parts you unlock, you’ll see that they increase your overall stats pretty substantially. But definitely keep an eye on your stats page (press the + or – button in the character select screen) so you know which stats are increased and, for the sake of balance, which stats are decreased.
Choose your kart parts in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe wisely so they’ll help you with however you like to race.
Here’s every kart part in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Karts/Bikes/ATVS
Standard Bike
Comet
The Duke
Flame Rider
Varmint
Jet Bike
Yoshi Bike
City Tripper
Standard ATV
Teddy Buggy
Splat Buggy
Standard Kart
Mach 8
Steel Driver
Circuit Special
Biddybuggy
Sneeker
GLA
300 SL Roadster
B Dasher
Streetle
WHEELS
Standard
Monster
Roller
Slim
Slick
Button
Off-Road
Sponge
Wood
Azure Roller
Crimson Slim
Triforce Tires
GLIDERS
Plane Glider
Paper Glider
Super Glider
Cloud Glider
Parachute
Parafoil
Flower Glider
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Have you started to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Which parts from the original Mario Kart 8 do you hope to unlock? Let us know your favorite kart combinations in the comments section below.