Top 10 Best Mario Kart Games of All Time

The name Mario Kart instantly conjures up images of frantic races, hilarious item-slinging mayhem, and friendships pushed to the absolute limit by a perfectly-timed blue shell. With its mix of colorful characters, wacky courses, and addictive gameplay, Mario Kart has been a mainstay of the gaming world for decades.

From its humble beginnings on the Super NES to the latest entry on the wildly popular Switch, the Mario Kart series has continuously evolved, taking players on exhilarating rides through the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond. Each new game brings its own unique courses, power-ups, and racing styles to explore.

But with so many amazing Mario Kart games out there, a question always lingers: which ones reign supreme? Which titles offer that perfect blend of challenge, fun, and nostalgia?

What are the entries that left you with lasting memories of white-knuckled races and pure, chaotic joy? Which ones had you hooked from the starting line and kept you coming back for more?
The Top Ten
1 Mario Kart Wii

This is the best Mario Kart ever and I'm going to tell you why. It has the most fun tracks and a great character roster! The graphics are also very colorful and it seems like you're more in the Mario world than in some of the newer games. Unlocking characters and karts is fun! You get really excited and surprised when you get the character you want and soon you will get addicted to this amazingly fun and awesome game!

The battle courses are very fun. My favorite is Funky Stadium. There is just so much to like about this game! The blue shells are a big help to those who are in 12th or second place. And if you're in first place, then just wait for someone to get close to you and they will get hit too.

This game should be #1 on this list and if you don't have it, then you should get it and then have fun with your friends.

This is probably the best Mario Kart I have ever played. It's even better than Double Dash! It has a great selection of new and old tracks and has the best character roster. The music from this game is probably great too. This is also a very nostalgic game, as I used to play it as a kid always.

The online communication features were very revolutionary for a Mario Kart game. The only thing I dislike about this game is some items: the ? Block, which is just a copy/paste of a banana. Also, the Thundercloud, possibly the worst item I have ever witnessed. Unfortunately, the Nintendo Wii WiFi has shut down, and not even Mario Kart Wii still has the online features.

2 Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Mario Kart Double Dash:

Good=
New karts: Finally, some new karts! I was so bored playing with only one kart.
Roster: The roster is one of the best in the Mario Kart series.
Toadette's first appearance: Toadette is a lovely character!
New greatest additions like Daisy, Baby Mario, King Boo...: I really love these characters!
Koopa return: I missed him a lot!
New amazing courses: Rainbow Road, Daisy Cruiser, Yoshi Circuit, and more!
Two characters in one kart: What an awesome idea!
No jump: The jump was unnecessary in this game.
Better mini-turbo: The old one was terrible!
Objects: The heart, the Yoshi egg, the fireballs...

Bad=
Waluigi: Waluigi time! Waluigi time! Shut up, please!
Blue shell:...
Final rank= 10/10. This game is amazing!

This and DS were the ones I grew up with. I loved the track selection, and the whole two characters per kart gimmick was really cool. This was also before they severely nerfed/dumbed down drifting, and choosing a kart was great without turning into an RPG.

Sure, the graphics are dated, but I still think this and DS hit the nail on the head for track and overall graphic design. The tracks just seem more intuitive and easier to follow than in the newer ones like 7 and 8, where I can never tell where the turns are due to the massive detail and lack of direction. Special items seemed dumb at first, but they really promote trying all the characters and finding your favorite combo. They're more than just stat differences here.

My favorite Mario Kart game, very closely followed by DS.

3 Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe

This game has so many fantastic aspects about it! Although graphics don't make or break a game, this game is beautiful and everything looks so polished and fantastic. The courses are all really original and fun to play through. The retro tracks look so good in their new form, and they were mostly a big improvement to the original courses.

The zero gravity feature is pretty fun to play around with, and the flying and swimming also return from Mario Kart 7. The new items are cool, especially the horn. The kart customization is cool. There are tons of great characters to play as, including the Koopalings. The DLC tracks and characters are really cool.

Overall, this game makes so many improvements to the series and it's my favorite Mario Kart game after playing all of them! The others are pretty good too, though.

This game is easily superior to the original MK8. The character roster is improved, and the battle mode got revamped from MK8 to be better, with 8 battle tracks and 5 modes. The battle mode was fixed in this version. This game also added one feature to online play missing from the other Mario Kart games: being able to change characters in between races. If I had any criticism for this game, it would be that if you had the original MK8, it won't feel like much was changed to feel brand new. There aren't new courses, which can make races feel a bit repetitive.

4 Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart: Double Dash may have had the best gameplay, Mario Kart Wii may have had the best multiplayer, and Mario Kart 64 may have blown the others out of the water. But Mario Kart DS will always be my favorite. Colorful graphics, brilliant music, fun tracks, good challenge, and fun gameplay, it's hard not to like this game if you are a Mario Kart fan. Although I think Mario Kart 64 is the best, Mario Kart DS is my favorite. Plus, it's Mario Kart wherever you go! Who wouldn't want that? Oh, and apart from its multiplayer and Mario Kart feel, Mario Kart Wii is the worst in the series.

I firmly believe that the love for Double Dash is based purely on nostalgia rather than taking the time to look at what each game added to the series. MKDS added Wi-Fi, doubled the number of courses to 32, and gave you a rating after each cup that gave it MUCH more replay value. I think people are forgetting just how big of a deal these features are, as they are now in every game. But they weren't in Double Dash, a game that added absolutely nothing new. Also, MKDS had Mission Mode, Shine Runners, and the best Balloon Battle ever. If we judge each game by how good it was for its time and how much it added to the series, this is no contest.

5 Mario Kart 7

One of my personal favorite Mario Kart games. It's got a great and unique cast of characters, some of the most epic race tracks ever, and a killer soundtrack. It's also the game that introduced gliders, which is a huge plus.

This is the best for me. It has some of the greatest soundtracks in Mario Kart, and it had a cool roster even though Waluigi was absent. But at least they added Shy Guy, Honey Queen, and Wiggler, which in my opinion were excellent choices. The Flower Cup and Lightning Cup are some of my favorite Mario Kart cups as well.

This game has what is by far the best character roster. My favorite part is that there is no Waluigi! Yay! My only complaint is the kart system, and there is no Dry Bowser. I mean, why would ANYONE want only 3 karts and 3 wheels to start off with, and only one glider? This is an outrage!

6 Mario Kart 64

This game is super fun, but it's not my favorite. I do prefer Mario Karts 7 and 8, but not because I don't appreciate older games. I just happen to like all the current games bring to the table. Everyone has their own opinions, and I respect that. Although this game isn't perfect in my eyes, it's still fun, and the best part about it is the sheer number of classic courses it has. These have become super fun and iconic, and are even better when they are brought back in future games as retro tracks. But please respect my opinion, I appreciate all the Mario Kart games!

Love this one. It's got so many epic/classic tracks. The character selection is great as well. It's a huge step up from the first game in my opinion.

This is one of my favorite Mario Karts because one or two of the tracks are just insanely broken (Choco Mountain and Frappe Snowland), and Choco Mountain is more broken than Frappe Snowland because Choco Mountain has a trick that only 13 people have pulled off, which is the Weathertenko.

7 Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Mario Kart Super Circuit is my favorite because it's like the SNES original. That means it's about the driving and not the items. Yes, the items are what give Mario Kart charm, but the fact that you need to be better in this game to actually be good than you do in another Mario Karts is what pulls me in. An easy way to say it, as I read in a review once, was "Mario Kart Super Circuit doesn't have a blue shell." That means no cheap losses, etc. I think most don't like this game for the fact it's mainly 2D and that it's much harder than the others. (not counting the SNES original) Another great thing about this Mario Kart is the fact it's got the SNES original in it as well, 2 games in 1!

This game is underrated. The only reason people hate this game is because they don't have any nostalgia towards it. And that's because of the PSP. If they hadn't released the console in 2004, then the GBA would've had a longer lifespan.

8 Super Mario Kart

It's okay, I guess, but it's definitely been surpassed by every other Mario Kart. Depth perception is at its worst here due to the 2D graphics, and power-ups don't function as well as in the other games. This game has its charm but it's objectively the worst Mario Kart.

All Mario Kart games (minus the Mario Kart Arcade GP series) that came after Mario Kart: Super Circuit are now a diss to the Mario Kart games that are all older than Mario Kart: Double Dash.

I still consider this the most fun Mario Kart game, but it may be because it's the one I'm best at.

9 Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

I have watched the videos of this game, and it looks AWESOME!!!

10 Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
The Contenders
11 Mario Kart Arcade GP

It is so underrated because it is a Mario/Classic Pac-Man crossover. Yes, you still get Princess Peach's overdosed femininity (re: her voice and her princess dress). But that does not make the game. Yes, it's not the most innovative Mario Kart game. But it takes us all on a ride!

12 Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

This should be at least top ten. And also about Mametchi, why the heck is she rated 10/10? He isn't completely pointless, but why does that person give her 10/10? That is just stupid. I still think Mametchi is okay, but if Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi get 4-5/10, Mametchi deserves 4/10 too. Whoever has Mametchi as a favorite character has severe mental issues. I like Mario Kart Home Circuit. The only bad thing is that you can't go on ramps.

This Mario Kart game is incredibly cool! I love how you are able to make any kind of wacky tracks that you want (as long as your house isn't too small). It's even more fun when you are racing against someone else that has this game on their Switch. It's just a very fun and unique game.

I like how you can make your own tracks at home!

13 Mario Kart Tour

People are just mad that this game is on mobile. It has some of the best graphics, unlimited courses, new characters, it's great. The only thing that kinda sucks is that WHERE'S LUIGI?

Ninja Hideaway and Vancouver Velocity are amazing.

Challenges plus the Tours are awesome. The worst thing is its iteration of Koopa Cape.

14 Mario Kart Arcade GP VR

I didn't know that there was a Mario Kart VR!

BAdd New Item