Top 10 Most Obscure Mario Kart Characters

Mario Kart has featured a wide range of playable characters throughout its history. Some have been popular, some have been forgettable, and some have been... obscure.

Obscurity can be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Let's count down the most obscure Mario Kart characters ever added, shall we?

The Top Ten

  1. Pink Gold Peach

    Pink Gold Peach is a character who debuted in Mario Kart 8 as an unlockable playable character. She is a metallic variant of Princess Peach, similar to how Metal Mario is a variant of Mario. Pink Gold Peach has appeared in several subsequent Mario Kart titles.

    Here are my problems with Pink Gold Peach.

    1. Making a metallic version of Peach that came out of nowhere was a terrible idea. Even though other metallic characters, like Metal Mario and Gold Mario, appeared in future Mario Kart games, at least they had origins in mainline Mario games as power-ups in Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros 2.

    2. The name "Pink Gold" is not accurate. It should be "Rose Gold."

    3. Even though Metal Mario and Gold Mario also have metallic voices, Pink Gold Peach's voice is strange to hear and makes her sound more like a robot.

    4. Instead of getting other more requested characters in Mario Kart 8, like King K. Rool, Nabbit, Paper Mario, Kamek (who was scrapped for Mario Kart 64 and 8 Deluxe), Dixie Kong, Pauline (who appeared in Mario Kart Tour), and Hammer Bro (who also appeared in Mario Kart Tour after being scrapped from Wii), we got a rehashed metal version of Peach that nobody wanted.

    5. She replaced other characters like Diddy Kong, Birdo, Funky Kong, and Petey Piranha in Mario Kart 8, even though Diddy Kong and Birdo returned in Mario Kart Tour. The same can be said about replacing other characters like Toad and Toadette in Mario Sports Superstars.

    6. In Mario Kart 8's remake, a Baby Pink Gold Peach statue can be found, which probably means she could have her own baby clone character in the next Mario spinoff game.

    And those are all my reasons. Feel free to debunk any reason I got wrong (as long as it makes sense, I guess).

  2. R.O.B.

    The fact that this character isn't even related to anything in the Mario Kart series puts R.O.B at #2 on my list of most obscure MK characters. It's the device that could be used for the NES back when it was released, and now it's playable in MKDS?

    I really love this inclusion. It's so random but so awesome as well. He's my go-to character in MKDS.

    Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it can be cool to see some nearly forgotten Nintendo stuff carried on in other games *cough cough* Smash Brothers.

  3. Donkey Kong Jr.

    Donkey Kong Jr. is a video game character introduced in the 1982 arcade game Donkey Kong Jr. He is the son of the original Donkey Kong and the protagonist of his debut game. The character has appeared in various Nintendo games since then, including racing and sports spin-offs.

    Another Kong? This guy made his appearance in the first Mario Kart game ever. Quickly, in the next game, Kamek temporarily replaced him in development, while Donkey Kong himself replaced Kamek in the final game.

    Overall, he was an obscure choice, but not too obscure as Mario had appeared in games where both of the two made appearances in the past.

    They probably could have just started with the OG Donkey Kong. He existed at this time and was probably just as, if not more, iconic. Then again, I guess it would be hard to cram a giant ape into a kart.

  4. Honey Queen

    Honey Queen, better known in Super Mario Galaxy as Queen Bee, is the queen of the honeybees. She is a very large bee who frequently speaks in nosism, referring to herself using plural pronouns. She appears in both Super Mario Galaxy games, ruling over the honeybees in three different galaxies, and also... read more

    R.O.B is higher as he isn't even a Mario character. In terms of actual Mario characters, no one saw the Queen of Bees coming in a small roster like in MK7. She was only a minor character in the Super Mario Galaxy games but managed to get into Mario Kart 7 along with her own battle course (Honeybee Hive).

    I love this addition, and I frequently play as her because of how unknown she is.

    Nintendo could've added other characters, yet they chose an irrelevant character from one level of a video game.

  5. Funky Kong

    Funky Kong is a character from the SNES game Donkey Kong Country, where he runs Funky's Flights, providing transportation between game levels. He is best known for his appearance in Mario Kart Wii, where he became a fan favorite due to his high-performance stats. In the game, he has a +4 speed and +3... read more

    This was the Honey Queen of Mario Kart Wii, in that it was completely obscure for him to arrive, plus it came with a battle stage, Funky Stadium. I put him below Honey Queen, though, seeing as we've already had three Kongs before him in Mario Kart.

    Still, this character is the least Mario-esque of the four Kongs we've seen, as he only appeared in DK content before this. Definitely a contender for the list.

    Not the most iconic DK character. They probably could have added someone else. Plus, he is way too OP in MKWii!

  6. Gold Mario

  7. Inkling

    Inkling Girl is a character from Nintendo's Splatoon video game series. She serves as one of the customizable player avatars in Splatoon (2015) and Splatoon 2 (2017), with various gear and appearance options. Inkling Girl also appears in other Nintendo titles, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

    I love Splatoon and Inklings, but I can see how this triggers some Mario Kart fans. Similar stuff can be said about Link and Villager from The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. Still, at least for me and other Splatoon fans, this is one big leap for Mario Kart.

    But let's try to keep it within Nintendo, unlike Smash (Splatoon is Nintendo property and created by them).

  8. Villager (Animal Crossing)

  9. Link

    Link refers to several different incarnations of the same protagonist in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. Each incarnation of Link is typically chosen by the gods to protect the land of Hyrule from evil forces, often wielding the Master Sword and bearing the Triforce of Courage. His main goal... read more

  10. Wiggler

    Wigglers are a species of caterpillar in the Mario franchise. They have segmented bodies and comically large noses. Typically yellow and slow-moving when calm, they become red and charge aggressively when provoked, such as when the player jumps on them.

    This is another MK7 character who nobody predicted. I mean, he's a caterpillar, so how does he drive? Oh, that's right, they added arms to him. Nevertheless, I love this guy. It's so strange to see him, but that's what makes him cool.

    He's lower than Funky or Honey Queen as he's a more relevant thing in the Mario series, though.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Don-chan

  12. ?

    Mametchi

    13. The Contenders

  13. Lakitu

    Lakitu, known in Japan as Jugem, is a fictional flying character in the Mario franchise. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, it first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros., where it throws Spinies from its cloud vehicle to challenge players. Since then, Lakitu has appeared in... read more

    This is the same guy who holds the startup sign at the start of each race and who picks you up when you fall down a pit. Since Mario Kart 7, a Lakitu with a red shell (instead of green) is playable in the series. It's kinda odd seeing Lakitu rescuing Lakitu, but it's a pass as Lakitu is a species and it's obvious it's two different Lakitus from the shell color.

  14. Metal Mario

    Metal Mario is a character that appears in both the Mario series and the Super Smash Bros. series. He first appeared in the Nintendo 64 version of Super Smash Bros. Although he resembles Mario when using a Metal Cap, Metal Mario is treated as a separate character in the fighting games. He has a heavier,... read more

  15. Baby Rosalina

    Baby Rosalina is the infant counterpart of Rosalina from the Super Mario franchise. She first appeared as a playable character in Mario Kart 8. She is one of five baby characters in that game's roster, alongside infant versions of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Princess Daisy.

    Another clone makes it to the list, now it's Baby Rosalina. One of my least favorite characters ever, as it contradicts Rosalina's backstory (she actually had red hair as a child) and makes it look like Rosalina is another princess when she isn't even close. She's a god!

    My god, I hate this clone (no pun intended)! Although it was a bit predictable to see her, so eh.

    I wish we could trade these out-of-the-blue clones for Kamek.

  16. Koopa Paratroopa

  17. Baby Daisy

    Baby Daisy is the infant version of Princess Daisy, a major character in the Mario franchise. She is known for her appearances as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8. She is also a playable character in Super Mario Sluggers for the Wii.

  18. Baby Peach

    Baby Peach is the infant version of the major character from the Mario series, Princess Peach. She is mostly known for her appearances in the Mario Kart franchise, including Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8, as a playable character. She also appears in other Mario games, including Yoshi's Island DS, in... read more

    My least favorite baby character. She makes no sense and clashes with Mario Galaxy canon. They probably weren't paying attention when they made this one. Nonetheless, please delete this character.

  19. Petey Piranha

    Petey Piranha is a large mutant version of the Piranha Plant in the Super Mario franchise. He first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine and has since become a recurring boss character in the series. Petey has also appeared in various sports and spin-off games.

    He made an appearance in MKDD and was going to be in MKWii but was scrapped. He was one of my favorite MK characters ever due to his originality in a Mario Kart game. It's sad we haven't seen more of him.

  20. Rosalina

    Rosalina, known as Rosetta in Japan, is a major character in the Mario franchise created by Nintendo. She first appeared in the 2007 game Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii and later returned in its sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, in 2010. Since then, she has been featured in many main-series Mario... read more

  21. Birdo

    Birdo is a dinosaur-like character from the Mario franchise who is known for her ambiguous gender identity. In the North American manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo is described as a male who believes he is female and prefers to be called Birdetta. In later appearances, this backstory was largely... read more

    Overall, Birdo has been one of the more obscure characters in the Mario franchise as a whole. With few appearances, originally a villain but later shoehorned into being Yoshi's love interest, she is also the only LGBT character in the bunch. It's also my favorite Mario character due to all of this.

    Unfortunately, while she's mostly in spin-offs, she is still rare in that context. In Mario Kart, she only appeared in MKDD and MKWii. We can only hope she makes more appearances.

  22. Dry Bones

    Dry Bones is a recurring enemy species in the Super Mario series of video games, first appearing in Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). Dry Bones made its debut as a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball (2005).

    Since then, Dry Bones has become a fan favorite and has appeared as a playable character... read more

  23. Pac-Man

    Pac-Man is the main character of the video game franchise created by Namco. He debuted in the Japanese arcade game Pac-Man on May 22, 1980. The game was released in North America in August of the same year and became a cultural phenomenon.

    He needs to appear in more Mario Kart games.

  24. Cat Peach

  25. Ms. Pac-Man

  26. Blinky

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