The producer of Mario Kart World, Kosuke Yabuki, has disclosed the reasoning behind the latest installment in the kart racing series not incorporating characters from franchises outside of Mario. Previous Mario Kart games, particularly Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, have frequently integrated characters from other Nintendo properties, such as Link and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda, into their playable roster. However, Mario Kart World focuses exclusively on characters belonging to the Mario universe.
During an interview with Quest France, Yabuki expressed concerns about making the character lineup for “Mario Kart World” feel inconsistent by including characters from different universes. Moreover, he mentioned that the development team felt it wasn’t essential to introduce characters such as Link and Zelda because the existing roster of characters in the kart racer is already quite extensive.
In simpler terms, Yabuki stated that it wouldn’t make sense for developers to incorporate characters from other games into this particular universe because they already have so many creative possibilities with Mario. Additionally, he firmly declined the idea of integrating characters from ARMS into the series.
Additionally, he mentioned that although Mario Kart World features fewer guest racers from other Nintendo series compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, its positive reception has been unexpectedly heartwarming and surpassed our expectations. Furthermore, Yabuki expressed his fondness for the Cow as his preferred new character in the kart racing franchise thus far.
In the same conversation, Kosuke Yabuki further emphasized that Studio doesn’t prefer labeling Mario Kart World as an open-world game due to the ambiguity surrounding the term. “We don’t usually employ ‘open world’ in our context,” he explained, “as the definition can be somewhat unclear. The fundamental concept is to allow players to traverse areas beyond the racetracks and roam freely within this continuous environment.
In terms of designing the overall layout of the kart racing game, Yabuki mentioned that the development team aimed to avoid adding extra scenery unnecessarily. Instead, every element should enhance the enjoyment somehow. Additionally, the studio emphasized enabling players to engage with the world in various ways, which helps create a sense of exploration and discovery.
As a dedicated fan, I’d like to share Yabuki’s perspective: “Above all else, each component needed to enhance the enjoyment.” He emphasized that they weren’t merely adding background for its own sake. Instead, every addition was carefully considered, taking into account how players would engage with it, the impact it would have on their experience, and what hidden secrets it might reveal.
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2025-06-23 15:42