We're already having a blast playing Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS. Our MK7 review will be ready soon, but in the meantime, we've put together a handy list for those Mario Kart pros who want to master all the techniques necessary to become the ultimate Mario Kart 7 champ. Now, it still takes plenty of skill, but these cheats / tricks should help you. Also, check out GameDynamo's Mario Kart 7 Track Shortcuts List.
Unlockables:
Expand Your Roster: It's rather simple to unlock new characters with which to race. Simply play Grand Prix mode on 150cc, and place first on any of the cups. You'll unlock a new character for each tournament you win. Additionally, in order to unlock your Mii as a playable character in Mario Kart 7, all you need to do is get gold in every cup on any difficulty. The unlockable characters along with the corresponding cups you need to complete to unlock them are listed below.
Go for Gold: Remember the gold coins from Mario Kart: Super Circuit? They're back, and you're gonna want to grab as many of them as possible. The more coins you grab, the faster you'll go- up to a maximum of ten coins. What's more, each coin you pick up will itself give you a very short speed boost. Be careful, though: getting hit or falling off the course will cause you to lose them.
Gaining an edge over your opponents isn't the only reason to collect coins, however. They're also used to unlock Mario Kart 7's numerous karts and vehicle parts. Up till the 300 mark, you'll get a part for every 50 coins you collect. After that, you'll receive one every 100 coins until you reach 1,000, then every 200 until 2,500. You'll receive your last part for collecting a total of 3,000 coins. There's also a special part for winning all cups with at least a 1-star ranking as well.
Mirror, Mirror: As with previous titles in the series, completing every cup on 150cc will unlock "mirror mode" - essentially, 150cc, with the caveat that you race every track backwards. Anyone who's played Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 will remember how much of a challenge this is.
Cheats / Tips / Tricks:
R is your Friend: You're going to want to use the R button as much as possible in Mario Kart 7. It's going to be one of your best friends. Use it to drift around corners, and tap it while going up ramps and jumps to get a minor speed boost when you land.
Start your Engines: Mario Kart veterans will remember this one. While sitting at the starting line waiting for the race to begin, start accelerating just as the two on the count-down timer stops spinning. If you hit it too soon, you'll spin out. Too late, and your boost will leave quite a lot to be desired. It's all about hitting the sweet spot.
The Good Old Drift Trick: Here's yet another trick that longtime fans of the series will likely know about going in - drifting. As far as the drift boost is concerned, it's been toned down quite a bit in Mario Kart 7, but it still exists, and it's a lot simpler to perform. The sparks behind your cart will start to build up depending on the tightness of your turn. Once they've built to a sufficient amount (they should change color twice) release to rocket forward.
Trailing Behind To Get Ahead: Tailgating your opponents can be a great boon, if you do it right. Hide behind one of your opponents for a few seconds, and you'll hear an audio cue accompanied by a few small lines onscreen. If you stay behind them a few seconds more, you'll be able to fly past them using the speed you built up from running behind.
Turbo Boost After Falling: Falling off the track is never good, and it often means you'll end up dropping several places, if you don't simply find yourself in dead last. Fortunately, this can be mitigated a touch. If you accelerate the split second your cart hits the ground after being retrieved by Lakitu, you'll get a Turbo Boost. Time it wrong, however, and you'll spin out and find yourself even farther behind.
Easter Eggs:
New Title Screen: In order to view an alternative title screen, you'll need to unlock the true ending (see below).
The Truth: Mario Kart 7 actually has more than one ending. To watch the standard ending of the game, all you really have to do is win all the cups. In order to unlock the true ending, however, you'll need to place first in all cups with all cart classes.
Use StreetPass, Get Swag: If you set invitations to "on" in your StreetPass Mii plaza, you'll eventually start to see the Miis of rival racers as well as people from the various communities you've joined. They can't be used for races, but if you boot up Super Mario 3D Land, your Toad houses will be stocked with gifts from the people you've raced against.
GameDynamo Mario Kart Community Channels:
We would love to share our Mario Kart 7 online experience with all of you, so what do you say? Go online and join our Community Channels, and play with us when we or other GameDynamites are online!
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