Mario Kart World: Every Power-Up, Explained

Part of what makes a Mario Kart game so special is its vast collection of power-ups that you earn throughout the track. Mario Kart World is overflowing with them. Using these items can turn the tide of a race in mere moments, giving you exactly what you need to take the lead. Of course, other users can also use them, meaning you’ll need to balance offensive and defensive items to take and keep first place for yourself.

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There are quite a few power-ups to use in Mario Kart World. Here’s each one with a brief explanation of what they do:

• Banana Peels: As one of the franchise’s original power-ups, you can always count on Banana Peels showing up. You can place these on the ground, and any players who touch them will wipe out.
• Blooper: You need to see the track to race on it, right? Well, use a Blooper to squirt ink on your opponents’ screen to briefly block their sight.
• Blue Shell: No item is more dreaded than the Blue Shell. This shell will track down and hit the leading racer, potentially causing chaos to additional racers along its path.
• Bob-Omb: You can really frustrate other players with a Bob-Omb. Use this power-up to set the little fella on the track so that it blows up when someone drives nearby.
• Boo: The Boo power-up makes you a tricky little devil. Using this item will steal another player’s item and turn you invisible briefly.
• Boomerang Flower: If you’re a good shot, then the Boomerang Flower can be an excellent item to have. It grants you multiple boomerang throws that can hit your opponents during the throw and on the item’s way back to you.
• Bullet Bill: If you need a good recovery item, Bullet Bill’s got you covered. Using this power-up transforms you into a Bullet Bill so you can dash forward while hitting any opponents in your way.
• Coin: The more coins you hold (up to 20), the higher your max speed becomes. As such, you’ll want to use these when you get them to, you know, get more vroom vroom.
• Coin Box: I think we all know what Coin Boxes do in a Mario game. Use this item to let you jump and hit the box for coins.
• Coin Shell: If you want to go faster, you need coins, and that’s where the Coin Shell comes in handy. This shell fires ahead while dropping coins for you to pick up.
• Feather: The Feather is a must-have for defensive play. If you learn how to master the timing on this power-up, you’ll be able to jump in the air and avoid items sent at you from other racers.
• Fire Flower: As one of the original power-ups from Mario canon, we all know what a Fire Flower can do. Use this item to fire off balls of fire at your foes and wipe ‘em out.
• Golden Mushroom: Speed is the name of the game, and Golden Mushrooms are all about it. A Golden Mushroom gives you unlimited turbo boosts for a brief period after use.
• Green Shell: If you’ve got a good aim, then a Green Shell can be your friend because this item will fire off ahead or behind you to hit an opponent. And if it misses, it’ll bounce off walls to create a hazard for additional drivers.
• Hammer: If you want to be a disruptive pest, then Hammers are for you. This power-up lets you throw hammers at your opponents with the added benefit of sticking in the track briefly as an obstacle.
• Ice Flower: Using the Ice Flower is cold as, uh, ice. Be a pain in the ass by freezing other racers to make them slide around the track with poor control.
• Kamek: Everyone loves the wizard Kamek and his magical spells, right? Well, you’ll like him better when you’re not on the receiving end of this power-up, which summons the blue-robbed foe to turn your opponents into random enemies.
• Lightning: Similar to the Blue Shell, the Lightning power-up is historically one of the franchise’s scariest items, letting you shrink other racers. Its duration has been nerfed a bit in this game, but it still slows folks down enough for you to make a little bit of a push ahead.
• Mega Mushroom: Do you like to get big and crush your foes? The Mega Mushroom lets you do just that by making your character massive so you can streamroll over anyone in your path.
• Mushroom: If you need a quick boost of speed, you’ll want a Mushroom. This item grants you a quick burst of speed.
• Red Shell: If you’ve ever played a Mario Kartgame, you already know Red Shells are one of the best overall items. This homing shell will track down the closest foe ahead of you and wipe ‘em out.
• Super Horn: The Super Horn is a useful offensive and defensive tool. It sends a shockwave out that can wipe out enemies or destroy incoming projectiles.
• Super Star: Any Mario fan knows what a Super Star can do. Use this item to become invincible for a brief period while also granting you the ability to hit your foes with your kart to wipe them out.

That’s a lot of power-ups! You can start using them by picking up a copy of Mario Kart World, which is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.

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