One of the biggest additions to Mario Kart World is the addition of loads of enemies and NPCs as kart drivers to help expand the game’s already massive roster. From Sunshine’s Piantas to the football gear-clad Chargin’ Chuck, there’s loads of new drivers to unlock that have never been playable before. But how do you unlock all of Bowser’s baddies? We’ll help you know the answer, and figure out how to unlock them quickly.
To unlock an NPC, you have to be transformed into them by the magic dome/Kamek item. When a racer uses this item, it will transform the players in front of them into a random NPC. Where you end up is usually influenced by being near select locations, but there’s still an element of chance each time you’re transformed.
When you are transformed into an unfamiliar character, they will be permanently unlocked for you! The full list of characters unlocked, as well as areas of the world that you can find them commonly, via this method are:
- Cataquack (Peach Beach)
- Chargin’ Chuck (Choco Mountain)
- Coin Coffer (Cheep Cheep Falls)
- Conkdor (Faraway Oasis)
- Dolphin (Koopa Troopa Beach)
- Fish Bone (Dry Bones Burnout)
- Peepa (Boo Cinema)
- Pianta (Mario Circuit)
- Rocky Wrench (Airship Fortress)
- Spike (Whistletop Summit)
- Swoop (Dandelion Depths)
Other main characters can be unlocked by completing the Grand Prix mode. But, for these eleven, getting hit by Kamek is the only way to make them available. The best way to get hit by this? Well, winning of course! Since the ability hits all drivers in front of the user, being in first is a good way to hit it.
How to increase your chances of being hit by Kamek
If you want to increase those chances, do a VS. Race. When asked for settings, set the items to Frantic and CPU difficulty to hard. Then, select the corresponding course above for each character you want to unlock. This will ensure that opposing racers will use items they get right away, and increase the frequency of said items.
You will know when you’ve unlocked them all by using the Goomba and Piranha Plant symbol on the character select screen. If this mysterious portrait is at the end of your roster, that means you still have some characters to be transformed into by Kamek! Otherwise, you’ve completed your collection.
Mario Kart World is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.