Oddly, the five new Battle Mode trailers were not carried through official Nintendo channels, do not have any official Nintendo branding, and are each lacking sound. That could mean the trailers are leaked or edited from another source. Either way, they provide a great look at Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Battle mode game types. The five game modes shown in the videos for the upcoming Nintendo Switch title include: Balloon Battle, Bob-omb Blast, Coin Runners, Renegade Round-up, and Shine Thief.
Battle Mode in Mario Kart is a competitive multiplayer mode that ditches the racing and pits players against each other in pure combat. Originally, Mario Kart’s Battle Mode was just Balloon Battle, which gives each player a count of balloons which serve as a sort of hit points. Each time a player gets hit by an attack, they lose a balloon. Lose all your balloons and you’re out of the match. Newer game modes change up the rules and remove the balloons, but it’s always about competitive combat.
Balloon Battle
Bob-omb Blast
Coin Runners
Renegade Round-up
Shine Thief
Accompanying the addition of Battle Mode in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 4-player split-screen will also be added to the game. While 4-player split-screen only works when the Switch is docked, players can also undock the Switch and play 2-player split-screen with horizontally held Joy-Cons. Taking it another step, Nintendo’s introduced 12-player LAN multiplayer matches, with two players able to play per Switch in a LAN setting. Nintendo’s really trying to maximize the multiplayer options now that Mario Kart will be available on Switch.
Just to bring everything together, and also because Nintendo would never let an opportunity to release an accessory go by, a Joy-Con Wheel is also planned for release. The official Nintendo Joy-Con Wheel accessory package will include a set of two and cost a total of $14.99. Retailers currently have the item scheduled for release on April 28.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is scheduled to launch exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on April 28.
