Mario Kart 9 vs. Mario Kart 8 Graphics Comparison

The new Mario Kart is a actually a fairly big visual step over its predecessor.

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[sinom]

The fact that this will be the first new (non mobile) mario kart game in 11 years when it releases

[bananachild]

All of the Mario characters somehow looks adorably chubbier. Almost like they're going back to the original Mario Kart 64 3D sprite renders. I love it.

[BlueStinger]

I like the more cartoony look Nintendo is giving some of their games. I'll always perfer it over realism.

[UltravioletNomad]

The map they chose seems very intentional, because it scene has incredibly even lighting. Someone might be forgiven on a glance of thinking 8 looks more dynamic purely from contrast, but I think the point of this was to be understated. But one thing to notice, the flames on the kart ARE generating dynamic lighting of the road behind them. The official reveal might show some more impressive looking tracks.

[redkid]

They pushed graphics so hard that DK became a whole new character

[LorekeeperAzurai]

The squash and stretch on the karts themselves is such a nice detail.

[kvetcha]

If you watch the slo-mo you’ll notice the carts all have independent suspensions, too. Each wheel and shock is reacting to the ground beneath it.

[StudioWulf]

Don't know why but the MK9 Mario kinda gives me MK64 vibes (as in the 3d renders, not the sprites)

[motleykingdom]

This more cartoony vibe reminds of classic Mario art from Nintendo Power and other 90s era multimedia. I'm looking forward to it, thanks for highlighting these details.

[some_guy]

I think people are forgetting that this ISN’T a Mario kart 9 trailer, this is not showcasing Mario kart 9, this is not trying to. This is Nintendo saying “yeah you guys were right here’s the official look at the console now please talk about something else”, and the put a TEASER of Mario kart 9 to build up hype.

[eoghan]

But we’ll need to see more in order, but we’ll need to see MORE in order

[johannesabc]

Actually having 24-player races isn't a mere conjecture on your part!
If you look at 2:26 you'll see 24 starting points at the beginning of the track

[_NickyDoesThings_]

Honestly I like the way this game serves as a huge callback to the roots of Mario Kart. It reverts the characters to their more cartoony designs from the previous generations before even the GameCube was dropped. What sucks tho is it feels like people forgot that detail entirely. Donkey Kong used to have a design like this in the past but it was most noticeable with DK Jr. And yet people only coin it as a design from the movie. Nitpick aside tho, I'm glad the new game looks the way it does bc it feels like a middle ground of each generation. Designs from the SNES era, track designs from MK8DX, the coloration of MKWii, and I bet the innovation in the game will be similar to how unique the items were in Double Dash

[katt-the-pig]

That moment when you need an in-depth analysis to notice the visual upgrades. Granted, we were effectively seeing the game in windowed mode.

[Zinkolo]

I wish people would stop saying Donkey Kong looks like the movie design because he's clearly stylized after his classic appearances.

[Julio]

A lot of people are panicking at a first look that isn't even full screen. I think when this game is properly revealed it'll look great.

[HPRshredder]

From the thumbnail I was thinking “actually it does look a little better” until I realized the one I thought looked better was MK8 lol

[seanmcbay]

I kind expected more do to MK8 being almost 11 years old now. I’ll wait to see more before judging. MK8 looks phenomenal for how old it is now.

[Sonnavafitch]

I remember when MK8 came out for the Wii U and I was blown away by how good a Nintendo game could look, I hope the same goes for MK9 when we see the beautiful uncompressed gameplay on our Switch 2's!

[RogersBase]

AMAZED at how quickly you managed to crank this out. Well done, Brandon!