Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis getting the brand-new track Yoshi’s Island as part of wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass along with the return of Birdo as a playable character. This next wave of DLC was announced to be coming later in Spring 2023 during the recent Nintendo Direct, giving fans a taste of what’s to come for the future of the game. The Booster Course Pass has already been a great way to revisit nostalgic tracks from past entries in the series, but the addition of Yoshi’s Island givesMario Kart 8 Deluxea unique nostalgic flair while still being an entirely new course.
This course draws inspiration from the classic 1995 SNES titlesSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, which saw Yoshi set out on a quest to reunite Baby Mario with his brother Luigi after being kidnaped by Kamek. While there have already been many iconic tracks from classicMario Karttitles such as Mario Circuit 3, Kalamari Desert, and Coconut Mall that will appeal to many players' sense of nostalgia in theBooster Course Pass, there is something special about Yoshi’s Island that helps it stand out from these other courses. With its many references to the game it’s based on, Yoshi fans are sure to find this new track hits all the right nostalgic spots.
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The Yoshi’s Island Course is Chock Full of Callbacks
There are a lot of details included in this track that fans ofYoshi’s Islandwill notice from the trailer right off the bat. The familiar tune of the Athletic Theme from the original game opens the trailer with a new remixed version that sets the tone of the course as a mix of new meets classic. From there, the trailer showcases a host of classic recognizable characters that help establish the track as a love letter to fans of theSNES title.
As the camera pans around the track, enemies like Chain Chomps, Goonies, and Paratroopas can be seen, as well as the iconic Winged Cloud that Yoshi can throw eggs at to extract its contents in theYoshi’s Islandseries. As racers make their way around the course, off in the distance the massive blue Nep-Enut enemies can be seen with their large fangs and bushy eyebrows waiting to chomp on players who fall off the course. There are even some Huffin Puffins waddling alongside the track as racers pass by.
Aside from the iconic enemies shown throughout the course, the track as a whole seems to represent different levels from the originalYoshigame. The track starts with the rolling hills and autumn colors of the Make Eggs, Throw Eggs level of World 1 before moving on to the lush, water-filled jungle of the Nep-Enut’s Domain level of World 3. The course seems to finish by taking to the sky in reference to the cloud-lined levels of later Worlds inYoshi’s Island.
This new track as a whole seems to perfectly encapsulate every aspect ofYoshi’s Islandthat a fan could want in an homage to the classic SNES title. From references to enemies and levels to a remix of a classic stage theme, the nostalgic feel of this brand-new track should be the template for new tracks based on older titles in future DLC waves. With the variety of other retro titles from theMarioseries that could receive the same treatment, such asSarasaland fromSuper Mario Land, it’s possible future tracks for the Booster Course Pass could follow the trend started by Yoshi’s Island.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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