Mario Kart Arcade GP

Mario Kart Arcade GP, also known as Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, was a Grand Prix tournament.

Because Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 is virtually the same game as Mario Kart Arcade GP, only with the inclusion of more content, it's best to combine both events together.

History

This Grand Prix used cups named after several people, like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, etc.

The roster for this Grand Prix included a fair number of people from other worlds:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Pac-Man
• Waluigi
• Princess Peach
• Yoshi
• Blinky
• Mametchi
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Toad
• Wario
• Donkey Kong
• Bowser

Locations Visited

• Mario's Planet
  • DK Jungle
  • Mushroom Continent
    • Koopa Kingdom
      • Bowser's Castle
    • Diamond City
    • Stadium Arena
    • Sunshine Archipelago
      • Mario Beach
  • Rainbow Coaster
  • Yoshi Park
• Other territories
  • Pac-Land
    • Pac Labyrinth
    • Pac Mountain

Lore

Canonicity

The core question about the two Mario Kart Arcade games is whether it is canon or not. Following the rules of our Canon article, only games published by Nintendo are considered canon, and people claim there are sources stating the Mario Kart Arcade games to be published by NAMCO. And yet, following the sources claiming that it is published by NAMCO, none of these two sources claim the games to be published by the studio. In fact, nothing mentioning a publisher is even present. This is unlike Mario Kart Arcade GP DX and Mario Kart Arcade VR which do mention the publishers to be NAMCO, ultimately making those two games not canon.

Therefore, without a known publisher, it's best to rely on future canon games to reference this one. The Thundercloud item would later appear in Mario Kart Wii; the modern colors of the Mega Mushroom would appear in New Super Mario Bros.; and Mario Tokens, and the concept of character-based cups, would appear in Mario Kart Tour. It's safe to presume that both Mario Kart Arcade GP and 2 are canon to the Mario franchise.

Worldbuilding

Bananan Ruins has a statue of a banana peel with eyes and a mustache. Bananas were already praised by the Kong civilization, but this is the first time that a statue of a banana-like figure has been seen.

Diamond City appears as a track, complete with landmarks and iconography from WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!. This track also reveals Professor E. Gadd to have set up an item shop in the city, one of the items for sale being the Magic Paintbrush from Super Mario Sunshine. Another shop likely owned by E. Gadd is the "Star Cafe", the logo featuring a cream top very clearly resembling E. Gadd's hair. This is meant to reference the Starbeans Cafe from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The Diamond City track provides an interesting method of tying up a number of spin-off series together.

The appearance of characters from other franchises, such as Pac-Man and Mametchi, are answered inside the game itself. The announcer mentions that Rainbow Coaster has a warp hole to another world. The concept of otherwordly travel perfectly explains their appearance.

Mapping

The Mario Cup uses several iconography from Super Mario Sunshine, including the mountain meant to reference Isle Delfino's Corona Mountain. This track could be close to Isle Delfino for instance, specifically one of the other animal-shaped islands conjecturally referred to as the Sunshine Archipelago.

Character

Each racer has their own character item; a select amount of items that only certain racers can get out of Item Boxes. For example, Peach gets the frying pan, first seen in Super Mario RPG. In-game, she even uses it as a weapon.

Timeline

• WarioWare, Inc. appears, placing this game after WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!.
• Features F.L.U.D.D. nozzles, magic paintbrushes and a cup that takes place near Isle Delfino, suggesting this game takes place not long after Super Mario Sunshine.
• Professor E. Gadd has a Gadd Science, Inc. store in Diamond City here, as well as a Starbeans Coffee location, likely placing this game after Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
• Wario drives the Wario Car here.
• Baby Mario & Baby Luigi appear, placing this game after Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
• Bowser Jr. appears, placing this game after Super Mario Sunshine.
• Multiple Karts featured here resemble Karts from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, likely placing this game around the same time as both of those titles.
• Club Sugar appears with its old sign, placing this game before WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
• Princess Peach’s Frying Pan appears, placing this game after Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
• A blue virus appears, likely placing this game around the events of Dr. Mario Online Rx and Dr. Mario Express.
• Donkey Kong has Bongos as a special item in this game, placing it after Donkey Konga.
• Yoshi Cookies appear, likely placing this game after the events of Yoshi's Cookie.
• Features multiple characters from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, but only a portion of the cast is actually playable, perhaps suggesting this game takes place before it.
• Lakitu uses his race start lights from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 64, suggesting this game takes place prior to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
• This game is not counted as an official Mario Kart in-universe, possibly because it uses character-based cups instead of traditional Mario Kart cups. Perhaps it is considered by characters to be the same event as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
• A different Waluigi Stadium is featured to the one found in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii.
• A picture of Mario, Luigi, and Toad from Super Mario Bros. 2 appears in Yoshi Park, placing this title after that point.
• The DK Bongos appear as one of Donkey Kong’s special items in this title, placing it after the events of Donkey Konga and Donkey Konga 2.

See also

• Theory: Power Moons and Shine Sprites and Power Stars