Its hard to believe that its been 15 years since Mario Kart 7 was released on the Nintendo 3DS. Mario Kart 7 was the sequel to the critically acclaimed Mario Kart Wii game which came out a few years prior in 2008. Mario Kart 7 is a game that should have been on the Wii console mainly because the quality of the Nintendo 3DS was inferior. The Nintendo 3DS was a massive commercial success in retailers around the world but having a major Mario Kart entry on that game system felt unnecessary. It should also be noted that Mario Kart 7 felt more like a spin-off than a mainline entry in the series. Despite, what critics have said about Mario Kart 7 over the years people found the game enjoyable and liked the new gameplay features Nintendo had added to the racing mechanics. Mario Kart 7 was the first entry within its series that included hand-gliding in races along with the ability for players to drive underwater. Mario Kart 7 had eight base characters like Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser along with nine unlockable ones including Metal Mario, Wiggler, Honey Queen and Lakitu. Aside, from the Grand Prix the main gameplay mode that ended up being the biggest attraction for Mario Kart 7 was the online gameplay mode which supported up to eight different players.

One of the biggest complaints about Mario Kart 7 was the lack of local multiplayer game modes. Overall, Mario Kart 7 felt like a step backwards in some ways compared to what came before it especially in the case of games like Mario Kart: Double Dash and Mario Kart Wii. Mario Kart: Double Dash was more creative because it featured a dual co-op player dynamic during races. Mario Kart Wii felt more immersive because of the Wii console’s accessories. There are many who believe that Mario Kart 7 should have been a bigger deal than it ended up being. Mario Kart 7 did manage to become a commercial success reaching over 18 million copies in sales. Despite, its success Mario Kart 7 ended up selling significantly less than Mario Kart Wii which reached over 37 million copies in worldwide sales. Mario Kart 7 is also something that many people forget about due to the massive success of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii-U console. While Mario Kart 8 only sold around 8.4 million copies on the Wii-U the Deluxe version on the Switch console sold more than 71 million copies worldwide. Mario Kart 7 is game that could have ended up being more memorable if were released on the Wii-U instead of the Nintendo 3DS. Even though, Mario Kart 7 is forgettable in many people’s eyes its still one of the most popular games to come out of the Nintendo 3DS era.