Fans have really taken to Nintnedo’s decision to expand Mario Kart 8 into “Super Smash Kart” with downloadable content. The announcement that Link would get a kart of his own was met with huge applause from the Mario Kart community. And the return of the B Dasher and Yoshi Circuit certainly revved up the franchise’s fans as well. But I think Nintendo’s next announcement might top them all. The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8 Pack, which will be available in November, will include “Excitebike Arena,” a course based on the NES edition of Excitebike.
Excitebike was famous for including one of the first track editors in gaming history and Nintendo will channel that spirit by randomizing the layout of Excitebike Arena with every race. Jumps, oil slicks, grass hazards… if you remember it from Excitebike, it’ll be included in Excitebike Arena. Check out the trailer above for a look at how the randomization will work.
In retrospect, mixing Mario Kart with Excitebike seems so obvious that a part of me is amazed that Nintendo never tried it before.
