From Super NES to the Wii-U (pre-Nintendo Switch and post-Nintendo 3DS era), Mario Kart is known as one of the best racing games crated from the Super Mario franchise! Whether you’re a 90’s kid or a part of Generation-Z, we’re pretty sure you’ve played one of the installments of this awesome video game, and if you haven’t – PLAY IT! When Super Mario Kart first came out for the SNES back in the 90’s, it was rather challenging to stay on track – literally. Enter the Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart 64, and to this very day in 2018, it is still an instant classic among millennials such as ourselves.

Then when the GameCube made its debut, the Gameboy Advance made its appearance, and the introduction of the Nintendo DS (and 3DS), you got games like Mario Kart Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 7! (Don’t forget Mario Kart Wii and 8 for the Wii-U!) No matter what version or installment you’re playing, there are five things within this game that no player wants happening to them. So from us to you, we’re gonna highlight the five woes from the Mario Kart franchise you don’t want happening to you right before you cross the finish line.

5. Lightning Strike on the Final Lap!

Have you ever been so close to the finish line of a big race? Like say, a big race at 150cc (or 200cc if you’re playing Mario Kart 8)? Only to find yourself getting hit with a lightning bolt just 30 feet from the finish line, as Wario or Bowser bursts past you to claim the golden crown of 1st Place? Yep, we’ve been there.

4. Hit From Behind by a Red or Green Shell!

This is totally dodge-able in one of two ways; if you have a banana peel or banana peel combo item in your item box, keep it behind you and let the shells hit their mark. The other is to drive in front of another racer or try to out run it (them if there’s more than one shell after you) entirely. Red shells are heat-seekers while green shells are more ‘free-willed’, so if you got one chasing after you, better stock on bananas or mushrooms.

3. Slipping on a Banana Peel or Crashing into a Fake Item box!

Okay, this is also totally avoidable – unless the holder of the fake item box or banana peel is DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU!

2. Hit From Behind by an Invincibility Star Driver!

Ugh, nothing worse than hearing that all-too-familiar tune speeding towards you just before you cross the finish line…

1. Falling Prey to the Almighty Blue Shell…of Death!

This is a BIG deal to every fan and player of the Mario Kart franchise. There is nothing worse than being less than 30 feet away from the finish line in 1st Place, when the whooshing sound (or siren sound in MK64) of the Almighty Blue Shell, is heard in the background. Nothing will save you from its destructive wrath, as it targets the driver who is the head of the pack, and causes an explosion that covers a 20-foot radius. If you’re within that radius, then you’ll probably catch the explosion too! When it comes to the Blue Shell of Death, it’s better to be the one throwing it – than the one receiving it! That’ll do it for our filler post for now, but don’t worry, because we got more fun comin’ your way! Stick around! 🙂