Anti-gravity
 | It has been suggested that this article be split intoAntigravity zone,Antigravity mode.Reason: The first of these is a kind of terrain in the game, the second of these is the state a kart enters while within the first. Splitting this page into these component pages would allow for more accurate categorization of these concepts. (As a general rule, we avoid using articles withCategory:Terms andCategory:Game mechanics when the concept of the article can be expressed in a way within the fiction) (discuss) |
Anti-gravity, also written asantigravity, is a mechanic exclusive toMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxerace courses. When drivers are in anti-gravity mode, they slightly hover above the ground and can drive on walls and upside-down, and theirtires turn sideways and glow blue; certain vehicles have blue glows and lights in other places, including the engine in some cases. Some vehicles will also change shape in anti-gravity mode, such as theKoopa Clown activating a pair of propellers and theStreetle’s wings opening. While in anti-gravity mode, drivers can receiveSpin Boosts by bumping into other drivers orSpin Boost Pillars.
Characters and vehicle parts have different top speed and handling stats in anti-gravity mode, which are not shown by the game. When in anti-gravity mode, the anti-gravity stats are used, regardless of whether or not the anti-gravity segment takes placeunderwater (such as inTwisted Mansion). However, even when anti-gravity is active, the vehicles' top speed and traction are still affected by off-road terrain and slippery surfaces.
Most courses featuring anti-gravity have designated sections in which it is activated that start withAntigravity Panels, though there are some courses set entirely in anti-gravity with all drivers already in anti-gravity mode at the start.Wild Woods uniquely starts in an anti-gravity section with all drivers already in anti-gravity mode but is not entirely set in anti-gravity. The first time a driver enters an anti-gravity section, they will audibly react to this, usually saying something related to the activation of anti-gravity mode.
In theMario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass,half-pipes take the appearance of Antigravity Panels and cause drivers who jump off of them to be in anti-gravity mode until they land (though they will still remain in anti-gravity mode afterward if they land in an anti-gravity section).
Every new course in the games exceptExcitebike Arena,Animal Crossing,Super Bell Subway, andYoshi's Island features anti-gravity (thoughSqueaky Clean Sprint only features anti-gravity from its half-pipe), withMute City,Big Blue, andSky-High Sundae entirely taking place in anti-gravity. Additionally, 27 classic courses feature anti-gravity (7 from theMario Kart 8 base game, 5 from its DLC, and 15 from theMario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass):
- GBA Mario Circuit
- N64 Toad's Turnpike
- 3DS DK Jungle
- DS Wario Stadium
- GCN Sherbet Land
- 3DS Piranha Plant Slide
- N64 Rainbow Road
- Wii Wario's Gold Mine
- GCN Baby Park (set entirely in anti-gravity)
- GBA Cheese Land
- 3DS Neo Bowser City
- GBA Ribbon Road
- GBA Boo Lake
- 3DS Rock Rock Mountain
- Wii Maple Treeway (only from the half-pipe)
- Merry Mountain
- 3DS Rainbow Road
- Wii DK Summit (only from the half-pipes)
- GCN Waluigi Stadium
- Tour Athens Dash (only from the half-pipes)
- Tour Los Angeles Laps (only from the half-pipe)
- Wii Koopa Cape
- Tour Vancouver Velocity (only fromCapilano Suspension Bridge)
- GCN DK Mountain (only from the half-pipes)
- 3DS Rosalina's Ice World (only from the half-pipes)
- SNES Bowser Castle 3
- Wii Rainbow Road (set entirely in anti-gravity)
Additionally, inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, thebattle coursesBattle Stadium andLunar Colony feature anti-gravity, with the latter being set entirely in anti-gravity.
InMario Kart Live: Home Circuit, the Koopa Clowns used byBowser Jr. and theKoopalings are permanently set in anti-gravity mode during races.
Anti-gravity does not return inMario Kart Tour. The feature is not inherently present inMario Kart World, though:
- Wall-riding mechanics are present which are comparable to anti-gravity.
- Some courses are designed with steep angles, albeit still with the direction of gravity always pointing downwards.
- Rainbow Road uniquely features sections that go perpendicular or upside-down compared to the rest of the course. In these sections, the camera angle and direction of gravity are always normal to the road surface, though kart physics are otherwise unchanged from normal.
InSuper Mario Maker, the Kart Mariocostume uses antigravity mode whenever itjumps.
InThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, a kart is shown having its anti-gravity feature tested before the the main characters and theKong army travel downRainbow Road. Rainbow Road has a number of inversions, andBowser's army jumps onto Rainbow Road in pursuit of the heroes, meaning there is an action sequence which calls for a number of characters to have their kart or bike use antigravity mode to proceed. There are no Antigravity Panels in the movie, so karts enter antigravity mode without using them. The karts and bikes that Bowser's army uses have red glows instead of blue when using anti-gravity.
Just afterMario's kart reaches the first 90 degree rotation in the first of a series of corkscrews, the kart emits a light siren before entering anti-gravity mode on its own. AKoopa Troopa's bike is seen in anti-gravity mode alongside two karts driven by Koopa Troopas that are not in anti-gravity mode on a non-inverted part of Rainbow Road.Princess Peach uses a touchscreen on her bike's dashboard to manually exit anti-gravity mode, allowing her to drop from an inverted portion of Rainbow Road in order to rescueToad from a fall. When in antigravity mode, the touchscreen has a concentric circle pattern, which shrinks and disappears after Peach presses it. After leaving Rainbow Road, Peach uses her bike's anti-gravity mode to hover across a body ofwater in theMushroom Kingdom, then up a steep cliff to quickly enterToad Town.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 反重力[?] Hanjūryoku | Antigravity | |
| Chinese | 反重力[?] Fǎnzhònglì(Mandarin) | Antigravity | |
| Dutch | Antizwaartekracht[?] | Antigravity | |
| French | Antigravité[?] | Antigravity | |
| German | Antigravitation[?] | Antigravity | |
| Italian | Antigravità[?] | Antigravity | |
| Korean | 반중력[?] Banjungnyeok | Antigravity | |
| Portuguese | Antigravidade[?] | Antigravity | |
| Russian | Антигравитация[?] Antigravitatsiya | Antigravity | |
| Spanish | Antigravedad[?] | Antigravity |
Notes[edit]
- Whiledrifting in anti-gravity mode, the blue glow will change to match the corresponding level ofMini-Turbo sparks present, which means it will become orange for a Super Mini-Turbo and purple for an Ultra Mini-Turbo.
- According toMario Kart 8 producerHideki Konno, the anti-gravity mechanic was inspired by the portion ofRainbow Road inMario Kart 7 set on themoon.[1] Fittingly, this part of the course would become an anti-gravity section upon its addition in theMario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, andLunar Colony also features anti-gravity on the moon.
References[edit]
- ^GamersPrey (May 1, 2014).Mario Kart 8 - Direct Presentation 30.04.2014 [HD] (02:03).YouTube. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
