Dry Bones

History:

As Lord Bowser and his Major Domo, Kamek increasingly experimented with Dark Magic, they became obsessed with ideas of immortality. As Bowser encountered King Boo in the Boo Woods his interest turned not towards extending life but towards defeating Death. After countless Dark Magic trials on the innumerable Koopa Bodies robbed of life by Mario he perfected his skeletal fighting force - the Dry Bones. They aren't exactly zombified flesh-eaters but rather reanimated bones heavily resistant to heat and physical damage. In an effort to create a more loyal follower than Koopa or Paratroopa to race alongside him, Bowser invited the most worthy Dry Bones to race in the 2005 Grand Prix and he has been there ever since.

DS:

Dry Bones debuted as the only Lightweight Secret Character in DS. That game has an interesting system. Each Character slowly unlocks Three Signature Karts with varying stats - one average, one worse, but with a good Item Rating, and one that's excellent but with a low Item Rating. Eventually though, all Twelve Characters can access all 36 Karts, making for a crazy amount of combinations. Characters in different Karts don't change stats besides their initial Weight Class. Dry Bones adds nothing to the weight of any Kart, making him the Lightest in the game. Dry Bones' initial Kart Offerings are thus:

His Acceleration and Handling are among the best in the game. In fact, the Dry Bomber is the only Kart with a perfect 10 in both of those categories. His drift is slightly below average, but his speed is really awful. The Banisher has by far the Worst Speed in the Game. Still, the Dry Bomber is an excellent choice for anyone in Grand Prix.

Dry Bones' Ghosts in every game have only featured on Retro Tracks. features as a Staff Ghost on two Courses. He finishes the Donut Plains 1 with the Dry Bomber in 1:08:027, possibly alluding to his dryness. He's also in the 64 Banshee Boardwalk with the same ride in  2:14:403, a clear reference to his spookiness.

Wii:

Wii featured Three Size Classes who each had access to Six Karts and Six Bikes of varying stats. Each Individual Character also has his or her own Bonuses that add to certain stats. Dry Bones again has an Acceleration Bonus as well as a Drift Bonus but he really excels at Mini Turbo. His +6 is tied for the highest in the game and when using the Bullet Bike he ties with Koopa as the highest Mini Turbo Stat available. Here are his specific Stats:

The Bullet Bike is also the closet thing he has to a Signature Kart because its colour scheme fits Bullet Bill's actual colour scheme when Dry Bones uses it. You should use that Kart with Dry Bones for sure, it's one of the better Small Vehicles and Dry Bones makes it better. His Bonuses favour a very specific style of play, though, one that relies on managing tricky turns and corners with plenty of drifting and control. It can be advantages for complex courses in the hands of experienced racers.

His one Ghost appears in the Retro Desert Hills. Not only is it a course from his original Kart Game, DS, it's a very dry course. Dry Course? Dry Bones. It's all coming together. The Normal Ghost uses the Standard Bike S in 02:10.233, the Expert upgrades to the Tiny Titan in 01:52.686. That Kart only nominally takes advantage of Dry Bones' Bonuses. Switch to the Bullet Bike and take him down.

King Boo

History:

Centuries ago a Great King ruled over the Koopa Kingdom. He died in a Great War with the Mushroom Kingdom but his soul was unwilling to pass on. He became one of the Boos, and tho he forgot his past life he still contained great power within him and the other Boos tended to follow his lead. Now fearless and immortal, the King held up in Boo Woods eventually strengthening it as a Ghost Stronghold. He has a loose relationship with Lord Bowser, sometimes allying troops for a common cause but swearing no allegiance. He is also friendly with Petey Piranha, who seeks to become the King of All Piranha Plants like King Boo did with the Ghosts. Finally, he detests Luigi, mostly for his part in kidnapping the Boolossus, one of the King's loyal followers.

Double Dash:

King Boo first appeared in Luigi's Mansion and then made his first racing appearance in Double Dash a few years later. He's an Unlockable Character who partners up with Petey Piranha. The game focused more on Kart Differences rather than Driver Stats, although each Racer has his or her unique Special Item as well as a signature Kart. King Boo is a Heavyweight despite really being floaty and weightless, and drives the Boo Pipes, which is one of the Best Karts for Grand Prix in the game.

The Boo Pipes are the third heaviest Kart but otherwise act like a Light Vehicle. It has very fast Acceleration, 6th in the game overall and First by far for the Heavy Karts. It also has one of the Best Offroad Speeds in the game, again First among Heavies by far. It also has the Best Shocks in the game, meaning that it's not going to bounce around and lose speed on courses with tons of hills like DK Mountain or Waluigi Stadium. Its only faults is the relatively low top speed, at 56 mph it's the worst among Heavy Karts and fair inability to maintain speed through turns. In general though it's big and stable enough to catch a lot of speed early and not be completely wrecked while driving a Grand Prix. It has every feature of a Light Kart without the weight issues, which is far better than the Barrel Train, which is a Light Kart that acts Heavy.

Boo also has one of the best Specials - he gets a Random Item based on his position on the course. If you're in Last place you'll get Chain Chomps and Golden Mushrooms, First will get Giant Bananas and Bob-ombs and so on. This way Boo tends to be successful no matter where he is, meaning he's one of the better Racers for Grand Prix. He also takes up less screen space than Petey, meaning he's basically the Best Racer in the game. Pick Boo. As a Secret Character he has no Staff Ghosts.

Wii:

After a break and not appearing in DS, King Boo returns in Wii. This game featured Three different Size Classes of Eight Drivers each. All of these Racers then had access to Six Bikes and Six Karts each with varying stats. In addition each Character added certain Bonuses to each Stat, making for a dizzying number of possible combinations. King Boo is a Large Character again and gets a +5 Handling Bonus, which is beaten only by Baby Mario as well as a +3 Offroad Bonus. Here are King Boo's specific Stats:

King Boo doesn't really drive like a normal Large Character with High Speed or Mini Turbo. There are a few Vehicles that play to his strengths though. The Offroader and Wario Bike both offer high Handling and naturally, The Phantom works with him to take some sharp corners. He is also good with other Vehicles like the Flame Runner, though, because his high Handling counter-balances its originally awful Stat. In general though, King Boo is far from as dominantly awesome in Grand Prix as he was in Double Dash and there are some better choices out there.

He has a single Staff Ghost who calls the Retro Ghost Valley 2 from SMK home. The Normal Ghost goes 01:06.595 in the Standard Kart L while the Expert upgrades to the Spear in a blistering 00:58.907, which is the Fastest Ghost Time in the Game and the only one under Sixty Seconds.

Ghost Tracks

History:

The Mushroom Kingdom is full of strange Ghosts called Boos. It is thought that Boos originate from deceased souls who are unwilling to pass on. Once they become Boos though, the souls have no recognition of their past lives and instead form a unique race in itself, with a loose allegiance to their King, who very well may have been some Great Koopa who ruled centuries earlier. The Boos are powerful, as their souls are both Mushrooms and Koopas they have no exact allegiance to either side in the great war between the two races, although due to their naturally creepy appearance they tend to align themselves with the Koopa Hordes.

The Boo Woods are expansive and include many swamps and forests in addition to a few huge mansions that are now faded and decrepit. They were once some of the wealthiest areas of the Mushroom Kingdom but as the Boo Infestation grew and grew the Mansions became virtually unlivable. The wealth of the area is apparent due to the heavy number of lakes, piers and boardwalks that the Boos have converted to Race Tracks. They were once great fleets of Yachts and sailors that now lie in ruin and disrepair.

The Boos have always had an interest in racing though, and as uncontrollable as they are often do not stay in their seats during a race, instead floating around and laughing at the Drivers. They even allowed themselves to become Items before their leader, the King himself entered the Cups. Shortly after this, Luigi came into posession of a series of Derelict Mansions in the area. The Boos didn't take kindly to this, but they delighted in terrifying racers and generally screwing with everything, so King Boo allowed him to proceed.

Super:

The Infamous Ghost Valley 2

SMK featured Haunted Piers in the form of Ghost Valleys 1, 2 and 3. Ghost Tracks only appear in the Mushroom, Flower and Special Cups, and this game features a course in each. The tracks are notoriously difficult due to the sharp turns formed by the wooden planks and the fact that unlike tracks on solid land there is no Offroading - no room for error. It's actually so dark that it's not exactly clear if water exists in the lake bed anymore or if the Boos have just replaced it with an ever-growing darkness. All three of these tracks came back in Super Circuit which recreated the entirely of SMK although re-sorted its 5-Track/4-Cup system into a 4-Track/5-Cup system. Ghost Valley 2 also made a reappearance in Wii as a Retro Track. The Staff Ghost is King Boo, obviously, who raced a 01:06.595 in the Standard Kart L, but the Expert is an impressive 00:58.907 in the Torpedo.

64:

The penultimate track in 64 is Banshee Boardwalk, a course full of razor sharp turns, some long straightaways and a run-down shack full of Bats and graffiti, no doubt from some Mushroom Punk Kids hanging out on the wrong side of the harbour. It also features a giant Cheep Cheep that jumps over players, indicating that life in this part of the lake is actually sustainable. This track came back in the Retro Lightning Cup in DS. The Ghost is Dry Bones in the Dry Bomber with a time of 2:14:403. The Skeletal Koopa here is a bit more appropriate than his association with Donut Plains 1. With a good amount of bats and straightaways I might recommend a heavyweight here who isn't going to spin out as soon as there's a bit of danger. DK.

Super Circuit:

Boo Lake

The Ghost Trend continued in Super Circuit, adding Boo Lake as the second track in the Flower Cup, the same position as Ghost Valley 2, and Broken Pier in the Special Cup, tho not the penultimate track.Boo Lake is very similar to other Ghost Tracks, its got the wooden path, the mysterious Black Lake and a horizon full of twisted trees and run-down mansions, implying that it takes place indeed in the Boo Woods. Broken Pier is a bit more interesting. The track is wooden, but much less straight, full of all these jagged, crumbly turns. It's also clearly not in any woods but seems to be in a lake over some High Creepy Mountains. These definitely aren't the mountains of the DK Jungle, nor do they really look like the ones surrounding Grumble Volcano. It's all part of the mystery and creepiness that pervades these courses.

DS:

There are no original Ghost Tracks in Wii, nor any at all in Double Dash. DS has Luigi's Mansion though, which breaks with the "Haunted Dock" tradition but still features Boos and some swamplands. There isn't doubt that this track was created more from the Boo's Love of Racing rather than Luigi's Intervention. It's a relatively long track, even for being the closer of the Mushroom Cup. There are swampy muddy patches, walking trees, Boos and some long wide patches of raceway. Luigi is the Staff Ghost with the Streamliner at 1:59:357. A good Offroader is necessary, someone light who doesn't falter in the mud. Toad's Mushmellow is up.

This comes back in 7 with some jumps to incorporate the Air travel possibilities of the game along with some dangerous Boos popping our of walls but other than that it's very similar to DS. The Staff Ghost here again is Luigi. The Normal uses the Gherkin, Slim Wheels, and Super Glider in 02:09.982. The Gherkin is pretty awful and this shouldn't be a problem. The Expert, however, uses the Egg 1, Monster Tires, and Parafoil in 01:58.539 , which is much more potent considering both its land speed and off-road capabilities. Stick on the path and cut the corners quicker with anything that has better handling and get the win.

8:

Twisted Mansion is very similar to Luigi's Mansion, although much more of it takes place within the mansion rather than the grounds outside. Its entrace is actually most similar to Wii's Bowser's Castle, with its split carpeted paths that swirl up and down, though naturally here they are actually on the walls and provide the first of many anti-gravity sections here. The turns are brutal from there and involve a good amount of right angles in an ethereal water section where a giant wall of water is prevented from spilling into the rest of the mansion by some unholy force.

After that there is a brief air jump and then some Boos hidden in Statues that smash racers in the one section pretty similar to most of Luigi's Mansion. The Staff Ghost is Luigi, who is really the go-to creepy dude whenever a game doesn't have King Boo. He pulls a 2:16.195 using the Mach 8, Slim Tires, and and Super Glider. That's an exceptional combo, but will falter a little in anti-gravity and especially in water. Something like the Tri-Speeder may give you an edge during those underwater sections without sacrificing too much anti-gravity speed.

Luigi

History:

Luigi has always lived in the Shadow of his Older Brother, Mario. He has continually came in second, an afterthough, the afterbirth slithered out of his mother's filth. He should have been put in a glass jar on the mantlepiece. Instead through adventuring with his portly older brother he amassed an impressive coin collection of his own, eventually allowing him to purchase his own series of Circuits as well as surviving the property tax on the Boo Mansion he won in a rigged contest. He has always been bitter of his more popular brother and yet has always been a loyal partner, if not with a simmering seathy interior.

Super:

Luigi is statistically identical to his brother Mario in SMK. He's ranked as one of The Bros., with medium rankings in handling, acceleration, weight and speed. In the game's admittedly strange Rival System if Luigi finishes first the Rank Order will be Yoshi, Mario, Bowser, Koopa, Peach, DK Jr and Toad. Clearly there's a bit of a fight with Yoshi over Mario's affection. He's prone to getting Stars on the track so watch out for this little dude.

64/Super Circuit:

Characters were basically identical across 64 and Super Circuit with some minor exceptions. Luigi is no different, he's straight in the middle of both of these games, basically identical again to Mario. His Kart is green. That's really the only major difference between him and Mario, to give players a separate but equal choice in the middleweight category. And yet they couldn't make a Mario Game without Luigi right? Right? Oh crap.

Double Dash:

We were starting to wonder, L.

Luigi again ranks in the middle with his brother here and his weapon is only cosmetically different. Luigi wields the Green Fireball, which is actually really only useful if you're very close to an opponent. If you're in the middle of a course with no one around, it's actually a pretty useless item. This differs from something like the Super Mushroom or even a Giant Banana, which can do plenty when used anywhere.

The real highlight of Luigi though is his Kart, the Green Fire which is...pretty terrible. It's actually got one of the best speeds in the game at 58 mph, but loses all this on its turns. It has minimal bounce for a Medium Kart, although it's also one of the lightest Medium Karts. It's most crippling stat though is the acceleration - it's the second worst Accelerating Kart in the game, meaning you'll never see that great Top Speed. So it's basically a Medium Kart with a Light Weight and otherwise typical Heavy Stats, but with good steering. It's a weird combo that really doesn't work that well.

Double Dash had Secret Staff Ghosts for each track. Luigi drives with Mario riding along on the Luigi Circuit in a time of 1:26:277 and they flip-flop for the Mario Circuit in 1:41:384. Since no Secret Characters or Karts are used by the Staff Ghosts he's cruising in the Red Fire for both of these.

DS:

Luigi actually has two of the better Karts in DS, the Streamliner and the Poltergust 4000 (they really can't let that Mansion thing die, can they?). They've both got decent stats in every category except Drift. I might give the edge to the Streamliner, whose great Item stat makes up for its comparatively lower speed. Take a look:

Even his Standard isn't terrible. Luigi adds about 1.8 to the weight of all his Karts, making him tied with Mario as a Middleweight Driver. Luigi's Tracks by Staff Ghost include his eponymous Mansion with the Streamliner in 1:59:357 and two of his Luigi Circuits remade, both in the Poltergust 4000. The Double Dash version is in 1:29:759, the Super Circuit incarnation completes the race in 1:46:581.

Wii:

The Wii statistical categories are crazy. Any size class of the eight Small, Medium or Large Drivers have six Karts and six Bikes to choose from, which presents a staggering amount of possible combinations. Each character also gives each Kart a boost in some particular stats. Luigi, like his brother gives each Medium Vehicle a heavy 6-pt Weight Boost but unlike the added handling, acceleration and drift boosts, Luigi only adds a 2-pt Speed Increase, which again hints that he tends to be the Faster Brother. I wonder if Daisy minds. Anyway, here are Luigi's Stats for Every Vehicle:

Luigi doesn't have any signature vehicles in this game, but his speed and weight bonuses make him great in the Mach Bike or Wild Wing. His only Staff Ghost is for his own Luigi Circuit, the Normal Ghost uses the Bk Dasher Mk. 2 in 01:29.670, the expert uses the Mach Bike in 01:19.419.