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.

Luigi Circuits

History:

There are several tracks named after Luigi, all appearing in the Mushroom Kingdom. The Track was first designed in 1957 to compete with the earlier Mario Circuit. Luigi was able to purchase rights to remodeling the course in 1989 after winning tremendous amounts of coins scattered around the Kingdom's areas as well as from being one of the only humans in a land full of Mushroom People. His political power at its peak yet still subservient to his out-of-shape brother, Mario, Luigi purchased the rights for his namesake track to be the Opener for the Mushroom Cup in almost all incarnations of Mario Kart.

64:

The prototype Luigi course is the first track in the Mushroom Cup of Mario Kart 64, a trend that continued for every Console Mario Kart game. Being the firs track, the composite Luigi Circuit is two wide curves connected by a long straightaway. There are also usually a shallow gradient, here the road dips as the Karts enter a Brick Tunnel. The only other outstanding feature is the hot air balloon that dips down with an additional item box, said to contain a precious Blue Shell. Luigi, being an average, all-around driver, excels at this course, although it would be difficult or anyone not to.

This track comes back as the initial Retro Track for Mart Kart 7. It remains virtually identical though, not incorporating any of the more recent play developments, although it's notable that it leads off the Retro Cups, perhaps providing a reason why the Original Tracks begin with a Toad Circuit. The Staff Ghost here, naturally, is Luigi. The Normal goes 02:04.317 using the Standard Kart, Slick Wheels, and Super Glider. That's a tough combo but with a friendly, straight track like this there are much better speed options. The Expert upgrades to the Pipe Frame and Parafoil while keeping the same wheels at 01:52.206. Again, there are much faster Karts available on such an straightforward course.

Super Circuit:

The Luigi Super Circuit Course really breaks with tradition. Not only is leading off the Lightning Cup instead of the Mushroom Cup (in the only game wherein the Lightning Cup is not a Bonus Cup), but it abandons its familiar shape for a twisty crazy path through an otherwise unremarkable locale. It's also one of the few Mario Kart courses to feature a weather pattern, it's always rainy on this Luigi Circuit. Is this a sign of Luigi's loneliness and discontent? Likely. It's also clearly bordering farmland, perhaps it has more in common with the Moo Moo Regions than it does with the Circuits that take place in the heart of the Mushroom Kingdom. This also came back as a Retro Course in DS, in which the Staff Ghost is Luigi in the Poltergust 4000 doing a 1:46:581.

Double Dash:

You can see that the GCN course preserved the same basic concept as the Original Luigi Raceway, although it has added boosts along the outside of the wide turns and the straightaway is shared by racers flying towards both ends, which may result in some mayhem. There are some sneaky shortcuts worth some double-item boxes, one of which is guarded by a Chain Chomp. You really get a feel for the Mushroom Kingdom here, with its idyllic plains, intriguing shroom-like architecture and pipe motif. Most Karts would do well in this level, but I'd tend to side with Karts that have a high Top Speed due to the straightaway and the fact that no special handling is necessary to take the wide turns. Luigi's NEW Mansion is also visible on the outskirts on this course. Perhaps Luigi builds his courses on his OWN land, a remarkable trait for his family. Double Dash had secret Staff Ghosts to unlock, this track features a Luigi/Mario Combo in the Red Fire cruising a time of 1:26:277. DS also featured this track in the Retro Circuit and Luigi by himself goes 1:29:759 in the Poltergust 4000.

DS:

There is no Luigi Circuit in DS, likely because Luigi took ownership of the much cooler Luigi's Mansion course. The Mushroom Cup leads off with the Figure-8 Circuit though which is in spirit exactly like the other Luigi Courses. It features only long straightaways and wide turns except instead of sharing the central straightaway it forms into the eponymous Figure-8 instead. It's actually surprising not more Luigi Circuits followed this pretty simple design. It has the slight hills as well. Actually this is exactly a Luigi Circuit in all but name and appearance of a Green-Capped Plumber. Still, its Ghost is Mario in the Standard MR pulling a 1:36:481.

Wii:

The Wii edition broke with the exact layout of the typical Luigi Circuit but it has the same idea. Wide Curves and lots of straightaways. It does retain a slight slope as well as plenty of boosters during its widest curve. It really only loses its symmetry. Luigi has erected a giant statue of himself on this course, surely a sign of his increasing jealousy and hostility towards his fatter yet more popular brother. This is again not a horribly difficult course for any particular driver. There's not a whole lot of Offroad action besides the jump shortcut that may be used for a little boost, and even the worst handling Karts should be able to take these turns. The Normal Ghost is Luigi in the B Dasher Mk 2 at 01:29.670 while the Expert goes 01:19.419 in the Mach Bike.