Wiggler

History:

As part of the natural Fauna of the Mushroom Kingdom, Wigglers for centuries have milled about in the Woods and Mountains, content to mind their own business, eating leaves until one day becoming a pupae and later a Flutter, and then die. They bear no ill will towards intruders to their habitat such as Mario, but do not wish to be disturbed by anyone, and if mad will turn bright red and attack. Some have been known to grow to enormous sizes and are really big obstacles everywhere.

One Wiggler in particular assembled enough electrical impulses to make a coherent thought and joined the Grand Prix in 2011. It even successfully managed two courses, one in its Mountain Home of Rock Rock, the other in its natural forest home of Maple Treeway. It continues to race with the bare minimum of communication skills, baffling drivers and spectators alike.

7:

All of the unlockable characters in Mario Kart 7 are fairly bizarre, but the inclusion of Wiggler the Caterpillar takes the cake. He's set at the Cruiser weight class, which ties his base stats with Donkey Kong and Rosalina. Yep. Donkey Kong, Wiggler, and Rosalina. You can't get a more random weight class for the sub-heavyweights.

In 7, each class has its own base stats. To this we have assigned a Kart to each racer as best we could. Each Kart modifies stats, as does each set of Wheels and each Glider. There is therefore an incredible amount of combinations, 5600 in all. We'll present one of those combos with our Dear Wiggler in the Bolt Buggy today:

We've put emphasis on three strengths at the complete expense of everything else - Land Speed, Weight, and Off-Road. Even its stability is shot. This combo has a very direct set of uses - going fast, knocking everyone else around, and plowing through any kind of obstacle while avoiding Sea and Air Travel at all costs. Its Mini-Turbo and Air-Handling actually end up decent, but this is a Bulldozer-kind of combination. It would excel on courses like Wuhu Loop, Rock Rock Mountain, Luigi's Mansion, and DK Pass.

There are two Wiggler Staff Ghosts in this game, as there is for every character. He first shows up on Rock Rock Mountain where he does a 02:35.105 using the Standard with Red Monster Wheels and the Super Glider. It's probably an homage to the Wiggler under the mountain in Tiny-Huge Island from Super Mario 64. It's a tough match but other Karts like the B Dasher, Koopa Clown, or even our own Bolt Buggy with Slick Wheels can beat its speed. The expert isn't all that better, but he goes a 02:19.149 using the same combination but with the Flower Glider, which increases his air handling, tho it's less necessary here unless you're after coins. Stick with a Glider that doesn't slow down that big jump and you'll be fine.

The other Ghost is on the Retro Maple Treeway, which makes a lot of sense, considering that there was and still is a pair of Gigantor Wigglers on the course. Somehow this is the longest course in the game, and the Normal Ghost goes 02:53.560 using the Standard Kart, Wood Tires, and Super Glider. The Wood Tires seem all too natural, but they offer no great speed advantage here, although the handling is helfpul. The Expert goes 02:34.877 in the Egg 1, Sponge Tires, and Flower Glider, which means his drifting becomes decent as well as his Air Handling, but nothing else is spectacular. Maple Treeway will fall through a combination of Speed, Acceleration, and Handling, slapping the Wood Tires on the B Dasher or Growlster may prove successful.

Mountain Tracks

History:

In the vast Northwest of the Mushroom Kingdom lay the Tall Tall Mountains, a place rarely traveled by the Mushroom Folk. It is full of dangerous enemies, steep cliffs, and enormous bouncy mushrooms that grow thousands of feet tall. Naturally as the stakes of the Grand Prix increased and more racers vied for their own signature tracks, newcomers were forced to stretch out into this harsh dominion.

Toadette, the power-hungry manipulator that she is, had long hidden in these mountains. It was no surprise then that she owned vast amounts of land to construct the Mushroom Gorge track, which she ran with an evil fungi fist. Lower in the Valley, Daisy established the Daisy Hills track with her own Mitt Romney-like personal wealth. Finally, higher in the mountains Wiggler, piecing together a rudimentary system of nerve impulses he used for a mind, converted his personal home into the Rock Rock Mountain. Along the same chain lay the Shy Guy Metal Mines, which these mysterious people had turned into a profitable business. With anti-gravity technology developed in 2014, the Shy Guys were able to convert this mine into another course, traveling up a previously inaccessible water fall

Wii:

Mushroom Gorge is a fairly simple loop. There are plenty of turns though none of them are that sharp. The greatest hazard here is the boost ramps and Bouncy Mushrooms, which without proper timing can disrupt even experienced drivers. The road also forks into two different paths on two different occasions, although in both cases sticking to the right is a faster option.

The staff ghost is Toadette with a time of 02:16.110 in the Quacker, while her expert goes 02:01.011 in the Mini-Beast. Neither of these vehicles takes advantage of Toadette's greatest strength, her offroad ability, so using just about anyone with good speed and moderate handling like Daisy or Rosalina can beat the pink toadie without a huge issue.

This track returns in 7, where the Ghost this time is Toad. The normal goes a 02:02.292 using the Cloud 9, Mushroom Wheels, and Parafoil, meaning that he'll have a decent mini-turbo and handling, although most of his other stats end up pretty average, especially his speed and acceleration, which is where you can beat him easily on this simple track. The Expert, though, pulls a 01:50.526 using the Pipe Frame, Monster Wheels, and Super Glider. This means Toad will have great offroad (useless here) and above average speed, but terrible handling. Counter that with some Roller or Wood wheels on something fast and you should succeed.

7:

There are two courses in 7 that seem to carry on this Mountain Theme that many Mario Kart Tracks have exhibited, mostly in DK Tracks. Daisy Hills is very reminiscent of Mushroom Gorge, from its steep inclines, wooden dock paths and large gaps.It's also in the Mushroom Cup again and provides the game's first big jump and introduction to the aerial driving that helps to define this game. Other than that, the course is wide, probably with more curves and boosts than a typical Mushroom Cup Track, but nothing intensely difficult.

The Staff Ghost here is Daisy on her eponymous course. She goes a 02:06.351 using the Royal Ribbon, Roller Wheels, and Peach Parasol, which gives her substantial boosts in just about everything except for both land and air speed. Those two crucial components are what can be used to beat her, because there isn't a great need for anything else on this course. The expert uses the same ride with the Sponge Wheels and Super Glider, which means she no longer has a disadvantage in the air and her mini-turbo becomes very good. Sticking with a strong land speed and moderate handling should be fine.

There is also Rock Rock Mountain in 7, which seems to lift directly some parts from Super Mario 64's Tall Tall Mountain. It is actually a relatively simple track with many straightaways, although some tough curves near the start. Rock Rock Mountain is actually the longest original track in the game, which is surprising for a track that closes the Flower Cup. It's also one of the most reliant on air speed. There are multiple big jumps, one of which is deadly - it is greatly beneficial if you survive, but getting hit will lead you to tumble to the path below while others whiz by. There is also a tough vertical track with boosts and rocks that is difficult to avoid, but mostly a straightaway.

The staff ghost is Wiggler at a 02:35.105 using the Standard with Red Monster Wheels and the Super Glider. It's a tough match but the speed can be beat easily by using something like the B Dasher or Bumble V with Wood Wheels and the same Glider. The expert isn't all that better, but he goes a 02:19.149 using the same combination but with the Flower Glider, which increases his air handling at the expense of speed. Stick with a Glider that doesn't slow down that big jump and you'll be fine.

8:

Shy Guy Falls closes out the Flower Cup and contains one of the more relentless vertical sections in the game. There are many tight turns where errors can lead to perilous cliff edges and of course, the eponymous water fall. Going up the falls is difficult if you miss the boost pads, but going down offers a speed increase like the river in Koopa Cape. After that there is an average-sized air section.

The Staff Ghost here is Shy Guy, of course, who goes 2:19.528 using the Flame Rider, Retro Off-Road Wheels, and the Super Glider. The Flame Rider is an excellent choice, but something with more anti-gravity handling such as the Sport Bike may be a good option. Shy Guy may be here because of his strong previous association with desert tracks, and Shy Guy Falls, despite its huge waterfall, seems like it's in some craggy desert canyon.

Diddy Kong

History:

Diddy is the nephew of Donkey Kong, though they aren't that different in age. Diddy's parents, Kong's brother and his wife, were killed by the Kremling Hordes shortly after Diddy was born. Therefore Diddy was raised mostly by Cranky and Wrinkly Kong along with Donkey, who matured a bit earlier. Diddy is still very much a young buck though and doesn't really own any tracks himself besides the Dino Dino Jungle, which due to its remote and dangerous location has never been very popular. He is still really a sidekick of Donkey Kong and hasn't really won that independence yet.

Double Dash:

Diddy appeared here as the default partner of Kong. Double Dash didn't place that much emphasis on Driver distinctions, more on Kart Differences. Characters only determined what Special Items they could use and ultimately what size Kart they could drive. Diddy is interesting because he's a Lightweight here while Kong is a Heavyweight, meaning that when partnered together they needed a Heavy Kart. In order for Diddy to drive his own Kart he needs to be paired with another Lightweight.

Diddy drives the Barrel Train, which stands out among Light Karts. It basically acts like a Heavy Kart, which is cool if you are in to that sort of thing. Unlike the Boo Pipes, though, which have the benefits of acting like a Light Kart while also being able to push people around, there is no real upside besides a greater ability to dodge hazards. In fact, the Barrel Train is the narrowest Vehicle in the game, which can be useful. It's also the heaviest Light Kart (12th Overall). Naturally it has the worst Acceleration of any Light Kart along with the Second-Highest Top Speed and a decent Offroad. It does have some of the best shocks and average turn speed. All in all it's okay if you're looking for a Light Kart with Speed, though it controls so stiffly you can't enjoy it that much.

Each Character in Double Dash has a personal Special Item. Diddy's is the same as Kong's - the Giant Banana. It's one of the better Items in the game for someone who likes to be in first, it creates a huge hazard for Racers coming from behind. Of course, if you're always the one in last place it's not going to help that much. Diddy is basically the Light Version of Donkey Kong, meaning he's great to be paired up with some other little guy with the Toad Kart, get in First Place early and dominate.

He is also the Secret Staff Ghost in two tracks. He leads on Dino Dino Jungle with DK in back in the Big Guy's DK Jumbo with a time of 2:00:908. For DK Mountain he switches with his Uncle in the same Kart with a time of 2:12:639.

Wii:

After missing DS Diddy returned in Wii. In this game each Character in three separate Size Classes each can drive up to Six Karts and Six Bikes. Naturally there are plenty of combinations. Diddy moved from a Lightweight to a Middleweight, although he's really not that much bigger physically. Each character also has their own Stat Bonuses to add to each Vehicle. Diddy gets a small Acceleration and Drift Bonus as well as a Mini Turbo Bonus tied with Birdo as the best among Middleweights. Therefore he's really pretty good for technical drivers on tricky courses that like to drift and boost a lot. Here are the Diddy-Specific stats:

The Classic Dragster best takes advantage of his bonuses, although he's also great in the Mach Bike. He's most associated with the Sugarscoot, which he can also be decent with. He only appears as a Staff Ghost in the Maple Treeway. It's actually a similar course to DK Mountain from Double Dash with the huge Barrel Cannon and it also takes place entirely on a system of trees. Diddy's Monkey Nature is perfectly suited for the association. The Normal Ghost pulls a 02:58.633 in the Classic Dragster, the Expert does 02:37.812 in the Sneakster.

Princess Daisy

History:

Daisy hails from the far-off Sarasaland where she rules with peace and justice, although she may hardly be found on her throne, instead she continually trounces off with her Mushroom Kingdom friends, leaving the actual Governance of Sarasaland to more capable people. She is more of a Figurehead than Princess Peach and her Royal Duties lessened, she has embarked on many Entrepreneurial Opportunities. Her biggest venture has been her Cruise Line, which jets across the wide Seas of Mushroom World and has made her independently wealthy. She recently used some of this money to purchase a spot of land on Isle Delfino opposite Peach Beach where she has made a very popular Seaside Racecourse.

Daisy has some interesting relationships among the other racers. As she was casual friends with Peach, seeing her at Mushroom World Leaders Conferences and so forth, it was only natural that she'd meet her beau Mario and be introduced to his brother, Luigi, which was a natural fit. Waluigi, however, also obsesses over her, although Wario's involvement in using the Alien Tatanga to attempt to conquer Sarasaland puts a strain on their relationship. Still, Daisy Circuit and Waluigi Stadium are the only Sunset Courses named after a character. Just sayin'.

Double Dash:

Daisy is a playable character from the outset of Double Dash and is Peach's default partner. She is identical to Peach in every way, but still makes for some interesting Partnerships. Like the Daisy/Bowser? What the hell is going on there? Anyway, Double Dash didn't put as much emphasis on the Drivers as it did on individual Karts. Drivers basically determined the Weight Class along with the Special Item while Karts determined the rest. Daisy drives the Bloom Coach, which is pretty decent.

The Bloom Coach has the best shocks and nearly the best Turn Speed of all the Middle Karts. It's also on the faster side at 57 mph. It also has the Best Acceleration of all Middle Karts although it's 8th over all. Its only issues is that it's also the lightest Middle Kart (14th over all) and its Offroad is terrible. Still, it's about as close to a Light Kart as a Middleweight is going to get, so that's worth something.

Daisy's Special Item is the Heart, which is pretty unique. It's purely defensive. Once activated, two Hearts will circle the Vehicle and pick up any item the Driver runs over. This includes Giant Bananas and Bowser Shells. It will however, also pick up Mushrooms and Stars lying on the track instead of instantly boosting from them. It's also tough because you'll only acquire the Item if neither racer has one already, otherwise a Heart is used but you get nothing. Except you don't spin out. So it's pretty good.

There were Secret Staff Ghosts in Double Dash. Daisy appears behind her partner Peach on Peach Beach with a time of 1:20:404 and then takes the lead on Daisy Cruiser at 1:52:207. Both utilize Peach's Heart Coach.

DS:

Daisy appears as an unlockable Character in DS. The major difference between characters here are their weights and Daisy adds 1 to each of her rides, tied with Peach in being in between the lightest characters and Mario and Luigi as Middleweights. DS featured an insistence on Karts rather than Drivers, although their weights still influenced who could push around who. Each Character initially had two Karts with another unlockable, but eventually any Character could use any Kart, which is staggering. The Stats for Daisy's Vehicles are as follows:

Her Karts naturally have excellent Drifting abilities and fair Speed and Acceleration but below-average Handling. Daisy has some interesting Ghosts in this game. Her Nitro Track is on Tick-Tock Clock at 1:54:903 in her Light Dancer. I really think they just ran out of Courses for Characters and so they stuck her here, she has no other connection to Tick-Tock Clock, a course based on a game she had no part of. She's also in the Retro Sky Garden from Super Circuit at 1:44:400 in the Power Flower. Again, she didn't appear in Super Circuit and has no real place in Sky Garden. Then again, that Track is weird enough that any connection to it is a bit strange. Really that could be a Paratroopa Course and nothing else.

Wii:

Wii compiled the DS idea of Kart-Specific Stats with the earlier ideas of Character-Specific Stats and debuted Six Karts and Six Bikes for each Size Class, each with different statistics along with Stat Bonuses that adjusted all of these for each Character. Daisy is actually one of the better Racers in the game. She gets +2 Handling and +3 Drift which are decent but she really flies with her +4 Speed Bonus, one of the highest in the game. The stats specifically tuned to her are as follows:

Her best ride is probably the Mach Bike or the B Dasher Mk 2, two Rides that really take advantage of her ability to Zoom. Wii also has some Staff Ghosts here that are a bit more fitting for her character. She races the Coconut Mall in 02:30.764 (wait...is that really a Shopping thing?) in the Sugarscoot and then her own Daisy Circuit with the Royal Racer in 01:56.822. The Expert Ghosts go 02:13.333 in the Wild Wing and 01:41.362 in the Mach Bike respectively.

Yoshi

History:

Yoshi Originated from Yoshi's Island, a part of Dinosaur Land discovered by Mushroom Kingdom Explorers in 1843. Yoshi's Island itself was not found until 1969 when a young Mario stumbled upon it during an early adventure. He found Yoshi there who knew no English but had a strong sense of loyalty and courage. Mario took Toshi as a pet and after Mushroom People introduced Shoes to the Island in 1975 the Yoshi Race warmly became an ally to them in the Wars Against the Dark Land. The Yoshis have no King or Leader but as Yoshi himself seems to be one of the only Dinosaurs who understands English, along with his strong relationship as a pet to Mario, an influential figure in the Court of the Mushroom Kingdom, he has emerged as their de facto Head of State.

Super:

Toasted, nicely toasted.

Yoshi was classified in SMK as "The Dino and the Lady" with stats identical to Princess Peach. He thus has comparable weight, this time in the Middle Class, along with very high acceleration, low speed and moderate handling. Yoshi's Kart History is a lot like Peach's actually. He has switched between Light and Medium Weight Classes as different games have called for it. The Rival Order for Yoshi, a system in SMK that determined who would finish where if Yoshi was in First Place was Koopa, DK Jr, Peach, Bowser, Mario, Toad, and Luigi. The Koopa rivalry may be some Reptile Feud. As a computer player Yoshi would sometimes throw Eggs, an ability human players did not have.

64:

Yoshi was again identical to Toad and Peach in this game. As a lightweight player he possessed great speed and acceleration but some sloppy handling and low weight, making him liable to getting knocked around. His signature course, Yoshi Valley, really had nothing to do with him but did feature a giant Egg. Which is cool. His kart was green. Yippee. Like Peach and Toad he's one of the better drivers in the game.

Super Circuit:

Super Circuit is one of the few games that really differentiated Yoshi. While Peach and Toad had great speed offset by very low weight, Yoshi only had slightly above average speed at the cost of being a bit bigger than the other two. This game also featured the Yoshi Desert, which would be the only Yoshi course ever not set someplace tropical.

Double Dash:

Double Dash wasn't focused so much on the Drivers as it was the Karts. Yoshi was bumped to a Middleweight here and his Kart, the Turbo Yoshi always kind of sucked. It has a low top speed for a Medium Kart, fair acceleration (10th Overall), but was very bouncy but with a tight turn speed. It's pretty heavy for a Medium Kart, only the Turbo Birdo is heavier, but it's Offroad speed was towards the bottom of the barrel. I think its biggest fault though was its width. It's just very difficult to dodge things, especially with its clunky handling.

This was of course also in the Birdo Era and she as Yoshi's strange girlfriend of some kind shared all the same stats and abilities save for the cosmetic difference that her Birdo Egg was pink. Yoshi's Green Egg was at equal times a good and poor Super Item. It was handy to get because it acted like a Red Shell and would seek out the Kart ahead. Upon hitting the Kart, it would break open revealing any number of items, sometimes a Star or a Mushroom. It's a double whammy to knock out the Driver ahead of you and then pick up the Star that falls out while you're in a high place. There was also the possibility though, that a shell, banana or even a Bob-omb would pop out, which is awful. Furthermore there's the possibility that the opponent hit would pick up the beneficial Item that popped out. Yoshi Egg is strange like that, it's always a risky Item, but also one of the only good ones to have when fighting for First Place from that Second or Third Position.

There are also Secret Staff Ghosts in Double Dash. Yoshi is in the Turbo Yoshi for both, first behind Birdo in Dry Dry Desert with a time of 1:50:755 and then with Birdo in tow during the Yoshi Circuit at 1:59:886. This continues Yoshi's Desert Association, although technically Birdo is the lead there.

DS:

DS gave each driver three individual Karts of varying statistics. The major difference between characters is weight, and Yoshi adds 0.5 to the weight of all his vehicles, making him bigger than Toad, Dry Bones, and Shy Guy but pretty lighter than Peach and Daisy. Generally each character has a Standard Kart with average stats, an exceptional Kart that has a weak Item Rating and a poorer Kart with an excellent Item Ranking perfect for the Grand Prix and Time Trials, where he or she starts with Three Mushrooms. Here are Yoshi's Stats:

As you can see, the Cucumber should be Yoshi's Grand Prix Kart and the Egg 1 should be used for Time Trials. It's also worth noting that like Peach again, Yoshi was downgraded to a Light Driver from his position as a Medium in Double Dash. He has quite a few Time Trial Ghosts with courses he's associated with. With the Egg 1 on Yoshi Falls he clocks in at 0:57:677, one of the shortest tracks in any Kart Game. There are Yoshi Ghosts on two Retro Tracks as well. Apparently he's the closest they could find for someone on Koopa Beach 2 from SMK, which is again a very short track at 0:54:847. He breaks from the Egg 1 to the Standard YS for the final Retro Track, the Yoshi Circuit from Double Dash at 1:48:793. Yosh is one of the only characters to have such a variety of tracks bear his name or association. They range from Deserts to Circuits to Jungles to deep Valleys, it's crazy how adaptable he is.

Wii:

In Wii each of the six available Karts and six available Bikes have their own very specific stats. Furthermore each Character adds certain bonuses to each Stat, making the game very unpredictable and customizable. Yoshi is back to being a Middleweight in this game and adds a bit of weight and drift to each of his rides, but a good amount of Offroad speed. After all, he's a wild animal, he belongs off the track. Here are the Yoshi-Specific Stats for each Vehicle in Wii:

Yoshi is most associated with the Classic Dragster, as it closely resembles his Cucumber from DS. He is also the promotional guy for the Turbo Blooper, though I can't figure out why. The Dragster is probably his best Kart. His Ghost rides in in Dry Dry Ruins in 02:30.949. The Dry Dry Ruins connection is there because it's the spiritual successor to both Dry Dry Desert and Toshi Desert. Yoshi also has a Ghost on the Retro Yoshi Falls in 01:16.461 with the Rapide. The Expert versions of these are 02:14.286 with the Nitrocycle and 01:09.175 with the Turbo Blooper respectively.