Sure, remote-controlled Super Mario Karts is something that seems like a no-brainer to any company that is making toys of the property. However, Jakks Pacific has gone beyond that simple concept and has made something that would have made the 10-year-old me lose my mind. Heck, it makes the early-30s me lose my mind: you can now buy Mario Karts that can drive up walls. You read that right — remote kart racing has just advanced to the y-axis and it couldn’t be more fun!
Let that soak in for a minute… yeah, I am serious that these things can climb up walls. I would love to say that my 2-year-old daughter was the one that was most excited about this, but I would be lying because I think I had her beat. So, while I am going to tell you a little bit about these babies, I have a couple of quick demos at the end of the article so you can see just what I mean. However, I am not sure just what I could tell you that is going to get you to buy these if “can drive on the walls” doesn’t do it for you; that is grounds for tough customer talk right there.
Then again, I completely understand the want for some Mario Karts that just look good sitting on the shelf to have a representation of the game (dubbed Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U). So, to that end, I have to say that the likeness of the two Mario Brothers is pretty on-model. They are not actual figures, more like hollow figurines, but they do look great. The karts look nice and iconic as well, but they are more of a “shell” than an actual fully realized kart. Since there are remote-controlled items, I don’t think there is a expectation for that, but since these have to climb up walls, they also have to be light to conquer the vertical. So, if you are just wanting to display these (for shame!), they will look nice as iconic representations of the karts.
Speaking of the karts, they are battery operated via a simple control pad. There are two “joysticks,” one for forward/backward movement and one for side-to-side movement. The controls are simple and easy to maneuver from straight driving to spinning doughnuts and everything in between. Since the karts need to remain light, they actually plug into a jack on the control pads to charge prior to driving. This process is simple and only takes about 30-45 minutes for a full charge, so it will not take you long to get started after installing the required four AA batteries. Since the batteries do need to support both the controls and karts, I wonder about the lifetime they will offer, but that goes for anything that needs battery power.
The karts switch from “off” to “floor mode” to “wall mode” for play. In floor mode, they operate just like any basic remote car, but when you switch to the wall mode, a little internal vacuum activates to hold the kart to the wall. You can hear it (and feel it if you place it to your hand) and it works really well. I have not had any instance of the kart falling off the wall while driving, and it doesn’t inhibit the drivability or even slow it down. I might be behind in the remote-controlled world, but I think these are really innovative, and I cannot think of one kid I know that would not marvel at the effect, I know mine is going to fight me for Luigi (her favorite color is green, but he’s still called “Green Mario”).
Okay, enough with the words, here is a floor and a wall demonstration. Sorry they are not Robokillah or canonball quality, but I just wanted to give a quick showing of what these guys can accomplish:
These are too much fun, and I really mean that. Any kid would love to have these, and I think they would make great party attractions too. This first series not only includes the featured Mario and Luigi, but Yoshi as well. I think this execution shows that Jakks is a very worthy master license-holder because we are getting a really diverse offering for a property that not only deserves it, but also languished for a long time prior to this year. I highly recommend these karts for the sheer fun factor, but they are nicely done as well. Oh, and they will make FANTASTIC holiday gifts. You can get them right now at Amazon.
*Thanks for checking these out and thanks to Jakks for sending these along for a feature!
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