Mario Kart 7 on 3DS is the reference portable kart racing. Hang gliders and underwater propellers for circuits in the air and oceans. Excellent online racing. Exhaustive content and flawless gameplay. Essential.
Your verdict
Category
Racing4 players3+
Description
Mario and his friends race against each other on item-filled circuits crossing land, sea and air in this first 3DS Mario Kart. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in December 2011. Glider flight and underwater driving, customisable karts, online races for up to eight players, new cups and circuits. Multilingual version.
Mario Kart 7 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
A single track now has to work across three registers of light. The ground section keeps the blunt colours of the series, the underwater dive shifts to a filtered blue crossed by shafts and bubbles, and the glider flight opens onto clear skies where the scenery reads from above. Add to that karts assembled part by part, every combination of which is genuinely visible on the model.
The orchestra here is a real band. Played brass, a proper drum kit, rhythm guitar and metal percussion give the tracks the colour of a stage ensemble rather than a synthesiser, and every course gets its own line-up, steel drums for the beaches, accordion for the back streets. The remakes of older courses keep the melody but change the instrumentation completely, turning nostalgia into an exercise in arrangement.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Drifting through corners, triggering a mini-turbo at the right instant and juggling your items make for driving that rewards immediately and never frustrates. The gliding and underwater additions enrich the tracks without weighing the handling down, and the balance between skill and chaos stays exemplary. A blend so well measured it still comes out for races among friends.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Gliding above the tracks, diving underwater and customising your kart part by part: this portable edition enriches the racing without losing any clarity. Items, drifting and shortcuts keep up a joyful chaos, especially wirelessly. Immediate, balanced and fiercely replayable, an ideal companion for impromptu duels anywhere.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Drifting to earn a mini-boost, grabbing a shell at just the right moment and defending your lead sustains a racing tension that replays endlessly, especially online. Customizing your kart, gliding and diving underwater refresh the tracks. The item balancing frustrates at times, but the instant fun and the multiplayer replayability remain intact.
Japanese Rev 2 is the final revision of Mario Kart 7 on the home market, with the full patch set integrated and used as the base for the last JP pressings. Documentary collector value: the edition closing the revision sequence in the complete chronology of the game's Japanese prints.
Better with friends
A colorful kart race for up to four, where drifts, gliding and underwater driving spice up tracks you soon know by heart. The fun swings between cunning driving and item chaos: shells and stars upend the order in a blink, for better and for fury. The infamous blue shell can frustrate, but it's also what triggers the laughter and the irresistible "let's run one more".
Is Mario Kart 7 still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2011 on 3DS, Nintendo and Retro Studios' project brings the festive racing to the handheld with remarkable success, adding gliding and underwater driving that open the tracks upward and downward. The kart customisation by parts, the return of classic and retro tracks and a smooth online play make for a generous formula. The immediate pleasure of the drift, the sense of the circuit and the multiplayer make it a safe bet of the racing party game. The item balance divides, as often. A benchmark of kart racing on 3DS, recommended for fans of arcade racing and of convivial play.
