The Legend of Zelda in Mario Kart X

Mario Kart 8 opened the gates for other franchises to join the kart racing madness, where the next Mario Kart game could explore this even further. This would mean more courses, vehicles parts, and characters from the existing guest franchises, while even more franchises get thrown into the mix. A key change for this "Mario Kart X" would be the return of special items for all characters, like in Double Dash!!, which allows to feature items from a variety of other franchises, next to the Mario Kart core items.

Now, since this is a Zelda blog, let's use The Legend of Zelda as an example of how things could get expanded for the franchise in the next Mario Kart game in all departments. We're bringing back everything that was already there in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, of course, but we'll add some more drivers, courses, and vehicle parts on top.

Drivers:

• Link (Skyward Sword) – Clawshot
• Link (Breath of the Wild) – Remote Bomb
• Zelda (Skyward Sword) – Goddess's Harp
  
• Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom) – Recall
  

Both Links from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would return here, but they would also be more different from each other thanks to the different special items. The classic Link would go with the Clawshot, which lets you easily get past an opponent in front of you. It may also be used to bring yourself back on track or to take shortcuts.

The Link from Breath of the Wild (and Tears of the Kingdom) on the other hand doesn't even know what a Hookshot is, so it makes sense for him to have something different. The Remote Bombs were already a good choice for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and they would work similar to the normal bombs from Mario Kart, but with the difference that you can detonate them yourself.

This time Link will also bring Princess Zelda with him, where she also could come in two different variants. The classic Link is mainly based on Skyward Sword and that Zelda would also work really well in Mario Kart with her outfit. She could even bring some music into this, which is something very traditional for the series, and play her lullaby on the Goddess's Harp to make nearby drivers fall asleep. Alternatively, we could see a Zelda from a different game, who has the Bow of Light as her special item. So, there are lots of possibilities here and this is just one.

Last but not least, we have the Zelda from the newest Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom. She could wear the Zonai dress for karts and her outfit from the beginning of the game / from Breath of the Wild for bikes. Her special item would be Recall, which acts defensively. You can use it on yourself to undo mistakes, like driving off the track. Or you can use it when you are about to get hit to send the incoming projectile back to its sender. Yes, this would even work with Blue Shells, but these special items tend to be stronger, so it's not something that you would get front-running.

While it's easy to imagine that both Zelda and Link would join the karting fun, Ganondorf on the other hand might come off as goofy and out-of-character. But if Nintendo wants to make him work, I'm sure that they could pull it off.

Courses:

• Wii U Hyrule Circuit
• Death Mountain Driftway
  
• Zora's River Ride
  
• Lost Woods Wrong Turns
  

The Hyrule Circuit from Mario Kart 8 would simply return and function as the basic circuit track for the Zelda franchise, which mainly covers Hyrule Field and Hyrule Castle. For the new courses we could be visiting other signature locations from the series, like Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, and the Lost Woods. All of these would be designed specifically for Mario Kart and not come from a certain Zelda game.

You would drive all around the treacherous terrain of Death Mountain and maybe this course could also take inspiration from the Goron Racetrack in Majora's Mask, where in the very least we should got lots of excited Gorons as spectators. And a part of the course should go right through Goron City.

The "Zora's River Ride" will be a sectioned course, like Big Blue, where you start at Zora's Domain and drive down the Zora's River all the way to Lake Hylia. It will be a different journey through Hyrule with lots of underwater gameplay.

Finally, the Lost Woods could become a course where you can take multiple pathways with some indication of what's the right one. If you take the wrong route, it will bring you back to the starting line. Now, this would probably become the meanest course in Mario Kart history, but we could also make it look similar to the Lost Woods in Ocarina of Time and turn this into Zelda's entry for the Battle Mode.

Vehicle Parts:

• Master Cycle
• Triforce Tires
• Hylian Kite
• Master Cycle Zero
• Ancient Tires
• Paraglider
• Sailcloth
• Zonai Sled
• Zonai Wheels
• Zonai Wing
  

Both Master Cycles and all their parts need to return, without a single doubt. In addition, the Sailcloth from Skyward Sword could serve as an excellent glider for the respective Zelda, where possibly they could also design a trike based on a Loftwing.

But they don't really have to invent something crazy like the Master Cycle again, because the Zonai Devices from Tears of the Kingdom were practically made for the vehicle customization system, which was introduced in Mario Kart 7. You could use a smaller version of the Big Wheels as wheels and make a glider based on the Wing, where this is already perfect.

A new kart could be something glued together with the Ultrahand, like a Sled with a Steering Stick in its middle and a light at the front. For underwater parts a Fan could appear in the back. It would be ugly and basic, but that's how vehicles built with the Ultrahand are meant to be and it's a good representation for Tears of the Kingdom.