The Bell Cup comes with the Animal Crossing pack. 'Bells' are the currency in Animal Crossing. Ironically, the Animal Crossing track isn't in the Bell Cup proper, but in the separate Crossing Cup.
The Sneeker, being a giant shoe that you ride in, is a reference to the Kuribo's Shoe.
Five of the Staff Ghosts make reference to the worlds in which the Koopalings were fought in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Morton is the Staff Ghost for Bone-Dry Dunes, the Desert Land.
Wendy is the Staff Ghost for Dolphin Shoals, the Water Land.
Iggy is the Staff Ghost for DS Tick-Tock Clock, a giant clock.
Lemmy is the Staff Ghost for GCN Sherbet Land, the Ice Land.
Ludwig is the Staff Ghost for 3DS Piranha Plant Slide, a Pipe Maze.
Why is GCN Baby Park entirely anti-gravity? Consider that you get a speed boost from bumping in such a section, it leads to only one conclusion: The course is Bumper Cars, an amusement park attraction!
Also, why is the course now slanted? It's because in Double Dash!!, Baby Park shared its music with the battle stage Tilt-a-Kart!
The box art◊ is apparently referencing Super Mario 3D World, featuring its playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach, and Rosalina) and Bowser.
The new Rainbow Road threw many for a loop. Think of it this way, though. N64 Rainbow Road has a mystical, enchanted, magical aesthetic to it, as does SNES Rainbow Road to a lesser extent. What's the logical way to differentiate a new Rainbow Road from that? Make it a constructed, man-made, spectator track.
Baby Rosalina's introduction. Confusion arises because Rosalina's implied to be canonically thousands of years old in the past games. However, who says that the time travel method that were used to bring the other baby characters to the present can't go that far out into the past, and that Baby Rosalina can't be taught to drive a go-kart/bike despite both probably not appearing at that place in time?
The problem with Baby Rosalina isn't Rosalina's age, or Baby Rosalina being able to drive. The problem is that her design contradicts Rosalina's design in her storybook, which had notably darker hair.
Metal Mario's animations are different from the real Mario's by how stiff and sort of robotic they are. In contrast, Pink Gold Peach has animations that are much more fluid than the real Peach's.
At the start of the second and third laps of Mute City, and the second and third segments of Big Blue, the racers get a speed boost at the finish line not there at the start of the race. If you were familiar with the F-Zero franchise, you'd remember that the second lap is when boosts are given. So basically, on the second lap, YOU GOT BOOST POWER!!!
Even more brilliant, when you finish Mute City and Big Blue, you are rewarded with the race results music from the original SNES version of F-Zero! However, that song only plays after you have completed all the courses in a cup. Well, placing Mute City as the last race in the Egg Cup, and Big Blue as the last race in the Bell Cup, makes the song incredibly fitting.
Why is Luigi suddenly looking so mad most of the time in this game? It's because there were no new Luigi tracks in Mario Kart 7 and absolutely no new or retro Luigi tracks in this game! (Not even in the original DLC!) To make things worse, Mario gets 3 tracks (counting Mario Kart Stadium), Wario gets 3, Shy Guy, the Dolphins, and even the Thwomps get their own track! No wonder the guy looks so upset. That being said, GCN Luigi's Mansion comes back as a retro battle map in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Why is Link so good at driving a kart? Ganondorf was able to use a computer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so it's possible that Link would know how to drive.
One of the rejected concept art Links for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a Link with a motorbike.◊ Given that the BoTW Link by around the time of his DLC was solidified into the one we got, it's possible that this Link is Biker Link repurposed. Heck maybe the concept art was what caused them to have Link be DLC in the first place. Link then eventually got a Bike DLC in Breath of the Wild, albit with a totally diffrent desgin aside from the "Motorcycle horse" theme. That said it's called the Master Cycle Zero, indicating it's likely some kind of prototype for the Master Cycle that appears in Mario Kart 8. THEN Even later, the Master Cycle Zero is added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe along with Botw Link as the new standard Link costume (his old look being relegated to an alternate). This has gone full circle.
Why doesn't GCN Luigi's Mansion use its old music (which it shared with the GCN version of Bowser's Castle), instead using a remix of Luigi's Mansion from Mario Kart DS? Because Twisted Mansion's music is already a remix of that song, and they don't want to reuse music!
Though that doesn't explain Sweet Sweet Kingdom and Dragon Palace use remixed versions of Sweet Sweet Canyon and Dragon Driftway respectively; and later DS Waluigi Pinball reusing the DS Wario Stadium arrangement verbatim.
The health strips on the F-Zero stages in 8 give you coins, since health isn't a factor in Mario Kart as it is in F-Zero. In several Mario games, coins give you health!
Each Cup in the Booster Course Pass has at least one track that correlates to their theme.
The Golden Dash Cup has Toad Circuit, which Toad is a Mushroom just like the Golden Dash Mushroom
The Lucky Cat Cup has Tokyo Blur and Ninja Hideaway, which are tracks with a Japanese theme.
The Turnip Cup has Kalimari Desert, in which a desert is a place you would find turnips growing there.
The Propeller Cup has Mushroom Gorge, which is a mushroom-themed track, just like the mushroom itself. Sky-High Sundae matches the propeller aspect of the power-up.
The Rock Cup has London Loop and Rock Rock Mountain, which feature rock music soundtracks.
The Moon Cup has 3DS Rainbow Road, which takes place all over space including a part of the track where racers drive on the moon.
The Fruit Cup has Yoshi's Island, which is themed after the game of the same name, as Yoshi is known for eating fruit. During the announcement of the track, it would also make sense for Birdo to be the character appearing as part of Wave 4, as her Mario Kart series debut has her being Yoshi's Partner.
The Boomerang Cup has DS Mario Circuit. It's a bit of a stretch but prior to its announcement in 8 Deluxe and Tour, it never appeared as a classic course previously, meaning that it came back after nearly eighteen years.
The Feather Cup has Tour Athens Dash, as Feathers are an incredibly common symbol in Greece, where Athens is located.
The Cherry Cup has Los Angeles Laps, which while a stretch, is located in California, one of the most major producers of cherries in the United States.
Every track in the Acorn Cup has at least one glider ramp, referencing the ability of the Super Acorn that's depicted in the cup. Additionally, the cup features Tour Rome Avanti, which as the name implies, is set in Rome, which features acorns as a common motif in it’s ancient architecture.
The Spiny Shell is an item that's mostly given to racers in last place. All four tracks in the Spiny Cup are the last in their respective games. Madrid Drive is the last city track made in Tour. Rosalina's Ice World is the part of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. Bowser's Castle 3 is the last Bowser's Castle track in Super Mario Kart. Rainbow Road is the last nitro track in Mario Kart Wii.
Why do the city tracks from Mario Kart Tour change routes with each lap? Because they're supposed to give you the feeling of exploring places such as Paris, Tokyo, New York, and Singapore like in real life. In other words; you are given a Tour of the city.
Gold Mario is the only unlockable character in Deluxe, which seems like a massive letdown. However, he's a reward for completing 200cc, which is a high-level achievement. There's also the Gold Standard kart, the Gold Tires and the Gold Glider, which are similarly achieved through different means (stars on 150 and Mirror, completed Time Trials and 5,000 coins, respectively), and were available in the original Wii U release. With Gold Mario's inclusion, he's simply the missing fourth piece, that being the gold driver.
The box art for◊ 8 is apparently referencing Super Mario 3D World. You have the main characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Rosalina, the playable characters, and Bowser, the main antagonist.
The new Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 threw many for a loop. Think of it this way, though. The retro Rainbow Road brought back from Mario Kart 64 has a mystical, enchanted, magical aesthetic to it. What's the logical way to differentiate a new Rainbow Road from that? Make it a constructed, man-made, spectator track.
Baby Rosalina's introduced in Mario Kart 8. Confusion arises because Rosalina's implied to be canonically thousands of years old in the past games. However, who says that the time travel method that were used to bring the other baby characters to the present can't go that far out into the past, and that Baby Rosalina can't be taught to drive a go-kart/bike despite both probably not appearing at that place in time?
The problem with Baby Rosalina isn't Rosalina's age, or Baby Rosalina being able to drive. The problem is that her design contradicts Rosalina's design in her storybook, which had notably darker hair.
Well, yeah. That was a drawing in a storybook, This is the real deal.
Metal Mario's animations are different from the real Mario's by how stiff and sort of robotic they are. In contrast, Pink Gold Peach has animations that are much more fluid than the real Peach's.
At the start of the second and third laps of Mute City, you'll get a speed boost not there at the start of the race. If one thinks back to any of the F-Zero games, they'll remember that the second lap is when boosts are given. So basically, on the second lap, YOU GOT BOOST POWER.
Even more brilliant, when you finish the Mute City race, you are rewarded with the race results music from the original SNES version of F-Zero! However, that song only plays after you have completed all the courses in a cup. Well, placing Mute City as the last race in the Egg Cup makes the song incredibly fitting.
Why is Luigi suddenly looking so mad most of the time in 8? It's because the last new Luigi track was the Luigi Circuit in Mario Kart Wii. There were no new Luigi tracks in Mario Kart 7note only retro Luigi tracks reappeared in 7: N64 Luigi Raceway and DS Luigi's Mansion and absolutely no new or retro Luigi tracks in Mario Kart 8! (Not even in the DLC!) To make things worse, Mario gets three tracks (MK Stadium counts), Wario gets 3, Shy Guy, the Dolphins, and even the Thwomps get their own track. No wonder the guy looks so upset.
Why is Link so good at driving a kart? Ganondorf used a computer in Super Smash Bros Brawl so it's natural that Link would know how to drive.
Alternately, Link's always been good at picking up how to use something new!
Why is Baby Mario used for the 150cc Staff Ghost for Yoshi’s Island? Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island has Yoshi escorting Baby Mario to reunite him with his brother, in which they both got separated at the beginning of the game.
Whenever Koopa Troopa is a playable character. The Koopa still has a chance to get a shell, think about it for a second...
Granted, by the time the first Mario Kart game came out, it had already been established in Super Mario World that, unlike real turtles, Koopa shells are detachable and their owners can survive without them. Though that still doesn't answer where all those empty shells come from...
Paper Mario 64 had a Koopa saying something about how he had his shell custom-made and shipped from somewhere else, so maybe Koopa shells aren't even part of their anatomy. Or they are, but these are fake.
When Mario stomps on a Koopa, it loses its shell and then Mario stomps the Koopa, leaving only the empty shell. After all these years of adventures of stomping Goombas and Koopas, they may have found a solution to all of the empty Koopa shells lying around. That's right. Let's throw around dead Koopas' shells as weapons!
You can throw/set Bob-Omb in Sunshine Airport. That's right. You can use explosives in an airport. That, and with its return through the Booster Course Pass, explosives can be used once again in Coconut Mall.
There is a bit of horror for Rosalina. After the races, Baby Rosalina gets to go home to her mother and if you know her backstory...
So you're racing, and after taking a break and going to the fridge for a soda/water/what-have-you, you pause and realize that there were babies in the race. Babies whom the other characters (even Mario!) are just as willing to hurl bullets, shells, and even bombs at as they are the adult racers.
It goes both ways: These babies are just as willing as the other racers.
Inklings from Splatoon appear to be playable in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. That makes it even worse to their own species to race on tracks with underwater sections, never mind tracks like Water Park or Dolphin Shoals where the vast majority of the track is underwater, since Inklings dissolve when contacted with water (although Inklings also appear in Super Mario Maker and can swim underwater, that's just Mario in a costume).
◊ is apparently referencing Super Mario 3D World, featuring its playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach, and Rosalina) and Bowser.
