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Mario Kart 8 gets release date and 7 new Koopa racers

The much-anticipated Wii-U racer is coming May 30 and includes 7 surprising new racers from the Koopa roster.

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The Mario Kart 8 roster just got a lot bigger; during today's Nintendo Direct, company president Satoru Iwata announced that all of the Koopalings would be playable racers in the game.

The hard-shelled Koopa creatures originally appeared as bosses leading up to Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3, and then they appeared again in Super Mario World. Since then, they back story has been changed from being King Koopa's children to just his minions--after all, Bowser, Jr. is the only legitmate heir to King Koopa's crown.

Their various sizes and abilities will likely give them a wide-range of individulal strengths and weakness. But you remember all seven? Named after famous rockstars, the Koopalings are:

  • Iggy
  • Morton
  • Lemmy
  • Ludwig
  • Roy
  • Wendy
  • Larry

Mario Kart 8 also got a solid release date on Wii U; you'll be able jump into the wide-range of gravity-defying vehicles on May 30.

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