Chapter 1 - Driving Tips

Your first decision when starting Mario Kart Wii will be your control scheme. Nintendo has included a Wii Wheel with each game; just attach your Wiimote to the wheel and you’ll be driving with motion control in no time. But you can opt for the Wiimote and nunchuk combination if holding the Wii Wheel isn’t your thing. And if you’d rather go old-school, you can drive your chosen kart or bike with a classic controller or Gamecube controller.

Make your selection based on personal preference and how you perform with the particular controller. Sure, the Wii Wheel will be a hit with the family but it may not be the best choice for you when attempting online matches. Then again, if this is one of your first Mario Kart experiences, the Wii Wheel may be exactly the controller you’ve been waiting for. Note that racers that use the Wii Wheel a majority of the time receive a special golden wheel next to their character online-extra incentive to go with motion control!

This section provides some general driving strategies. We begin at the starting line with the rocket start and continue through drifting turns, tricking off ramps, and using items on the push to the finish line.

The Rocket Start

Your racing success starts as early as the starting line! Watch the countdown. The "2" appears as if it comes from behind your screen. When that animation stops and the "2" is in the middle of the screen, press the accelerator. If timed correctly, your kart or bike will receive a big boost at the start and will accelerate to top speed quickly.

If you hit the accelerator before the countdown finishes and miss the rocket start, your kart or bike suffers a burnout and will start much slower than the other racers. With practice you should be able to perform the rocket start on every single race. You can also use the countdown "beep" as timing; press the accelerator after the "2" beeps and perform the rocket start.

Drifting, Mini-Turbo, and Super Mini-Turbo

Being a top racer means mastering the art of drifting and activating and using mini-turbos. Drifting is essentially powersliding around turns and corners. Not only does successful drifting activate mini-turbos, but drifting also helps maintain your speed around tough corners and turns.

If you’ve played a previous Mario Kart game, you should already know about drifting.

Although you can select automatic drifting, you won’t receive the mini-turbo benefit so if you want to improve your skills, start with manual drafting and learn how to mini-turbo with the best of them. As you drift around a corner, your kart or bike will begin to emit blue sparks. When this happens, you can release the drift button and your ride receives a speed boost called a mini-turbo. Karts offer a slight benefit over bikes in that the drifting karts can actually reach orange sparks. Hold a drift until you receive the blue sparks then keep holding-the kart will emit orange sparks, which provides a larger mini-turbo speed boost.

Generally your goal when approaching a turn should be attacking the corner by taking a tight line on the inside edge. Perform a drift as you turn the kart or bike around the corner. When you activate the mini-turbo and have your kart or bike lined to the next section of track-the quickest line, don’t continue to drift and oversteer-then release the drift button and activate the mini-turbo boost. On longer turns, hold a karts’ drift until you activate the orange sparks and its super mini-turbo

Karts have the ability to emit orange sparks during drifts for the super mini-turbo but what about bikes? The new Mario Kart Wii bikes have their own unique speed boost: wheelies. Perform a wheelie during a track’s straight section, and ideally where there are few racers near you, because holding a wheelie limits the bike’s turning ability and makes the bike vulnerable to being knocked around by other racers. Practice popping wheelies because it’ll pay off when you venture online and need all the speed you can get!

Remember that Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder with that lesson on drafting? You don’t? Well, anyhow the same can be done in Mario Kart Wii. Get close behind another racer and you’ll note the visual effect surrounding your vehicle. A few seconds later and you gain a speed boost. Just be on the lookout for power-up items dropped in your lap by the racer you’re drafting!