Underwater driving

Underwater driving is a game mechanic in the Mario Kart series. It was first introduced in Mario Kart 7, and has appeared in all subsequent games in the series. When drivers are underwater, a small propeller pops out from the back of the kart, and some of the driver's statistics are changed.

Underwater driving is implemented on new courses, classic courses and battle courses. Various other mechanics such as anti-gravity and Jump Boosts also appear in underwater sections, though gliding is automatically canceled when entering the water. Various underwater enemies such as Cheep Cheeps and Sidesteppers can also be found in the water. Prior to the introduction of underwater driving, entering deep water will usually respawn or slow down the player. When the player is underwater, the music is slightly altered, though there are courses that have their own arrangements for underwater sections.

Although the mechanic was introduced in Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast features a similar mechanic, where the players could race underwater by riding on Enguarde the Swordfish or via their barrels. It is featured in Salty Sea, Shimmering Sea and Open Ocean.

In Super Mario Kart, if a driver goes into the water, they can drive underwater for about four seconds until Lakitu pulls them out. This allows them to potentially get back on the main course without the aid of Lakitu.

In-game statistics

Main article: Mario Kart 7 in-game statistics

In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, when driving underwater, the handling, speed and drifting of most drivers, karts and tires are different than usual. Karts such as the Biddybuggy will become faster underwater while karts such as the Gold Standard will be slowed down. The mechanic is not featured in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.

Courses with underwater segments

Courses with normally optional segments are marked with an asterisk (*).

DS Palm Shore is the only battle course to include underwater driving, while Dolphin Shoals is the only course to start underwater.

In Mario Kart Tour, SNES Vanilla Lake 2 and SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2 have unaccessible underwater areas. Both areas can only be entered by falling into them during Glider Challenges.^[1]