How to unlock all characters in Mario Kart World
How to get all locked characters in Mario Kart World.
Knowing how to unlock every character in Mario Kart World will help you round out your racing roster.
There are multiple characters locked from the start in Mario Kart World, like King Boo, and you'll need to put in some work (ahem - racing) to unlock them all. It may take you a while though, there's a good number of characters to find amongst the Mario Kart World unlockables.
On that note, here's how to unlock all characters in Mario Kart World.
How to unlock all characters in Mario Kart World
Here's how to unlock every character in Mario Kart World:
| Character | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Mario | From start |
| Luigi | From start |
| Peach | From start |
| Yoshi | From start |
| Bowser | From start |
| Toad | From start |
| Toadette | From start |
| Koopa Troopa | From start |
| Wario | From start |
| Waluigi | From start |
| Baby Mario | From start |
| Baby Luigi | From start |
| Baby Peach | From start |
| Baby Daisy | From start |
| Baby Rosalina | From start |
| Pauline | From start |
| Shy Guy | From start |
| Donkey Kong | Complete Mushroom Cup |
| Daisy | Complete Flower Cup |
| Rosalina | Complete Star Cup |
| Lakitu | Complete Shell Cup |
| Birdo | Complete Banana Cup |
| King Boo | Complete Leaf Cup |
| Bowser Jr | Complete Lightning Cup |
| Cheep Cheep | From start |
| Cow | From start |
| Dry Bones | From start |
| Goomba | From start |
| Hammer Bro | From start |
| Monty Mole | From start |
| Nabbit | From start |
| Para-Biddybud | From start |
| Penguin | From start |
| Piranha Plant | From start |
| Pokey | From start |
| Sidestepper | From start |
| Snowman | From start |
| Stingby | From start |
| Wiggler | From start |
| Cataquack | Kamek Item in-race |
| Chargin' Chuck | Kamek Item in-race |
| Coin Coffer | Kamek Item in-race |
| Conkodor | Kamek Item in-race |
| Dolphin | Kamek Item in-race |
| Fish Bone | Kamek Item in-race |
| Peepa | Kamek Item in-race |
| Pianta | Kamek Item in-race |
| Rocky Wrench | Kamek Item in-race |
| Spike | Kamek Item in-race |
| Swoop | Kamek Item in-race |
As you can see Mario Kart World characters are unlocked using two different methods - completing Cups and the Kamek Item. The exact method you need to use for a character is tied to whether they're considered part of the main character list or the creature NPC list.
We've got an all Mario Kart World character list ready and waiting for you if you want to learn which character falls into which list.
Completing Cups
This method is as simple as it sounds - all you have to do is complete specific Cups to unlock new characters. Thanks to this, you'll unlock quite a few characters from naturally playing the game! It's a method which is primarily tied to the mainline characters.
Kamek Item
Despite what you might think, using the Kamek Item yourself won't transform you into a different character. Instead, it will cause Kamek to transform another races. That's right - if you want to unlock all of the characters in Mario Kart World, you have to hope an NPC or other player uses the Kamek item.
We've got a whole guide about the Kamek Item where you can learn more about the transformations. The basic rule, however, is that you'll have to wait until another player or an NPC uses the Kamek Item. You'll know when this happens because Kamek will fly out across the track and transform drivers! If you're lucky enough to be chosen, then you'll transform into one of the creature NPCs and, if you don't have this NPC, then it will be unlocked!
The Kamek Item can be found in Item Boxes and resembles a purple crystal ball as you can see in the screenshot below.
Best of luck unlocking all of the Mario Kart World characters! We've got a guide covering all of the Mario Kart World unlockables too.