If Zelda making its first appearance in Mario Kart wasn’t exciting enough, Nintendo sweetened the deal today. When Link (if that is his real name) arrives in Mario Kart 8 next month, the company said he’ll be bringing a new kart-friendly version of his trusty steed with him.
Nintendo (sort of) revealed the Zelda-themed ride today in a message from the Nintendo of America Twitter account. It’s called the “Master Cycle”, and while NOA only provided fans with a sketch, they promised it will have “plenty of horse power”.
The Master Cycle is part of the first DLC pack for #MK8 and has plenty of horse power. pic.twitter.com/FbrW7r977R
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 15, 2014
Har har har. Now if they’d just add the buddy system from Double Dash into Mario Kart 8 like they hinted they might, we’d have a regular horse-and-buggy! Ok, I’ll stop now I promise.
It’s worth noting that while Link’s new bike is only the second Zelda-related thing that Nintendo’s confirmed for Mario Kart 8, they have also left players with some big hints about similarly themed racetracks. Here’s the relevant section from Nintendo’s original announcement, emphasis added:
Each Add On Content pack will contain two new cups, each with four courses, which, in total, increases the number of available courses by 50 per cent. The Add On Content packs include classics like Wario’s Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii, as well as new courses, some taking place in the worlds of The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. New vehicles will also arrive with each pack, including the Blue Falcon kart representing the F-Zero franchise in the first AOC pack.
Mario Kart 8 Pack 1 – Released: November 2014
Pack 1 includes:
- 3 Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link
- 4 Vehicles
- 8 Courses
Players who pre-ordered the new DLC, meanwhile, see a Triforce icon every time they hop over to Mario Kart 8’s Grand Prix menu. I’m guessing some people will take that as a sign that there’s a Hyrulian cup incoming… meaning that Zelda fans might finally get a chance to revel in Nintendo’s self-referential glory the same way Yoshi believers have been able to for a while now by racing with Yoshi, on a Yoshi Bike, through Yoshi’s Valley.
Comments
15 responses to “Oh My Gosh, Nintendo Gave Link A Motorcycle”
8 tracks per pack is such great value – really looking forward to this!
Yeah I trust Nintendo to do DLC the right way
It is great value, just be advised that it is very likely that only one cup will have completely new tracks, while the other will be 4 “classic” tracks. That’s not bad either, though!
Yeah, as long as the older tracks are good ones. I kind of expected that.
The excitebike track will be interesting. There’s also confirmed at least one Zelda one and one Animal Crossing one. I don’t think we will get 4 Zelda tracks or 4 AC ones as that leaves the Excitebike one out in the cold unless they count it as a classic track. Which it could be, except from a different franchise.
yeah it is really great. doing it right.
Link cycle….. SOLD !
I guessed they would make an Epona bike :D, it looks way better than I imagined. It looks like the left side of the bike fork uses the Master Sword to hold it in place, shield is a nice touch too.
Still holding out for a complete edition.
I actually hope that this doesn’t happen, but rather that they keep adding stuff throughout the lifecycle of the game. I’ll happily part with 15 bucks every 6 months or so!
EPONABIKE
HORSEPOWER PUN
<3 Nintendo puns!
HYRULE CUP! God that would be heaven. Hyrule Castle/Surrounds and Kakariko….yes please.
Depends on what game they base it on. Kind of looks like Skyward Sword art in the title pic.
I’ve already paid for this, I don’t want to wait any longer to play it.
I can understand the wait though, I just want to finally be able to play as extra characters.
Though I want to play as Animal Crossing: New Leaf’s Isabel more than any other character. Seems just looks so cute & should be fun to play as.