Coins are scattered across race tracks and Free Roam’s wide-open expanse in Mario Kart World, but you may be wondering what they do exactly. We’re here to provide the answer!
From Single Player to Multiplayer or whether it be Grand Prix, Knockout Tour, Battle or any other mode, the competitive bonus to the coins that you pocket in Mario Kart World is that they increase your driver’s speed.
While you’re free to collect as many coins as you like, your driver can “carry” up to 20 coins at once – a single coin will minimally increase their speed, whereas having 20 coins will grant you the greatest benefit. Taking damage from rival competitors or hazards will see you lose coins, but you can collect more to restore your hoard.
Wherever you collect coins in the game, an invisible counter will accumulate how many you have collected in total. The reward for this is that you unlock additional vehicles by gathering up coins.
In our early time with Mario Kart World, we’ve found that you unlock an additional vehicle for every 100 coins that you gather. After hoarding coins to reach each milestone we added the Lobster Roller (200 coins), Li’l Dumpy (300 coins), Big Horn (400 coins), Pipe Frame (500 coins), Fin Twin (600 coins), the instant-favourite R.O.B. H.O.G. (700 coins) and Buggybud (800 coins), for example. We don’t know if the vehicles unlock in a randomised order, or if it will be the same for every player.
What’s the best way to collect coins in Mario Kart World, I hear you ask? Free Roam seems to be your best option. There are large stacks of coins placed in plain sight, but in often hard-to-reach places. You can even see these in the overhead view in the bottom-right corner of your screen, and, as you are hunting around for them, you can collect.
In any other mode, aside from those that litter the tracks, the new Question Block and Coin Shell items can also help you rack up your coin counter. While the returning Coin item grants you two coins, the Question Block produces coins every time that you hammer the L Button. Whereas the shiny Coin Shell packs some punch, crashing into drivers as it moves along the course in front of you while leaving a trail of coins behind it in the path that it weaves.
Mario Kart World is now available at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide.
