4. Riki (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Considering the site you’re reading, did you really expect us to not vote for a character from Xenoblade Chronicles? This little guy has the cute character thing down and he’s from one of the most critically acclaimed games Nintendo has ever released. While Xenoblade Chronicles X may not be a direct sequel, I can think of no better way to promote it than by adding a character from its predecessor to Mario Kart 8 as a DLC racer.
3. Ness (Earthbound)
When a group of niche gamers and JRPG fans make a list of Nintendo characters, you can be sure that a character from Earthbound will make it. Even though he’s just a silent protagonist, Ness is beloved enough that fans want to race as him. While Nintendo of America has only released one game in the series, the Mother franchise is actually fairly popular in Japan, and they’re the ones making the decision on who gets to be DLC and who doesn’t, so all hope is not lost.
2. Captain Falcon (F-Zero series)
Mario, Luigi, Peach, and the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom may have been kart racing since the SNES days, but they aren’t the only ones with racing experience. Our next entry on the list has been racing for a long time as well, and has actually starred in a few games of his own. Captain Falcon is a prolific Grand Prix racer from Nintendo’s other racing series, F-Zero, and would seem to be a natural fit as a playable character in a Mario Kart game. I’m sure fans would love to see him facing off against the regulars to determine which series has the best racer.
