{"id":1207973,"date":"2026-02-21T00:25:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=601168"},"modified":"2026-02-21T00:25:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:25:54","slug":"turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8<\/a><\/em>\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so, racing in 200cc can sometimes feel egregiously punishing. There\u2019s a reason for that: Apparently, the number does not accurately represent the jump in speed that Mario Kart 8<\/em> really throws at you.<\/p>\n

As highlighted by the ever-great Supper Mario Broth<\/a>, players have crunched the numbers behind all the engine classes only to find that 200cc is a misnomer. If 200cc feels way faster than, say, 150cc, you aren’t imagining it. 200cc is apparently 38% faster than it should be, at least compared to the speed ratio established by slower modes. Here are a couple of graphs breaking it all down. The kicker? What\u2019s called 200cc is really 415cc, relatively speaking.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

If you have ever felt that 200cc in Mario Kart 8\/Deluxe is much faster than it should be, your suspicions are correct. Based on the formula followed by the other engine classes, the speed the game pretends is 200cc is actually 415cc instead. pic.twitter.com\/mHnEVoQy9M<\/a><\/p>\n

— Supper Mario Broth (@MarioBrothBlog) May 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

What makes this so funny, though, is that players have intuited that something was off since the release of the original Mario Kart 8<\/em> for Wii U, in 2014. For a decade now, the internet has been full of discussions where fans call 200cc \u201cridiculous<\/a>\u201d and \u201ctoo fast<\/a>,\u201d only to be met with responses telling them to get good at the game. Some people might commiserate, but it\u2019s also typical to see dismissive replies that tell complainers \u201cyou need to get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left with no other choice but to endure it, players will also typically share strategies for surviving 200cc. The most common suggestion? Learn to love braking, maybe even learn how to \u201cbrake drift<\/a>,\u201d which refers to the practice of slowing down slightly before boosting yourself. This way, players can manage corners more easily than they might at full speed. Fans also encourage one another to pick up lighter characters, which handle with more ease. <\/p>\n

So far, it\u2019s unclear if follow-up Mario Kart World<\/em><\/a> will include 200cc, or whether or not the mode will accurately represent the speed that the game is supposed to run at. For now, players are mostly celebrating that the woes of Mario Kart 8<\/em>\u2019s 200cc wasn\u2019t just in their heads. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very vindicating,\u201d reads the top reply to Supper Mario Broth\u2019s X post. \u201cAaaaaah I knew it!!!\u201d another exclaims.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so, racing in 200cc can sometimes feel egregiously punishing. There\u2019s a reason for that: Apparently, the number does not accurately represent the jump in speed that Mario Kart 8 really throws at you. As highlighted by the ever-great Supper Mario Broth, players have crunched the numbers behind all the engine classes only to find that 200cc is a misnomer. If 200cc feels way faster than, say, 150cc, you aren’t imagining it. 200cc is apparently 38% faster than it should be, at least compared to the speed ratio established by slower modes. Here are a couple…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1207974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1207973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nTurns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cropped-arcader-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":438,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Polygon\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/\",\"name\":\"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png\",\"caption\":\"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News","description":"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News","og_description":"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cropped-arcader-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade","datePublished":"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/"},"wordCount":438,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png","articleSection":["Polygon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/","name":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png","datePublished":"2026-02-21T00:25:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"The first time anyone jumps into Mario Kart 8\u2019s 200cc mode can be a shock. The engine class is meant to be the hardest challenge in the game, but even so,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade.png","caption":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/turns-out-mario-kart-8-has-been-gaslighting-everyone-for-a-decade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Turns out, Mario Kart 8 has been gaslighting everyone for a decade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1207973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1504598,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207973\/revisions\/1504598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1207974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1207973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1207973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1207973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}