However, Mario Kart 8 allows bikes and twelve players again. To add on to this, bikes, which were introduced in Mario Kart Wii, do not return in this game, but the player is still able to perform tricks. Unlike Mario Kart Wii, which allowed twelve players each race, the game returns to the traditional eight characters per race, due to storage size limitations. The game has the option to race in first-person view, meaning that the players can see the track up close for the first time through the character's own eyes, tilting the 3DS side to side to steer. There are only three retro battle arenas, unlike in Mario Kart Wii, where there are six battle arenas. Several courses from the past Mario Kart games return in the Retro Cups, including NES Rainbow Road, Wii Mushroom Gorge, GCN Daisy Cruiser, N64 Kalimari Desert, and GBA Bowser Castle 1. The game also introduces Retro Karts (Karts returning from the other Mario Kart games). The game also has kart customization options, allowing players to make custom Karts out of a set of pieces, but some of the pieces need to be unlocked first. This is the first time a character can go underwater. At specific points in the game, the karts will sprout either hang gliders and propellers, allowing for racing in the air and underwater.

Players now have the option of collecting Coins while racing, making a return after Mario Kart: Super Circuit. This game had many several radical changes to make it different from the previous Mario Kart games.

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