During in the present day’s Mario Kart World Direct, we obtained a better have a look at numerous new tracks, options, and racers, together with Penguin. We’ve identified Penguin was within the recreation since its reveal final week, however in the present day’s Direct determined to function this blue cutie in a really meme-specific means…by repeatedly throwing him off cliffs.
This occurred not as soon as, however twice throughout the Direct, as followers have identified on social media. On one event, Penguin merely misjudges a curve and sails neatly off over an icy panorama:
Even Nintendo is intentionally dropping blue penguins off of icy ledges.#MarioKartWorld #MarioKartWorldDirect #Nintendo #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/0eMsUE24Jz
— Jonathan Leung (@VGMaps) April 17, 2025
But in a second, much more on the nostril transfer, a Penguin in Free Roam drives straight off a cliff into the ocean beneath whereas music from Super Mario 64 toodles away within the background:
29 years later and we nonetheless chucking penguins off of cliffs like in Mario 64#MarioKartWorld pic.twitter.com/7klPg5rZkM
— 🔥FireShadow64🔥(DROP THE PRICE) (@FireShadow64) April 17, 2025
If you are confused as to why that is noteworthy, permit me to attract your consideration to a long-standing neighborhood meme of Penguin from Super Mario 64. In Super Mario 64, gamers found years in the past that it was potential to gather a Power Star from Mother Penguin by returning Baby Penguin to her, then to take Baby Penguin after the star seems and take them away once more…and even drop them off a cliff:
This bit has been memed into fame for over a decade by the Mario neighborhood, so it is extraordinarily humorous to see Nintendo acknowledge it even when it is in a considerably refined, plausible-deniability type of means. Is this a horrendous factor to do? Society nonetheless hasn’t come down cleanly on one facet or one other of the Penguin-cliff debate. At least Mario Kart World provides Penguin a pleasant little water automobile to allow them to simply preserve going as soon as they’ve landed.
Today’s Mario Kart Nintendo Direct wasn’t precisely the font of recent info many had been hoping it will be, however we nonetheless obtained phrase on some fascinating new stuff: extra new characters, programs, objects, and options, in addition to a detailed look (courtesy of Penguin and others) of the brand new open world Free Roam mode, which is able to let gamers drive round anyplace on the earth with out restraint.
You can atone for every part introduced proper right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a narrative tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
