Mario Kart World Is Bringing Back a Popular Guest Character (But Not How You’d Expect)

Over the last few weeks, Nintendo has revealed a lot of new information about Mario Kart World, including many of the playable racers that will be available. One thing that fans have definitely noticed is that the game has a glaring lack of guest characters from past games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe allowed players to choose from characters that originated in non-Mario games, including Link from the Legend of Zelda, the Inklings from Splatoon, plus Isabelle and Villager from Animal Crossing. At this time, none of these characters have been confirmed to return, but the game is bringing back one past guest, in a very peculiar way.

Prior to all of those characters appearing in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart DS added a surprising guest that hailed from the NES era. R.O.B. started life as an accessory for the system, with its name being an acronym for Robotic Operating Buddy. After decades not appearing anywhere else, Mario Kart DS marked R.O.B.’s triumphant return, and the character would go on to appear as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Mario Kart DS marked his one and only appearance in the Mario Kart games so far, but that’s about to change.

Many Mario Kart fans have wanted to see R.O.B.’s return, and it appears the character is back, in a fashion. Nintendo has revealed that a bike based on R.O.B. can be selected for use in Mario Kart World by another driver. The Robotic Operating Buddy actually looks pretty cool as a vehicle, with its outstretched arms now holding the bike’s front wheel in place. It’s a unique way to pay tribute to a past entry, even if it’s not exactly what Nintendo fans have been hoping to see.

It should be noted that just because R.O.B. is in Mario Kart World as a bike, it does not indicate that the character won’t be playable. In fact, Nintendo has revealed that Dolphin will be a playable character in the game, and there will also be a bike that resembles his appearance. This has led to one very funny picture of Dolphin riding a Dolphin-themed bike, so it’s possible we could end up seeing the same for R.O.B.

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With Mario Kart World set to be released on June 5th alongside Nintendo Switch 2, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out what the status will be in terms of guest characters. It’s possible Nintendo wants to focus more on the Mario family for this entry, and less on characters from the rest of its franchises, but there’s no way of knowing for sure. The game’s roster is looking pretty stacked with all the new racers and alternate costumes, but we’ll have to wait and see if favorites like R.O.B. and Link get to make a full comeback.

Do you plan on using the R.O.B. bike in Mario Kart World? Do you think the character will actually be playable in the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!