The 10 Most Iconic Quotes In Mario Kart

Summary

• Hearing "Welcome to Mario Kart!" is like getting a golden ticket to chaos and family therapy sessions.
• Wario's "Cheater!" line is a hilarious embodiment of his narcissistic ego and spicy personality.
• 🎵 🎶🎷🦍🏄

You might not think of the Mario Kart series as particularly quotable at first glance. But be honest, you've found yourself with a few repeated voice lines incurably lodged in your brain at least a few times, right?

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Whether they're charming exclamations during tricks or victory celebrations you've heard just one too many times because your older sibling still refuses to tell you where that shortcut is, the quotes in the Mario Kart games have some rather unexpected staying power. Here are just a few of the most memorable.

10 "Welcome To Mario Kart!"

Admit It, You Just Heard This In Mario's Voice

Despite not being the first game in the series, Mario Kart 64 remains many players' first introduction to the cute and chaotic racing staple. So it's only natural that the first thing you hear when you boot up this Nintendo 64 icon will stick with you.

When you hear this bombastic line reading from former Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, you know you're in for a good time of explosive boost effects and ruined friendships on that big Wario Stadium ramp. It's an invitation to not just the game but to basically the whole series, and maybe family therapy.

9 "Cheater!"

Yes, That's What He's Saying

Perhaps more famous for being indecipherable than anything else, Wario's confirmation line when you pick him in Mario Kart 8 has bamboozled many a player for years now. But while you've likely heard other suggestions like "chicken" or a few unmentionable ideas (thanks, internet), "cheater" actually makes sense.

The prevailing theory here is that Wario's inflated ego is on full display, to the point where he'll flat-out call you a cheater for playing as him. Only this spicy Italian meatball could get away with such a magnificently narcissistic word of gratitude.

8 "Peachy!"

If You Can Taunt Using Your Own Name, You Might As Well

In between Wario's "here I go" and Mario's more socialist "let's-a-go," you'll definitely pick up Peach's voice cutting through as she inevitably passes you in Mario Kart 64. Considering her acceleration stat, it probably happened often.

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It might seem oddly self-absorbed to basically shout her own name in victory, but maybe it's a royalty thing. Hey, she spent all of Super Mario 64 just waiting for Mario with what must be a rapidly spoiling cake by the time it's over. She earned this.

7 "Aww, Everybody Cheated!"

The Sorest Loser This Side Of Washington

What do you do when the race doesn't go as planned? You could take the loss gracefully and congratulate the winners, or you could instead rant to yourself about it to the delight of players everywhere.

Waluigi's lament upon finishing low in the Mario Kart 8 rankings is a frankly hilarious departure from everyone else. The other racers will express dissatisfaction at their loss, but Waluigi takes it all with the grace and poise of an overzealous parent getting ejected from a preschool baseball game.

6 "I'm Using Tilt Controls!"

Request For Leniency Or Humblebrag? You'll Find Out In About 30 Seconds

A departure from the usual quotes you'd expect, this one is technically something said by actual players. The lobby for any given Mario Kart 8 online race will almost invariably be filled with racers spouting this line from the short list of phrases you can send out, like "Hello" and "I'll give it my best shot!"

It's actually a long-running meme, having been around since the game's original Wii U release. Players will spam the amusingly specific bit of text regardless of playstyle, all but eliminating its practicality and turning it into a fun and widespread inside joke that you probably still could never explain to your grandpa.

5 "High Up In The Sky!"

This One-Up Gal Was Worth The Wait

Introduced as a top-tier racer in the Mario Kart 8 Booster Pass, Pauline was one of many surprises in the shockingly substantial DLC expansion. Her return to mainline Mario games has been long-awaited, and she immediately charmed players with her mannerisms on the track.

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A big part of this is her recitation of bits from the Super Mario Odyssey hit song "Jump Up, Super Star!" while pulling off tricks and gliding. It's an immediately memorable moment and one likely to keep her as your main for countless races to come.

4 "Ha! Just Like A Princess!"

A Proper Princess Must Have No Mercy On The Track

As yet another addition in Mario Kart 8's Booster Pass, Peachette was a decidedly more controversial pick than Pauline. Some were totally cool with it, while others saw her as a low-effort inclusion that was basically just Peach again. But maybe Nintendo foresaw this reaction.

Peachette herself, who is canonically Toadette with a magical crown that makes her look like Peach, seems to be coyly talking directly to her critics when she finishes a race proclaiming "just like a princess!" If intentional, that's petty on an inspirational level.

3 "Yoshi!"

His Dialogue Writer Is Living The Dream

It turns out that if you repeat a single word often enough, it's hard to forget. Yoshi has gone through the games saying little but his own name for decades now, to the point where it's nearly more ingrained with the Mario series' identity than the hopefully dying out "damsel in distress" trope.

So of course that would extend to the Mario Kart games. Any given race just wouldn't feel right without hearing that variably-colored dinosaur continually uttering his own name. Honestly, Yoshi would feel right at home in the Pokemon universe, right up until he ate his trainer.

2 *Assorted Funky Kong Noises*

His Favorite Singer Is Probably Yellvis

Ask anyone who plays as Funky Kong why they do so, and they'll likely give you any number of reasons. But what they all usually come down to is just two words: "He's Funky." This rad ape is always down to party, even if he's the only one.

From his debut in Mario Kart Wii to modern online matches in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Funky Kong is the epitome of a racer you pick for his vibes. His energetic screaming at every jump, turn, and attack may be almost entirely incomprehensible elation, but that's why we love him.

1 "Hi, I'm Daisy!"

More Effective Than A Business Card, At Least

Considering how talkative and enthusiastic Princess Daisy is nowadays in the Mario games, it's kind of hilarious that one of her biggest impacts came from endless repetition of one line. This comes courtesy of Mario Kart: Double Dash on the Nintendo GameCube.

Every time you switch drivers during a race with Daisy, she yells out this quote. On top of that, she also adds it in as a computer racer when she passes you. The line was so oddly specific and eternally repeated that its meme status was inevitable. It's essentially the precursor to the "arrow in the knee" meme from Skyrim, so feel free to thank it or curse it as you see fit.

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