Peach

Don't let her cute looks fool you. Peach is as competitive as they come and strives to show you that whatever boys can do, girls can do better. Peach has tremendous acceleration and can out jump any character - two traits that help to keep her petite frame out of harm's way.

Toad

Toad packs quite a punch in his pintsized frame. As an ultra-fast Lightweight, with excellent handling abilities, he is very tough to beat among the lighter racers.

Yoshi

The heaviest of the Lightweights, Yoshi tends to be a little slower off the line, but he has no problem making up for it down the stretch. If there's one thing to be said about Yoshi, it's that he certainly has a nose for the road. Yoshi puts his whole body into turning the kart and can be seen leaning heavily on turns.

Peach, Yoshi, and Toad are most at home on very twisty courses where the lack of long straight-aways places an emphasis on their quick acceleration.

Mario

Neither too fast nor too slow, Mario is just right. The game's title character may not be as quick off the line as Toad or achieve Bowser's top-end speed, but he is a perfect blend of speed and agility. And although Mario is typically a friendly, peace-loving type of guy, he can definitely hold his own when it comes to playing bumper karts.

Luigi

Average speed and weight must run in the family because Luigi has the same build as his brother. That's where the similarities end, however. Luigi truly excelled in kart driving school and loves to show off his amazing skills. Be ready to tap the brakes to keep this power-sliding racer on the face track to the checkered flag.

Mario and Luigi are not only great characters for beginners to race with, but they are also perfect for off-road courses that feature wide hairpin turns, such as Sunset Wilds, Cheese Land, and Yoshi Desert.

D.K.

Whether you're scampering through the jungle in search of Bananas, or you're racing your kart down the Rainbow Road, Donkey Kong is hard to beat. This chest thumping driving ace might be slow off the start, but he has no problem taking tight turns at high speeds.

Wario

Wario takes the speed and handling of Donkey Kong and adds to it an element of brutishness not exhibited by the other racers. This bruiser rarely misses an opportunity to let his power be felt and will bump all but the largest opponents out of his way with the greatest of ease. This one character you should be sure to avoid.

Bowser

Bowser isn't just the overload of the Castle you'll be racing through, but he is the supreme Heavyweight on the track, as well. Guaranteed to be the last kart off the line, Bowser is capable of bowling over all of the other racers with his enormous stature. Nothing can stop this spiky monstrosity once he gets rolling down a straight-away.

The Heavyweights are great for racing on courses that feature long straight-aways and tight corners.