The Checkpoint System

Obviously the developers did not want anybody skipping massive portions of a track, so they created an intricate checkpoint system. This is a map of the checkpoints belonging to the track Sherbet Land. The blue lines show normal checkpoints, which are used to help Lakitu decide where to place you. Those are unimportant for now. …

Lakitu

Lakitu is an entity in the Mario Kart universe that pulls your kart out of a hole, lava, and more. He plants you right near where you fell off, thus losing you a few seconds to the racers behind. However, sometimes, you can trick the game into putting you much farther than you should be, …

What is a TAS?

Well, the word TAS is an acronym for “Tool-Assisted Speedrun”. A speedrun means reaching a goal as fast as possible, so a TAS is a computer beating Mario Kart tracks as fast as it can. People using TAS can alter which buttons are being pressed at any given frame (every time the screen is updated), …

What is an Ultra Shortcut?

An Ultra Shortcut is not a normal Mario Kart shortcut. Normal Mario Kart shortcuts, such as a ramp slightly off the road, were put there by the developers and therefore are not considered “Ultra Shortcuts”. Ultra Shortcuts, however, were not intended by the developers and involve complicated tricks that result in a time save of …