Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX gets a major update in Japan, screens

21 April 2016 Lite_Agent Bandai-Namco, Japan, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX is the latest version of Mario Kart on Arcade, and it received a major update today in Japan. This update adds new content, new features, and more.

First, this update introduces two new circuits (which are not available in Grand Prix mode):

Pac-Man Stadium
Namco Circuit

Next, we have some new elements on the game screen:

photo frames were added to the right side of the screen, allowing players to easily see who is in front and/or behind them;
when you hit an opponent with an item, a big picture of them appear on the screen;
you now get a very visible warning any time someone has thrown an item at you.

Bandai-Namco also added a selection of recommended courses (6 of the 12 available in the game), ranked by difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard. Of course, all 12 courses (+ their mirrored version) are still available by pressing the Mario button. There’s also three Trial Karts.

Another addition: bonuses you can get if you chose to keep playing when you land on the Continue screen.

players with BaNa Passport: new special items such as Bowser’s shell, Triple Green Shells, and more;
players with BaNa Passport: you now get 50 Mario coins if you chose to keep playing.

There’s also various new modifications:

you can get a special kart (Lightning Champ) and 12 items (Red Shell, Green Shell, Banana, Hammer, Paper Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, POW Block, and more) when you register with a Bana Passport;
you can now jump by pressing the Mario button on the Arcade machine;
there’s now some Mario coins to collect during races (but it doesn’t look like they allow you to go faster, like in Mario Kart 7 / 8)
various changes (including a new default item configuration, removal of the Team Play mode, and more).

Here’s some screenshots for the update: