It was a thrilling day for Zelda and Mario Kart fans alike on November 13, 2014, the day that The Legend of Zelda DLC pack launched on Mario Kart 8. This introduced Link as a racer for the first time ever in the series, as well as the amazing Zelda-themed track, Hyrule Circuit.
We were all excited that day — a little too excited.
For those of us eager to play the new content as soon as it launched, fans worldwide all settled into their Friday evening with some Mario Kart 8. Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach were also included as additional characters, but the first thing everyone wanted to do was play as Link — which is why this happened.
If you played Mario Kart 8 online that day, chances were that you joined more than a few games where multiple Links completely dominated the track. There were spatterings of Tanooki Marios here and there, but I recall some matches where all 12 players chose the Hylian hero.
It was crazy, surreal, and absolutely hilarious seeing the same, green-clad lad across different vehicles, tearing up the track and battering each other. The audio was subjugated with simultaneous Link voice clips, and the same animations could be seen playing out everywhere you looked.
Of course, the Linkvasion wouldn’t last forever. After a few days, the hype toned down and most players returned to their former favorite racers. It was one of those rare, fleeting moments that only happen in online multiplayer games. Still, for a day or two, Link kicked Mario out of his own game, and there was something so funny about seeing a Mario game with almost all Mario characters removed.
When the upgraded port Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrived on Nintendo Switch, it included all of the previous DLC on the cartridge, with both Link and Hyrule Circuit available from the get-go. This was, of course, a great deal for Deluxe buyers, and while there are valid criticisms to be made regarding the business practices of downloadable content, this moment may not have happened had Nintendo not originally staggered the release of a playable Link on the original Wii U version of Mario Kart 8. That day, Zelda fans weren’t content with saving Hyrule; they decided to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, too.
Be sure to check out the rest of our articles from Super Mario Week, our weeklong celebration of Super Mario Bros.’ 35th anniversary!
