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Power Ups
Along with boosting, a pivotal trick to staying ahead in Mario Kart Wii will be your use of, and defense against, power-ups. These are picked up by driving into the power-up blocks scattered throughout the tracks, at which point a rotating slot machine will randomly assign one to you when it has stopped spinning (note that you can speed this process up by hitting the power-up button mid-spin).
In the interest of balancing out races, better weapons tend to favour those at the back of the pack however, so be wary when hovering towards the front. If you find yourself in first place and nab yourself a banana skin or a shell power-up, it's often wise to keep hold of it for defence purposes. It'll provide a basic means of protection against the onslaught of projectiles that'll shortly head your way as the race leader.
Pressing left on the D-pad (or back on the analog in tandem with the item button on a controller) will dangle such power-ups behind you as a shield while you drive, and as long as you keep said button held down, you'll be protected from most basic incoming attacks.
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You can even pick up a second power-up when trailing items in this manner - a sneaky means of essentially wielding two power-ups at once.
The various power-ups available in Mario Kart Wii are as follows:
Banana Skin
Can be dropped directly behind or lobbed far in front and will cause anyone who drives over them to spin out. It's a simple, easy-to-use weapon, and perfect for setting traps in tighter, more confined areas. It comes in both single and triple packs, the latter of which can prove particularly useful if fired off in quick succession while moving diagonally across the width of a track. (Note: Banana Skins can be used with the dangling defence technique mentioned above.)
Green Shell
An iconic weapon for the Mario series that can similarly be fired both in front and behind. It too comes in single and triple variants, the latter encircling you while they await firing, providing a pleasing barrier of sorts against incoming projectiles and enemies foolish enough to try ramming you. The green shell won't home in on enemies however, so be sure to aim your shots carefully before firing. Note: Green shells can be used with the dangling technique mentioned above.
Red Shell
A more deadly twist on the green shell, its rouge-tinted sibling has the added benefit of heat seeking into enemies and taking them out automatically, although firing it backwards tends to oddly remove this ability. It too comes in triple varieties, which can prove particularly devastating when it comes to clearing house. Note: Red shells can be used with the dangling technique mentioned above.
Blue Shell
The blue is a rare, but far more powerful, weapon typically endowed to those at the rear of the pack. On firing, it'll fly directly into the air and seek out the racer in first position, exploding on impact and taking them, and indeed all nearby racers out with devastating effect. Great news if you happen to snag one. Bad news if you're on the receiving end.
The warning siren of an incoming blue shell can easily destroy your race if you're out in front, but if you play your cards right it needn't be quite so painful. If you have one stored, firing off an invincibility star will provide an instant defense, but if you aren't so equipped, the following tactic works with practice. The second you hear the incoming warning siren, check your overhead mini-map and note if any pursuing racers are in close proximity. If so, immediately slam on the breaks and reverse backwards. If you can catch your fellow racers within the blast radius when the blue shell explodes, you'll all go up in smoke together, essentially keeping you level.
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Star
The classic Mario star power renders you impervious to death for a short while, and also provides a huge speed boost at the same time. Better still, you'll take out anyone that you touch when active. Make it your aim to ram into as many people as possible as a result - the speed increase should make it easy enough to plough through a good bunch in quick succession.
Storing the Star can be a good defensive tactic as well, firing it off when incoming shells and POW blocks are on the verge of impact. The Star's speed boost makes it a viable means of reaching off-road ramps and shortcuts too though. See the Circuit Guide later on for specific locations of these.
Mushroom
The mushroom provides a brief speed boost of its own that is similarly useful for blazing off-road to hidden ramps and general corner cutting. It won't last long by itself, but comes in triple variants, and, should you be so lucky, even a golden version. The latter will let you spam its boosting goodness as often as you so desire for a pre-determined amount of time, and is one of the most flat-out useful power-ups found in the game. Use it to blaze across grass, shallow water and any other surfaces that would ordinarily slow you down to a crawl and you can decimate your lap times.
Mega Mushroom
This hilarious bonus makes your racer enormous for a few seconds, ramping up your speed and enabling you to mow down any fellow racers stupid enough to stand in your way.
Blooper
The squid-like Blooper fires ink all over the screens of your enemies, rendering them semi-blind for a short while. More of a minor annoyance than anything, the ink still leaves enough of your screen viewable so it shouldn't cause too much trouble if you're on the receiving end.
Fake Item Box
This is a deployable trap acting quite similar to the Banana Skin, only sneakily disguised as a?normal block which hold power-ups, the idea being fellow racers think they are snagging weaponry by driving into it, only to find themselves spinning into a world of hurt. It can be dropped behind or lobbed forward, or you can drag it behind you but be warned, it won't protect you from incoming shells. Still, the Fake Item Block is a fantastic weapon in multiplayer games, particularly when deployed among real power-ups that'll help disguise it.
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Bob-omb
This powerful explosive can also be dropped behind or thrown forward and provides a pleasing means of taking out large groups of enemies at once due to its huge blast radius. If not collided with head-on, it'll need to burn down its fuse for a few seconds prior to exploding, so be sure to aim and time your drops accordingly (switching to rear view can help drastically with this).
Thunderbolt
The Thunderbolt typically spawns for those at the back of the race, providing them with a somewhat cheap means of gaining some lost ground. When fired off, it'll zap every other racer with a bolt from the sky that'll turn them super small, halving their speed in the process, enabling the firer to crush anyone they drive over and make their way up through the pack.
Thunder Cloud
A newcomer to the series, the Thunder Cloud is a hot potato of sorts that has both good and bad properties. When engaged, it'll zap you sporadically with charges, increasing your speed nicely in the process; however, keeping hold of it for too long will see it eventually zap you a little too hard, shrinking you down much like the Thunderbolt. Merely bumping into a rival will pass the cloud over to them at any point, meaning in theory you reap its benefits for a while before dumping it on someone else at precisely the right moment. In practice, that's not particularly feasible, nor worth the risk, so save yourself the sweaty palms and pass it on at the first available opportunity.
POW Block
Another newcomer to the series, the POW Block hurts all enemies ahead of you, but spares those behind. When fired off, it'll count down slowly through three stages prior to impact, at which point your enemies will all spin out to much calamity and amusement. If on the receiving end, use its advanced warning to immediately grab some air, as the POW Block only damages those on solid ground. Unfortunately meagre hopping won't be enough.
Bullet Bill
Bullet Bills are the Mario Karting equivalent to deus ex machine - they're purely a means to put those at the rear back into the race with a fighting chance. It'll turn the caster into a giant-sized bullet, ripping through enemies at ludicrous speeds, and even steering its way automatically through the course all the way up to the front of the pack. The player still has some minor swerving ability this entire time—making it possible to take out pesky Karters doing their best to hide from its might—but ultimately Bill will do most of the work for you here and you can merely sit back in demonic glee. It only spawns for those in last place, so don't expect to see a whole lot of him if blessed with one iota of skill.