Cheats and Secrets for Mario Kart Wii on WII

Introduction and Game Plot

Mario Kart Wii is the Mario-themed racing game for the Wii. This page lists the bonus cups and the task required for each: you must complete other cups for a prize. The Star Cup opens with the Flower and Mushroom Cups, the Special Cup with the Star Cup, and the Leaf Cup with the Banana and Shell Cups, while the Lightning Cup requires additional victories. It helps keep you from going round in circles.

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Unlockables

Bonus Cups

Star Cup: complete the Flower and Mushroom Cups with a trophy.
Special Cup: complete the Star Cup with a trophy.
Leaf Cup: complete the Banana and Shell Cups with a trophy.
Lightning Cup: complete the Leaf Cup with a trophy.
Mirror Mode: win all the 50cc cups (or 4,800 races won).

Bonus Characters

For each character you can alternatively win a certain number of races.

Baby Daisy: One Star rank or better in all the 50cc cups (or 1,950 races).
Baby Luigi: unlock 8 Expert Staff Ghosts in Time Trials (or 3,150 races).
Birdo: play 16 different tracks in Time Trials (or 250 Wi-Fi wins, or 1,350 races).
Bowser Jr.: One Star in all the Retro Cups 100cc (or 3,450 races).
Daisy: win the Special Cup 150cc (or 2,850 races).
Diddy Kong: complete all the Retro Cups 50cc (or 450 races).
Dry Bones: win the Leaf Cup 100cc (or 1,050 races).
Dry Bowser: One Star in all the Wii Cups 150cc (or 4,350 races).
Funky Kong: unlock 4 Expert Staff Ghosts (or 2,250 races).
King Boo: win the Star Cup 50cc (or 750 races).
Mii (Outfit A): win the Special Cup 100cc (or 1,650 races). Mii (Outfit B): all 32 Expert Staff Ghosts (or 5,100 races).
Rosalina: One Star in the Wii Cup Series (or a Super Mario Galaxy save file and 50 Grand Prix, or 4,950 races).
Toadette: play all 32 tracks in Time Trials (or 1,000 Wi-Fi wins, or 2,550 races).

Bonus Bikes

Daytripper: 2,700 races. Dolphin Dasher (medium): Star Cup in Mirror (or 3,750 races). Jet Bubble (small): Leaf Cup in Mirror (or 3,900 races).
Kamek (small): defeat all the Nintendo Ghosts in the Star Cup. Magikruiser (small): 8 different tracks in Time Trials (or 900 races).
Phantom (large): Special Cup in Mirror (or 4,050 races). Quacker (small): Star Cup 150cc (or 2,400 races). Twinkle Star (large): Star Cup 100cc (or 1,500 races).
Nitrocycle (medium): One Star in all the Wii cups 100cc (or 3,300 races). Torpedo (large): 12 Expert Ghosts (or 3,600 races). Rapide (medium): Lightning Cup 100cc (or 2,100 races).

Bonus Karts

Aero Glider (large): One Star in all the Retro Cups 50cc. Cheep Charger (small): One Star in all the Retro Cups 50cc (or 1,800 races).
Blue Falcon (small): Lightning Cup in Mirror (or 4,200 races). Honeycoupe (large): Lightning Cup 150cc (or 3,000 races). Jetsetter: 4,500 races.
Piranha Prowler (large): Special Cup 50cc (or 600 races). Royal Racer (medium): Leaf Cup 150cc.
B Dasher Mk 2 (medium): 24 Expert Ghosts (or 4,650 races). Tiny Titan (small): 1 Expert Ghost (or 50 Wi-Fi wins, or 1,200 races). Turbo Blooper (medium): One Star in the Leaf Cup 50cc (or 300 races).

Other Secrets

Expert Staff Ghosts: beat a Normal Staff Ghost by at least 5 seconds to unlock the Expert one for that track.
Alternate title screen and ending: One Star or more in all the cups, including Mirror Mode.
Special credits: win all the trophies of a class for the screen with your Mii together with Mario and Peach; win all the Grand Prix Cups for another screen with your Mii and all the racers.
Changing the Mii's driving class: in the Mii Channel change your Mii's weight (W8): it changes the class and the vehicles available.

Driving Tricks

Rocket start: in the countdown, when the "2" starts to fade hold 2; or hold 1 + 2 and release them when "Go" is about to appear. It often puts you first in the 50cc and 100cc classes.
Recovering from a collision: press 2 when you land for a short boost. On a bike, do a wheelie after being hit.
Recovering from the POW Block (manual drift): before the third hit, drift to be in the air; when landing push only once and keep your speed. On a bike do the wheelie at the third POW to lose only the item; shaking the Wii Remote creates a barrier. Landing from a ramp avoids the block.
Drafting: get behind an opponent on a straight without turning: blue lines and a force field appear, and you get a small boost. In Versus with a friend, take turns leaving the lead to finish faster.
Easy hits: put a banana or a fake item box where you land from the DK Cannon: the opponents fall on it.
Triple shells: press 2 to make them rotate around you and hit the other cars before throwing them.
Defenses: Spiny Shell (brake if you are first, so the shell hits the one behind), Blue Shell (use a mushroom before it comes down), Red Shells (equip an item behind you with the D-Pad: green/red Shells or Bananas, not Fake Item Boxes or Bombs). To avoid red and green shells or clouds, head for a DK Cannon. To get rid of a cloud touch another player.

Shortcuts and Secrets by Track

Coconut Mall: for the Expert Ghosts use the Medium Kart Wild Wing: in the shop on the right after the first staircase use a mushroom.
DK Summit: after the Cannon, go down the ramp on the left to slide through the curves.
DS Delfino Square: hit the crates on the sides with the kart or with a shell: a Super Mushroom appears near the edge.
Koopa Cape: on the ramp to the fast area, with a Super Mushroom, a Star or a Golden Mushroom, pass through the grass behind the big red hat instead of going around it. After the first jump shoot a shell at a Goomba to find a Super Mushroom.
Maple Treeway: the leaf piles hide a Super Mushroom or a Banana; at the top of the tree there is sometimes a Star in a bush on the left.

Online, Stars and Expert Ghosts

Winning online: even a 5th or 6th place in an online race counts as a win; the same in Battles, if you earn enough coins or hits even on the losing team.
Wii Golden Wheel: after using the Wii wheel for a long time in all modes, a golden wheel appears next to your online name.
Stars in the profile name: get rank 1, 2 or 3 Stars in all the Grand Prix.
Rank: One Star is obtained with a score between 53 and 60, Two Stars between 55 and 60, Three Stars requires a perfect 60. Stay in the lead for a long time, perform many stunts on the ramps, use techniques (wheelies, avoid the POW blocks), avoid falling too much.
Times to unlock the Expert Ghosts (Normal Ghost / unlock time): Luigi Circuit 1:29.670 / 1:25.742; Moo Moo Meadows 1:37.856 / 1:33.571; Mushroom Gorge 2:16.110 / 2:07.755; Toad's Factory 2:22.480 / 2:15.681; Mario Circuit 1:44.777 / 1:39.183; Coconut Mall 2:30.764 / 2:24.788; DK's Snowboard Cross 2:34.693 / 2:24.725; Wario's Gold Mine 2:19.583 / 2:14.932.
Star Cup: Daisy Circuit 1:56.822 (normal) / 1:48.791; Koopa Cape 3:03.022 / 2:54.897; Maple Treeway 2:58.633 / 2:50.229; Grumble Volcano 2:28.237 / 2:19.524. Special Cup: Dry Dry Ruins 2:30.949 / 2:21.681; Moonview Highway 2:16.802 / 2:07.016; Bowser's Castle 3:04.836 / 2:55.017; Rainbow Road 3:05.895 / 2:59.293.