That said, this mobile version has a few new additions - such as Pauline and Musician Mario - as well as changes to how each character choice can give you an advantage. Instead of simply slotting neatly into light, medium and heavy racers, these characters have their own rarities and a special skill - which you can pick up from Item Boxes on the track - and can pick up more Item Boxes depending on the course they race on. This all means having a range of Mario Kart Tour characters at your disposal will give you an advantage on whatever course the game throws your way. Latest update (October 9th): Added 14 (!) new characters to our list with the arrival of the Tokyo tour, including Rosalina, Peach (Kimono), Mario (Hakama), the Koopalings and more. The Mario Kart Tour character unlock methods are:
Tour Gifts, which unlock as you progress through the time-limited tours. These are set and require Tour progression to unlock. The Store, as part of Sets or highlighted characters in the Daily Selects area. These are set and require either Coins (Daily Selects) or real-world money (Sets) to unlock. From Pipes, a gacha system where you ‘spin’ for a change at unlocking characters, among other items. This requires Rubies (Mario Kart Tour’s premium currency, earned in-game and purchased with real-world money) to use.
If you’re after specific Mario Kart Tour characters, your options are unfortunately limited - it’s either a case of waiting for them to appear in the Store or as a Tour Gift reward, otherwise you have to try your luck by spending Rubies in pipes.