How to Unlock Bowser Jr on Mario Kart Wii

Unlock Instructions and General Advice

Achieve One Star or better in all 100cc Retro Cups. The retro cups include Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup. At the end of each cup (four tracks), you will receive a rating from F (worst) to Three Stars (best). Earn One Star or better on all four of these cups, and you'll unlock Bowser Jr. The general requirements for a One Star rating are described in the strategy section below.

Unlock these races if necessary. To unlock all these cups, finish in third place or better in Shell Cup and Banana Cup, then in Leaf Cup. You'll need to unlock them again in 100cc mode, even if you have them in 50cc. Initially, only bike vehicles are allowed in 100cc difficulty, not karts. To unlock the ability to play with karts, you'll need to finish in first place in all eight cups — but if you try that, you'll probably unlock Bowser Jr. along the way.

Play thousands of games instead. Alternatively, you can unlock Bowser Jr by completing 3,450 races. Practicing your Retro Cup skills will get you there faster, but if you're more interested in other cups or challenges, Bowser Jr will show up eventually, along with the other characters. Check your current number of races from the Main Menu by selecting License Settings in the top right corner, then Records.

Strategy Advice

Know how to achieve One Star. A One Star rating requires a solid performance on all four tracks of the Cup. While the game doesn't tell you the exact requirements, there are a few general guidelines to follow. If you're partway through a cup and fall way behind these goals, you may want to quit and retry to save time. Finish the cup with at least 53 points total across the four tracks. For instance, you could place 1st, 1st, 1st, 4th, or 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd (the order does not matter). You have a high chance of success if you place 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd or better. Faster completion time will also help. Avoid leaving the road more than two or three times in the entire cup, unless using a boost item. Avoid banging into a wall or an obstacle more than once or twice in the cup. Avoid falling off the track more than once in the cup. Stay in first for a significant amount of each race. When behind, try to catch up without using items whenever possible.

Keep trying if you get hit with many items. If you are hit with many blue shells and similar items in a short amount of time, the game will take this into account and relax the above guidelines a little. If this happens, you may still be able to get a One Star ranking even if you use items to get in first, or if you don't finish in the rank or time limit normally required.

Adjust your vehicle for your play style. If you are having trouble finishing in 1st or 2nd, play a Medium or Large character and a vehicle with good speed. If you can stay in 1st for much of the race, but you frequently hit obstacles or walls, play a Medium or Small character and a vehicle with good handling and acceleration.

Set your drifting mode. Before racing, you can set your drifting mode to Automatic or Manual. For best results, set it to Manual and be prepared to press the B button (and shake the Wii remote, if in use) to start drifting sideways when you notice sparks from your wheels. However, if you are using the Wii Wheel, Automatic may give better results due to increased manual drifting difficulty with that controller.

Learn advanced driving techniques. Mario Kart Wii allows you to cut down your time and dodge obstacles by doing tricks, "snaking," "drifting," and using the rear camera view. Find out more at this article.

Watch Time Trials or online videos. Many race tracks have hidden shortcuts and opportunities for creative driving techniques. Discover more of these by playing Time Trials and following the ghost driver to see what it does, or search online for videos of the race tracks you find difficult. Remember, going off-road will not hurt your ranking if you use a Mushroom or other boost item. This can save you a lot of time on some maps, such as by boosting through the Peach Garden flower patch or across the grass near the start of Bowser's Castle.