Mario Kart Tour: Version 1.2.0 and 1.2.1 - Drift/Steer Button, Tickets Menu, and More Changes!

A new update was added to Mario Kart Tour on Sunday, November 17, 2019, and it’s a great one! Version 1.2.0 adds many new features players have been asking for, like a drift or steer button when racing. Here we’ll give you the rundown on the changes, along with any additional or unlisted changes. The update is 62 MB, and you can download it in the App Store or Google Play now. The update is required for Winter Tour, which started on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 1:00 a.m. ET.

Unfortunately, some Android users couldn’t start the game after the update. The following day, on Monday, November 18, 2019, a bug fix 1.2.1 patch was released for Google Play only. You can now download the patch, and everything should be fixed now!

Unlike the other Mario Kart titles where you can both steer and drift, Mario Kart Tour forced you to choose between one or the other. Players have been requesting a button to let them drift and steer since launch, and now it’s here! Now at the bottom center of the screen during races, there is a Drift button with manual drift off and a Steer button with manual drift on. Tapping and sliding on the button can let you use the mode until it is released. The 180° rear view button has been moved out of the way to the bottom right. This is a great change that will be sure to improve the controls of this game!

In addition, you can Ultra Mini-Turbo with manual drift off by using the drift button now. Previously you could only Super Mini-Turbo with manual drift off. Also, the control settings for manual drift has been changed to mention the new button instead of a lack of Ultra Mini-Turbo.‬ In both manual drift off and on, Ultra Mini-Turbos can't be started in the steering mode, only in the drifting mode. However, you can hold and release an Ultra Mini-Turbo while steering if you have manual drift on, charge up to one, then press the steer button.

Tickets has been added to the menu, which shows your item inventory. Previously, finding the number of items you had taken a lot more hunting, but thankfully now it’s all in one place! The menu will show you your item tickets, point-boost tickets, level-boost tickets, Coin Rush tickets, star tickets, and quick tickets. Tapping on item, star, and quick tickets show a description and an image of them. Tapping on point-boost or level-boost tickets will bring up your list of drivers/karts/gliders and will let you upgrade them directly in the menu. Tapping on the Coin Rush ticket will let you go to Coin Rush mode.

Previously, ending a race during a Frenzy would make you miss out on the rest of the points of the Frenzy, which was pretty unsatisfying. “Frenzy Finish” is added as a new action, which can be done by finishing a race in Frenzy mode.

Here are a few more changes in the official notes:

• There has been an update to the in-game and FAQ text describing how long Gold Pass benefits last. The text for Gold Pass benefits after one month has been changed from “until 11:00 PM PT the next day” to “until the daily reset (6:00 AM UTC, or 11 PM PDT/10:00 PM PST) following expiration.”
• Adjusted notifications to better transition to the pipe, special offer, and Gold Pass screens.
• Addressed issues affecting adding friends and linking SNS accounts. Before, adding friends sometimes didn’t work.
• Addressed other minor issues.

Here are some additional changes that were unlisted in the notes:

• Paris Promenade has been renamed to Paris Promenade 1. It’s already been confirmed past tour-exclusive courses will be renovated and return in the future. Some paths were blocked off by barriers, and the trailers show some inaccessible paths. This is a good solution for telling different versions apart. Numbering courses was a practice previously done in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
  • The R, T, and R/T variants are similarly changed to 1R, 1T, and 1R/T.
  • New York Minute and Tokyo Blur and their variants have also been renamed to New York Minute 1, Tokyo Blur 1, and so on.
• "Badge" in the menu has been changed to "Badges". Cool!
• It appears you can now take sharper turns.

Once 1.2.0 was downloaded on some Android devices, the game would not start. Deleting and redownloading the app could fix the issue. Nintendo officially acknowledges the issue and advised to not update to 1.2.0.

Later, 1.2.1 was released exclusively for Google Play to fix the issue.

Winter Tour is currently underway and will last until Wednesday, December 3, 2019, at 12:59 ET. Check up on GamePress for more Mario Kart tips and news!