
Mario Kart Arcade GP features items new and old. When a player hits one of the item boxes scattered throughout the tracks, the player is given one of the three selected items chosen at the start of a race. After finishing all four races from each stage, a "challenge game" comes up, in which the player is required to complete a certain task each of them requires the player to drive to a goal under a certain amount of time while under a certain condition, such as driving backwards through a field of banana peels. After a track is completed, the player must insert additional credits to continue the game, even if first place is achieved.

The cups are Mario Cup, Wario Cup, Pac-Man Cup, DK Cup, Bowser Cup, and the unlockable Rainbow Cup. There are a total of six cups, with four tracks in each, totalling twenty-four.
