SNES Rainbow Road: Difference between revisions

|image=[[File:SMK Rainbow Road Lower-Screen Map.png]]

|tours=[[Tokyo Tour]]<br>[[Halloween Tour (2019)]]<br>[[Winter Tour (2019)]]<br>[[London Tour]]<br>[[Valentine's Tour]]<br>[[Vancouver Tour]]<br>[[Mario Bros. Tour]]<br>[[Trick Tour (2020)]]<br>[[Peach Tour]]<br>[[Exploration Tour]]<br>[[Halloween Tour (2020)]]<br>[[Sunset Tour]]<br>[[Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020)]]<br>[[Winter Tour (2020)]]<br>[[Rosalina Tour]]<br>[[Peach vs. Daisy Tour]]<br>[[Ninja Tour]]<br>[[Los Angeles Tour (2021)]]<br>[[Kamek Tour]]<br>[[Halloween Tour (2021)]]<br>[[Amsterdam Tour]]

|ghost=1:34.459 by Nin★YABUKI (''7'')<br><small>([[Lakitu]] with the [[Pipe Frame]], [[Slim (tire)|Slim tires]], and [[Super Glider]])</small><br>Nin★Anne (1:46.599) (''8'')<br><small>([[Cat Mario|Cat Peach]] with the [[Cat Cruiser]], [[Retro Off-Road]], and [[Super Glider]])</small><br>Nin★Anne (1:40.711) (''8 Deluxe'')<br><small>([[Cat Mario|Cat Peach]] with the [[Cat Cruiser]], [[Retro Off-Road]], and [[Super Glider]]) (150cc)</small><br>Nin★Marie (1:12.762, 1:12.696 in the Tencent Chinese release)<ref>@zachruff (May 22, 2022). [https://twitter.com/Zachruff/status/1528386463632658434 "''So it turns out that there are 4 staff ghosts in the Tencent Chinese version of MK8D that are actually different to the global version. It seems that they really did not like the Mercedes car parts so any ghost that used them had to be redone.''"] ''Twitter''. Retrieved May 24, 2022.</ref> (''8 Deluxe'')<br><small>([[Tanooki Mario]] with the [[GLA]] ([[Pipe Frame]] in the Tencent Chinese release), [[GLA Tires]] ([[Standard (tire)|Standard]] in the Tencent Chinese release), and [[Parachute (glider)|Parachute]]) (200cc)</small>

|online_play=Available ([[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]], [[Wii U]], [[Nintendo Switch|Switch]])

|sample=''Super Mario Kart'': Soyo Oka[[File:SMK-Music-RainbowRoad.oga]] ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'': Kenichi Nishimaki, Masanobu Matsunaga, Minako Hamano[[File:MKSC-ExtraCourse-RainbowRoad.oga]] ''Mario Kart 7'' / ''Mario Kart Tour'': Kenta Nagata, Satomi Terui[[File:MK7-Music-SNES-RainbowRoad.oga]] ''Mario Kart 7'' (frontrunning)[[File:MK7_SNES_RainbowRoad_Frontrunning.oga]] ''Mario Kart 8'' / ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'': Atsuko Asahi[[File:MK8-DLC-Music-SNES-RainbowRoad.oga]] ''Mario Kart 8'' / ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' (frontrunning)[[File:WiiU_SNES_RainbowRoad_Frontrunning.oga]]

<div style="white-space: nowrap;">[[File:MK8 SNES Rainbow Road Map.png|frameless|upright=0.65]][[File:MK8DX SNES Rainbow Road Map.png|frameless|upright=0.65]]</div><br>

The original '''Rainbow Road''' debuted in ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', as the fifth and last course of the [[Special Cup]], starting the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'']] series tradition of having Rainbow Road as the finale of the game. It is the shortest Rainbow Road to date.

Rainbow Road reappears in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'' as the final course of the Extra Special Cup, in ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'' as the final course of the [[Lightning Cup]], in ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' as the second course of the [[Triforce Cup]] as part of the [[The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8|''The Legend of Zelda'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']] DLC (and in ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' as part of the base game), and in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'', debuting in the [[Tokyo Tour]]. If one counts ''Mario Kart 8'' and ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' as two separate games, then Rainbow Road is the most frequently appearing [[classic course]] in the series, having appeared six times in different games. In the opposite case, its number of appearances is then tied with {{classic-link|SNES|Mario Circuit 3}}, the latter course re-appearing in ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' as part of the second wave of the [[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]] DLC.

In ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|Rainbow Road]] theme in that game uses a part of this course's music. ''Super Mario Kart'' composer [[Soyo Oka]] also considers this course's theme to be one of her favorite compositions.<ref>[http://www.rocketbaby.net/interviews_soyo_oka.html Interview between Rocketbaby and Soyo Oka]. Retrieved February 12, 2015.</ref>

==Course layout==

The track begins with racers taking a turn to the right, where they will find [[? Panel]]s to gather items. There are some Jumps, followed by four Thwomps. After this, racers turn to the right again where they can collect some coins, followed by another turn to the right, where there is once again a path with jumping bumps with an incoming turn that might cause racers to fall. After this turn, the track gets narrower and follows a long path where more coins and Thwomps are found along the way with another turn awaiting the player. It is here where the track gets even more narrow increasing the risk of falling. Before the final turn, the track splits into two roads; the left side contains coins while the right side has two ? Panels, both have a pair of Thwomps near the part where these roads merge. Alternatively, there are two jumping bumps in the middle gap; if any racers use a [[Dash Mushroom|Mushroom]] while they are heading for them, they can jump over the gap for a significant shortcut. After the final turn, before the [[Finish Line (object)|finish line]], there is another quartet of Thwomps, but this time there is no space between them to pass, with players only being able to pass them by driving on the side or when the Thwomps are rising.{{br|left}}

[[File:MKSC SNES Rainbow Road Screenshot.png|thumb|200px|left|Luigi racing through the track]]

Rainbow Road reappeared in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'', as the last track of the [[Classic course|Extra Special Cup]]. The background is from [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|that game's own Rainbow Road]], but with only the sparkles, foreground clouds, and moon appearing; like that track, this one is also translucent. The Thwomps and jumping bumps are removed. The coins' placement is also changed so that all coins are on blue tiles, making it much easier for players to collect them.

[[File:SNES MK7.png|260px|thumb|left|Overview of the track in ''Mario Kart 7'']]

SNES Rainbow Road is the last course of the [[Lightning Cup]] in ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', being the first Rainbow Road to reappear as a classic course in another ''Mario Kart'' (besides its reappearance in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'').

 

The course uses a similar background to that of {{classic-link|DS|Waluigi Pinball}}. Unlike previous incarnations, this new version has the characteristic "glistening" sound effect when drifting on it, a common feature of all Rainbow Roads starting from the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)|GCN rendition]]. The Thwomps (now with their ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'' appearance) return. They are now larger, and their numbers in the track are reduced from sixteen to seven, and now form ripples on the track upon impact, which the player can [[Jump Boost|trick]] off of. Also, howling noises can be heard near the Super Thwomps.

The tiles' colors are similar to those of [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|Rainbow Road]] from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', with pink replacing the red tiles and cyan replacing the teal tiles. In [[First-Person View|first-person view]], the player can see through the breaks in the tiles. The widest part of the gap in the forked road is two tiles shorter, but the gap itself is also seven tiles shorter, making the shortcut easier to use. Also, the section of tiles before the fork (from the orange tiles on the narrow part of the straight after turn 7 to the purple tiles before the gap) is wider: the first orange, blue, yellow, and last purple tile rows before the gap are now two tiles wider. The finish line is also two tiles long, removing the red tiles that used to be in front of it.

Ramps replace the yellow bumps, though the first two bumps were removed entirely, the last pair at the fork is now a single taller ramp in front of the gap, and a ramp was added on the inside of the second U-turn, adding a new shortcut (requiring a [[Dash Mushroom|Mushroom]] or [[Mini-Turbo]] to get across); the ramps are only two tiles wide, rather than three, like the bumps. Like most other SNES and GBA classic courses, a starting banner stylized after the ''Mario Kart 64'' starting banners is added in this course. Aside from enhanced percussion, the music sounds the way it does in the SNES version.

When the player crosses the finish line to start another lap, [[Lakitu]] is shown on the right side of the player, holding the lap count signs.

[[File:Mk8-DLC-Course-SNES RainbowRoad.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Overview of the track in ''Mario Kart 8'']]

Rainbow Road returns for the third time in the [[The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8|''Legend of Zelda'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']] DLC Pack of ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' and in the base game of ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'', appearing as the second course of the [[Triforce Cup]]. As a result, for the first time, a Rainbow Road course is not the last race of a cup.

 

 

The Thwomps work as they do in ''Mario Kart 7'', but they now have sparkles, a mosaic-like appearance, horizontal rainbow lines running from bottom to top of them, and the species' ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]''  appearance, like the other Thwomps in ''Mario Kart 7'' and ''Mario Kart 8'', rather than their spiked ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' design in ''Mario Kart 7''. Additionally, all of the Thwomps are bigger except the last two. Unlike before, when they start to crash down, they will create rainbow waves above them. Also, when they shake before falling, and the moment they land, they make metallic glistening sounds. The waves on the track they create are now bigger, move more quickly, and disappear faster than in ''Mario Kart 7'', making tricks more difficult to perform.

[[File:MK8 SNES Rainbow Road Starting Line.jpg|thumb|240px|left|The course as seen at the starting line]]

The course now takes place in a cloudy night sky with the full moon visible, just like in ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', but it now has color-changing hills that stick above them. Various [[Toad House]]s litter the landscape below the course, which in itself is similar to {{classic-link|SNES|Donut Plains 3}}. The starting banner is now redesigned, with colored blocks with a Star on top of it and the ''Mario Kart'' logo's letters now individually colored (red, green, yellow, and blue) instead of having a rainbow gradient through the entire logo; the banner also stands on two walled areas, now making the start the only walled part of the course. Also, when a player approaches a turn, two green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn, and indicate in which direction the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.

In ''Mario Kart 8'', this Rainbow Road, {{classic-link|N64|Rainbow Road}}, the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 8)|new Rainbow Road]] and {{classic-link|GCN|Baby Park}} are the only courses in the game to have the map in different colors instead of just blue. Like all other courses except {{classic|GCN|Baby Park}}, the map was made transparent gray in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''.

Unlike in ''Mario Kart 7'', when the player crosses the finish line, to begin the next lap, Lakitu is shown on the left side of the player holding the lap count signs, rather than the right side (when holding the start signal, he’s also shown on the left side of the player).

SNES Rainbow Road reappears in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' starting with the [[Tokyo Tour]], mostly taking on the appearance of its ''Mario Kart 7'' iteration, including its starting banner. However, the ramp inside the second U-turn is absent (as in the original and GBA versions), the hole in the road is even smaller than it was before (the narrow part at the end is only one tile long, and the hole in general is 7 tiles shorter), the last two Thwomps are further apart, the red tiling on the course and banner returns (in place of the pink ones in ''Mario Kart 7''), the track edges are rounded, the track itself is thicker, and the arrow signs and Thwomp designs from the ''Mario Kart 8'' rendition return. This course is a favorite of [[Rosalina]], [[Metal Mario]], [[Ice Mario (Super Mario Galaxy)|Ice Mario]], [[Pauline|Pauline (Party Time)]], [[Princess Peach|Peach (Wedding)]], [[Luigi|Luigi (Painter)]], [[Tanooki Mario|Tanooki Rosalina]], [[Yoshi|Yoshi (Gold Egg)]], and the [[Mii|Birdo Mii Racing Suit]]. It is also a favorite of [[Dry Bones|Dry Bones (Gold)]] if he is at level 3 and [[Princess Peach|Peach (Kimono)]] if she is at level 6. Rainbow Road reuses the arrangement heard in ''Mario Kart 7'', while other classic courses retain their original music.  

Like all other courses, SNES Rainbow Road features a reverse variant and trick variant of the course, referred to as '''Rainbow Road R''' and '''Rainbow Road T''' respectively; a reverse/trick variant, '''Rainbow Road R/T''', was later added in the [[Winter Tour (2019)|2019 Winter Tour]]. The R variant includes a [[Glide Ramp]] going over a large gap, with star-shaped sets of coins appearing. The T variant removes the Star Thwomps, but the sections that they appear in still wave. The R/T variant features [[Ring (Mario Kart series)|Star Ring]]s, and a [[Mushroom Trampoline]].

In ''[[WarioWare Gold]]'', Rainbow Road appears as the setting of the [[Super Mario Kart (microgame)|Super Mario Kart]] microgame.

MKT Icon RainbowRoadSNES.png|The course icon with Rosalina

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES Old.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Lemmy (old)

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Lemmy (updated)

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES MetalMario.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Metal Mario

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES Rosalina.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Rosalina

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES IceMario.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Ice Mario

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRSNES Peachette.png|The course icon of the Reverse variant with Peachette

MKT Icon RainbowRoadTSNES.png|The course icon of the Trick variant with Baby Rosalina

MKT Icon RainbowRoadTSNES MetalMario.png|The course icon of the Trick variant with Metal Mario

MKT Icon RainbowRoadTSNES Bowser.png|The course icon of the Trick variant with Bowser

MKT Icon RainbowRoadTSNES PinkGoldPeach.png|The course icon of the Trick variant with Pink Gold Peach

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant Rosalina

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES PinkGoldPeach.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant with Pink Gold Peach

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES Pauline.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant with Pauline

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES BuilderToad.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant with Builder Toad

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES BabyRosalina.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant with Baby Rosalina

MKT Icon RainbowRoadRTSNES KingBooGold.png|The course icon of the Reverse/Trick variant with King Boo (Gold)

MKT Tour2 ToadCupChallenge.png|The course icon of the [[Do Jump Boosts]] bonus challenge held on this course

MKT Tour11 RosalinaCupChallenge.png|The course icon of the [[Time Trial (Mario Kart Tour)|Time Trial]] bonus challenge held on this course

|Spa=Senda Arco Iris

|SpaM=Rainbow Trail

|FraA=Route arc-en-ciel

|FraAM=Rainbow Road

|FraE=Route Arc-en-ciel

|FraEM=Rainbow Road

|Ger=Regenbogen-Boulevard

|Kor=무지개 로드

|KorR=Mujigae Rodeu

|ChiSM=Rainbow Road<br><br>Rainbow Bridge

*<small>SNES</small> Rainbow Road is the only course in ''Mario Kart 7'' not to have a [[Dash Panel]]/ramp, and one of four courses not to have a [[Glide Ramp]]; the others are {{classic-link|N64|Luigi Raceway}}, {{classic-link|GCN|Daisy Cruiser}}, and [[3DS Rosalina's Ice World|Rosalina's Ice World]].

**Also, in ''Mario Kart 8'', it is one of the two only courses that do not have any Dash Panels, Glide Ramps, underwater sections, or anti-gravity sections, with the other being {{classic-link|GCN|Yoshi Circuit}}, another course from DLC Pack 1.

*The course's R/T variant in ''Mario Kart Tour'' has not returned since the [[Kamek Tour]], making it one of two R/T variants with the longest gap of appearances between tours, the other being [[SNES Mario Circuit 2|SNES Mario Circuit 2 R/T]].