Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 7)
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart 7. For its musical theme, see Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 7 theme).
| Bowser's Castle | |||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2021) | ||||||||||
| Cup | Special Cup | ||||||||||
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| Based on | Bowser's Castle | ||||||||||
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Bowser's Castle is the third course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. Unlike previous Bowser's Castle courses, it strongly resembles a haunted mansion inside. It features spiderwebs, lava pillars and geysers, Thwomps, and stairs. This course later returns as a classic course in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the New Year's 2022 Tour.
This is the only Bowser's Castle course from an entry after Mario Kart: Super Circuit to reappear in a later Mario Kart game. It is also the only track in Mario Kart 7's Special Cup to not appear in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Course layout[edit]
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This course starts off on a separate platform with a ramp to glide into Bowser's Castle. There are two entrances, an upper level and a lower level if the upper level is missed while gliding. The two levels have a set of stairs with Thwomps and inclining slopes that lead into one room filled with lava pools and sharp turns. Past that room is a wide, wooden paddle wheel tunnel with metal paddles at the end, that leads to a lake filled with water, with some pipes pouring lava and lava-filled edges. Afterward, racers return to land along a cliff side, passing by lava waterfalls as the racers drive. At the end of the outdoor section is a sharp wide turn that ends with a Glide Ramp leading to the finish line, with a giant ring in the air suspended over the one on the ground highlighting this. The ramp allows for side paths to be taken on laps 2 and 3, which split into two to allow both levels of the castle to be reached. This is the only Bowser's Castle course in the Mario Kart series with an underwater section.
When the player enters the castle, Bowser's laugh can be heard, similar to the Bowser's Castle courses from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
This version of Bowser's Castle makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, starting from the New Year's 2022 Tour. The sky is less dark, the castle entrance has been redesigned, and an active volcano has been added into the background. The positions of the pipes pouring lava in the underwater section have been slightly altered, with one being outright removed. The ramp in the underwater section is also extended. The mountainous area has been made more open and lacks the mushroom shortcut on the right side. Additionally, Bowser's laugh no longer plays when the player enters the castle at the beginning of the course.
The course also appears as Bowser's Castle R (reversed), Bowser's Castle T (with ramps), and Bowser's Castle R/T (reversed with ramps). The former two debuted alongside the normal variant in the New Year's 2022 Tour, while the latter debuted in the Samurai Tour. In the T and R/T variants, there is only one Thwomp; in the T variant, it has been moved to the castle entrance on the lower level. Additionally, the underwater section is almost entirely skipped, and racers can drive through a second paddle wheel at the start of lap 2. In the R/T variant, the first turn is entirely skipped and racers instead drive through three paddle wheels.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Bowser's Castle tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which 3DS Bowser's Castle and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of 3DS Bowser's Castle tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
