Crown City
- “See the sights and structures of Crown City. You can even soar in style down main street.”
- —Mario Kart World Direct[1]
| Crown City | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Information | |||
| Appears in | Mario Kart World (2025) | ||
| Cup(s) | Mushroom Cup Shell Cup | ||
| Rally/ies | Ice Rally Cloud Rally | ||
| |||
| |||
Crown City is a race course in Mario Kart World. Like the real-life city tracks and Piranha Plant Cove from Mario Kart Tour, it has three separate layouts when taken via routes, and like those courses' implementation in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the three layouts are combined as a three-section course in VS Race without routes and in Time Trials. Unlike the Tour city tracks, none of its three layouts are given separate names.
Like Peach Stadium, it is used twice in Grand Prix, with one layout being the second course of the Mushroom Cup and another layout being the third course of the Shell Cup. It has different icons for each cup, with the Mushroom Cup icon being used in VS Race and Time Trials.[2]:2:35 In the Knockout Tour mode, the Mushroom Cup layout is driven as the final course of the Ice Rally,[3] and the course is passed by as the third checkpoint of the Cloud Rally.[4] The third layout is exclusive to certain routes in VS Race. The combined layout is a three-section course that incorporates a small amount of the Shell Cup layout in reverse as its first section, then the entire Mushroom Cup layout as its second section, then a small amount of the third layout as its third section. The significant cuts to the Shell Cup and third layouts set Crown City's combined layout apart from the Tour city courses, which incorporated all of their layouts in their entireties in 8 Deluxe.
The course takes place in the large, eponymous city in the grassland region of the game's map, and is named after the large trophy-shaped statue with a crowned tire on top that serves as a notable landmark and its highest point. A sign just outside the city reads "Home of the Rainbow Fragment".[2] A large suspension bridge called "Crown Bridge" is located in the middle of the map, extending eastward from Crown City to reach the savannah area of Faraway Oasis. It is used as the starting point in Crown City's combined layout, and drivers fly through an opening in the Crown Bridge to enter Rainbow Road.
The course's layout is a reference to the real-world city of San Francisco with multiple portions of the course alluding to locations such as the Golden Gate Bridge, South of Market Downtown Area, the Embarcadero, and more.
Uniquely, Crown City has ten ? Panels in Free Roam as opposed to five. Here, Kamek will transform racers into Coin Coffer, Goomba, Nabbit, or Pianta, allowing players to unlock all but Goomba and Nabbit, who are already playable by default, as drivers. The route between Mario Bros. Circuit and Crown City was the first gameplay revealed for Mario Kart World, shown in the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer.[5]
Course layout[edit]
Routes[edit]
There are four layouts of Crown City, depending on which route was traversed the reach the track.
- The first layout (seen in the Mushroom Cup) is used when traveling from Mario Bros. Circuit, Whistlestop Summit, Desert Hills, or Wario Stadium, and in the Ice Rally. It is present in its entirety as the second section without routes.
- The second layout (seen in the Shell Cup) is used when traveling from DK Spaceport, Koopa Troopa Beach, or Faraway Oasis. A small amount of this layout is driven in reverse for the first section without routes.
- The third layout (which is exclusive to VS Race) is used when traveling from Peach Stadium during VS Race, Moo Moo Meadows, or Choco Mountain. A small amount of this layout is driven through as the third section without routes.
- The fourth layout is a three-section track used when the track is selected without routes in VS Race or when playing Time Trials. As mentioned, it combines the entirety of the Mushroom Cup layout with small portions of the Shell Cup and third layouts.
The routes both ways between Crown City and Faraway Oasis take place on Crown Bridge, which includes a few large trucks for drivers to hijack. In Crown City's combined layout, drivers start near the end of Crown Bridge.
Grand Prix[edit]
From Mario Bros. Circuit (used in the Mushroom Cup)
From Faraway Oasis (used in the Shell Cup)
VS Race[edit]
From Whistlestop Summit
From DK Spaceport
From Desert Hills
From Wario Stadium
From Koopa Troopa Beach
From Moo Moo Meadows
From Choco Mountain
From Peach Stadium
Knockout Tour[edit]
From Peach Stadium (used in the Ice Rally)
From Mario Bros. Circuit (used in the Cloud Rally)
Composite maps[edit]
All routes leading to Crown City
All routes leading to the Mushroom Cup variant
All routes leading to the Shell Cup variant
All routes leading to the third variant
Mushroom Cup variant[edit]
After a short initial straightaway, the first turn in the course is a U-turn to the left with an upwards slope. At the top is a Dash Panel ramp, which leads to a section where several solar-panel-adorned roofs are crossed using rails and Dash Panels. There is a left turn, then a short drop down to segment with a sharp right turn, which leads into a jump through the hole in the middle of the giant tire via another Dash Panel ramp.
The racers then fall down after the tire onto a rooftop, and then down onto a steep downward slope. A pair of right turns leads to a Glide Ramp, which the racers can glide from over the final straightaway. This final straightaway is a very wide road, which has median strips with edges that act as rails, and ramps on the sides that can take racers higher. After a gentle slope upward, the finish line is reached.[6]
Shell Cup variant[edit]
The second variant of the course starts on a wide road with many cars and trucks as obstacles. The road goes straight briefly before turning left, which leads to a much longer straightaway. Some distance into the long straightaway, there is a gentle slope upward with a rail in the middle of the road. Racers then have to switch lanes to the right, leading to a quarter pipe that turns 180°. This leads into a narrow alleyway, where racers go down two sets of stairs with a rail in the middle. There is then a slight right turn, a slight left turn, and another left turn, leading into a tunnel. The tunnel does a wide turn to the right, and exit into a straight piece of road leading to a drop down to the beachfront section. Here, there is a turn to right, which goes slightly past 90° before turning back to the left to even it out. There is one last straight section before the finish line.[7] Of note is that the top left of the minimap before the split path is never driven on at any point, even in the combined layout, as racers never start in this layout through the beachfront.
Third variant[edit]
This variant is exclusively in VS Race during routes from Peach Stadium, Moo Moo Meadows, or Choco Mountain. Drivers enter through a road overlooking the beach, before making a slight right into an alleyway. Drivers make a left turn to exit the alleyway, onto a road to the left of the bridge. The sidewalk contains a ramp with a Dash Panel that takes drivers into the ocean, where they must avoid water skiing Shy Guys before a ramp takes racers directly onto a dock. Drivers then make two left turns to exit the dock back onto the beachfront, where the race ends.
Although the final route of the Ice Rally is Peach Stadium to Crown City, this variant is not used during the Ice Rally. Instead of turning left after exiting the alleyway, they turn right to finish the Rally on the Mushroom Cup variant. This pathway after exiting the alleyway is used in the combined layout, and it and the alleyway are both driven through on routes leading to DK Spaceport and Whistlestop Summit.
VS Race and Time Trials[edit]
When playing without routes in VS Race, or when playing Time Trials, Crown City is a three-section course made up of all three variants of this track, similar to the Mario Kart Tour city courses. Racers start on the west end of Crown Bridge before driving to the right near a Dash Food stop onto the Shell Cup variant in reverse for the first section, though the tunnel, beachfront, and the road to enter the quarter pipe are all absent. The second section consists of the entire Mushroom Cup variant with minimal changes. The third section has drivers take a left turn onto the road where the third variant exits the alleyway; the third variant's alleyway is not used. Rather than taking a ramp on the sidewalk into the water and the docks like the third variant, drivers continue driving on the road to the left of the bridge, where the race ends. This variant is the only course in the series (not counting variants in Mario Kart Tour) where races do not start directly behind the finish line.
Gallery[edit]
Icon in the Mushroom Cup and VS Race
Icon in the Shell Cup
Icon in the Ice Rally
Icon in the Cloud Rally
World map icon
View of the entire city
View of the city at night
Pauline on the course
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart World | WestCity[8] | West City. Crown City is in the western half of the map. |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | トロフィーシティ[9] Torofī Shiti |
Trophy City | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 奖杯城[10] Jiǎngbēichéng (Mandarin) Jéungbūisìhng (Cantonese) |
Trophy City | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 獎盃城[10] Jiǎngbēichéng (Mandarin) Jéungbūisìhng (Cantonese) |
Trophy City | |
| Dutch | Kroonstad[11] | Crown City | |
| French | Trophéopolis[12] | From trophée ("trophy") and "metropolis" | |
| German | Kronen-Metropole[11] | Crown Metropolis | |
| Italian | Trofea[11] | From trofeo ("trophy") and the city name ending "-a"; possibly a nod to the Italian seaside town of Tropea | |
| Korean | 트로피 시티[13] Teuropi Siti |
Trophy City | |
| Portuguese | Metrópole Coroada[11][14] | Crowned Metropolis | |
| Russian | Кронбридж[15] Kronbridzh |
From крона (krona), which is a short form of корона (korona, "crown") and the English city ending "-bridge". | |
| Spanish | Ciudad Corona[16][17] | Crown City |
Notes[edit]
- During Mario Kart World's run of themed icon rewards in the Nintendo Switch Online app, the two variants of Crown City in Grand Prix had their icons mixed up, with the Shell Cup version having a background available during the Mushroom Cup-themed week and vice versa.
References[edit]
- ^ Nintendo of America (April 17, 2025). Mario Kart World Direct - 17/04/2025 (1:43). YouTube (English). Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ a b Mario Kart World – Nintendo Direct | Nintendo Switch 2
- ^ Mario Kart World – Knockout Tour Gameplay – Nintendo Treehouse: Live | Nintendo Switch 2
- ^ We’ve ACTUALLY Played Mario Kart World on Switch 2
- ^ Nintendo of America (January 16, 2025). Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer. YouTube (English). Retrieved May 10, 2025.
- ^ Mario Kart World – Grand Prix Gameplay – Nintendo Treehouse: Live | Nintendo Switch 2
- ^ SLIVER JUEGA a MARIO KART WORLD por Primera Vez
- ^ File name of the course's sticker on the Japanese Mario Kart World online events website, Sign_WestCity.png. All course stickers use the prefix "Sign_". Retrieved August 28th, 2025.
- ^ Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 - 2025.4.2 (Japan) (3:41)
- ^ a b In-game name from Mario Kart World
- ^ a b c d Nintendo Today! news
- ^ Mario Kart World in-game name from French localization (Uploaded 5 Jun. 2025 on YouTube by Siphano)
- ^ 마리오 카트 월드 Direct (1:45)
- ^ Nintendo Portugal (April 17, 2025). Mario Kart World Direct - 17/04/2025 (28:58). YouTube (European Portuguese). Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ Track name. Mario Kart World. Nintendo. Retrieved June 6th, 2025.
- ^ BRCDEvg. Estrenando juntos MARIO KART WORLD (17:24). YouTube (Latin American Spanish). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ Nintendo España (April 17, 2025). Mario Kart World Direct - 17-04-2025 (30:38). YouTube (European Spanish). Retrieved April 17, 2025.
