DK Summit
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart Wii. For the musical theme, see DK Summit (theme).
- Not to be confused with DK Pass.
| DK Summit DK's Snowboard Cross | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart Wii (2008) Mario Kart Tour (2021) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 4) (2023) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cups | Flower Cup (Wii) Fruit Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||
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DK Summit (known as DK's Snowboard Cross in the British English version) is the third course of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart Wii. The track takes place on a snowy mountain winter sports resort which appears to be popular among Shy Guys. This course is unique as it begins in a foggy environment that blocks most of the player's view, but as the race progresses, the fog clears until the final lap where the clear sky is visible. It is the first course in the Mario Kart series to have a different name between the American and British English localizations.
The stage is somewhat a combination of DK Mountain from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and DK Pass from Mario Kart DS. Like DK Mountain, it has a Barrel Cannon aimed at a mountain and a zigzagging, crevice-filled path to the goal line, and like DK Pass, it is covered in snow and has various small snow piles that slow the player down if they run into them, as well as numerous Dash Panels. DK Summit is the first course in the game, and the first course in the series overall, to feature half-pipes.
DK Summit returns in Mario Kart Tour as a classic course starting with the Snow Tour, and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the third course of the Fruit Cup in the Booster Course Pass.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course takes place in a mountain filled with snow and some Snowboarding Shy Guys. Racers begin by taking a 90° turn to the right towards a set of automatic barriers and Item Boxes, which lead towards a Barrel Cannon. After landing from the cannon, racers make a U-turn to the left, with half-pipes lining both sides of the track. Racers then reach a set of ramps, with a large Dash Panel ramp on the right side and three consecutive simple ramps on the left side. Both include Item Boxes floating above. Afterwards, racers take a slight left turn while avoiding two pink-striped drifts of deep snow. Along this turn, racers pass a large wooden statue of Mario snowboarding; if a player is playing as a Mii, the statue's head will be replaced with a male Mii's head.
Racers then reach a widened area with a large number of moguls that racers can trick off of. The area also has four dash panel ramps, each of which has a single Item Box on top. The track then narrows again and racers must make a U-turn to the right around a chasm. On the outside of the turn is a half-pipe with three Item Boxes above it. Racers must then make a U-turn to the left around a second chasm that is significantly larger, before reaching a straightaway where the track widens again.
Between this straightaway and the end of the track, half-pipes line both sides of the track. In the middle of the track, racers encounter two wide Dash Panels followed by two large drifts of deep snow. To avoid the drifts, racers must either swerve around them or use the half-pipes. On both sides of each snow drift, above the half-pipes, is a set of Item Boxes, further incentivizing the use of the half-pipes. There are also Miis watching the racers perform tricks. However, this area also contains three Snowboarding Shy Guys as obstacles. Each one goes back and forth across the width of the track, and hitting one will make the player spin out. One is between the two snow drifts, and two are close together right after the second snow drift. After this section, racers must make one last right turn before the half-pipes end, the track narrows one last time, and racers reach the finish line.
During the first lap of the course, snow is falling heavily, and the background and distant objects cannot be seen. By the third lap, snowfall clears up and all scenery can be clearly seen. This concept is reused for DS DK Pass in Mario Kart 7.
There are three Item Boxes underneath the S-bend section that can be seen through hacking or with a glitch, but they cannot be obtained without hacking as Lakitu takes the player back to the track before the Item Boxes can be reached.[1]
Shortcuts[edit]
- On the second turn, it is best to ride up the left-side half-pipe and curl around the long turn, landing just before the ramps with the second set of Item Boxes.
- If the player is using a sport bike, they may charge a left drift and release a Mini-Turbo and wheelie up to the half-pipe. If executed properly, the small speed boost from the wheelie is maintained as the player curls around the turn.
- Following the ramps with the second set of Item Boxes, there is a patch of deep snow that can be passed through with the use of a Dash Mushroom or other boosting item.
- The two chasms following the moguls section may be passed over itemless.
- The first chasm only requires drifting to the right just after the fence ends. The player can run into the fence on the otherside to reallign to the main path as it does not behave like a wall.
- The second chasm can be skipped in tandem with the first if the player slows down and realligns themselves before the first chasm in order to land in between both chasms in such a way where it is possible to drift to the left up and over the second chasm.
- Another way to pass over both chasms is with the use of at least two Dash Mushrooms. The player must allign themselves, use a Dash Mushroom, and hop from the ledge of the first chasm. Using a Dash Mushroom mid-air is necessary to have enough speed to then land past the second chasm, on the turn before the section with the Snowboarding Shy Guys.
- The half-pipe wraps around the final turn on the right side. If the player alligns themselves properly, the can curl around the final turn, similarly to the second turn.
Tournaments[edit]
December 2008's second tournament required players to pass through 25 gates on DK Summit. The tournament was later repeated as the second tournament of December 2010, the first tournament of April 2012, and the second tournament of June 2013.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
DK Summit makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, introduced in the Snow Tour (making this the first Wii course to make its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour). The Mario Kart logo on the starting banner now uses its modern version instead of its classic one, the starting banner itself is made completely out of metal instead of wood, the metallic grids around the start are replaced with plastic fencing, and there is a snowcat stationed by the starting grid. The gates racers pass through before entering the cannon now emit the sound of an airhorn (which was previously heard in Super Bell Subway and Tokyo Blur 3, and later in Tokyo Blur 4) as they open, rather than a bell sound. The sign that says "DK Cannon" now uses the Super Mario logo font.
On the course, the wooden snowboarding Mario statue near the moguls area is replaced with a stone Donkey Kong statue, most of the trees are absent, and the cannon after the start/finish line now encompasses a Glide Ramp. A stretch of half-pipe ramp between the second chasm turn and the final stretch of the course was removed, and there is only one Dash Panel instead of two before entering the final section. An additional patch of snow was added to the right side of the road at the beginning of the section, while the other two patches of snow were made more uniform in shape and size. The falling snow mechanic has been removed, with the course now being sunny throughout the whole race. There are also no longer Miis in the half-pipe section. The course's map has also been rotated 180°, with the starting line at the bottom of the map.
The course also appears as DK Summit R (reversed), DK Summit T (with ramps), and DK Summit R/T (reversed with ramps) The former two debuted alongside the regular version in the Snow Tour, while the latter debuted in the 2022 Holiday Tour. In the T and R/T variants, the Shy Guy Snowboarders are absent, and there are instead several dash panels up against the half-pipes.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Wii DK Summit tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which Wii DK Summit 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 Wii DK Summit tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
