Course (Mario Kart series)
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It has been suggested that Remix course be merged into this article. (discuss) |
- "Nitro" redirects here. For the console codenamed "Nitro", see Nintendo DS.
- "New" redirects here. For the sub-series of the Super Mario series, see New Super Mario Bros. (disambiguation).
- "Retro" redirects here. For the company, see Retro Studios.
A course (also known as a track or map)[1] is an individual circuit used for races in the Mario Kart series. A race on a course is composed of a certain number of laps (usually three), which can vary depending on how long the track is. For example, Baby Park, the shortest track in the series, can take up to seven laps to complete. However, a track can also be so large that it is divided into multiple sections, as is the case with Mount Wario or Maka Wuhu. Courses can vary in theming, with some being regular race tracks, such as Luigi Raceway and Mario Kart Stadium, while others take place in a variety of other environments, such as a shopping mall, a city or inside a clock. All courses feature Item Boxes in some capacity, as well as Coins in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 7 onwards; both usually spread out at regular intervals around the course and its shortcuts. They may also contain various ramps, shortcuts and Dash Panels for players to take, and obstacles such as enemies, objects or traffic.
Courses are usually grouped into cups, with each cup typically being composed of four courses (five in Super Mario Kart). Courses can be raced either individually (in a mode usually called VS) or in sequence as part of a cup (in a mode usually called Grand Prix). In all mainline Mario Kart games prior to Mario Kart Tour, new courses are mainly included in the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, and Special Cup.
Other types of courses[edit]
Battle courses[edit]
Battle courses are a special variety of courses that appear exclusively in each of the Mario Kart games' Battle mode. Unlike standard race courses, battle courses are typically small, enclosed arenas with more driving ground, with the intent of close combat through a variety of rulesets that differ greatly from a normal race. As battling each other out is the primary objective for these courses, Item Boxes are also present and often mandatory, and evenly spread out across the course. Coins are only available during the Coin Runners battle mode, and are otherwise completely absent on battle courses.
In Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart Tour, and Mario Kart World, certain race courses have been turned into battle courses. In Mario Kart 8, the race courses have practically been unaltered from their race mode counterparts, but in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart World, they have been sectioned off to be more reminiscent of a typical battle course. Additionally, Mario Kart World also turns some sectioned-off routes into battle courses.
Returning courses[edit]
Starting from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, courses from previous entries began reappearing alongside brand-new courses, which, until Mario Kart 8's original DLC, were separated into a distinct set of cups. Returning courses were recognized by prefixes from Mario Kart DS to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, which denote the system of the game that the course made its first appearance in. Mario Kart: Super Circuit features every Super Mario Kart course in its Extra cups, where they are named Extra Tracks. Returning courses do not appear in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii name the selection of returning courses the Retro Grand Prix, while Mario Kart 7 refers to its returning courses as retro courses.[2] Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour refer to their returning courses as classic courses,[3][4][5][6] and also feature a specific code prepended to the internal names of these courses depending on their origin. These are similar to, but distinct from, the prefixes displayed in-game for each course. These prefixes are as follows:
| Platform code | Classic course prefix counterpart | Platform | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| sfc | SNES[a] | Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom | Super Mario Kart |
| n64 | N64[b] | Nintendo 64 | Mario Kart 64 |
| agb | GBA | Game Boy Advance | Mario Kart: Super Circuit |
| gc | GCN[c] | Nintendo GameCube | Mario Kart: Double Dash!! |
| ds | DS | Nintendo DS | Mario Kart DS |
| wii | Wii | Wii | Mario Kart Wii |
| 3ds | 3DS | Nintendo 3DS | Mario Kart 7 |
| u | N/A | Wii U | Mario Kart 8[d] |
| mob | Tour (city courses)[e] N/A (other courses) |
iOS, iPadOS, Android | Mario Kart Tour |
| nsw | N/A | Nintendo Switch | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (first used in the Booster Course Pass)[f] |
- Footnotes
- ^ Games in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese use the SFC prefix, reflecting the console's Japanese name, "Super Famicom".
- ^ Prior to Mario Kart 8, games in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese use the 64 prefix.
- ^ Games in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese use the GC prefix.
- ^ Even though they were first playable on the Nintendo Switch, the battle courses introduced in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe all feature the u platform code.
- ^ In the Tencent release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, none of the courses from Mario Kart Tour have the "Tour" prefix.
- ^ All Booster Course Pass courses feature the nsw platform code, regardless of origin.
From Mario Kart DS to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, classic courses are designated to the Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup. Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe additionally feature classic courses mixed with new courses in the Egg Cup, Triforce Cup, Crossing Cup, and Bell Cup, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also featuring mostly returning courses (along with a few new courses) in its Booster Course Pass DLC cups. In Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, classic courses keep generally faithful appearances compared to their debut titles. Classic courses in Mario Kart 7 receive small changes to incorporate underwater driving and gliding sections. Games from Mario Kart 8 onwards have more drastic redesigns for returning courses, incorporating anti-gravity sections and bringing them up to a higher level of consistency between new courses and returning ones. In Mario Kart World, there is very little distinction made compared to prior entries, including the removal of the prefix system for main tracks; the SNES prefix was later added back for seven Super Mario Kart tracks that were previously only playable as Missions.
Main series race courses[edit]
Below is a list of all race courses having appeared in each game.
Super Mario Kart[edit]
Unique to this game is that while the four base cups are already established, they contain five courses each instead of four.
Mario Kart 64[edit]
This game reduces the number of tracks in a cup from five to four, which would become standard for the series going forward. If Mario Kart: Super Circuit's Extra Tracks are excluded, Mario Kart 64 is the only game in the series to have all of its courses return at least once.
| Cup | Courses | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mushroom Cup |
 Luigi Raceway 717 m |
 Moo Moo Farm 527 m |
 Koopa Troopa Beach 691 m |
 Kalimari Desert 753 m |
 Flower Cup |
 Toad's Turnpike 1036 m |
 Frappe Snowland 734 m |
 Choco Mountain 687 m |
 Mario Raceway 567 m |
 Star Cup |
 Wario Stadium 1591 m |
 Sherbet Land 756 m |
 Royal Raceway 1025 m |
 Bowser's Castle 777 m |
 Special Cup |
 D.K.'s Jungle Parkway 893 m |
 Yoshi Valley 772 m |
 Banshee Boardwalk 747 m |
 Rainbow Road 2000 m |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Super Circuit Tracks[edit]
Extra Tracks[edit]
These courses were originally featured in Super Mario Kart, and once again take five laps to complete in Grand Prix mode. While they largely take after the appearance of new courses with similar themes, certain elements are adjusted to resemble the original versions, such as Rainbow Road retaining its tiled road. These courses lack most of their obstacles from Super Mario Kart (besides the breaking blocks in the Ghost Valley and Vanilla Lake courses and the deep water in the Koopa Beaches). Coin locations are also changed so that each track has exactly 50 coins.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!![edit]
This is the first game where courses can have irregular lap counts, as Baby Park has seven laps and Wario Colosseum only has two laps. This is also the first game where the Special Cup is represented with a crown rather than the letter "S".
