Koopa Troopa Beach (Mario Kart 64)
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart 64. For the renamed Super Mario Kart course of the same name, see Koopa Troopa Beach (Super Mario Kart). For its musical theme, see Koopa Troopa Beach (theme).
| Koopa Troopa Beach Koopa Beach | |||||||||||
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| Information | |||||||||||
| Appears in | Mario Kart 64 (1996) Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2019) | ||||||||||
| Cups | Mushroom Cup (64) Banana Cup (7) | ||||||||||
| Tours |
New York Tour
Halloween Tour (2019) Winter Tour (2019) Ice Tour Valentine's Tour Vancouver Tour Hammer Bro Tour Yoshi Tour (2020) Trick Tour (2020) Flower Tour Peach Tour Marine Tour Los Angeles Tour (2020) Sunset Tour Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) Cat Tour (2021) Sydney Tour (April–May 2021) Trick Tour (2021) Summer Tour (2021) Toad vs. Toadette Tour Holiday Tour (2021) Penguin Tour Peach vs. Bowser Tour (May 2022) Cat Tour (2022) Ninja Tour (2023) Sunshine Tour | ||||||||||
| Distance | 691 m | ||||||||||
| Music track | "Koopa Troopa Beach" | ||||||||||
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| Previous | Moo Moo Farm (64) | ||||||||||
| Next | Kalimari Desert (64) SNES Mario Circuit 2 (7) | ||||||||||
| Mario Kart 64 courses Mario Kart 7 courses | |||||||||||
Koopa Troopa Beach (transliterated as Noko Noko Beach on a few occasions[1][2]) is the third race course of the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart 64. It acts as a successor to the Koopa Beach courses in Super Mario Kart. The course has a landmark rock formation of a Koopa Troopa. Koopa Troopa Beach is the first of Mario Kart 64 to feature an explicit shortcut available without the use of an item.
Koopa Troopa Beach reappears in Mario Kart 7 as the first course of the Banana Cup and in Mario Kart Tour starting with the New York Tour and last appearing in the Sunshine Tour.
Mario Kart 64[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course takes place along a beach with rocky cliffs to the left of the track and water to the right of it. It begins with a slight right turn and a left turn, where racers encounter the first set of Item Boxes. They then go left or right around a rock formation shaped like a Koopa Troopa. Once the paths join there is a long gradual left turn followed by a simple ramp and another item set. Racers then pass under a rocky arch and enter a wider area with a right turn; along the turn is three more simple ramps, with an Item Box atop each, but racers can also cut off the turn by driving through some shallow water. Afterwards the track narrows again and there is another gradual left turn, with an item set at the beginning and end of it. In the middle of the turn is a much longer and narrower ramp that allows racers to jump over a large rock and reach a single Item Box; the Item Box always contains a Spiny Shell. Otherwise, racers must go around the rock, and there are palm trees to the left that racers must also avoid. After the gradual left turn, one more right turn brings racers to the finish line. Along this last turn is two more simple ramps, the first of which has three Item Boxes on top. Throughout the course there are also small crabs as obstacles.
Shortcuts[edit]
A notable shortcut can be found just past the rocky arch. By going off a small ramp along the subsequent right turn and either using a Dash Mushroom or a well-timed hop, the player can enter a narrow cave. Driving straight through this cave will lead the player through a waterfall, and they return to the track just after the large rock, cutting off a turn in the process.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Koopa Troopa Beach makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 7 as the first race of the Banana Cup, with its title shortened to Koopa Beach in the American English version. There are several changes made from its original version. Players can now fully drive underwater and all ramps still present from the original version now have Dash Panels on them. Additionally, the skybox is identical to DS Palm Shore's and the start-finish line has an additional rock cropping. Other changes are that the Spiny Shell item box has now been replaced with a coin, with the ramp preceding the former Spiny Shell item box now being shorter and wider and ending in a Glide Ramp. Finally, all the crabs have been replaced with Sidesteppers.
The two shortcuts from the original have been merged into one and all ramps present in the original version from this area after the second row of Item Boxes have been removed. Instead of a ramp just below the mouth of the entrance to the cave shortcut, the player can access a Glide Ramp that is over the preceding underwater area in order to access the cave shortcut. To reach this Glide Ramp, the player must use a Dash Mushroom over a ramp made of sand on the shoreline, just to the right past the preceding archway. The Glide Ramp is reachable itemless during low tide by going over this same ramp with a well-timed trick. This shortcut through the rock hill has been shortened and the player exits through the waterfall above the track rather than level with it.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Koopa Troopa Beach returns in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the New York Tour. It retains its appearance from Mario Kart 7, and uses the source quality version of the music track from that game.[3] Unlike that game though, the title of the course is now lengthened back to Koopa Troopa Beach in the American English version. The rocks on the track are now a light shade of gray, and the Koopa rock is once again made more realistic.
SNES Koopa Beach 2 was also renamed to SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2 in this game, most likely to be consistent with the name of this track.
The course also appears as Koopa Troopa Beach R (reversed), Koopa Troopa Beach T (with ramps), and Koopa Troopa Beach R/T (reversed with ramps). The latter was not added until the Vancouver Tour. In the R and R/T variants, all racers can easily enter the cave shortcut. In the T and R/T variants, there is a Noshi in the bay halfway through the course.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of N64 Koopa Troopa Beach tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which N64 Koopa Troopa Beach 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 N64 Koopa Troopa Beach tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
