Mushroom Gorge
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart Wii. For its musical theme, see Mushroom Gorge (theme).
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| Appears in | Mario Kart Wii (2008) Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2022) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 2) (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cups | Mushroom Cup (Wii) Shell Cup (7) Propeller Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Based on | New Super Mario Bros.'s athletic levels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Previous | Moo Moo Meadows (Wii) GBA Bowser Castle 1 (7) GBA Snow Land (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next | Toad's Factory (Wii) DS Luigi's Mansion (7) Sky-High Sundae (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mario Kart Wii courses Mario Kart 7 courses Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mushroom Gorge is the third course of the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart Wii. It is located on a mountainous area with tall Mushroom Platforms rising over cloudy pits. The course is inspired by the athletic levels of New Super Mario Bros. Racers travel the course mainly on land; however, on a part of the course, they enter a cave where they find a pit full of Mushroom Trampolines, which are mushrooms the racers use as platforms. Players can drive two different ways over these mushrooms to cross the cave. Red Mushroom Trampolines cause drivers to bounce and allow players to perform tricks. The green-capped Mushroom Trampolines, however, do not cause vehicles to bounce. Some Goombas appear serving as obstacles on the track.
Mushroom Gorge reappears in Mario Kart 7 as the third course of the Shell Cup, in Mario Kart Tour starting with the 2022 Mii Tour, and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the third course of the Propeller Cup.
A court based on Mushroom Gorge appears in Mario Tennis Open, called Mushroom Valley.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course begins on a dirt road with Mushroom Trampolines and Mushroom Platforms in the background. After a brief straightaway there is a slight turn to the right and a turn to the left, where racers encounter the first set of Item Boxes. Racers then drive onto a wooden bridge that curves right, followed by a ramp that leads to a single Mushroom Trampoline, hanging over an abyss. The ramps on this course are notable because they visually resemble Dash Panel ramps, but their actual effect is much closer to that of Mushroom Trampolines.
After the first Mushroom Trampoline, there is a left turn which brings racers to a fork in the road. If racers turn left, the road will then curve right and racers encounter three moving Item Boxes and Dash Panels. This route is the longer and slower of the two. If racers go straight ahead, there is a ramp followed by a Mushroom Platform in between two Mushroom Trampolines, once again hanging over an abyss. A set of Item Boxes floats in midair between the first Mushroom Trampoline and the Mushroom Platform. This route is usually taken by CPUs.
The two routes then join and racers enter a crystal cave, taking a gradual left turn before reaching a ramp and another split path. This time, both routes are composed of Mushroom Trampolines and Mushroom Platforms, leaving no other road for racers to drive on. If racers take the left route, they use three Mushroom Trampolines to gain height and reach a Mushroom Platform that is very high up. They then use two more Mushroom Trampolines before falling down to the height they were at before, where one more Mushroom Trampoline will bring them to the end of the section. If racers take the right route, they use two Mushroom Trampolines followed by a pair of Mushroom Platforms and then three Mushroom Trampolines, bringing them to the end of the section. Unlike the left path, players remain at the same height on the right path. While the right route is once again faster, it only has a single pair of Item Boxes, found between the first two Mushroom Trampolines, while the left route has two sets of Item Boxes, making it much easier for racers to acquire items. Both routes are also relatively straight but require racers to make small turns to correct their trajectory.
After the long cave section, racers exit the cave and return to the dirt road, where there is a slight right turn and then a left U-turn around an abyss. There are three Goombas along this U-turn. Afterwards, racers reach the finish line.
Shortcuts[edit]
- There is a pair of Mushroom Trampolines in the first abyss to the left of the first row of Item Boxes. It can be reached with the use of a Dash Mushroom or other boosting item.
- This can be reached itemless if the player charges a Mini-Turbo and then hops over the thin strip of off-road to the first Mushroom Trampoline.
- The final turn features an abyss and a patch of off-road. Both may be skipped over with the use of a Dash Mushroom. To pass over the abyss using a Dash Mushroom, the player must properly allign themselves and then use the Dash Mushroom and hop at the very edge of the abyss over to the other side, skipping the final turn.
- Alternatively, players can use a Dash Mushroom and bounce off of a Mushroom Trampoline from the previous cave section onto the cliffside wall. If done correctly, the player will ride the side of the wall and land before the finish line.
- There is a lap count glitch, performed by using one of the Mushroom Trampolines in the first abyss and bouncing off of one onto the cliffside wall. Players must then ride the wall all the way past the finish line, landing just after the cave section. Players must then drive normally to finish the lap.
- Players can drive over off-road unhindered if they go over one of the ramps and do not then land on a Mushroom Trampoline. The glitched state ends when a player touches another Mushroom Trampoline. There are two use cases for this glitch:
- If done on the first ramp, players then have to take the left path to stay grounded and can then take a tighter line on the gradual left turn in the cave.
- If players use a Bullet Bill after touching the second or third ramp, if they are dropped at the end of the cave section, players can take the final off-road shortcut unhindered.
Tournaments[edit]
June 2008's second tournament required players to complete a Time Trial in reverse on Mushroom Gorge. There are several ramps added and the positions of mushroom trampolines and mushroom platforms are changed to make this possible. Players start the Time Trial with a set of Triple Mushrooms. The tournament was later repeated as the second tournament of June 2010, the first tournament of December 2011, the second tournament of February 2013, and finally the only tournament of May 2014, the final tournament before the discontinuation of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Mushroom Gorge makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 7 as the third course of the Shell Cup. The Mushroom Trampolines are now flatter and larger in this version than in the original Wii version, and most of the ones in the background have been removed. The arrows at the first split paths have been changed from brown to red. Some of the Dash Panels have been shifted around, with an extra one being added to the first split track section, and the one on the right at the split paths has been moved forward.
The most significant changes to the course are that the shortcut near the start of the track with the Mushroom Trampolines has been removed, five of the red Mushroom Trampolines inside the cave have been removed, and the Mushroom Platform on the left route is now a blue Mushroom Trampoline that acts as a Glide Ramp.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Mushroom Gorge returns in Mario Kart Tour as a classic course starting from the 2022 Mii Tour. It is the third Wii course to be included in the game and the first since Wii DK Summit in the Snow Tour twenty-seven tours prior. The course has received a graphical update. The starting line has been redesigned into a stone archway with the modern Mario Kart logo. Most Mushroom Trampolines have been restored to the background. Certain elements, like the elevation of the Mushroom Trampolines and the types of ramps used in some locations, had to be changed to accommodate for Mario Kart Tour's physics; there is also an additional Mushroom Trampoline in the cave section compared to the Mario Kart 7 incarnation of the track. Players can also now perform Jump Boosts by dropping off Mushroom Platforms. There is no longer a Dash Panel on the first or second ramp of the course. One of the three Goombas near the end of the course has also been removed.
The course also appears as Mushroom Gorge R (reversed), Mushroom Gorge T (with ramps), and Mushroom Gorge R/T (reversed with ramps). The first two debuted alongside the normal variant in the 2022 Mii Tour, while Mushroom Gorge R/T debuted in the 2023 Mii Tour. In all three variants, the number of mushrooms is significantly reduced; in the R variant, the only mushrooms remaining in the cave are blue mushroom trampolines. In the R/T variant, a glide ramp is placed at the left path after the cave, and the mushrooms from the shortcut after the starting line in Mario Kart Wii return, now larger in size.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Wii Mushroom Gorge 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 Mushroom Gorge 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 Mushroom Gorge tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
