Peach Gardens (race course)
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| Appears in | Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart Wii (2008) Mario Kart Tour (2022) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 3) (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cups | Special Cup (DS) Lightning Cup (Wii) Moon Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Next | Bowser Castle (DS) GCN DK Mountain (Wii) Merry Mountain (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mario Kart DS courses Mario Kart Wii courses Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Peach Gardens is the second course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart DS and is the only course in that cup to have a unique name. The course is located in the gardens of a large country estate that bears a similar design to Peach's Castle. Obstacles in the course include Chain Chomps and Monty Moles, both capable of attacking the player. The course is often blocked by large hedges which cannot be driven through and patches of grass that slow players down. However, a speed booster such as a Mushroom or a Star can be used to get across the grass for a shortcut.
The course contains various gardening elements such as ornamental trees and flowers. Some parts of the road are decorated by trellised arches, like the one standing after the starting line that supports the "Mario Kart" banner on it. The track also includes a pond with a circular terrace that has a large garden topiary of Mario in the center. This is the only part of the track that is not protected by fences and falling into the pond causes Lakitu to put the player back on the track. The rest of the track, however, is protected by fences and tall hedges serving as walls. This Mario topiary resembles his design from Super Mario 64, which in turn makes it resemble the Mario ice sculpture in N64 Frappe Snowland.
Peach Gardens reappears in Mario Kart Wii as the second course of the Lightning Cup, in Mario Kart Tour starting from the November–December 2022 Peach vs. Bowser Tour, and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass DLC as the second course of the Moon Cup.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The track starts with the starting line in the front of the mansion's backdoor. The racers go along a straight piece of road towards a bridge to the pond in a roundabout circling the garden topiary of Mario and a single Chain Chomp running around the topiary. The racers swerve to the left onto another bridge to return to the garden and take a semicircular turn to the right. A patch of flowers in it can be passed through to skip the turn. The road continues uphill to a square terrace with a pair of squared patches of grass and flowers in it. The road turns in a 90 degrees turn to the right; however, any racer can cut the path by going to a narrow portion of flat terrain to the right of the front patch of flowers and go instantly downhill out of the terrace. Racers enter to a maze-like zone, where the main road is split up in multiple paths by square parterres and some stray Chain Chomps wander in the maze with two Item Boxes following after them. The maze ends with the paths gathering again to the main road that leads the racers uphill to another terrace. The road makes an abrupt S bend to the right and around a patch of flowers and goes downhill to a circular path with three high hedges that split the road again in parts into multiple paths, but gathers shortly and sends the racers to a curly path of dark soil with green lawn and some trees scattered in the zone. Among other elements in this section of the track are the Monty Moles hiding below holes found in the corners of the path. The path ends near the mansion in a straight walkway that returns the racers to the backdoor, and swerving to the right from this spot, racers find the finish line to complete a lap.
Peach Gardens is the only course in the game whose finish line gate is not placed directly over it, being placed slightly farther ahead instead. The gate is repositioned over the finish line in the course's future appearances. It was one of the courses that could not be played over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Missions[edit]
There are two missions that take place on Peach Gardens:
- Mission 5-1: The player controls Peach, who must beat a very fast Chain Chomp in a single-lap race. Immediately after starting, the player can obtain a set of Triple Mushrooms from the only set of Item Boxes. Notably, this mission uses an arrangement of the Chain Chomp theme from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as its background music exclusive to this mission, having a changed melody and extended bassline and bridge.
- Mission 6-8: The player controls Bowser, who must beat Peach in a single-lap race while going in the opposite direction. During this mission, barriers block off some routes in the hedge maze, force the player to cut through the patch of flowers just before the topiary, and force the player to take the long way around the topiary itself. Each Item Box contains a Star, Mushroom, or Triple Mushrooms.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Peach Gardens makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Wii as the second race of the Lightning Cup. There are now two new ramps found near the soil path right next to where the Monty Moles jump up. The Chain Chomps that roam around the hedge section now have chains and they move slower than their DS counterparts. The Mario Kart sign at the beginning of the course has been moved back to be aligned with the finish line. The course map has also been rotated 180 degrees compared to how it appeared in Mario Kart DS. Additionally, it is the only DS track in the game to not use its Mario Kart DS arrangement. Its final lap variation begins late into the theme, skipping the first nine seconds.
Tournaments[edit]
April 2009's second tournament had players complete a Time Trial on a version of Peach Gardens with more obstacles: Three Chain Chomps now travel around the topiary, six roam around the hedge maze, one travels around the second terrace, two travel around the three high hedges, and two more roam on the walkway in front of the mansion. Additional Monty Moles can also be found at the first semicircular turn, the first terrace, the soil path, and right before the finish line. Players start the Time Trial with no items, but some Chain Chomps have Item Boxes trailing behind which always contain a Mushroom. The tournament was later repeated as the second tournament of April 2011, the second tournament of July 2012, and the first tournament of October 2013.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Peach Gardens reappears in Mario Kart Tour starting with the November–December 2022 Peach vs. Bowser Tour. It is the first race course from Mario Kart DS to be added to the game since DS Airship Fortress in the Pirate Tour sixty tours prior.
The course has been completely redesigned since its appearance in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Unlike its previous incarnations, the Chain Chomps now roll around like they do on Chain Chomp Wheel in Mario Kart Wii, only two of them occupy the hedge maze, and Dash Panels have been added to the longer portion of the loop at the beginning. The Chain Chomp at this loop also now moves in the opposite direction compared to past games, moving counterclockwise instead of clockwise. The left turn after the second stone bridge was made wider, with the flower patch being smaller. The flower patches before and after the maze have been relocated off to the side, streamlining the route the course takes. The areas before and after the maze also no longer go past the entrance and exit of the maze, and instead they turn diagonally into it. Item Boxes during the maze section no longer trail behind the Chain Chomps, and are instead set in predetermined spots. The layout of the maze has also changed, as some of the squares are smaller than the others and there are only three rows instead of five. Hot-air balloons with arrow signs have been added to the course before and after the maze section. The high hedge section near the end has now been turned into a roundabout, sporting a Big Piranha Plant inside of a Warp Pipe in the middle. The winding road leading to the final stretch along the house has been mirrored. Out of the two ramps added in Mario Kart Wii, only the left ramp (after exiting the roundabout) is retained, while the right ramp has been removed.
The course now features fountains, flower stands, more trellises, heart shaped lawn patterns, and two gazebos. The mansion has been redone to feature bigger windows and beige walls. The striped hills in the background are taller, as are the walls around the course; they now feature small turrets and crenellations, and there are no longer trees visible over them. In addition to Mario's topiary being redesigned, the first maze section now features topiaries of Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Toadette. The starting banner seems to have been moved slightly more to the center and is now decorated with rose bushes and topped with Peach's crown. It also utilizes the modern Mario Kart logo (which is pink) instead of the classic one.
The course also appears as Peach Gardens R (reversed), Peach Gardens T (with ramps), and Peach Gardens R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R variant, there is a glide ramp at the start of the hedge maze, and the Chain Chomp rolling around the topiary now rolls clockwise; in the T and R/T variants, it is removed altogether along with the Big Piranha Plant. In the T variant, racers are forced to take the long way around the topiary, and the short way now has two chained Chain Chomps, though there are barriers that prevent them from hitting racers. Racers also drive along numerous conveyor belts. In the R/T variant, there is a large Inky Piranha Plant where the Big Piranha Plant was, and there is only one Chain Chomp left in the hedge maze.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of DS Peach Gardens tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which DS Peach Gardens 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 DS Peach Gardens tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
