Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart 7. For its musical theme, see Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7 theme). For the stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS based on this course, see Rainbow Road (stage).
| Rainbow Road | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2019) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 3) (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cups | Special Cup (7) Moon Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tours |
Holiday Tour (2019)
New Year's Tour (2020) Mario Bros. Tour Baby Rosalina Tour Trick Tour (2020) Flower Tour Marine Tour Summer Festival Tour 1st Anniversary Tour Halloween Tour (2020) Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) Winter Tour (2020) Snow Tour Mario Tour (2021) Yoshi Tour (2021) Trick Tour (2021) Wedding Tour Autumn Tour (2021) Toad vs. Toadette Tour Space Tour (2021) Holiday Tour (2021) Yoshi Tour (2022) New Year's Tour (2023) Space Tour (2023) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Rainbow Road is the fourth and last race course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. The course has once again increased in length compared to previous renditions, but still shares a similar theme to its predecessor. Instead of floating above the atmosphere, it now takes place around the Moon, with several small asteroids in the background. As a result, unlike past Rainbow Roads, this incarnation features the player driving on off-road surfaces such as the Moon itself and rings of Saturn. It is the first Rainbow Road course to contain one lap divided into three sections, being followed by Mario Kart 8's iteration of N64 Rainhow Road. Due to its length, it is one of the longest courses in the Mario Kart series, and as such is also one of the longest Rainbow Roads in the series; however, the iteration of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64 takes more time to complete, as it is three laps long instead of one. If based on a single lap, it is still only the second longest, with Mario Kart World's iteration being longer.
This Rainbow Road returns as a classic course in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the 2019 Holiday Tour. It is one of only two courses in the game to have three laps or sections (the other being GCN Baby Park T). It also returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the fourth and final course of the Moon Cup in the Booster Course Pass.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Along with Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu, Rainbow Road only has one lap instead of three. It is divided into three sections to resemble laps. The truss at the start-and-finish line displays the Mario Kart logo with dynamic rainbow. The start of the second section has a truss displaying two dynamic rainbow stars. The truss at start of the third section displays three dynamic rainbow stars.
When performing a trick on this course, a slightly different sound effect will be produced when compared to other courses; the same applies to SNES Rainbow Road.
This course has the second most Glide Ramps out of every Mario Kart course, with five, as Rainbow Road in Mario Kart World has six. However, only the Glide Ramps going onto and off of the planet rings are mandatory.
In addition, it is the only course in the Special Cup without an underwater section.
Course layout[edit]
The race starts off with a short straightaway, following with a sharp turn to the right, then left, going around a planet. Afterward, there are three platforms that the drivers drive and jump off each one (similar to the area before the temple in DK Jungle). Next, players drive around another planet, but are spiraling down as they do so, with drop-offs allowing for tricks. The track then comes to a rainbow-spotted Mushroom Trampoline, and then a sharp right turn. After the turn, players have the opportunity to snatch some item boxes and coins on a waving road (similar to Mario Kart Wii).
Section two starts off with another sharp turn followed by a glide ramp which leads racers onto the rings of a Saturn-like planet. Players have to dodge holes in the rings before they then come to a section where they can hit some dash panels for speed boosts. Players then activate their glider again after hitting the next glide ramp at the end of the rings. Once landing, players take three turns, all loaded with dash panels. Next, there is another wavy road, but this one has holes in it. Once the drivers make it through the wavy road or fall through, they land on the moon, where they need to dodge rolling Chain Chomps, and they can trick off of craters. Though there's no water in the moon portion, its low gravity works identically to the physics of driving underwater, so sometimes players can fly far with just one trick.
Section three starts with some conveyor belts that give little boosts, then leads into a spinning tube with dash panels and glide ramps at the end. The track splits into two parts, then three, then two, before fusing back into one. This part is filled with ramps that can be used to go through rings for extra speed. If players hit a glide ramp, they have to dodge asteroids, but try to pass through rings at the same time. The track ends with a part that increases in altitude, then decreases again, leading to one small jump facing the finish line.
There are three Item Boxes floating under the rings of the Saturn-like planetoid. It is possible to get one of these Item Boxes by gliding, but the player must get back on the track after getting it in order to use their item. However, it is quite difficult to do so without a mushroom.
Shortcuts[edit]
- The first turn of the second section can be skipped or taken tightly by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road.
- Time can be gained by repeatedly swooping far down below the planetoid’s ring and up again after the first Glider ramp.
- Another Glider shortcut can be performed with the second Glider ramp by gliding off to the left back over the planet’s ring and landing after or on the second set of Dash Panels, skipping the turn.
- The last turn of the course can be skipped by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road and landing on the final straightaway.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
This version of Rainbow Road makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the 2019 Holiday Tour. Various changes have been made to the track - it is noticeably flatter overall, with several turns being far less banked. The start-and-finish truss is now formed by a rainbow arch with a gold half star surrounding it and displays the Mario Kart logo in cyan. The checkered line is now black and white, instead of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black. The other two trusses for the start of the second and third sections are also formed by a rainbow arch and display three golden stars. The rails on the race track are now formed by golden stars while the rails on the moon are now formed by cyan neon lights. The star-shaped rings are now silver and have disco balls at the corners pointing outwards, like the golden star-shaped ring on the rotating tunnel. The launch rings are now cyan, resembling the dash ring items. The curbs, located on the turn after the start of the second section and at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line, have been removed. The series of jumps following the first few turns have been aligned. The part between the mushroom trampoline and the start of the second section is now entirely wavy. At the turn after the start of the second section, the rails are placed on the left side of the track, instead of the right side. The series of turns following the second Glide Ramp have also been made tamer. The Dash Panel on the wavy section before the moon area has been replaced with a trick ramp. Toads in space suits now appear as spectators next to the spaceships and the moon near the first turn is now a blue planet that resembles Uranus, while Jupiter replaces the second moon. After the start of the third section, the golden arches are replaced with star-shaped rings. When driving on the boost conveyors, the acceleration sound effect has been removed. The rail at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line has been removed, as well as the jump ramp at the end of the section. Earth is also now visible in the background of the track, and the galaxy has been replaced by the Andromeda Galaxy. The sun has also been moved to a spot that is visible from the Moon section.
The course also appears as Rainbow Road R (reversed), Rainbow Road T (with ramps), and Rainbow Road R/T (reversed with ramps). The former two debuted alongside the original in the 2019 Holiday Tour, while the latter debuted in the Baby Rosalina Tour. In all three variants, the rolling Chain Chomps are gone. In the R and R/T variants, the gaps between paths where the path splits are now filled in by kanaami roads. In the R variant, the moon section is cut short as racers use a cannon to glide up to the road, and racers can glide over the three platforms towards the end of the track. In the T and R/T variants, the starting line is now located in the split path section, making them two of five courses in Mario Kart Tour to not start in the same location as the original, the others being 3DS Rock Rock Mountain T, Singapore Speedway R/T and Athens Dash R/T. Additionally, the spinning tube and both wavy parts of the road are completely gone. In the T variant, there are several more mushroom trampolines, and all three former gliding sections are also gone, but racers instead glide over the moon. In the R/T variant, racers glide over where the spinning tube was.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Rainbow Road tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which 3DS Rainbow Road 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 3DS Rainbow Road tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
| Course | Three-item drivers | Bonus points ×2 karts | Combo bonus ×3 gliders | Two-item drivers | Bonus points ×1.5 karts | Combo bonus ×2 gliders |
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