Sky Garden (race course)
- "GBA Sky Tour" redirects here. For the event in Mario Kart Tour, see Sky Tour.
| Sky Garden | |||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001) Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart Tour (2022) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 1) (2022) | ||||||||||||||
| Cups | Lightning Cup (Super Circuit, DS) Lucky Cat Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||
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- “And, of course, there's Sky Garden. So dreamy! I wonder what they grow up there. Sky mushrooms? Cloudy flower?”
- —Jordan, Play Nintendo[1]
Sky Garden is the second course of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. The track takes place on a cobbled road atop clouds, with bridges connecting them and beanstalks scattered around the clouds. This course has no major obstacles, although players can easily fall off of it. The Luigi blimp from Luigi Circuit can be seen in the background. A similar course with several shared names in other languages known as Cloudtop Cruise appears in Mario Kart 8.
Sky Garden reappears as the third course of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart DS, in Mario Kart Tour starting with the Sky Tour and last appearing in the Princess Tour. It also appears in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass as the third course of the Lucky Cat Cup.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course begins with a 90° turn to the left, the first set of Item Boxes, and a slight S-bend that ends in a wide ramp. There is then an inverse S-bend immediately followed by another 90° left turn and a brief straightaway. The straightaway leads into a left turn followed by a sharp right turn and another 90° left turn. Racers then drive over a short bridge that leads into a sharp left turn followed by two slight turns and another brief straightaway. After the straightaway is a U-turn to the right followed by a slight left turn and another short bridge, with the last row of Item Boxes. After two left turns and a slight right turn, racers reach one last brief straightaway; along this straightaway there is a hole in the left side of the track preceded by a ramp. At the end of the straightaway lies the finish line.
Shortcuts[edit]
- To the right after the first turn, players can use a Dash Mushroom to reach a ramp in the off-road, skipping the two slight S-bends.
- At the end of the following straightaway, players can use a Dash Mushroom to reach a ramp in the off-road and landing near the first bridge.
- On this same turn, players can go over a ramp with a single Item Box, skipping over a small gap. This can be performed itemless.
- If players use a Dash Mushroom on this shortcut, they can land at the beginning of the right U-turn that precedes the second bridge if properly alligned.
- To the left of the right U-turn, there is a cloud platform that if taken, allows players to skip past the second bridge and second row of Item Boxes. This can be performed itemless.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Sky Garden makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart DS as the third course of the Lightning Cup, holding the distinction of being the first track to appear in the same cup twice since the Extra Tracks in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. There is an added shortcut in this version. After going across the small boost ramp leading to an item, the player must use a Dash Mushroom and hop at the exact right second to get across the large gap. The shortcut can also be done with a well placed jump over the large gap if the player is using a high acceleration kart without a Dash Mushroom, but is very difficult to perform. This is possible in the original game, but the player will fall right over the other side no matter what. Additionally, the first shortcut has an added longer cloud in front of the original one at the gap's end. The staff ghost is Daisy. It was one of the courses that could be played over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Missions[edit]
There is one mission that takes place on GBA Sky Garden:
- Mission 6-5: The player controls Peach, who must pass through 8 gates within 50 seconds. Each Item Box contains Triple Mushrooms. Various main paths are blocked by barriers, requiring the player to take the shortcuts.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Sky Garden returns in Mario Kart Tour starting from the Sky Tour. It is the second classic course in Mario Kart Tour (the first being GBA Sunset Wilds) to receive a new arrangement for its music and currently one of two GBA courses with a previous arrangement to receive a new arrangement in the game, the other being GBA Peach Circuit (and by extension, GBA Luigi Circuit). There are now two blimps; both use the appearance from Singapore Speedway. The giant beanstalks that previously only appeared in the background are now closer to the course, and one of them features a red Toad House on a cloud.
A course banner is added at the starting line, featuring the classic Mario Kart logo in a round frame supported by two beanstalks, which grow from earthenware planters. The road is also now made entirely of gray stone files, formed in an arched pattern, and features flowerpots and fences in the off-road areas. The course has been simplified, with some of the bends being removed. The first shortcut now features players performing Jump Boosts on giant leaves (as they behave like Mushroom Trampolines) while the last is now under the beanstalk that supports the Toad House. The second shortcut is removed; the ramp now leads to a Mushroom Trampoline on the main route. The straightaway near the finish line is replaced with a gliding section.
The course also appears as Sky Garden R (reversed), Sky Garden T (with ramps), and Sky Garden R/T (reversed with ramps). The former two debuted alongside the normal variant in the Sky Tour, while the latter was introduced in the 2023 New Year's Tour. In the R and T variants, the mushroom trampoline is removed. In the T variant, there are several Piranha Plants along the track as well as a moving platform with a dash panel ramp. In the R/T variant, racers drive across several additional mushroom trampolines, including a blue one.
Sky Garden's R/T variant is visible in an unused banner present in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's files as of version 2.0.0. This instance predated its official announcement in the 2023 New Year's Tour.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of GBA Sky Garden tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which GBA Sky Garden 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 GBA Sky Garden tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
