Snow Land
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart: Super Circuit. For its musical theme, see GBA Snow Land (theme).
- Not to be confused with Ice Land.
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| Appears in | Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 2) (2022) Mario Kart Tour (2022) | ||||||||||
| Cups | Star Cup (Super Circuit) Propeller Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||
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| Previous | Tour Sydney Sprint (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||
| Next | Ribbon Road (Super Circuit) Wii Mushroom Gorge (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||
| Mario Kart: Super Circuit courses Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses | |||||||||||
- “Proverbe du Pays Neigeux : « Qui taquine les pingouins, finit par tomber dans le ravin. » (Snow Land proverb: "Those who tease the penguins end up falling into the ravine.")”
- —Official French Mario Kart Facebook page[1]
Snow Land is the first course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Like most ice courses from the Mario Kart series, Snow Land is a very slippery track which requires accurate steering. Similarly to Frappe Snowland, snowmen appear as obstacles on this course though bumping into them does not cause the player to spin out. Spinning penguins also appear as obstacles, which can cause the player to spin out. A portion of this course's music resembles a section from Choco Mountain's music from Mario Kart 64. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the course's background is used on Vanilla Lake 1 and Vanilla Lake 2 from Super Mario Kart.
Snow Land returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second course of the Propeller Cup in the Booster Course Pass DLC and in Mario Kart Tour starting from the 2022 Holiday Tour.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course takes place atop a frozen body of water, with the main road being dark blue ice and the sides of the road being lined with light blue ice and snow. The course begins with a 90° turn to the right, the first set of Item Boxes, and a 90° turn to the left. There is then a 135° right turn followed by a straightaway; in the middle of the road here is a long line of the course's only coins. Racers then take another 135° right turn followed by a slight right and a U-turn to the left. The course then continues with a brief straight and two 90° right turns, along which there are holes in the ice and spinning Penguins as obstacles. Afterwards, racer encounter another item set as well as a speed strip on the left side of the road. They then take a 45° right turn, 90° left turn, and another 45° right turn. A 90° right turn and a brief straightaway then bring racers to the finish line.
Throughout the course as a whole, trees and snowmen appear at the sides of the road as potential obstacles. Additionally, the bumpiness of the course causes the camera to slightly shake during each race.
Shortcuts[edit]
- To the left of the main road following the second turn, there is an alternate path with several speed strips that players can access
- At the second 135° turn, players can drive between two holes in the ice to the right, cutting of this turn and accessing an extra row of Item Boxes.
- Before the final row of Item Boxes, a similar path to the right may be accessed by cutting in tight next to a large hole in the road. This will skip the turn with the final row of Item Boxes.
- The final turn has a ramp that can be accessed to skip it with the use of a Dash Mushroom or other boosting item.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
Snow Land makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of Wave 2 of the Booster Course Pass. It appears as the second course of the Propeller Cup. The course has received dramatic visual upgrades, and now features more elevated portions, similar to GBA Cheese Land. The course's starting line is now on a bridge that connects the first and last bends of the course together, and the U-turn in the middle is now a sheet of ice with a water hole in the middle, replacing the smaller water holes in the main road. The first part of the course is now set in a forested area, and snowmen reappear there, though using their established Mario Kart design. Penguins now roam around the course, and act similar to the Skating Shy Guys in GCN Sherbet Land. The ice spires in the course's background now have a slight purple hue, like the sky. Additionally, unlike GBA Ribbon Road in Mario Kart 8 and designs for GBA courses in Mario Kart Tour, the original layout was recreated relatively faithfully despite the elevation changes, though the ice paths and shortcut in the upper right portion of the course were removed. The latter has been replaced by a different shortcut that involves boosting through an elevated portion of snow signified by a snowman that skips the turn after the straight away. The shortcut located on the second final straight away now features an opening in the wall rather than two ramps before it, the Dash Panel previously in this area was removed, and an additional ramp has been added at the final turn. The course's music has also received an additional intro that was not present in the original. Curiously, the minimap does not reflect the hole in the ice being rough and jagged, with it looking round as in Mario Kart Tour. This also applies to minor tweaks made to the jump section, as the gap is shorter compared to Mario Kart Tour and the landing spot has been widened.
Barring the Mario Kart Tour tracks, Snow Land is the only course added in the second wave of the Booster Course Pass that had never previously appeared outside of its debut, and is one of two courses in the DLC with this distinction, alongside DS Shroom Ridge.
Shortcuts[edit]
- Before the turn that leads down towards the lake, the player can use a Dash Mushroom or other boosting item to cut that entire turn and land on the ice sheet. The player must hop near the ledge in order to ensure they do not land in the snow that is considered out of bounds
- There is a line in the snow delineating the snow that is considered out of bounds and not. The player must pass over this line in order to complete the shortcut.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Snow Land returns in Mario Kart Tour starting in the 2022 Holiday Tour. While the layout of the track does not change, the course features several differences compared to its appearance in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, making it resemble its original counterpart as well. For example, the main road is no longer shiny and has been reverted to the more ice-like design of the original rather than the frozen road design in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The large shards of ice in the background do not have a purple hue anymore. The penguins have been moved to the first part of the track, as opposed to appearing in the ending section. The hole in the iced-over lake has been filled in with a snow patch, a ramp is added before that section and the ramp ending it now has a Dash Panel. The blocks separating the road before and after the U-turn have been removed. Additionally, the Item Boxes are no longer moving from the road to the end of the U-turn, instead being placed above the ramp before the latter. The player can no longer pass through the trees in the forest section of the course.
The course also appears as Snow Land R (reversed), Snow Land T (with ramps) and Snow Land R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R variant, the Penguins can slide around instead of walk, and there are Skating Shy Guys on the lake. In the T variant, several water geysers appear on the lake. In the R/T variant, there are several Thwomps and racers can use a glide ramp at the end of the course to glide over the finish line.
Much like other GBA courses excluding the GBA Bowser's Castle courses and GBA Cheep-Cheep Island, Snow Land's theme has a new arrangement with synthesized instruments, instead of using the original theme or its Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrangement, although it retains the intro from the latter.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of GBA Snow Land 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 Snow Land 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 Snow Land 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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 R variant |
      
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