SNES Bowser Castle 3

Bowser Castle 3 is the fourth track of the Star Cup in Super Mario Kart. It was subsequently reused in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the second track of the Extra Star Cup. Like every Bowser Castle course, the entire race is held inside a large castle room filled with a big lava pool.

The course returns in Mario Kart Tour starting with the tour beginning on May 3, 2023.

Super Mario Kart
Typical elements of Bowser Castles, including falling Thwomps, zippers, jump lines, and forks, are all to be found here. One major fork allows the player to choose one of three ways. The leftmost has six coins and one zipper, but is farthest away and narrows the following turn into a hairpin. The easiest path to reach is the right one, which has a jump line and a zipper directly behind such that a player who hits the jump line passes over the zipper. To reach the zipper, the player must time a hop over the jump line and activate the zipper. The middle path has six coins and two jump lines with Item Boxes positioned behind them.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Bowser Castle 3 reappeared in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and is the second track of the Extra Star Cup. It uses the background from that game's Bowser Castle 1. The Thwomps and zippers were removed from the track, along with the jump pad in the rightmost path at the end. Also, the ? Panels in the first split path were reduced to just three Item Boxes (one on both sides early on, and one in the middle afterwards).

Mario Kart Tour
Bowser Castle 3 returns in Mario Kart Tour starting with the tour beginning on May 3, 2023, marking the first reappearance of an SNES Bowser Castle course in a Mario Kart title since Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Unlike the other SNES courses present in the game, the course has received a major visual and gameplay overhaul. It is also the first SNES remake in the Mario Kart series to feature any kind of dynamic elevation.

Large stretches of the course are now angled vertically, including segments of lava. The course now features more walls, pillars, and ramps. The layout of the jump section appears to have been altered, though to what extent is still unclear. The walls separating the three roads towards the end can now be driven on, and gaps have been added between sections of the walls. An extra turn has been added before the U-bend where the track previously only got thinner, marked with an arrow sign. The final turn is now a curved bend as opposed to two 90 degree turns.