Mushroom City

Mushroom City is the second race course in the Star Cup of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! There are several junctions in the course, but all paths lead to the same spot. The course takes place at night, unlike its counterpart, Mushroom Bridge, which takes place in the day. The two courses also share the same music.

The hazards present in Mushroom City are the cars, trucks, Wiggler Wagons, and Bomb-cars, all of which hinder the players in contact. Cars and trucks make players spin out. Wiggler Wagons flip the player and render the rear character helpless. Bomb-cars can explode if they touch any players or certain items, such as Fireballs or shells. Mushroom Cars are also present in the city, providing players Dash Mushrooms flying out if they manage to hit them.

Course layout
The course starts just at the end of a highway. It is a very straight road with some lights illuminating the path. Players have to take the right side of the way where they will run along a smooth U-turn to the right, which leads into the road that goes to the floor of the city. The path splits into two stretches that will remain such until later on in the track. The players may choose to go straight ahead or turn left into an area below the overhang of the highway. The first path, the road is straight, but changes into a 90 degree turn right. The other path changes into a 90 degree turn to the left and becomes into a boulevard, running along below the highway. Both paths intersect then, and the racers may choose to remain on the same road or switch paths. Players has to make sure to not to turn to the left in the junction. Doing so will cause the racers to go backwards in the race. A Double Item Box is found in the center of the intersection.

If racers still follow the boulevard after the junction, they will go in straight line until they discover a 90 degree turn to the right where the road meets the main way turning to the left. If the players that took the other path and do not turn in the junction, they will run in a straight line until the road bends to a 90 degree turn to the left, and then going again straight to take the main way. Players can see the other path merging completely from the left.

After the road merges, the players will see a set of item boxes and a small twist in the road that leads racers to the right at the end. Players now go straight uphill and find the last set of item boxes in the road. Taking to the left then, players run over the highway where they have previously been, evading the incoming cars there. To the right of the road is located a large gap that shows the boulevard below, and falling in it, Lakitu will come to take racers back to the highway. The finish line is right found after passing this section of the highway where the racers cross it for the start of the next lap.

There is a shortcut located at the junction. If one takes the straight path, but stays on the right hand side, a short, pink, curly alley will come with an Item Box placed there. This leads straight to the turn ahead, just before the intersection of the aforementioned path and the boulevard.

Another shortcut allows the players to skip the highway part. On the very right of the gap, the players can see a very narrow road between the wall and the hole. Using a speed booster like a Mushroom or a Star will prevent the kart to decelerate by the dirt covering the shortcut's path.

There are several businesses in the city such as Pianta Fruits, Wario Pharmacy, and Koopa Shop. The Birdo bulletin board that appeared on Yoshi Circuit also appears on this course.

Game mode differences
The vehicles that appear on the stage in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! vary based on the mode the player selects. The cars only travel one way, regardless of the way the cars are technically supposed to go. There are different vehicles on the upper level and lower level.


 * If the player selects Time Trial mode, on the lower level, there will be a Wiggler Wagon with twelve wheels (the Wiggler Wagon is always on the left lane), one blue car (left lane), two yellow cars (one on the right lane and one on the left lane), and one red car. On the upper level, there will be one Star Travel bus (right lane), one Peach Beach bus (right lane), one Super Chocolate truck (all trucks are on the left lane), one Moo Moo Farm truck, one blue car (right lane) and two red cars (one on the right lane and one on the left lane). No Mushroom Cars, Item Boxes, and Bob-omb Cars are present in Time Trials.
 * If the player selects Grand Prix mode for a single screen (single player or co-op play), on the lower level, there will be a Wiggler Wagon with twelve wheels (left lane), one blue car (left lane), three red cars (two on the right lane and one on the left lane), two Mushroom cars (left lane), three Item Boxes (one on the right lane and two on the left lane), and one Bob-omb Car (left lane). On the upper level, there will be one Star Travel bus (right lane), one Peach Beach bus (right lane), one Super Chocolate truck (left lane), one P. Express truck, one red car (left lane), two yellow cars (right lane), one Mushroom Car (left lane), five Item Boxes (two on the right lane and three on the left lane), and two Bob-omb cars (one on the right lane and one on the left lane).
 * If the player selects a split-screen mode and items are also played, the amount of vehicles will be reduced. On the lower level, here will be a Wiggler Wagon with twelve wheels (left lane), three red cars (one on the right lane and two on the left lane), one Mushroom Car (left lane), one Item Box (left lane), and one Bob-omb Car (left lane). On the upper level, there will be one Star Travel bus (right lane), one Super Chocolate truck (left lane), one red car (right lane), one Mushroom Car (left lane), three Item Boxes (one on the right lane and two on the left lane), and one Bob-omb Car (left lane).
 * If the player selects a split-screen mode and items are not played, the amount of vehicles will still be reduced. On the lower level, there will be a Wiggler Wagon with twelve wheels (left lane), one yellow car (left lane), one blue car (right lane), one red car (left lane), one Mushroom Car (left lane), and one Bob-omb Car (left lane). On the upper level, there will be one Star Travel bus (right lane), one Moo Moo Farm truck (left lane), one red car (right lane), one Mushroom Car (left lane), and one Bob-omb Car (left lane).

Official descriptions

 * Instruction booklet: “This course takes you through downtown Mushroom City in the dead of night. It’s easy to take a wrong turn and get lost. The key to victory is avoiding the inner-city traffic.”
 * Official website: “City traffic can be horrible, especially in Mushroom City. Watch out for traffic and try not to get lost.”
 * Official European website: “Karts weren’t meant for commuting, but you’ll find dense traffic and tight turns on your trek through Mushroom City.”

Sponsors

 * Express (Cargo trucks)
 * Delfino Fruits (Signs)
 * Koopa Shop (Shops)
 * Lakitu Park (Signs)
 * Moo Moo Farm (Cargo trucks)
 * Nintendo (Signs)
 * Nintendo Gamecube (Signs)
 * Peach Beach (Buses)
 * Ribbon 86 (Posters)
 * Shoot!! (Signs)
 * Star Travel (Buses)
 * Super Chocolate (Cargo trucks)
 * Super Mushroom (Trackside banners)
 * Super Star! (Signs)
 * Wario Pharmacy (Signs)

Trivia

 * This course can be seen in the background of Mushroom Bridge, Wario Colosseum and Rainbow Road.
 * The bridge in Mushroom Bridge and Princess Peach's Castle in Mario Circuit can be seen in the background of this course.
 * This is the only default course in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! that has yet to reappear as a retro course.
 * If the player drives into an Item Box or Bob-omb Car, a new one with similar programming to the old one will respawn out of the alleyways on the upper and lower levels. If the player attempts to destroy a Bob-omb Car within the first two seconds of its respawn out of the alleyway, it will lift the player up without exploding.
 * Each vehicle wobbles slightly when it moves, shown when the player looks at the vehicles' movements next to the road pavement markings. The Wiggler Wagon's wobbling is most noticeable out of all the vehicles.
 * On the upper level, the Bob-omb Cars wobble significantly, even more so than the actual vehicles, making it harder for players to maneuver through the highway.
 * There are subtle differences in the speed of the vehicles running in the course. It is not noticeable if the player follows them for a short while, but for each lap the vehicles travel around the course, they will move closer or farther a tiny bit depending on vehicle they are in front of or behind.
 * The vehicles on the upper level right lane move noticeably faster than those on the upper level left lane.
 * On the upper level right lane, the Bob-omb Car is the slowest, followed by the Peach Beach bus, the cars (including moving Item Boxes), and the Star Travel bus. The first two are not present in split-screen modes. The Star Travel bus has the equivalent speed of a car, mainly because it drives in a near-straight line, as opposed to the rest, which wobble. In a split-screen race, none of the vehicles on the upper level right lane would ever catch up to each other because they all travel at the same speed, unless the player used Stars to slow one of the vehicles down.
 * On the upper level left lane, the Bob-omb Car is the slowest, followed by trucks and cars (including Mushroom cars and moving item boxes).
 * Several vehicles in the game are programmed to let the moving Item Boxes and Bob-omb Cars coming out of the pipe shortcut players can take go in front of them. Others do not stop for them.

Pilz-City Città dei Funghi