Merry Mountain

Merry Mountain is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is a course that takes place around a small village by a foggy mountain decorated with Christmas presents. Merry Mountain debuted as the featured course in the 2020 Winter Tour. This was the first new course in the game that is not based on a real-life city or a previous course, and as of the Sundae Tour, it is also one of three courses with this distinction alongside Ninja Hideaway and Sky-High Sundae. It is also the first original course that is not based on a previous course to appear in normal tours.

Several Toads, Yoshis, and Shy Guys act as audience members in the village segment of the course. There are several flying sleighs pulled by locomotives with audience members in the course, flying around the mountain and riding the course's railroad. At the time of the course's release, Merry Mountain was one of four courses in the game that appeared in a tour with festive trees to not have any of them, despite the course's Christmas theme.

This course is a favorite of Penguin Luigi, Cat Peach, Luigi (Classic), Captain Toad, Peach (Halloween), Luigi (Lederhosen), Mario (Tuxedo), Luigi (Painter), and Bowser (Santa). It can also be a favorite of Light-blue Toad (Pit Crew) and Fire Rosalina when they reach level 3, and Cat Toad and Penguin Toadette when they reach level 6.

The course appears in the third wave of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Course layout
The race course begins at the snowy village on the mountain's base, with a couple of bends in the road before moving into the rocky cliffside area. There is a split in the road at the cliffside; the lower path features a dirt road with coins, and the upper path features a railroad bridge, which lets the driver boost on a Dash Panel onto another suspended ramp, allowing them to trick a second time. After the split path, there is a wooden bridge which takes the driver further up the mountain, which is decorated with candles, Christmas presents, and candy canes. After several turns in the road, there is a large bump in the road allowing the player to trick. There is a tower of large presents at the top of the mountain, where a gondola lift of presents feeds into. The peak of the mountain features a super half-pipe giving the player a speed boost, at which point the race track goes down the mountain's steep slope. The road to the finish line features a wide Dash Panel beginning the descend down the mountain, with a snowy ramp and two Dash Panels on each side of the road following after. Finally, the track ends with a ramp allowing the player to jump over a bottomless pit beneath the mountain's base, and onto the finish line back at the village.

The course also appears as Merry Mountain R (reverse), Merry Mountain T (with ramps), as well as Merry Mountain R/T (reverse and with ramps) which debuted later in the 2021 Holiday Tour.

In the reverse and reverse/trick variants, the player can hit a candy cane with an Item Box on it via the super half-pipe.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Merry Mountain tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Merry Mountain returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the third wave of the Booster Course Pass. First shown in the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, it was one of two courses announced first for the wave, alongside. The course has received visual upgrades from Mario Kart Tour. The road leading up to and down from the hilltop workshop is now fitted with anti-gravity. The course also features half-pipes, introducing them to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the first time. Unlike its appearance in Mario Kart Tour, the half-pipe is blue instead of pink. Curiously, the texture used for the half-pipe is that of the antigravity panels; it is unknown if this is a placeholder or not. Like Ninja Hideaway, the course does not use a "Tour" prefix, but unlike Ninja Hideaway, the course lacked the prefix in promotional material despite being highlighted as a Tour course.

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter:
 * A brand-new course is ready in blue! Welcome to Merry Mountain! This is an original course appearing in a Mario Kart game for the first time. We hope you look forward to the Winter Tour that starts on Dec. 1!
 * The Winter Tour starts today and it features the debut of Merry Mountain, a brand-new course lined with candy-like street lamps and gift boxes! And we've brought back the festive trees. They're hidden along courses in blue!
 * The new course features holiday sights perfect for winter! Take screenshots in Auto Mode and share with the hashtag blue! Number of total posts X10 coins will be gifted to all players! (Max of 5,000 coins) Promotion runs until Dec. 6, 6:59 AM PT. See image for details!
 * A photo-sharing campaign is on now in blue! Here's where we'd recommend taking memorable photos on the new course: the main street with its cobbled path and warmly lit storefronts! If you get a good shot in auto mode, share it with the hashtag blue!
 * A photo-sharing campaign is on now in blue! Here's another spot we'd recommend to take photos on the new course: Stay on the train tracks long enough, and what do you see? If you get a good shot in auto mode, share it with the hashtag blue!
 * A photo-sharing campaign is on now in blue! Here's the last spot we recommend taking photos on the new course: After nailing the super half-pipe, the slope will take you back to town! If you get a good shot in auto mode, share it with the hashtag blue!
 * The official home of Super Mario: Jingle all the way to the top of Merry Mountain, a brand-new course making its Mario Kart™ series debut! Race through the streets of a lively and festive town, heading up the train tracks on your way to the top of the present-adorned peak. The super half-pipe at the top is great for catching some air right before you descend back to the warmly lit town.