Mario Circuit

Mario Circuit is the name of various race courses attributed to Mario as his own in the Mario Kart series. Indeed, these courses bear some features ligated to the plumber, as his red Cap, the Mushrooms he uses; Princess Peach's Castle, where the hero sets out his adventures in many games; Warp Pipes, and sometimes, enemies like Goombas and Piranha Plants, Mario's common enemies, with no mentioning the banners that say his famous name. It is usually found in the Flower Cup. Apart from Mario Kart, the Mario Circuit has presented in other series such as Itadaki Street DS and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it can be considered a stage held for other various purposes.

Super Mario Kart
In Super Mario Kart, four Mario Circuit race tracks appear, looking similar to typical standard race courses, aside from having some obstacles such as Warp Pipes, located normally on the road, blocking the vehicles' path and Oil Slicks that cause vehicles to spin out of control while running over one.

Each Mario Circuit appears numbered by the time it appears: two Mario Circuits in the Mushroom Cup, another in the Flower Cup, and one more in the Star Cup. The first course of the Mushroom Cup, Mario Circuit 1, is the most basic and simple track in the game, having open corners and few obstacles. In contrast to that circuit is Mario Circuit 2, the fifth and last course of the same cup. This stage is notable by its great jump before the finish line, where the racers need to cross the zone by getting a speed boost over Boost Pads and jump over speed humps to reach the other side, finally passing the line. The third circuit, Mario Circuit 3, is the last track of the Flower Cup. This course contains dangerous curves, a zone when a racer attempts to turn around and sticks into a wall or a pipe, or getting into dirt, slowing down the kart. Finally there's Mario Circuit 4, the longest of all Super Mario Kart ' s Mario Circuits. This track contains more sharp bends and obstacles scattered around the track.

The Mario Circuit courses, along with the other tracks from Super Mario Kart, reappear in the Game Boy Advance installment Mario Kart Super Circuit, as hidden classic race courses. However, in the recent Mario Kart games, three of these stages reappear. Mario Kart DS features Mario Circuit 1, which is the first course of the Shell Cup from Retro Grand Prix, known as SNES Mario Circuit 1. In Mario Kart Wii, Mario Circuit 3 (also known as SNES Mario Circuit 3) appears in the Lightning Cup, bearing an enhanced graphical look compared to its portable counterpart. In Mario Kart 7, Mario Circuit 2 appears as the second course of Banana Cup.

Mario Kart 64
Known as Mario Raceway (outside of Japan) in this game, this circuit is found in the Flower Cup, being the fourth and last race course to compete in. The course features Mario's red cap on the top of the course's terrace, next to the starting line. The road is made by concrete, such as Luigi Raceway and Royal Raceway. Though the course is fairly secure, by having no pits hazards, it's filled in rough grass, and running over them, any kart will slow down. However, using a speed booster as a Mushroom or a Star, drivers can make shortcuts through the grass and dust. Piranha Plants are an obstacle found over the grass, and bumping into one, the vehicle will spin around. Many Piranha Plants are chiefly located near to the corners.

Upon getting the first turn, the racers will go near a hill to take a semi-circular turn surrounding a big toadstool. A long stretch of the road will come next, leading the racers to a curl S bend and pass through a Warp Pipe tunnel. The racers end crossing the finish line once gone out of the pipe. Going too high up the hill will cause the racer to go on hard to drive on grass and need Lakitu.

Mario Raceway makes its reappearance in Mario Kart Wii as the last track of the Shell Cup. Some of the new elements added to the track are a ramp to perform tricks in the middle of the rough grass past the toadstool, and Shine Sprites can be seen on the "Mario Star" advertisements on the side of the course near the finish line. In addition, the first Mario Kart Wii tournament of November 2008 is on this racecourse, with extra obstacles such as Pokeys from DS Desert Hills and Dry Dry Ruins, and oil slicks from SNES Mario Circuit 3. Also one part in the music is remixed in Neo Bowser City.

Instruction manual description
''Although the distance of one lap is fairly short, it has complex corners and numerous hairpin curves. The course, named after our mascot, is highly recommended by the game designers as their favorite Time Trials course.

Tournaments
In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this course. It was a time trial race, in which players used the Golden Mushroom to get the fastest time possible. Oil slicks and Pokeys also made an appearance. The tournament was the second tournament of November 2008. It was later repeated as the second tournament of November 2010 and the second tournament of March 2012.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
The Mario Circuit from Mario Kart: Super Circuit is part of the Flower Cup as the first race course. This Mario Circuit is a rather plain stage and short in length, with few obstacles and Item Boxes to deal against rivals. It contains winding paths, however, such as a hairpin bend, or a curl path found before the home stretch. Next to the checked line there is a detour where racers can get a speed boost by running onto a Boost Pad located there. Also all of the Mario Circuits from SNES game reappear as retro courses.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the Mario Circuit is the second race course of the Flower Cup. For this installment, the circuit surrounds the Castle of Princess Peach, while in the background some warp Pipes, tall toadstools, smiling trees, and a Mushroom-shaped hot-air balloon midair can be seen, overviewing the track. A giant Chain Chomp guards a piece of rough terrain, ramming into any vehicle who passes near to it. Also, some Piranha Plants appear, attacking the karts and bikes that pass too close to them, causing the racers to roll over and drop their items onto the road. However, they are vulnerable to being hit by some items, such as Green Shells, which leave them stunned for a while. Another obstacle are the Goombas crossing the track back and forth, before the finish line. Making contact with one causes the kart to spin around. By using certain items against these enemies, a Mushroom pops out of them. The track also appeared at the end of the credits where everyone gets to celebrate after a tournament.

The course contains many curves and corners. Employing drifting is the main hint given to clear this circuit. After the first turn and another tight turn, the racers will encounter the Chain Chomp wandering the zone, biting the trespassers. Players then enter a curved tunnel, crossing a bridge upon leaving it and discovering a soil road. After getting into another corner, racers face Goombas crossing an uneven road, giving the racer certain difficulty to maneuver well. After crossing another bridge (where two Piranha Plants await racers to attack indiscriminately), the racers reach the finish line and the lap is completed.

This Mario Circuit version was going to appear in Mario Kart DS. A version of this track with all enemies removed and the bumpy road section flat exists in the Demo Version (where it can be played textured by default) and the Final Version (where one must copy the textures from the model file to a texture file to play textures) of that game's data. However, the track was taken out before the game's release. The race course reappears once more in Mario Kart Wii, being the fourth track of the Leaf Cup.

Official descriptions

 * Instruction booklet: “This is the main circuit in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Familiar denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom can be spotted here and there. The road’s filled with curves, so this is a good place to practice drifting.”
 * Official website: “Mario Circuit features lots of tight corners, a Chain Chomp, Piranha Plants, Peach’s Castle, and several Goombas, not to mention seven other racers trying to upend your kart.”
 * Official European website: “Dodge the waddling Goombas and snapping Piranha Plants, and say hi to Peach as you cruise by her castle.”

Tournaments
In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this track. It was a time trial race, with an increased number of Piranha Plants and Chain Chomps. It was the first tournament of October 2009, and it was repeated as the second tournament of July 2011 and the first tournament of October 2012.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, the Mario Circuit is the third race course in the Star Cup. The course is a reminiscent to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version, albeit being longer than its predecessor. As in Double Dash, the course surrounds Princess Peach's Castle, while in the background a wide country with warp pipes around can be seen. In the course enemies appear acting as obstacles: Goombas appear crossing the road to and from the sides. By shooting a Koopa Shell at them, or using a Star, Mushrooms spawn from the Goombas. A pair of Venus Fire Traps spit fireballs at the course. The victim will spin out of control when touching one. Typical Piranha Plants, as seen in Mario Kart 64, are also present.

Characters start out the race near a lake surrounding the Castle. After going through the first corner, Goombas wandering on the middle of the track will try to block the racers' path. After passing by these enemies, characters run along a piece of the lake. Due to that part having no security fence, players can fall off into water. Continuing the path, two Venus Fire Traps located in a S bend will spit fireballs to the course to burn the drivers. Going through a Warp Pipe-modeled bridge, the players reach a soil road after taking a tight turn. The track's soil can cause some karts to go off of course, especially on corners. Crossing over the Pipe bridge, the racers go down on a curly track with Piranha Plants. Past this, characters then continue running over concrete road. After taking a tight S turn, players cross the checked line.

The levels 5-8 and 7-4 take place on this circuit in Mission Mode. During the mission 5-8, Luigi has to compete against Mario to reach the finish line in a lap. In mission 7-4, Toad must get rid of every Goomba found in a part of the course, provided with Green Shells from the Item Boxes. This is the first & only Mario Circuit course to appear in the Star Cup.

Mario Kart Wii
In Mario Kart Wii, Mario Circuit is the first track to compete in the Flower Cup. The track's overview is slightly similar to Figure 8 Circuit from Mario Kart DS, having two main bends and two straight stretches. The course is in Toad Town, since Princess Peach's Castle can be seen near the beginning of the course. Some supporting characters from the Mario game series appear as well, watching the race in session in Toad Town: Hammer Bros., Shy Guys and Sledge Bros. Of course, other characters serve as obstacles within the course such as the Goombas or the Chain Chomp. This is also where the Award Ceremony takes place at the end of any race or cup. This track made a cameo appearance on The Big Bang Theory, when Raj Koothropali beats Sheldon Cooper due to Cooper's lack of drivers education.

Course layout
Competitors start out the race in the town, going downhill through a straight stretch. On the straight stretch is the first set of item boxes, laid out straight just like the other courses. Audience members, such as Shy Guys and Hammer Bros. can be seen on the left and right side of the straightaway, waving at the racers. On the first curve to the left are a few Goombas who waddle on the road, spinning out any players who come in contact with them. After some Goombas is a little twist in the roads and another set of item boxes.

Up ahead, the players can see two paths to take. One is on the ramp with the boost panel on it, on the right side of the Chain Chomp off-road. It can be used and the players can do a stunt on that ramp, but gaining too much speed may lose control and the players may bump into a wall to slow down even more, or possibly get hit by the Chain Chomp. Another path is around the left of the Chain Chomp, which is the main path of the course. The right lane is dangerous to go in; the Chain Chomp's attacks will reach as far as this lane. After the curve around the Chain Chomp is an overhang, crossing the lane above where the race started previously.

On the left turn after the overhang are a few item boxes moving from left and right, unlike the stationary item boxes seen earlier. The path is very straight until a curve left, which has some more Goombas waddling around as seen in the very first stretch of the course. After the curve and the Goombas is another straight road, and if the players continue driving straight, they'll see the finish line and start the cycle again.

Tournaments
The game's very first tournament took place on this track. It involved players doing a GP race, while avoiding a Chain Chomp that was roaming around. This was the first tournament of May 2008. May 2010's first tournament was a repeat of May 2008's first tournament, but the difference was that players were restricted to using karts, and only the Wii Wheel could be used.

A different kind of tournament took place on this track for February 2010's second tournament. In it, players had to take out sixteen Goombas with Green Shells and Stars. It was restricted to karts only. It was repeated as the tournaments for October 2011's second tournament and December 2012's second tournament, with the restrictions were removed for the former.

Mario Kart 7
Mario Circuit appears in the game Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is strongly based off the Mario Kart DS version of the track, and is the second race in the Flower Cup. In this, unlike the other Mario Circuit tracks, players can drive through Peach's Castle.

Course layout
The track takes place on a large grassy field with sand roads, Mushroom Trampolines, pipes, blossoming peach trees, a lake, and Peach's Castle. The course starts on a small straight road and after two turns which a large curve with pink leaf appears. Then the player jumps off of a ramp, landing on a Mushroom Trampoline. Then a similar road to that of Mario Kart DS's Mario Circuit leads the way up to Peach's Castle. Then the road enters in Peach's Castle and,after a 270° turn, a glider pad enables the driver to fly out of the castle. Then a number of pipes appear that shoot out air, along with some Grand Goombas. A very long, large pipe similar to the ones form Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart DS appears, in which drivers must drive through in a curve leading them back to a long road going back to the finish.

Itadaki Street DS
The Mario Circuit also appears as a playable stage in Itadaki Street DS, in the form of a board. It is loosely based on the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS versions.

In Tour Mode, the player must get first or second place to clear the board. The competitors are Luigi, Birdo and Toad. Clearing this board unlocks Birdo.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A Mario Circuit stage based upon the Figure-8 Circuit appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The stage has two platforms meant to resemble a jump platform and a road pavement in the center. Shy Guy racers will appear and damage players from both the jump and the central road. However, they themselves can be damaged causing them to spin out and be harmless. This stage is banned in competitive play.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Mario Circuit appears in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games taken directly from Mario Kart Wii. The course is used for Dream Ski Cross.

Fortune Street
Mario Circuit makes a return as a playable board in Fortune Street, but its design is based on Mario Kart Wii. However, the route of the track is identical to its appearance in the previous game. In Tour mode, the player has to get at least 2nd place against Mario, Daisy, and Diddy Kong.

Trivia

 * The Mario Kart from the game Nintendogs plays the Mario Circuit theme from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! when used.
 * In Mario Kart 64 one can press the R Button on the Title Screen to display the best time recorded for Mario Raceway.
 * In an early trailer of Mario Kart 7, when Mario Circuit was shown, there was originally a bouncy Mushroom where the players glided out of the side of the castle, probably because the concept of gliders hadn't been implemented into the game.
 * In Mario Kart Wii, when players get struck by lightning, the Chain Chomp does not try to attack them.