3DS Neo Bowser City

Neo Bowser City (known as Koopa City in the British English version) is the third course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart 7. It takes place in a rainy, neon-lit, technologically advanced city themed after Bowser; it is the only Bowser-themed course in the Mario Kart series to not be a version of his castle. Neon signs are everywhere and images of Bowser himself and his signature emblem can be seen in various places. It is the second course in the Mario Kart series that takes place entirely in the rain, the first being Luigi Circuit from Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Neo Bowser City is one of the few city-based courses in the Mario Kart series to not feature any vehicles as obstacles.

Neo Bowser City also appears as a retro course in Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Kart Tour. In the former games, it is the first course of the Bell Cup, a cup that comes with the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 add-on content pack for the original Mario Kart 8, while in the latter game, it was introduced in the Tokyo Tour.

The course's music incorporates themes from several other Mario Kart courses: the Toad Circuit and Mario Circuit theme and the title theme from Mario Kart 7, the Toad's Turnpike theme from Mario Kart 64, and the Luigi Circuit and Mario Circuit theme from Mario Kart Wii. The theme was rearranged in the "Circuit (Mario Kart 7)" remix in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a jazzier style more in line with the circuit theme it originally remixed.

Mario Kart 7
This course takes place in a brightly lit city in the rain. A large percentage of the course is comprised of winding roads with moving neon arrow railings. Traction is decreased due to the rain. There is a tunnel close to the end of the course, that leads to a small upward spiral section that is covered with puddles around a tower. A Glide Ramp then appears just before the end. A billboard is seen near it with a picture of either Bowser (said picture is his artwork from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games), the player's view, or an animated "Overtake" ad from Toad Circuit. If gliding players veer left (right in mirror mode) from the starting line, they can fly over a Koopa Clown Car with a fan to give them enough height to skip the first bend; in higher engine classes, however, they must steer back quickly to avoid hitting the wall.

Course layout
The course starts with an S-bend; however, players must steer back quickly to avoid hitting the wall. Just before the player enters the air vent area, it is possible to be pushed through the guardrails by a heavier opponent. After that, the race continues under a tower with air ducts. Then there are two soft turns and a red tunnel. After many turns, the player exits and reaches the winding part of the road, which consists of three hairpin turns. Then, there is a shorter tunnel that leads to a road curved to the left covered with puddles. At the end, there is a glide ramp back to the finish line.

Shortcuts

 * After the S-bend, players can cut through the mud with a Mushroom. They must steer back in quickly to avoid hitting the wall.
 * Near the finish line, if players use a Mushroom or the Koopa Clown Car air current, they can glide through a gap on the S-bend under the red tunnel.
 * The last U-turn of the middle section with no railings can be skipped by drifting off the edge to cut the gap. This is not very viable for races as it saves a minimal amount of time whilst also being very risky, due to it being very precise; a sign with Bowser's head on it can also block the way and cause the player to fall out of bounds.
 * A glitch shortcut can be performed in the space below the S-bend. By landing on it, turning around, leaning backwards off the edge of the area (which is heavy off-road) to gain an upwards angle and using a Mushroom, it is possible to go through the bottom of the bridge and land on it. If done quickly, this saves around six to seven seconds.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Neo Bowser City makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 8 as a retro course in the second DLC pack Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 and as part of the base content of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It is the first race of the Bell Cup. The city background is more futuristic in design and features more distinctive architecture such as skyscrapers, glass tunnels, elevators, and more LED screens, instead of having mushroom hills in the far background. Some of the buildings are reused from Mute City. The start and finish banner has been redesigned, featuring hexagon patterns behind the Mario Kart logo in light blue, and on the two neon pillars (previously one) supporting the banner. The new Bowser insignia that is now used in this course is also modeled around a hexagon. It is now possible now to hit the banner (causing the banner to spin), like in Mario Circuit,, and.

The blimp with a screen on it has been removed. Billboards now show an animated picture of the name of the course, along with Bowser in it, instead of displaying an ongoing video of the player's point of view, an animated ad, and a still picture of Bowser. The signs and animated picture display the text "Neo Bowser City", even in non-American versions, where the name of the course is different. A similar discrepancy occurs in (called "Melody Motorway" in the British English version). The rails with scrolling neon arrows have been redesigned into neon rails with light arrows on top of them.

The overall course layout follows the same path, but has received a few minor modifications. A trickable drop-off has been added at the entrance to the tunnel in place of a downhill slope. The three-quarter turn into the glider ramp at the end has been modified into an anti-gravity section, complete with spin boost pillars, while the water puddles have been removed. The beginning of the turn is also a rounded 90° turn instead of it being circular. The Koopa Clown Car air current found near the S-bend has been moved to behind the banner, instead of beside it. The music is also roughly the same, similar to, , , and , though electric guitar and a new synth bassline have been added - the original bassline still plays in the background, but it is noticeably quieter due to the track receiving slight high-pass equalization. Bowser's minions - Koopa Paratroopas, Dry Bones, Hammer Bros., Fire Bros., and Boomerang Bros. are spectators in this course. In addition, like in the rainy courses in Super Mario 3D World, rain drops flow down the screens of both the GamePad and the TV, just to add a minor effect.

Shortcuts

 * Like with the turn after the S-bend, it is now possible to use a Mushroom or Star to cut through the mud on the anti-gravity segment.

Mario Kart Tour
Neo Bowser City reappears in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the Tokyo Tour. Appearance-wise, it features elements taken from both its Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8 versions, though it contains more cues from the former due to its lack of anti-gravity. The city now has more gray and navy hues than blue, the screen near the starting line now shows four players racing, and the bridge is now a glass tunnel. Some buildings have been redesigned to resemble more traditional Bowser castles, while neon signs with the course name can be seen throughout the track. The rain is only present if the game is not in battery saver mode. In addition, some of the Bowser insignias have reverted back to their standard appearance, while others keep their Mario Kart 8 appearances. As with other courses in the game, Neo Bowser City has a reverse variant, a trick variant, and a reverse/trick variant referred to as Neo Bowser City R, Neo Bowser City T, and Neo Bowser City R/T respectively; the former two were introduced alongside the regular variant in the Tokyo Tour, while the latter was added in the 2020 New Year's Tour. The LED bulletin board features Mario driving in the S section.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Neo Bowser City tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Sponsors

 * Overtake (Mario Kart 7 only; rotating screen displays)

Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack liner notes
"This is a remastered version of the music from the Nintendo 3DS title. It began life as an arrangement of the music for a circuit course on Mario Kart 7. Then while we were working on it, for some reason, we decided to add a particular phrase, and all agreed that it worked pretty well."

Trivia

 * When exiting the tunnel in the Mario Kart 8 version of the course, a spotlight with Bowser's emblem points to the sky, possibly referencing the from  media.
 * On August 18, 2016, a tweet from @NintendoAmerica gave players a "pop quiz" to race around Neo Bowser City and post their best time with a photograph as proof.
 * In the internal data of Mario Kart 7, Neo Bowser City is referred to as Advanced Circuit. This suggests that the track was originally meant to be designated as a circuit course, which the Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack liner notes also imply, with the references to the circuit themes from Wii and 7 in the song for Neo Bowser City being remnants of this idea. It is unknown if the track was conceptualized as a Bowser Circuit or a futuristic city, or if it was originally meant to be a more standard circuit course.