Star Cup

The Star Cup is one of the cups in the Mario Kart series, and its symbol is a Star. In most Mario Kart games, it is the third Nitro cup (except in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, where it is the fourth), and the completion of this cup is required to unlock the Special Cup. This cup usually consists of courses that are designed to be slightly more challenging than the previous cups, as there are more gimmicks in the courses. The tracks are usually as long as the ones from the Flower Cup.

Trading card information
"The action REALLY starts to heat up when you tackle the Star Cup. Four new tracks will test your racing mettle. Daisy Circuit is a very scenic track, while the others (Koopa Cape, Maple Treeway, and Grumble Volcano) offer up some serious challenges and difficult racing conditions."

Mario sports games
The cup appeared also in certain Mario sports games like Super Mario Strikers and Mario Superstar Baseball.

Mario Tennis series
The Star Cup makes regular appearances in the Mario Tennis series. Usually, it is the third, last cup of the Open Tournament. When players clear the Star Cup, they receive a star ranking, which rewards them with stronger stats while allowing them to participate in the Special Tournaments. In Mario Tennis Open, however, the Star Cup is called the Final Cup, and it is the last cup of the Star Open series and the entire game. This cup is held in the Galaxy Arena morph court, and matches in this cup have three sets for the starting round, three sets for the semifinals, and five sets for the finals. After this cup is played, the credits roll, and cannot be skipped if the tournament is won for the first time. The Champions Cup replaces the Star Cup as the last cup of the World Open series, and fourth in the game.

Super Mario Strikers
In Super Mario Strikers, the Star Cup has eight teams, seven rounds, and uses the table system. When the player finishes in the top three, the Bowser Cup and The Battle Dome are unlocked. A similar cup is the Super Star Cup.

Mario Sports Mix
The Star Cup also appeared in Mario Sports Mix as a harder difficulty, like the other series. The Star Cup in Mario Sports Mix includes the final match against the Final Fantasy team and Behemoth or Behemoth King after the players have completed the cup. Star Road is also found on this cup, which is an alternate path available once players clear the Star Cup.

Completion awards in the Mario Kart series
Winning the Star Cup in the Mario Kart series can award the player with various bonuses, depending on the game. Additional cups unlocked are excluded from this list.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

 * 50cc Star Cup: Para-Wing
 * 100cc Star Cup: Special Cup
 * 150cc Star Cup: Barrel Train
 * Mirror Star Cup: Petey Piranha and King Boo, Piranha Pipes

Mario Kart DS

 * All nitro cups (includes Star Cup) on 50cc: Dry Bones
 * All nitro cups (includes Star Cup) on 100cc: Three karts for each playable character
 * All nitro cups (includes Star Cup) or all retro cups (excludes Star Cup) on 150cc: Seven karts for each playable character
 * All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
 * All nitro cups (includes Star Cup) or all retro cups (excludes Star Cup) on 150cc Mirror: R.O.B.
 * All cups on 150cc Mirror: All karts for each playable character

Mario Kart Wii

 * 50cc Star Cup: King Boo
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Star Cup) on 50cc: Baby Daisy
 * 100cc Star Cup: Shooting Star
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Star Cup) on 100cc: Sneakster
 * 150cc Star Cup: Quacker
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Star Cup) on 150cc: Dry Bowser
 * All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
 * Mirror Star Cup: Dolphin Dasher
 * 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Rosalina

Mario Kart 7

 * All cups on a single cc class: Mii
 * 150cc Star Cup: Rosalina
 * All cups on 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc: 150cc Mirror class

Mario Kart 8
Most unlockable characters in Mario Kart 8 are unlocked at random upon winning Grand Prix cups (separate cups must be played to unlock characters), which includes the Star Cup. Characters that can be unlocked include Rosalina, Metal Mario, Lakitu, Toadette, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Larry Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., and Mii. Mii is unlocked upon the eighth Grand Prix cup victory, unless an amiibo is used to unlock Mii beforehand.

In addition, the Gold Standard body can be unlocked by getting a 1 star rank or higher on all non-DLC cups (including the Flower Cup) on any one engine class, and the 150cc Mirror class can be unlocked by winning all 150cc cups.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Gold Standard
 * All cups on 200cc: Gold Mario

Trivia

 * Mario Kart 64's Star Cup is the only Star Cup that has two courses that share the same background music.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s Star Cup is the only cup not to contain any dash panels whatsoever.
 * Mario Kart 7's Star Cup is the only cup without a single track that has the same name in the American English and British English versions of the game.

Trofeo Stella Stern-Cup