3DS Rainbow Road

Rainbow Road is the fourth and final course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. The course has once again increased in length compared to previous renditions, but still shares a similar theme to its predecessor. Instead of floating above the atmosphere, it now takes place around the Moon, with several small asteroids in the background. As a result, unlike past Rainbow Roads, this incarnation features the player driving on off-road surfaces such as the Moon itself and rings of. It is the first Rainbow Road course to contain one lap divided into three sections, being followed by in Mario Kart 8. Due to its length, it is one of the longest courses in the Mario Kart series, and as such is also one of the longest Rainbow Roads in the series; however, the iteration of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64 takes more time to complete, as it is three laps long instead of one.

This Rainbow Road returns as a classic course in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the 2019 Holiday Tour. It is one of only two courses in the game to have three laps or sections (the other being GCN Baby Park T). It also returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the fourth and final course of the Moon Cup in the Booster Course Pass.

Mario Kart 7
Along with Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu, Rainbow Road only has one lap instead of three. It is divided into three sections to resemble laps. The truss at the start-and-finish line displays the Mario Kart logo with dynamic rainbow. The start of the second section has a truss displaying two dynamic rainbow stars. The truss at start of the third section displays three dynamic rainbow stars. It is the only course in the game with three sections to not take place on Wuhu Island.

When performing a trick on this course, a slightly different sound effect will be produced when compared to other courses; the same applies to.

This course has the most Glide Ramps out of every Mario Kart course, with five. However, only the Glide Ramps going onto and off of the planet rings are mandatory.

Course layout
The race starts off with a short straightaway, following with a sharp turn to the right, then left, going around a planet. Afterward, there are three platforms that the drivers drive and jump off each one (similar to the area before the temple in DK Jungle). Next, players drive around another planet, but are spiraling down as they do so, with drop-offs allowing for tricks. The track then comes to a rainbow-spotted Mushroom Trampoline, and then a sharp right turn. After the turn, players have the opportunity to snatch some item boxes and coins on a waving road (similar to Mario Kart Wii).

Section two starts off with another sharp turn followed by a Glide Ramp, which activates the Glider to ride onto the rings of a Saturn-like planet. Players have to dodge holes in the rings before they then come to a section where they can hit some Dash Panels for speed boosts. Players then activate their Glider again after hitting the next Glide Ramp at the end of the rings. Once landing, players take three turns, all loaded with Dash Panels. Next, there is another wavy road, but this one has holes in it. Once the drivers make it through the wavy road or fall through, they land on the moon, where they need to dodge rolling Chomps, and they can trick off of craters for little boosts. Though there's no water in the moon portion, its low gravity works identically to the physics of driving underwater, so sometimes players can fly far with just one trick.

Section three starts with some conveyor belts that give little boosts, then leads into a turning tunnel with Dash Panels and Glide Ramps at the end. The track splits into two parts, then three, then two, before fusing back into one. This part is filled with ramps that can be used to go through rings for extra speed. If players hit a Glide Ramp, they have to dodge asteroids, but try to pass through rings at the same time. The track ends with a part that increases in altitude, then decreases again, leading to one small jump facing the finish line.

There are three Item Boxes floating under the rings of the Saturn-like planetoid. It is possible to get one of these Item Boxes by gliding, but the player must get back on the track after getting it in order to use their item. However, it is quite difficult to do so without a mushroom.

Shortcuts

 * The first turn of the second section can be skipped or taken tightly by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road.
 * Time can be gained by repeatedly swooping far down below the planetoid’s ring and up again after the first Glider ramp.
 * Another Glider shortcut can be performed with the second Glider ramp by gliding off to the left back over the planet’s ring and landing after or on the second set of Dash Panels, skipping the turn.
 * The last turn of the course can be skipped by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road and landing on the final straightaway.

Staff ghost
The staff ghost is Honey Queen with the Birthday Girl, Slim tires, and Peach Parasol, and the expert staff ghost is Honey Queen with the Bumble V, Standard tires, and Flower Glider.

Mario Kart Tour
This version of Rainbow Road makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the 2019 Holiday Tour. Various changes have been made to the track - it is noticeably flatter overall, with several turns being far less banked. The start-and-finish truss is now formed by a rainbow arch with a gold half star surrounding it and displays the Mario Kart logo in cyan. The checkered line is now black and white, instead of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black. The other two trusses for the start of the second and third sections are also formed by a rainbow arch and display three golden stars. The rails on the race track are now formed by golden stars while the rails on the moon are now formed by cyan neon lights. The star-shaped rings are now silver and have disco balls at the corners pointing outwards, like the golden star-shaped ring on the rotating tunnel. The launch rings are now cyan, resembling the dash ring items. The curbs, located on the turn after the start of the second section and at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line, have been removed. The series of jumps following the first few turns have been aligned. The part between the trampoline mushroom and the start of the second section is now entirely wavy. At the turn after the start of the second section, the rails are placed on the left side of the track, instead of the right side. The series of turns following the second Glide Ramp have also been made tamer. The boost panel on the wavy section before the moon area has been replaced with a trick ramp. Toads in space suits now appear as spectators next to the spaceships and the moon near the first turn is now a blue planet that resembles, while replaces the second moon. After the start of the third section, the golden arches are replaced with star-shaped rings. When driving on the boost conveyors, the acceleration sound effect has been removed. The rail at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line has been removed. Plus, the jump ramp at the jump has been removed. Earth is also now visible in the background of the track, and the galaxy has been replaced by the. The sun has also been moved to a spot that is visible from the Moon section. Like all other courses, Rainbow Road has a reverse variant referred to as Rainbow Road R, a trick variant known as Rainbow Road T, and a reverse and trick variant known as Rainbow Road R/T, which debuted in the Baby Rosalina Tour.

The T and R/T variants of this track are two of five courses in Mario Kart Tour that do not start in the same place as the original, the other ones being 3DS Rock Rock Mountain T, Singapore Speedway R/T and Athens Dash R/T. For both variants, the starting line is now just after the spinning tunnel.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Rainbow Road tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
This version of Rainbow Road returns as the fourth and last course of the Moon Cup in the third wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It is based on its appearance and layout in Mario Kart Tour, albeit with a graphical overhaul, giving the course a neon aesthetic. The rainbow arches on the start-and-finish truss and the truss at the start of the second section are now a complete circle. The start-and-finish checkered line is now blue and cyan. The Dash Panels on the Saturn-like planet’s rings now have boost rings on top of them. The boost rings and the star-shaped rails are now in the form of the ones in. Uranus is now replaced by. The moon section is now in anti-gravity, just like the battle course Lunar Colony. Alongside, it is one of two courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to not entirely be set in anti-gravity, but not feature an Antigravity Panel or half-pipe for an anti-gravity section; this is due to anti-gravity being activated as players fall toward the moon. The rainbow tunnel spins more slowly than in past iterations of the course and the star-shaped ring on it is now yellow. The minimap now lacks the holes in the wavy road prior to the moon section. Unlike in Mario Kart 7, there is no moon version of the final lap music. Like, when a player approaches the curve on the planet’s rings and the Moon, two and ten green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn and fence respectively, and indicate the direction in which the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.

Rainbow Road is one of two courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to not mark the beginning of an anti-gravity section with an Antigravity Panel, the other being.

It is one of two courses to originate from Mario Kart 7 to appear in the third wave of the DLC, alongside. Excluding Mario Kart 8's Rainbow Road theme, which is used in all trailers for the Booster Course Pass, was one of two courses whose music was used for the second trailer for Wave 3, alongside.

Other appearances
This Rainbow Road appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a stage. The match takes place on flat platform and is a cruise-type stage similar to Port Town Aero Dive. Shy Guys also appear as stage hazards similar to the F-Zero machines from Port Town Aero Dive and the Shy Guys from Figure-8 Circuit. It also has a trophy in this game.

Music
Like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!s Rainbow Road, the music for this course contains an arrangement of a portion of the music for Mario Kart 64s Rainbow Road. Kenta Nagata was a composer for all three games.

There are two different variations of the music for. The normal version plays for the majority of the course, while an alternate version plays if the highest placed human player is in the moon portion of the second section. When the third section is reached, as well as speeding the music up like with most courses, it is adjusted so that the end of the music (which is the part based on 's music) plays first, followed by the usual start of the music. In Mario Kart 7, if the player returns to the moon section after crossing the entrance to the third section, the music will change to the final lap version of the moon variation of the theme, but only if the final lap theme had already begun in the third section. It is also possible to hear the final lap version of the moon variant in Mario Kart Tour in the T variant, since the moon is in the final segment in this version of the track. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, however, there is no moon version of the final lap music.

This course's music also appears in the Super Smash Bros. series as selectable music tracks, both in its original arrangement and as a part of "Rainbow Road Medley". Both are playable on the Rainbow Road stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the Mario Circuit stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and any Mario Kart stage as well as Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Small Battlefield, and Final Destination in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (as of the version 8.1.0 update for the latter four).

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: 3DS Rainbow Road delivers on exactly what the name promises: a rainbow-colored track that twists and turns through outer space! Race past planets and ride the rings of Saturn, but don't fall off into the abyss! Blast off across the stars like a comet!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Official European Nintendo social media accounts: Take a multi-coloured ride around the Mario Kart 7 version of Rainbow Road, coming in Wave 3 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass. Don’t be distracted by the pretty colours, there’s a race to win!
 * Nintendo Switch News app (US):
 * This course first appeared in the Mario Kart™ 7 game on the Nintendo 3DS™ system.
 * Welcome to space! Use the glowing rainbow road to make your way through planets, craters, and... Chain Chomps?
 * While you can experience the anti-gravity areas on the moon, racers can also fall off the course! The key is to control your speed by mastering the drifting technique.
 * Nintendo Switch News app (UK): Race by starlight in Rainbow Road! This version of Rainbow Road recreates the course's appearance in the Nintendo 3DS game Mario Kart 7. The path you'll take winds its way through the solar system and even includes a brief sprint across the surface of the Moon. It's pretty easy to fall off the track, so mastering the art of drifting may just be the key to finishing first!