DS Waluigi Pinball

Waluigi Pinball is the third race course of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart DS. As its name implies, this course takes place in a giant pinball machine themed after Waluigi and contains many sharp turns and curves.

The course reappears as the fourth and last course of the Banana Cup in Mario Kart 7 and in Mario Kart Tour debuting in the 2019 Halloween Tour. It also appears as the fourth and last course of the Turnip Cup in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass.

Mario Kart DS
Soon after the countdown ends and the race begins, the kart drivers are launched into the pinball machine. After that, the racers start a descent down the machine, encountering numerous pinballs on the way. Colliding with one of these causes drivers to be knocked backwards. Additionally, a racer loses any items they may be carrying. While the racers are in the pinball launcher, they are immune to all items, including Lightning. Later on the track, inside the pinball table, there are flippers and bumpers. Bumpers push and speed up drivers, but flippers, when moving, can cause them to get electrocuted and spin out. This is the longest Nitro course in the game.

This course shares its Grand Prix introduction fanfare with Figure-8 Circuit, Mario Circuit and. It is the only non-circuit course with this distinction.

The course has several unique sound effects that evoke pinball machine scoring noises. Most of these sounds are retained in its retro course appearances in future games:
 * A "ball ready" sound is heard when in the pinball launcher.
 * A unique item roulette sound is heard after breaking an Item Box. This trait is shared with Hyrule Circuit, Animal Crossing, and Urchin Underpass in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
 * An additional "rolling" sound is played when traversing a Dash Panel.
 * A unique set of sounds plays when the player's position changes. Similar sounds for when the player's position changes are used in Mario Kart Wii onwards.
 * A "ball lost" sound is heard when exiting the pinball table.
 * A unique jingle plays when the player enters the second lap.

Missions
There are two missions involving this course: 3-1 and 4-7. In mission 3-1, Wario must break 5 item boxes and in mission 4-7, Toad must drive through the 10 gates in any order. The latter is the only mission involving driving through gates to have the player drive through the gates in any order as opposed to numerical order. Both missions also take place in the pinball table.

Mario Kart 7
Waluigi Pinball makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart 7 as the fourth and final course of the Banana Cup, despite Waluigi not being playable in the game. The layout remained the same, but with enhanced graphics and the Dash Panels recolored to orange. The flashing starting banner now displays the classic Mario Kart logo.

The launch after the starting line now encompasses a Glide Ramp, although like and, players cannot aim their flight. Players are also no longer immune to items while in the launcher, and being hit by anything (or stowing their glider) results in having to be rescued by Lakitu. Additionally, the glider section is now shown on the minimap. The jumps after turn 1 (with the Waluigi banner repositioned slightly to accommodate it) and after turn 6 can be used to perform a trick and gain a boost. An extra Dash Panel is added in the small drop near the circular turn that comes after the 2nd jump.

The pinballs, bumpers, and flippers on the table behave the same way as in the DS version of the course, with the exception of the bumpers in the center of the lower part of the table rotating clockwise instead of counterclockwise. While playing local or online multiplayer, only one pinball traverses the main table as opposed to two.

The staff ghost for this track is Wario.

Mario Kart Tour
Waluigi Pinball returns in Mario Kart Tour beginning in the 2019 Halloween Tour. It featured a major visual upgrade. The image of Waluigi is now illustrated 2D, and his head now rotates from left to right and is surrounded by several brightly-lit buildings and large stacks of coins, the slots below them now have a Las Vegas theme to them, the bumpers have a brighter color, the flashing starting banner with the Mario Kart logo now uses the modern one albeit without the flashing red lights, and there is a new sign after the pinball launcher with Waluigi's art from Mario Party: Star Rush, the track name, a metal ball, two flippers, and scrolling text below that reads "Waluigi No. 1", while the Waluigi banner at the start of the pinball machine was moved to the entrance of the pinball table. The rotating bumpers now move far more slowly. Due to the second lap being the final lap, the jingle that plays when entering the second lap in previous appearances is no longer present.

This course is a favorite of Baby Mario, Blue Yoshi, Waluigi, Peach (Kimono), Pauline (Party Time), Luigi (Golf), Yoshi (Gold Egg, Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES), Lakitu (Party Time), Meowser, Petey Piranha (Gold), Larry (Wintertime), and the Donkey Kong Mii Racing Suit. It is also a favorite of Mario (Hakama), Dry Bowser (Gold), and the King Bob-omb Mii Racing Suit if they reach level 3, and Metal Mario and Luigi (Lederhosen) if they reach level 6. As with other courses in the game, Waluigi Pinball has a reverse version, a trick version, and a reverse/trick version referred to as Waluigi Pinball R, Waluigi Pinball T and Waluigi Pinball R/T respectively; the reverse and trick versions were introduced alongside the regular version in the 2019 Halloween Tour, while the reverse/trick version was added in the Valentine's Tour.

The course icon for the R/T variant has an error within it. It features a trick ramp next to the red bridge despite not appearing in-game.

As of the Night Tour, the course has appeared in thirty separate tours, the most out of any course in the game (not including courses with multiple routes).

For this course's tour appearances, see List of DS Waluigi Pinball tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Waluigi Pinball makes its home console debut in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of Wave 2 of the Booster Course Pass, appearing as the fourth and final course of the Turnip Cup. The course uses its design from Mario Kart Tour, albeit with enhanced graphical updates. The rotating bumpers have been reverted to a faster speed, retaining their clockwise rotation first changed in Mario Kart 7. They can also now be crashed into when using a Star, flying into the air as a result. Several groups of spectators consisting of Shy Guys, Toads, Yoshis, and Koopa Paratroopas have now been added in various locations outside of the track's playable area, such as the sides of the chute behind the flippers and around the stretch of road after the gap jump leading to the pinball table, and a helicopter now appears above the large image of Waluigi at the end of the course. The flippers now give off an electric particle effect after activating.

The sounds that play when changing positions are no longer present, and the sound effect that plays when the player exits the pinball table is no longer played; however, the latter can be heard twice in the course's introduction cinematic. Like its debut game, the course shares its music with, making these courses the only courses to share the same music in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Waluigi Pinball was one of two courses whose music was used for the reveal trailer for Wave 2 of the Booster Course Pass, alongside Sky-High Sundae, not including Mario Kart 8's Rainbow Road, whose music was also used in Wave 1's promotional material. Waluigi Pinball is the only DS course in the Booster Course Pass to not be the second course in its respective cup, as, , and are the second courses of the Lucky Cat Cup, Moon Cup, and Boomerang Cup respectively.

The course was once erroneously referred to as "Waluigi's Pinball" on the Nintendo Switch's news feed.

Other appearances
Waluigi Pinball makes a cameo appearance in the 2006 release of the Nintendo Monopoly board game. It can be seen in one of the screenshots making up the montage of images from various Nintendo games.

Mario Kart DS / Mario Kart 7

 * Super Mario (Trackside banners)
 * Waluigi Sport (Trackside banners)

Mario Kart Tour / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Fuzzy Battery (Trackside banners)
 * Lemmy's Tire Service (Trackside banners)
 * Princess Orange (Trackside banners)
 * Mushroom Piston (Trackside banners)
 * Mario Motors (Trackside banners)
 * Mario Automobile Association (Trackside banners)

Mario Kart DS

 * European website bio: "Wario's weird sibling constructed this high-speed track inside a giant pinball table; complete with bumpers, flippers, ramps, and enormous steel spheres that bounce you around like - well, like a pinball. Make sure to bring plenty of aspirin for this race."

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: "Waluigi Pinball, a course stocked with all the lights and sounds of a pinball machine, bumps its way into blue in the next tour! Can you weave your way past the bumpers and flippers? Just try not to tilt!"

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Nintendo Switch News app (US):
 * This course first appeared in the Mario Kart DS game.
 * Much like Waluigi himself, this is a very flashy course―complete with pinball-like features like flippers and bumpers.
 * The key to victory involves dodging the balls that are rolling around.
 * Waaa!
 * Nintendo Magazine 2022 Winter: "Giant metal balls roll around this course. Get hyped with the flashy lights and music!"

Music
Waluigi Pinball shares its music with Wario Stadium. An arrangement of the music is also featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on the Mario Circuit stage, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for any Mario Kart-series stage, arranged in an enhanced electronic rock style by Kentaro Ishizaka. The arrangement also incorporates Wario's victory theme from the same games.

Trivia

 * Waluigi Pinball is one of three courses in the Mario Kart series to have used three different starting line logos, as it used a unique font in Mario Kart DS, the classic Mario Kart logo in Mario Kart 7, and the modern Mario Kart logo in both Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It shares this trait with Airship Fortress and Yoshi's Island.
 * The Nintendo Switch News feed for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the United Kingdom never made a post highlighting or, unlike every other course in the first four waves of the Booster Course Pass.