User:YoYo/London Loop

London Loop is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is named after and inspired by London, England, and makes its debut in the city’s namesake tour, the London Tour. Currently, London Loop has three routes, London Loop, London Loop 2 and London Loop 3, each route has their own R, T and R/T variants. The second route made its debut in the Baby Rosalina Tour due to London being the home of, a detective referenced by Baby Rosalina (Detective)'s outfit, while the third route debuted in the 2021 Halloween Tour.

The first route of this course is a favorite of Red Koopa (Freerunning), Daisy (Holiday Cheer), Luigi (Classic), Peach (Wedding), and Dixie Kong. The second route is a favorite of Baby Rosalina (Detective), Mario (SNES), Mario (Racing), Mario (Golf), King Boo (Gold), Kamek, Waluigi (Vampire), Dr. Bowser, and the Donkey Kong and Wario Mii Racing Suits. The third route is a favorite of Birdo (Black), Daisy (Holiday Cheer), Fire Rosalina, Mario (Baseball), Luigi (Golf), Dr. Mario, Cat Mario, Waluigi (Vampire), and the Gold Mii Racing Suit.

London Loop appears as the first course of the Rock Cup in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass.

London Loop
The course begins to the right of Big Ben, followed by a gradual right next to a double-decker bus. The road then weaves its way around, then makes another gradual right through and a part of  before making a sharp left at. The player then reaches, which they exit after making a single slight right. After another sharp right with a Chain Chomp in a green space in front of the Tower of London, the player crosses, then takes another sharp right to bypass and  with the  in the background. After a left sigmoid curve, the player returns to the finish line.

London Loop 2
The course begins to the right of the Big Ben on. Players take a slight right to enter the green space in front of, a few Chain Chomps are located in the green space, one in the very center, and one outside the palace. Racers drive down a long street shortly afterwards, driving past the, eventually leading to a ramp with visible in the far background. Racers take a right to, before eventually passing the. A U-bend to the right is taken, which leads racers back on to Westminster Bridge, before arriving at the finish line.

London Loop 3
The course starts on the but faces away from Big Ben, the opposite direction of London Loop and London Loop 2. Racers take a left turn and travel past the, before taking a right by the to bypass  and the. Two boats can be seen floating on the river. Shortly after, the racers must take a U-bend to the left to cross. A wide bend to the left around the green space of the Tower of London follows, with a Chain Chomp in the center. Players drive back to The Walkie-Talkie before taking a right to access a path besides the River Thames. After driving below a bridge, the player takes one last left to reach the finishing line, passing Big Ben.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of London Loop tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
London Loop appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the third wave of the Booster Course Pass downloadable content. It is the first course of the Rock Cup. It has received significant visual upgrades compared to its appearance in Mario Kart Tour. Additionally, the course's music has been fitted with much more percussion compared to the original.

This iteration of the course is a combined and expanded version of the three routes from Mario Kart Tour, with a lap being dedicated to each route. Racers begin on Westminster Bridge by Big Ben, before taking the first London Loop route for Lap 1. There are almost no modifications made to the route's layout, with the exception of a new fork in the road, where racers can opt to drive on a road to the right of Leadenhall Market, instead of driving through it. Lap 2 takes racers round London Loop 2, which takes racers round Buckingham Palace, the British Museum and the bridge next to the London Eye. Lap 3 is ____.

Like the rest of the third wave, a snippet of London Loop's music was found in the game's files in v2.1.0, when Wave 2's content was added. This course being positioned in the Rock Cup may be a reference to the course's music, which is based on British rock music from the 1960s and 1970s. It is also one of two courses in the third wave to utilize rock music for its theme, alongside. Both of these courses are in the Rock Cup.

London Loop is one of three Mario Kart Tour courses in the wave overall, alongside and Merry Mountain. It is the only one that is not in the Moon Cup.

Trivia

 * The music for this course, as well as its subsequent variations, bears similarities to that of Rock Rock Mountain, as well as being a reference to 1960s British rock music.
 * This course being positioned in the Rock Cup in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe may also be a reference to the musical genre.
 * The first route for this course is the only European city course that was not brought back in the Metropolitan Tour.