Tour Berlin Byways

Berlin Byways is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is based on Berlin, the capital city of. It has three routes, named Berlin Byways, Berlin Byways 2, and Berlin Byways 3. The first route made its debut in the Metropolitan Tour as one of two new city courses, alongside Amsterdam Drift 2; the second debuted in the Berlin Tour; and the third debuted in the Anniversary Tour alongside Sydney Sprint 3. The course visits various landmarks of the city it is based on, including a section featuring the Berlin Wall with Whomps filling the gaps as obstacles, and the streets of the city leading into the train station. The third variant is the first course in Mario Kart Tour to have moving traffic consisting of cars and trucks. Additionally, the third route's starting line is in a different location compared to the other two. Despite being labeled as the second route, Berlin Byways 2 debuted more than a year before Berlin Byways did. This marks the first instance of a city course's layouts being released out of numerical order.

The first route of this course course is a favorite of Rosalina (Chef), Chargin' Chuck, Pink Shy Guy (Ninja), Birdo (White), and Dr. Bowser. The second is a favorite of Peach (Halloween), Luigi (Lederhosen), Penguin Toad, Peach (Happi), Mario (Samurai), Dr. Luigi, Luigi (Knight), Shy Guy (Pastry Chef), King Bob-omb, King Bob-omb (Gold), Pink Shy Guy (Ninja), and the Wario and Chain Chomp Mii Racing Suits. The third is a favorite of Mario (SNES), Luigi (Lederhosen), Pauline (Rose), Yoshi (Kangaroo), Tanooki Mario, Dr. Luigi, King Boo (Luigi's Mansion), Wario (Hiker), Chargin' Chuck, Dr. Bowser, and the Bronze, Chain Chomp, and Bowser Mii Racing Suits. It is also a favorite of the Castle Mii Racing Suit if it reaches level 6.

The music for this course consists of or  music, which soon transitions into  music. Additionally, the orchestral portion of the song resembles Germany's national anthem, “”.

Berlin Byways appears in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass as the first course of the Moon Cup.

Berlin Byways
Racers start besides the, facing away from the. After a slight right turn, players pass the and drive along the Berlin Wall, avoiding Whomps as they navigate the bendy road. After passing the wall, racers can drive either besides or under the in a long straight-away, which then turns to the right before reaching the. Racers can chose to go either left or right around the monument, however both meet up very shortly after. After driving down a short, narrow staircase, players navigate along a small dirt path in the before driving on the long road behind the. After driving through the large gate, and taking a slight left, racers drive to the finish line.

At the start of the section after the first curve, there is a path with slightly darker grass with a lower relief to the right that can only be taken with the use of a Dash Mushroom. Once taken, it leaves racers to the street leading to the.

The course also appears as Berlin Byways R (reverse) and Berlin Byways T (with ramps).

Berlin Byways 2
In the standard layout, the racers start the course in a street next to the, with the and a few Glide Pads up ahead on the right. After driving or gliding through the gate, players go down the, which is littered with cars (which act as ramps) that lead through the (formally referred to as "Großer Tiergarten" in Germany) to  where the  resides. After players make a sharp turn right around the Victory Column, they must make an S-curve into a train station; the exterior is based on, while the interior takes inspiration from its predecessor station, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. Inside, they can either drive down the tracks, on the island platform, or take a small shortcut through a stationary trainset (this train is not directly based on a specific model, but it most closely resembles the  with some inspiration from the ) that leads them through another winding S-curve behind the Berlin Cathedral. Half of the S-curve is sunken into the ground, allowing for tricks to be performed at the beginning and ending of the dip, though only the raised portion has coins. Here, the Berlin Television Tower is visible in the background. Afterwards, taking a right turn brings the players to the street where the finish line awaits them.

The course also appears as Berlin Byways 2R (reverse), Berlin Byways 2T (with ramps), and Berlin Byways 2R/T (reverse and with ramps).

On the R/T variant of this course, the first red glider ramp redirects players onto the green train track leading out of the Bahnhof, before continuing on like normal. Thwomps also appear at the Brandenburg Gate.

When configured for Coin Rush, cars and fences will block off a lane in the highway and redirect Gold Mario through the train car, making the collection of coins easier.

Berlin Byways 3
Berlin Byways 3, unlike the other two routes, begins in the, specifically on the , facing away from the and towards the. Racers drive towards the Berlin Victory Column and turn left on the roundabout, before taking a right turn as they approach the. Racers drive by numerous buildings, such as the and the. After a wide U-turn, players will pass the Schloss Charlottenburg before driving on to the road previously seen in Berlin Byways 2 briefly. Shortly after passing the roundabout again, racers turn right on to the Scheidemannstraße, the road lowers itself underground slightly before players drive in between the and the, before driving up to the Brandenburg Gate, taking one last right turn, and driving along the Straße des 17. Juni again until reaching the finish line.

Throughout the course, alongside moving coins and Item Boxes, moving cars and trucks appear as obstacles. In the course's regular and T variants, trucks have surfboards on the back that the players can perform Jump Boosts off of, similarly to the ones in and  in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; exclusively in the regular variant, one truck has a Piranha Plant in tow.

The course also appears as Berlin Byways 3R (reverse) and Berlin Byways 3T (with ramps).

The course icon of the Trick variant has an error within it. The pink truck carrying a Piranha Plant is shown despite not appearing in the course.

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

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Berlin Byways returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the Booster Course Pass downloadable content. It is the first course of the Moon Cup, and was added in the third wave of the DLC. It has received significant visual upgrades compared to its appearance in Mario Kart Tour. The cars from Berlin Byways 3 return in this version of the course, and follow the same path they did in that route, making this the second course in the pass with traffic, after, and the second course in the series altogether to feature traffic that doesn't follow the route of the entire course, after Mushroom City in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The music now features clapping throughout the opening portion, and additional higher pitched synths were also added.

In this version of the course, racers start by the, facing towards the. The route will then follow that of Berlin Byways 2. After going back to the starting line, the second lap is based on Berlin Byways 3; however, racers drive past the Brandenburg Gate and race along the ending of the first Berlin Byways route before reaching the starting line. The third lap then follows the first Berlin Byways route, making Berlin Byways the only Tour city course in the Booster Course Pass so far to not have the first lap be based on its first route. Initially, there is nothing beneath the gate; at the beginning of the second lap, there is a glider ramp; and at the end of the second lap and for all of the third, there are a boost panel and two Thwomps, like in the first route for the course. The minimap has been rotated approximately 120 degrees clockwise. The peninsula used for Berlin Byways 2T has been removed from the minimap, and the course uses an unused road connecting the Schiller Monument to the Brandenburg Gate, making Berlin Byways the second/third Tour city course to include roads that were unused at the time of their appearance in the Booster Course Pass, after and alongside.

The first lap is based on Berlin Byways 2. Racers start next to the, facing towards the. After the race begins, they drive under it; there are currently only Item Boxes beneath it, but this will change throughout the race. Afterward, they merge into traffic on the heading straight for the  before taking a right turn around it. At this point, the traffic takes another right through an arrow field, while players instead turn left into the train station. The train can still be driven through, and the Item Box inside is now a Double Item Box. From here, players drive past the and return to the starting line.

The second lap is a combination of Berlin Byways 3 and Berlin Byways 1. Racers once again drive through the Brandenburg Gate - this time, there is a Glide Ramp in front of it. The traffic is still present. Players follow it as it takes a left turn at the Victory Column and drives past the. The road eventually comes back to the Victory Column roundabout from another angle. Here, racers turn left, and then turn right onto the road past Charlottenburg Palace. That road eventually crosses behind the Brandenburg Gate before turning right into the. Players then take a long right turn and reenter the Straße de 17. Juni, this time going the other direction, against the traffic. They cross under the Brandenburg Gate once again (which now has Thwomps and Item Boxes) and cross the starting line from the other direction.

The third lap is based on Berlin Byways 1. Racers turn right and pass the Berlin Wall, the Whomps in which have now left cracks in the road. Players then drive either way around the before going through the Tiergarten. Players end the race by going against traffic on the Straße de 17. Juni again, going under the Brandenburg Gate (which now only has Thwomps), and crossing the finish line.

When the player crosses the finish line to begin the next lap, Lakitu is shown on the left side of the player, holding the lap count signs (when holding the start signal, he’s also shown on the left side of the player).

Berlin Byways is one of three Mario Kart Tour courses in the wave overall, alongside and Merry Mountain.

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: The Cat Tour is wrapping up in blue. Next up is the Metropolitan Tour! Race through a variety of city courses, including Berlin Byways!
 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: It's time for the Berlin Tour in blue! Some heated races are about to ensue on Berlin Byways 2, the first city course of 2021!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Official Nintendo social media accounts: A city of culture, creativity and…karting?! Sprint round Berlin Byways in Wave 3 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass and soak in the atmosphere!

Trivia

 * Despite not being accessible in the course's normal variant, a patch of road from the T version is shown on Berlin Byways 2's map.
 * This makes Berlin Byways 2 one of two courses in Mario Kart Tour to include a section of the course on the minimap that is not accessible in the main variant, the other being GBA Boo Lake. In both cases, the exclusive sections are removed from the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version of the course.
 * Berlin Byways is the only city course whose first route did not debut in a tour named after the city. The first route that was playable, Berlin Byways 2, however, did debut in a tour named after the city.