N64 Yoshi Valley

Yoshi Valley is the second course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 64. It is Yoshi's home track in the game. It takes place over a canyon, and there are many twists and turns. The map modes that show the player icons making circuits around the screen relative to their positions seem to work fine; however, the maze is so complicated that determining the racers' current positions is impossible, so the players' mugshots are just replaced with question marks. Their positions are revealed only at the end of the race. There are also several porcupines that can disable turning and slow racers down for 1.5 seconds. Near the end of the course, there is a rotating Giant Egg that can easily flatten any player, disabling their movement for about five seconds. The track shares its music with Moo Moo Farm. It returns in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a classic course; it is the fourth and final course of the Leaf Cup in both games, and in Mario Kart 8, it is also a battle course. The course also returns in Mario Kart Tour, making its debut in the 2022 Yoshi Tour.

Course layout
Due to the unique design of the course, there are many different routes that can be taken from the beginning of the maze to the end. The maze begins after a right turn over a bridge shortly after the starting line, and the end is where the bridge route connects to the main route, after which is a left hairpin turn that then leads to the Giant Egg, after which is a long narrow bridge that brings the racers to the grassy field with the finish line.


 * Main route: The main route can be accessed by going either direction at the start of the maze. If the player takes a left, then the main route will be to the right of the narrow route. If the player takes a right, then the next two lefts must be taken to the main route. The main route begins in an underpass under the long route and a small jump, where there is a group of porcupines and then a right turn to the end of the maze.


 * Bridge route: The bridge route is located to the right of the main route and is found by taking the first right and then a left, after which the bridge route is straight ahead. Alternatively, the player could also drive towards the main route and then hang a right just before passing under the long route. The bridge route passes under both the long route and the final stretch of road, the gap between being connected by a small narrow bridge. Afterwards is a horde of porcupines on a steep left turn, which then leads to the end of the maze after a short drop.


 * Long route: This route can be reached by taking the first two right turns, where the road makes a sharp right turn and a somewhat straight path that passes over both the main route and the bridge route. After the narrow route joins up to this path, there is a comparatively wide right turn that leads to a small drop to the main route shortly before the end of the bridge route.


 * Narrow route: The narrow route is found by taking the first two lefts from the beginning of the maze, and it joins up with the end of the long route. This route can be risky due to how narrow it is and the long fall if racers do not successfully stay on the road, especially if two racers attempt to take this path at the same time.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Yoshi Valley reappears in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the final course of the Leaf Cup. The valley now features a waterfall and river, and is now known as the Wild Yoshi Sanctuary, a nature reserve for the Yoshis, and there are now trees, flowers and bushes with Fruits and lanterns hanging from them. The starting banner is now a wooden sign with a nested green Yoshi Egg placed on top of it. There are also multicolored Yoshis throughout the track waving and jumping as spectators. Some are behind the wooden fence, with two of them on crates, and others are on the cliff tops. There is a rock structure with moss forming the head of a Green Yoshi, and there are various colored eggs within the valley. In addition, the game now properly displays current player positions, apart from a couple of minor glitches on the old bridge route.

All of the original paths remain intact, though have been given slight changes to even out the lengths of them; the most significant being that the long route has been turned into a Barrel Cannon with a glider segment. It is the only route to have Item Boxes. Other changes include the bridge being moved from the bridge route to the narrow route. The left turn at the end of the bridge route is more flat and runs through a cave where Swoops appear. Taking the first left upon entering the maze and then the first right now leads to the bridge route instead of the main route, the narrow route is now a typical shortcut over a wooden bridge, and as such the main route can only be accessed by taking a left just before the bridge route and thus is much more easily missed. The track has toned down in difficulty, and is slightly easier than the original, with the addition of guard-rails and the fact that the game now tells the players which place they are in. The giant Yoshi Egg is smaller, spins around counterclockwise instead of clockwise, has Coins trailing behind it, and will instead knock over racers rather than flattening them. The porcupines have also been replaced with Goombas. The Yoshis seen on the course are always in the same spots, though they sometimes change color every time the course is restarted.

Shortcuts

 * After passing the giant Yoshi Egg, there is a ramp on the grass area that can be accessed by using a Mushroom.

Staff ghost
The staff ghost for this track is Yoshi on the Wild Wiggler, with a time of 2:28.814. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 200cc, it is a Green Shy Guy with a time of 1:35.628.

Mario Kart Tour
Yoshi Valley returned in Mario Kart Tour as a classic course in the 2022 Yoshi Tour. It is the first N64 course to be included in the game since N64 Choco Mountain in the Exploration Tour forty-five tours prior. Like GCN Yoshi Circuit, N64 Royal Raceway, and GCN Baby Park, it mostly takes on the appearance of its Mario Kart 8 iteration. The course features a different starting line design compared to Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and the nest on the starting line now features some leaves on it. A cliff and some more Yoshi spectators have been added near the starting line. The time of day has also been changed from evening to early morning (also applies to DS Airship Fortress). The narrow route was made much wider and now has guardrails. Two logs have been added to the long route. Two half-pipes have been added at the loop after racers pass through the split paths, making this the first classic course in the game that is not present in Mario Kart Wii to have half-pipes. The fence at the area with the Giant Egg is now colored white, and bushes appear under it. Hot-air balloons themed after Yoshi are also added above the track as decorations. The Wild Yoshi Sanctuary signs present on the course now use 2D artwork of Yoshi instead of 3D artwork. Despite using its Mario Kart 8 appearance, this course uses the original version of its music from Mario Kart 64. The minimap also now matches its orientation from 64, as opposed to the 8 version. As with other courses in the game, Yoshi Valley has a reverse variant and a trick variant, referred to as Yoshi Valley R and Yoshi Valley T respectively. In the trick variant, many Mushroom Trampolines are added to the course. This course is a favorite of Tanooki Rosalina, Luigi (Golf), Yoshi (Gold Egg), Rosalina (Volendam), Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES), Pink Shy Guy (Ninja), Petey Piranha, and the Gold, Nabbit, and Chain Chomp Mii Racing Suits. It is also a favorite of Cat Mario and White Tanooki Mario if they reach level 6, and Daisy (Farmer) if she reaches level 8.

For this course's tour appearances, see List of N64 Yoshi Valley tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 64

 * Instruction manual bio: Steep canyons and a very large egg... Hmm... How does this course relate to Yoshi? To make one lap, you can take any route you like through the complicated maze, but without keeping a careful eye on the course radar, you might drive the wrong way and end up returning to where you started. Of course, leaving the course is forbidden.
 * Website bio: The track in Yoshi Valley meanders through a twisting maze high above a mountain valley.

Mario Kart 8

 * Facebook page: Ah, the majestic Yoshi Valley from Mario Kart 8. So beautiful. So sprawling. So eggs-quisite. Make a pit stop today!

Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack liner notes
"I was a bit concerned that the violin part was going to be very difficult, but thanks to Hitoshi Konno's superb technique, we were able to reproduce the original part in a live performance. I think with the perfectly-pitched swing tone, we even managed to convey the feel of the adorable eggs towards the end of the course."

Trivia

 * The trees bearing Fruits in the Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour versions look similar in shape to that of a.
 * One of the Yoshis near the starting line will occasionally hum Totaka's Song. This also occurs in other courses featuring Yoshis in the audience.