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, the second debuted in the Berlin Tour, and the third debuted in the 2022 Anniversary Tour. 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 starts in the opposite direction compared to the other two.

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

Berlin Byways reappears 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 Brandenburg Gate. 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 Brandenburg Gate. 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 Brandenburg Gate.

The course also appears as Berlin Byways R (reversed), Berlin Byways T (with ramps), and Berlin Byways R/T (reversed with ramps); the first two debuted alongside the normal variant in the Metropolitan Tour, while the last debuted in the Spring Tour.

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

Berlin Byways 2
In the standard layout, the racers start the course in a street next to the, with the Brandenburg Gate 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 (reversed), Berlin Byways 2T (with ramps), and Berlin Byways 2R/T (reversed with ramps).

On the R/T variant of this course, the first red 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. 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, making 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.

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.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Berlin Byways tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour § Berlin Byways 2.

Berlin Byways 3
Berlin Byways 3, unlike the other two routes, begins in the, specifically on the , facing away from the Brandenburg Gate 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 Charlottenburg Palace 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 (reversed), Berlin Byways 3T (with ramps), and Berlin Byways 3R/T (reversed with ramps); the first two debuted alongside the normal variant in the 2022 Anniversary Tour, while the last debuted in the 2023 Anniversary Tour.

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

Course traffic patterns
This version of the course, in its default variant, has 13 vehicles.
 * Left lane: Red car, blue car, red car, Piranha Plant truck, surfboard truck, red car, surfboard truck
 * Right lane: Green car, gray car, green car, blue car, surfboard truck, green car

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Berlin Byways tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour § Berlin Byways 3.

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!!. They now use the same designs as the vehicles seen in and DS Shroom Ridge, meaning that the pickup truck that holds the Piranha Plant from Berlin Byways 3 does not return, instead every pickup truck has a surfboard. Additionally, all cargo trucks and surfboard trucks have coins on top. The music now features clapping throughout the opening portion, and additional higher pitched synths were also added. The brass instruments are also more audible and pronounced, and a flute was added to the orchestral segment.

The first lap is based on Berlin Byways 2, 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. Racers start next to the, facing towards the Brandenburg Gate. 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 the final portion of Berlin Byways. 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 and final lap is based on the first route of Berlin Byways. Racers turn right and pass the Berlin Wall. Unlike in Tour, the Whomps have now left cracks in the road where they land. Players then drive either way around the before going through the Tiergarten. Players end the race by going against traffic on the Straße des 17. Juni again, going under the Brandenburg Gate (which now only has Thwomps), and crossing the finish line.

The minimap has been rotated approximately 120 degrees clockwise. The peninsula used for Berlin Byways 2T is now blocked off by fences and 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 Sydney Sprint and alongside London Loop. Like London Loop, the previously unused road in this course was never used in Tour prior to new content for it concluding.

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

Course traffic patterns
This version of the course has 18 (moving) vehicles. Vehicles in the left lane notably travel about 20% faster than those in the right lane.


 * Left lane: Car, car, surfboard truck, car, car, car, car, bus
 * Right lane: Bus, car, surfboard truck, car, truck, truck, surfboard truck, car, car, car

Both cargo trucks use a Propeller Toad Transport design, both buses use a Galaxy Air design, and cars can randomly appear as red cars, black cars, or as Green Shell Taxis.

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!
 * Nintendo Switch News app (US):
 * This course first appeared on the Mario Kart™ Tour game.
 * Modeled after the German city of Berlin, you may catch a peek at some famous tourist sights while racing.
 * The streets sure are bustling! Watch out for tourist buses and taxis running through the course. You'll really want to keep an eye out on lap 3 or you might get a stompin' from a Whomp!
 * Nintendo Switch News app (UK): Say a hearty "Guten Morgen" to Berlin Byways! This course, first appearing in the smart device game Mario Kart Tour, takes you all around the German capital of Berlin, with its many sights and sounds. But be careful, as parts of the track will have you weaving between tour buses and taxis. To make things worse, Whomps will come crashing down from the course's walls during the third lap, so you'd better keep your wits about you!
 * Nintendo Magazine 2023 Summer: This course will let you race by the symbolic gate and tower of Berlin, Germany.

Sponsors

 * BaNaNa Boy (graffiti)
 * Bullet Bill Speed Trial (signs)
 * Burning DK (graffiti)
 * Dream Gliders (graffiti)
 * Lemmy's Tire Service (graffiti)
 * Mario Kart TV (vans) (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe only)
 * Mario Work Gear (posters)
 * Moo Moo Meadows Milk (trucks)
 * Princess Orange (posters)
 * Propeller Toad Transport (trucks)