3DS Rainbow Road

Rainbow Road is the last course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. The course has once again increased in length compared to previous renditions, but still shares a similar theme as its predecessor. Instead of floating above the atmosphere, it now takes place around the Moon and consist of few small asteroids in the background. This incarnation of Rainbow Road, along with the tracks Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu, only has one lap instead of three. It is divided into three sections to resemble laps, with banners at the end of each section. This is the only course with three sections in Mario Kart 7 to not take place on Wuhu Island. It was the only Rainbow Road with this trait until N64 Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8.

Unlike past Rainbow Roads, this incarnation features the player driving on off-road surfaces such as the Moon itself and rings of a planetoid resembling Saturn.


 * The first part has the drivers race on the rainbow tiles and the second part has them race on the rings of a planetoid for a short time.
 * This part also brings them to the Moon with giant Chomps coming out of the craters.
 * The third and final part of the track returns to the rainbow tiles and features a gliding section that consists of numerous rings.

The staff ghost is Honey Queen with the Birthday Girl, Slim tires, and Peach Parasol, and the expert staff ghost is Honey Queen with the Bumble V, Standard tires, and Flower Glider.

This Rainbow Road appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a stage. The match takes place on flat platform and is a cruise-type stage similar to Port Town Aero Dive. Shy Guys also appear as stage hazards similar to the F-Zero Racers from Port Town Aero Dive and the Shy Guys from Figure-8 Circuit. The original music for the track appears as one of the selectable songs for this stage and the Mario Circuit stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as does an arranged version as part of "Rainbow Road Medley".

This Rainbow Road returns as a retro track in Mario Kart Tour, being the only course in the game containing 3 sections instead of 2 laps.

Course layout
The track starts of with a short straightaway, following with a sharp turn to the right, then left, going around a planet. Afterward, there are three platforms that the drivers drive and jump off each one (similar to area before the temple in DK Jungle). Next, players drive around another planet, but this time spiraling down. The track then comes to one bouncy mushroom, then a sharp right turn. After the turn, players have the opportunity to snatch some item boxes and coins on a waving road (similar to Mario Kart Wii). Section two starts off with a another sharp turn with a Glide Ramp, which activates the Glider to ride into of the rings of a Saturn-like planet. Players have to dodge holes, then try to hit some Dash Panels for speed boosts. Players then activate their Glider again after hitting the next Glide Ramp. Once landing, players take three turns, all loaded with Dash Panels. Next, there is another wavy road, but this one has holes in it.

Once the drivers make it through the wavy road or fall through, they land on the moon, where they need to dodge rolling Chomps, and they can trick off of craters for little boosts. Though there's no water in the moon portion, its low gravity works exactly the same way as driving under water, so sometimes players can fly far enough by just one trick. Section three starts with some conveyor belts that give little boosts, then leads into a turning tunnel with Dash Panels and Glide Ramps at the end. The track splits into two parts, three, then two, then fuses back into one. This part is filled with ramps that can be used to go through rings for extra speed. If players hit a Glide Ramp, they have to dodge asteroids, but try to pass through rings at the same time. The track ends with a part that increases in altitude, then decrease which leads to one small jump, and to the finish line.

Shortcuts

 * The first turn of the second section can be skipped or taken tightly by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road.
 * Time can be gained by repeatedly swooping far down below the planetoid’s ring and up again after the first Glider ramp.
 * Another Glider shortcut can be performed with the second Glider ramp by gliding off to the left back over the planet’s ring and landing after or on the second set of Dash Panels, skipping the turn.
 * The last turn of the course can be skipped by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road and landing on the final straightaway.

Mario Kart Tour
This version of Rainbow Road returns in Mario Kart Tour. Various changes have been made to the track, the stars now have disco balls at the edges like the star on the spinning tunnel in the final section. The spinning tunnel in the third section had its holes removed, the starting line now resembles a rainbow and has a star surrounding it, and the moon near the first turn is now a blue planet. This course is favored by Lemmy, Birdo (Light Blue), Mario (Happi), Rosalina (Aurora), and Daisy (Fairy).

The Trick and Reverse/Trick variants are two of three tracks in Mario Kart Tour that do not start in the same place as the original, the other one being 3DS Rock Rock Mountain T. For both variants, the starting line is now just after the spinning tunnel.

Holiday Tour
In the Holiday Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the third course in the Rosalina Cup, the first course in the Baby Peach Cup, and the location of the challenges in the Luigi Cup, the Dry Bones Cup and the Dry Bowser Cup. It also has a Reverse variant which appears as the third course in the Waluigi Cup and the first course in the Pauline Cup, and a Trick variant which appears as the second course in the Wendy Cup and the third course in the Peachette Cup.



New Year's Tour
In the New Year's Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the third course in the Baby Rosalina Cup and the first course in the Rosalina Cup. It also has a Reverse variant which appears as the third course in the Luigi Cup, a Trick variant which appears as the second course in the Birdo Cup, and an alternate form of the Trick variant that appears as the location of the challenge in the Metal Mario Cup.



Mario Bros. Tour
In the Mario Bros. Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the third course in the Rosalina Cup, the second course in the Morton Cup, and the location of the challenge in the Larry Cup. It also has a Reverse variant which appears as the second course in the Shy Guy Cup and the third course in the Daisy Cup, and a Trick variant which appears as the third course in the Ludwig Cup.



Baby Rosalina Tour
In the Baby Rosalina Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the location of the challenge in the Peachette Cup. It also has a Reverse/Trick variant which appears as the second course in the Rosalina Cup.



Trick Tour
In the Trick Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the location of the challenge in the Rosalina Cup. It also has a Reverse/Trick variant which appears as the third course in the Waluigi Cup.



Flower Tour
In the Flower Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the third course in the Peach Cup. It also has a Reverse variant which appears as the third course in the Mario Cup, and a Trick variant which appears as the first course in the Hammer Bro Cup and the location of the challenge in the Lakitu Cup.



Marine Tour
In the Marine Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the second course in the Yoshi Cup and the location of the challenge in the Toad Cup. It also has a Reverse variant which appears as the third course in the Rosalina Cup, and a Trick variant which appears as the second course in the Bowser Cup.



Summer Festival Tour
In the Summer Festival Tour, Rainbow Road appears as the location of the challenge in the Bowser Jr. Cup. It also has a Reverse/Trick variant that appears as the third course in the Birdo Cup.



Music
Like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the music for the course contains an arrangement of Mario Kart 64 ' s Rainbow Road's music. (Kenta Nagata was a composer for all three games.) There are two different variations of this theme. The first variation plays while driving on the rainbow tiles, and the second variation plays during the second section when the player is driving on the moon. When the third section is reached, the end of the music, which is the arrangement of the end of Mario Kart 64 ' s Rainbow Road, plays first, instead of the start of the music. If the player turns around and goes back to the moon section after crossing the entrance to the third section, the music will change to the final lap version of the second variation of the theme, but only if the player enters it after hearing the final lap theme after moving onto the third section. The player will not hear the final lap version of the second variation of the theme if they reenter the moon before hearing the final lap version of the original variation, even if they already moved on to the third section.

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: "3DS Rainbow Road delivers on exactly what the name promises: a rainbow-colored track that twists and turns through outer space! Race past planets and ride the rings of Saturn, but don't fall off into the abyss! Blast off across the stars like a comet!"

Trivia

 * There are three Item Boxes floating under the rings of the Saturn-like planetoid. It is possible to get one of these Item Boxes by gliding, but the player must get back on the track after getting it in order to use their item. However, it is quite difficult to do so without a mushroom.
 * This track has the most Glide Ramps of any course, with five. However, only the Glide Ramps going onto and off of the planet rings are mandatory.
 * This version is the longest Rainbow Road in the Mario Kart series; however, the N64 version takes the longest time to complete as it is three laps long instead of one.
 * In Mario Kart 7, when performing a trick on this course, it will have a slightly different sound effect than other courses; the same applies to SNES Rainbow Road.