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 planetoids 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/checkpoints to resemble laps, with banners at the end of each section. 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 Launch Stars.

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 from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Shy Guys also appear as stage hazards similar to the F-Zero Racers from Port Town Aero Dive and the Shy Guys from Mario 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".

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 glider ramp, which activates the air glider to ride into of the rings of a Saturn-like planet. Players have to dodge holes, then try to hit some speed boosts. Players then activate their glider again after hitting the glider ramp. Once landing, players take three turns, all loaded with boost pads. 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 speed pads and a speed pad or glider pad 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 star rings for extra speed. If players hit a glider pad, they have to dodge asteroids, but try to hit those star 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.

Music
Like in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the music for the course contains a remix of Mario Kart 64 ' s Rainbow Road's music. There are 2 different variations of this theme. The 1st variation plays while driving on the rainbow tiles, and the 2nd variation plays during the 2nd section when the player is driving on the moon. When the 3rd section is reached, the end of the music, which is the remix 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 3rd section, the music will change to the final lap version of the 2nd 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 onto the third section.

Trivia

 * There are three Item Boxes floating under the rings of the Saturn-like planetoid. It is possible to get one under the rings by gliding, but the player must get back on the track after getting the Item Box in order to use their item. However, it is quite difficult to do so without a mushroom.
 * This track has the most gliding pads of any course, with five. However, only the glider pads going onto and off of the planet rings are mandatory.
 * This version is the second longest Rainbow Road in the Mario Kart series, with the N64 version being the longest.
 * This is the only course with three sections in Mario Kart 7 to not take place on Wuhu Island.
 * When performing a Trick on this course, it will have a slightly different sound effect than the other courses; the same applies to SNES Rainbow Road.