DS Mario Circuit

Mario Circuit is the third race course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart DS. In the course enemies appear acting as obstacles: Goombas appear crossing the road to and from the sides. By shooting a Green Shell or Red Shell at them, or using a Star, Mushrooms spawn from the Goombas. A pair of Fire Piranha Plants spit fireballs onto the course. The victim will spin out of control when touching one. Regular Piranha Plants, as seen in Mario Kart 64, are also present. This track shares its music and Grand Prix introduction fanfare with Figure-8 Circuit, as well as sharing the latter with Waluigi Pinball and.

This is the first Mario Circuit to appear in the Star Cup since Mario Circuit 4 in Super Mario Kart, and is also the only nitro Mario Circuit to be the third course of a cup.

Mario Circuit returns as the second course of the Boomerang Cup in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the Booster Course Pass.

Mario Kart DS
Characters start out the race near a lake surrounding Peach's Castle. After going through the first corner, Goombas wandering on the middle of the track will try to block the racers' path. After passing by these enemies, characters run along a piece of the lake. Due to that part having no fence, players can fall off into water. Continuing the path, two Fire Piranha Plants located in a S bend will spit fireballs to the course that will cause drivers to spin out on impact. Going through a Warp Pipe-modeled tunnel, the players reach a dirt road after taking a tight turn. The track's dirt section can cause some karts to go off of course, especially on corners. Crossing over the Pipe tunnel, the racers go down on a curly track with Piranha Plants. Past this, characters then continue running over concrete road. After taking a tight S turn, players cross the checked line.

Shortcuts
One can use a Mushroom and go behind one of the Fire Piranha Plants to cut off a turn.

Missions
Missions 5-8 and 7-4 take place on this circuit. In mission 5-8, Luigi has to race one lap on the course against Mario. In mission 7-4, Toad must get rid of 30 Goombas found in a part of the course using Green Shells from the Item Boxes.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe


This version of Mario Circuit appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of Wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass. It appears as the second course of the Boomerang Cup. It is the second Mario Circuit course in the pass, after, and the third circuit course in the pass overall, after and. It is one of three courses in the pass that is currently not yet in Mario Kart Tour, the others being and Yoshi's Island; all of which are featured in Wave 4.

The course has received many visual improvements since its appearance in Mario Kart DS, as well as many changes in the course. While it is unknown if the Fire Piranha Plants are still present on the course, a Wiggler has been added to the off-road portion of the course, which has now been changed into a forest section. More elevation has been added to the course, which is mostly noticeable with the S-turn at the end. There is now offroad between the main track and the lake surrounding Peach's Castle.

Mario Kart DS

 * European website bio: "Constructed in the grounds of Princess Peach's famous castle, Mario Circuit is where red-capped plumbers feel most at home. Negotiate the snaking turns while avoiding waddling Goombas, bouncing flames and snapping Piranha Plants, and you might just make it to Peach's place in time for tea."

Mario Kart DS

 * Mario Kart (Trackside banners, banners)
 * Shoot!! (Trackside banners)
 * Super Mario (Trackside banners)
 * Super Star! (Trackside banners)

Trivia

 * In descriptions given by Nintendo for all the Wave 4 courses, this course was mistakenly described with elements from, with the course being said to have "blossoming trees" (referring to the cherry blossoms in the 3DS circuit) and taking racers through a winding path into Peach's Castle. The footage does not show a route with "blossoming trees" or a route inside Peach's Castle; instead, a fence is visible in front of the castle entrance, the castle doors are shut, and the castle bridge only comes up to the offroad.