Wii Rainbow Road: Difference between revisions

|appears_in=''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'' ([[List of games by date#2008|2008]])<br>''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' (2023)<br>''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' ([[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]], Wave 6) (2023)

|sample=''Mario Kart Wii / Mario Kart Tour''<br>[[File:MKW Rainbow Road Theme.oga]]<br>''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''<br>[[File:Switch Wii Rainbow Road BCP.mp3]]

|map=''Mario Kart Wii''<br>[[File:Rainbow Road MKWii layout.png|140px]]<br>''Mario Kart Tour''<br>[[File:MKT Map RainbowRoadWii.png|140px]]

This Rainbow Road returns in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' as a [[classic course]] starting in the [[Space Tour (2023)|2023 Space Tour]]. It also returns in ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' in the [[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]] as the fourth and final course of the [[Spiny Cup]], and the final course in the game overall.

In ''Mario Kart Wii'', the course appears to be located over the eastern parts of North America, as well as some parts of Europe, Africa, and South America. In ''Mario Kart Tour'', the course instead takes place above parts of Europe and Asia.  

After the Launch Star ends, racers take a slight right turn followed by a slight left turn. Along the slight left turn are guard rails and four dash panels, and it ends with a unique type of half-pipe ramp that makes racers take a left turn over a gap while they pass through several star-filled rings. As racers land, the track is once again wider but quickly splits into two narrow paths. The right path quickly curves left to cross over to the left side while the left path quickly curves right to cross under to the right side, then both curve again to go the same direction. The right path briefly has guard rails on the right side while it's crossing over, but the paths otherwise function very similarly; each has a small dash panel on the outside of the curve before it crosses over, a small dash panel on the inside of the curve after it crosses over, and a ramp at the end. In both cases, the ramp has guard rails on both sides, three dash panels, and three Item Boxes on top. Racers then reach the final part of the track which is a singular wide U-turn to the left. It has no guard rails, curves downward on both sides, and takes racers through a swirling tunnel of stars. At the start there is a small dash panel on the inside of the turn, followed by a dash panel on the outside of the turn, and then one last dash panel on the inside of the turn at the end. This then leads into a slight turn right followed by the finish line.

The course has also received numerous graphical updates. The starting line and various other course elements now have technicolor ring designs. The road texture is now animated, with pinpricks of light following the path of the course. The background has received quite a few changes, such as the Earth being moved closer to the track and Saturn being moved from the last turn to being right after the cannon. Most notably, the moon is now modeled, is much closer to the track, and has a rocket ship based on the ones from [[3DS Rainbow Road]]. The floating arrows now take on their appearance from [[SNES Rainbow Road]]. The wavy road no longer has a different texture from the main road, and the road texture no longer highlights arcs for the subsequent half-pipes. The tunnel found at the Launch Star now cycles through colors. The tunnel of light surrounding the last bend now has a pattern of rings moving forward with rotating sun-shaped entrances and exits, with the mandatory half-pipe jump also now having a version of this tunnel with simpler entrance and exit points.

[[File:MK8D Wii Rainbow Road Scene 1.png|250px|thumb|right|Rainbow Road in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'']]

This version of Rainbow Road reappears in ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'' as part of the sixth and final wave of the [[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]] DLC. It is the fourth and final course in the [[Spiny Cup]], and the final course in the DLC and game overall. The course is largely based on its appearance from ''Mario Kart Tour'', but with significant visual upgrades. Unlike other Booster Course Pass tracks, the course model has not been upscaled from ''Tour'', meaning the track is narrower than most other ones in the pass, matching the ''Mario Kart Wii'' version. The entire course is now in [[anti-gravity]], making it the first Rainbow Road, and one of five courses in the game with this distinction, alongside [[Mute City]], {{classic-link|GCN|Baby Park}}, [[Big Blue]], and [[Sky-High Sundae]]. This also results in several [[Spin Boost Pillar]]s appearing along the track. In the figure-8 section of the course, the ramps lining the holes and the Item Boxes above the half-pipes have returned<ref>GameXplain (November 1, 2023). [https://youtu.be/Zp88vZ2POcc NEW Gameplay + Music of All 8 Tracks in Wave 6 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course DLC! (JP Site)]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved November 1, 2023.</ref>, and there are Double Item Boxes at the set before the wavy track. The required half-pipe jump has been modified from ''Tour'' to be closer to the ''Wii'' original, though it is not identical. The dash panels along the second curve of each split path are now on the outside of the curve, and each dash panel along the final U-turn has been moved to the opposite side of the track. Even more guard rails have been added along the sides of the split path part of the track: Both paths are fully covered on the outside of both of their turns. In the case of the first turns, there are no guard rail gaps between them and the start of the section, and in the case of the second turns, there are no guard rail gaps between them and the dash panel ramps. Unlike in ''Mario Kart Tour'', the course has reverted to having three laps instead of sections. It is the longest three-lap course in the game, beating [[Toad Harbor]] from the original ''Mario Kart 8'' and {{classic-link|DS|Waluigi Pinball}} and {{classic-link|Wii|Maple Treeway}} from previous waves of the ''Booster Course Pass''. Like the ''Tour'' version, the wavy section does not get increasingly more bumpy as the race goes on.

Visually, the course is also noticeably paler in color compared to how it appeared in ''Mario Kart Tour'', making it closer resemble how it originally appeared in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''. Additionally, the tiles on the road are smaller compared to how they appear in ''Tour'', giving the road somewhat of a resemblance to ''[[Mario Kart 8]]''{{'}}s own [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 8)|Rainbow Road]]. The sound effect for the cannon has been brought back after being absent in ''Mario Kart Tour''. The minimap has been rotated 90° counterclockwise. Additionally, the effect of characters burning up when they fall off the course was retained from ''Mario Kart Wii'', though the effect is shorter and racers fall off more horizontally.

|Fra=Route Arc-en-ciel

|FraM=Rainbow Road