Artwork of the Banana Cup logo, from Mario Kart 8.
The Banana Cup logo in Mario Kart 8.

The Banana Cup is a cup in the Mario Kart series introduced in Mario Kart DS as the sixth cup. It exclusively features classic courses and is the second retro cup overall; these may be from any cup of a previous game, though they are more commonly from the Mushroom Cup or Flower Cup. The cup is somewhat more difficult than the Shell Cup, and its difficulty is comparable to that of the Flower Cup. The emblem of the cup is a Banana. The Banana Cup also appears in Mario Tennis Open, following the Flower Cup and preceding the Champions Cup. All of the courses in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7's Banana Cups have reappeared in later games in the series.

HistoryEdit

Mario Kart seriesEdit

List of coursesEdit

Game Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4
Mario Kart DS  
SNES Donut Plains 1
 
N64 Frappe Snowland
 
GBA Bowser Castle 2
 
GCN Baby Park
Mario Kart Wii  
N64 Sherbet Land
 
GBA Shy Guy Beach
 
DS Delfino Square
 
GCN Waluigi Stadium
Mario Kart 7  
N64 Koopa Beach
N64 Koopa Troopa Beach
 
SNES Mario Circuit 2
 
Wii Coconut Mall
 
DS Waluigi Pinball
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe  
GCN Dry Dry Desert
 
SNES Donut Plains 3
 
N64 Royal Raceway
 
3DS DK Jungle
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit  
Mushroom Fields
 
Boo Fortress
 
Tornado Tundra
N/A

Mario Tennis OpenEdit

 
Donkey Kong winning the Banana Cup

In Mario Tennis Open, the Banana Cup is the third cup in the World Open series. It is played on the DK Jungle court, and matches have one set for the starting round, three sets for the semifinals, and five sets for the finals. This cup can be unlocked by beating the Flower Cup, and completing it unlocks the Champions Cup. The CPU difficulty in the Banana Cup is somewhat higher than that of the Flower Cup.

Completion rewardsEdit

Winning the Banana Cup in the Mario Kart series can award the player with various bonuses, depending on the game. Additional cups unlocked are excluded from this list.

Mario Kart DSEdit

  • All retro cups (includes Banana Cup) on 50cc: Daisy
  • All retro cups (includes Banana Cup) on 100cc: Waluigi
  • All retro cups (includes Banana Cup) or all nitro cups (excludes Banana Cup) on 150cc: Seven karts for each playable character
  • All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
  • All retro cups (includes Banana Cup) or all nitro cups (excludes Banana Cup) on 150cc Mirror: R.O.B.
  • All cups on 150cc Mirror: All karts for each playable character

Mario Kart WiiEdit

  • Shell and Banana Cups: Leaf Cup
  • 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Banana Cup) on 50cc: Cheep Charger
  • 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Banana Cup) on 100cc: Bowser Jr.
  • 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Banana Cup) on 150cc: Jetsetter
  • All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
  • 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Rosalina

Mario Kart 7Edit

  • All cups on a single cc class: Mii
  • 150cc Banana Cup: Honey Queen
  • All cups on 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc: 150cc Mirror class

Mario Kart 8Edit

Most unlockable characters in Mario Kart 8 are unlocked at random upon winning Grand Prix cups (separate cups must be played to unlock characters), which includes the Banana Cup. Characters that can be unlocked include Rosalina, Metal Mario, Lakitu, Toadette, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Larry Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., and Mii. Mii is unlocked upon the eighth Grand Prix cup victory, unless an amiibo is used to unlock Mii beforehand.

In addition, the Gold Standard body can be unlocked by getting a 1 star rank or higher on all non-DLC cups (including the Shell Cup) on any one engine class, and the 150cc Mirror class can be unlocked by winning all 150cc cups.

Mario Kart 8 DeluxeEdit

  • 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Gold Standard
  • All cups on 200cc: Gold Mario

ProfilesEdit

  • Mario Kart Wii trading card bio: "The Retro Cup racing festival peels off four challenging drives with the Banana Cup. It consists of one track from N64, one from Game Boy Advance, one from DS and one from GameCube...all with somewhat challenging levels of difficulty for Grand Prix or Time Trials competition."

GalleryEdit

EmblemsEdit

TrophiesEdit

OtherEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese バナナカップ
Banana Kappu
Banana Cup

Chinese (simplified) 香蕉杯
Xiāngjiāo Bēi
Banana Cup

Chinese (traditional) 香蕉盃
Xiāngjiāo Bēi
Banana Cup

Dutch Bananenbeker
Banana Cup
French Coupe Banane
Banana Cup
German Bananen-Cup
Banana Cup
Italian Trofeo Banana
Banana Trophy
Korean 바나나 컵
Banana Keop
Banana Cup

Portuguese (NOA) Copa Banana
Banana Cup
Portuguese (NOE) Taça Banana
Banana Cup
Russian Кубок банана
Kubok banana
Banana Cup

Spanish Copa Plátano
Banana Cup

TriviaEdit

  • In Mario Kart 8:
  • This is the only retro cup in Mario Kart Wii that does not have a classic Mario Circuit course.