GCN Mushroom Bridge
Mushroom Bridge is a racecourse from the Mario Kart series. Its first appearance is in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as the first racecourse of the Mushroom Cup. Later, the course makes a reappearance in Mario Kart DS as a retro racecourse of the Leaf Cup. The course takes place in a highway near to the coast with various vehicles going in the same way racers go by. The signature feature of the track is the red bridge crossing the coast that gives the place its name. Cars, trucks and buses serve as obstacles, as well as a Wiggler Bus that can bowl over karts and Bob-omb Cars that explode with contact of any object. On the other hand, a Mushroom Car can provide racers useful Mushrooms by just bumping the car or sending a Koopa Shell. According to the Double Dash manual, Mushroom Bridge is among the most famous landmarks of Mushroom Kingdom.
Layout
The track starts out just before the first curve. Players can take another way very near to the starting line which leads to a Warp Pipe, so the player can reach to the only Double Item Box found in the course, still this doesn't work as a shortcut. After leaving the tunnel, racers enter to an urban zone with some mushroom-shaped huts on the hills. Taking the second curve of the track there, players will enter to a second tunnel leading to the bridge. Dare racers can even run over the bridge's beams, where they receive a speed boost thanks to the Dash Panels found on there. However, it may result easy to lose control and fall off to the void by taking that path. The checked line is found right after crossing the bridge.
Mushroom Bridge includes one shortcut, located after crossing the first tunnel. By running behind a mushroom hut over the hill, racers skip the second curve and reach entering to the second tunnel. Using a mushroom set or a Star is recommended, because the path decreases kart's speed greatly.
In Mario Kart DS, the course underwent considerable changes. It is simpler, and don't have many obstacles as seen previously. All the alternate ways were removed, excluding the shortcut. It features vehicles from Shroom Ridge.
Trivia
- The whirlpools below the bridge are a sort of reference of the whirlpools that appear in Japanese seas, very common in such country.
- There are two buses, one that says "Star Travel" and has "STR" on its license plate, the other says "Peach Beach" and says "SUN" on it's license plate.
- The are two factory cars, one says "Moo Moo Farm" and has "1UP" on its license plate, the other says "Express" and has a P-Wing, a Yoshi Cookie, and a letter under it and has "SMB3" on its license plate.
- Regular red, blue, and yellow cars have "POW" on their license plate.
- The music that plays while racing is the same as the music that plays during racing on Mushroom City.
- Unlike Toad's Turnpike, the cars will not change direction in Mirror Mode; they'll continue to follow the same direction as the racers themselves.
