Half-pipe (object)

This article is about the Mario Kart object. For the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Event, see Halfpipe.

A half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour

A half-pipe (also known as a halfpipe-style boost ramp) is a structure signaled by vertical dash panels (also known as half-pipe boost pads) that appears in the Mario Kart series, first appearing in Mario Kart Wii. It allows players to jump off the side of a course and perform a Jump Boost to gain a speed boost upon landing. Its panels are cyan, blue, and purple with scrolling white arrows on them and stripes across them, resembling those of a Glide Ramp, and despite the half-pipes' former North American name, they have only a signaling function, not giving any speed boost when touched. Said speed boost rather happens when the player lands after the jump, regardless of whether the vehicle landed on the half-pipe or not. Half-pipes may sometimes cause the player to be sent backwards.

Although they are referred to as "half-pipes", most of them are technically quarter-pipes as they only appear on one side of the track. A true half-pipe would be two ramps on opposite sides of the track, like on DK Summit.

History

Mario Kart Wii

A half-pipe in GCN Waluigi Stadium in Mario Kart Wii

Half-pipes are introduced in Mario Kart Wii, in which they are known in North America as halfpipe-style boost ramps. When a player jumps off of one of these ramps, it is possible to perform a trick to receive a longer speed boost. The trick performed is the same one that is performed when the player jumps off a Dash Panel.

Mario Kart Tour

Larry performing a Jump Boost off a half-pipe on Wii Maple Treeway in Mario Kart Tour

After being absent from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, half-pipes return in Mario Kart Tour, first appearing on Wii Maple Treeway. In this game, their mechanics are slightly altered in that the Jump Boost is automatically performed as soon as the vertical jump starts, but if the jump is high enough, a second trick, named a special trick, is performed. When this happens, the speed boost received upon landing is longer.

A different type of half-pipe, known as a super half-pipe, is introduced in this game and appears only in Merry Mountain. It visually differs from a regular half-pipe with its magenta color. Compared to a regular half-pipe, a super half-pipe leads to a longer boost upon landing without the need of a special trick, which cannot be performed when a player jumps from a super half-pipe. The super half-pipe also has a unique sound effect.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, half-pipes appear exclusively in courses added in the Booster Course Pass DLC. They appear as curved Antigravity Panels, and briefly enable anti-gravity while the player is airborne, unless the player is already in anti-gravity mode. On Merry Mountain, normal half-pipes replace the super half-pipe present in the Mario Kart Tour version.

Courses with half-pipes

Courses with required half-pipes are marked with an asterisk (*), and battle courses are marked with a caret (^).

Course	Original game	Mario Kart Wii	Mario Kart Tour	Booster Course Pass
Yoshi Valley	Mario Kart 64
Waluigi Stadium	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
DK Mountain	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
DK Summit	Mario Kart Wii
Wario's Gold Mine	Mario Kart Wii
Koopa Cape	Mario Kart Wii
Maple Treeway	Mario Kart Wii
Dry Dry Ruins	Mario Kart Wii
Bowser's Castle	Mario Kart Wii
Rainbow Road*	Mario Kart Wii
Funky Stadium^	Mario Kart Wii
Chain Chomp Wheel^	Mario Kart Wii
Merry Mountain	Mario Kart Tour

Gallery

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  The half-pipe in DK Summit in Mario Kart Wii

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  The super half-pipe in Merry Mountain in Mario Kart Tour

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  The half-pipe in Merry Mountain in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ハーフパイプ Hāfupaipu	Half-pipe
Chinese	U池技巧 U Chí Jìqiǎo	U Pool Skills
German	Halfpipe	Half-pipe
Italian	Rampa a U Super rampa a U	Half-pipe; lit. "U shaped ramp" Super half-pipe
Korean	하프파이프 Hapeupaipeu	Half-pipe
Portuguese	Rampa em U	U-ramp
Spanish	Rampa en U	U-ramp