Special Cup

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File:Mario Kart 8 - Special Cup logo.svg
The Special Cup logo in Mario Kart 8

The Special Cup is the final cup in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as well as the last of the Nitro Cups since Mario Kart DS. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit is it the last of the "standard" courses, with the Extra Cups being unlocked afterwards and Extra Special Cup being the final cup. The Special Cup consists of long, challenging courses with lots of gimmicks and harder difficulties. Notably, this cup always culminates with Rainbow Road as the game's climactic course. Starting in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Bowser's Castle is the penultimate course before Rainbow Road.

Aside from Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where the cup is available from the start, the criteria to unlock the Special Cup varies by game, although in all games, the Star Cup must be completed successfully. In Super Mario Kart, the player may unlock it by winning all three cups in 100cc (though it will be unavailable for the 50cc class); in Mario Kart: Super Circuit it is available by winning the four previous cups, each by class; in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, it appears after the player finished first in the Star Cup in 100cc; from Mario Kart DS onwards, it is unlocked once the player claims a trophy in the Star Cup.

The emblem of the Special Cup is a smiling crown, which first appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. In previous installments the emblem is completely different, for instance, in Super Mario Kart, this cup lacks an unique emblem and instead uses a combination of the three emblems for the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, and Star Cup respectively; and in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, it is represented by the letter "S", the initial of "special."

List of courses

Game Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Course 5
Super Mario Kart File:SNES Donut Plains 3.png
Donut Plains 3
File:SNES Koopa Beach 2.png
Koopa Beach 2
File:SNES Ghost Valley 3.png
Ghost Valley 3
File:SNES Vanilla Lake 2.png
Vanilla Lake 2
File:SNES Rainbow Road.png
Rainbow Road
Mario Kart 64 File:MK64-icon-DKsJungleParkway.gif
DK's Jungle Parkway
File:MK64-icon-YoshiValley.gif
Yoshi Valley
File:MK64-icon-BansheeBoardwalk.gif
Banshee Boardwalk
File:MK64-icon-RainbowRoad.gif
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart: Super Circuit File:LakesidePark.png
Lakeside Park
File:BrokenPier.png
Broken Pier
File:BowsersCastle4.png
Bowser Castle 4
File:RainbowRoad.png
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The icon for Wario Colosseum, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Wario Colosseum
The icon for Dino Dino Jungle, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Dino Dino Jungle
The icon for Bowser's Castle, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Bowser's Castle
The icon for Rainbow Road, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart DS File:Estadiowario.PNG
Wario Stadium
File:Peach GardensDS.PNG
Peach Gardens
File:Castillo Bowser.PNG
Bowser Castle
File:Rainbow RoadDS.PNG
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart Wii File:Dry Dry Ruins.PNG
Dry Dry Ruins
Moonview Highway
Moonview Highway
Bowser's Castle
Bowser's Castle
File:RainbowRoadwiiview.png
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart 7 DK Jungle
DK Jungle
Rosalina's Ice World
Rosalina's Ice World
Bowser Castle
Bowser's Castle
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Cloudtop Cruise
Cloudtop Cruise
.
MK8-Course-Bone-DryDunes.png
Bone-Dry Dunes
Bone Dry Dunes
The exterior of Bowser's Castle.
Bowser's Castle
.
Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8.
Rainbow Road
.
N/A

Mario Tennis Open

Mario winning the Special Cup.
Mario winning the Champions Cup

The Special Cup reappears in Mario Tennis Open. In this game it is called the Champions Cup. It is the last cup in the World Open tournament series. Players can unlock this cup when they clear the Banana Cup. When players clear this cup, their character earns a star rank, which boosts their stats and grants them access to the Star Open tournament series. The Champions Cup takes place in Mario Stadium, with the hard, clay, and grass courts being used for the starting, semifinal, and final rounds respectively. Matches for this cup have one set for the starting round, three sets for the semifinals, and five sets for the finals.

Trading Card info

"Two Special Cup tracks, Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road, have been Special Cup stalwarts. This time around the names may be the same, but the layouts are new & improved—and they're no cakewalk. In fact, these could be some of the most difficult tracks in Mario Kart Wii."

Gallery

Emblems

Trophies

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese スペシャルカップ
Supesharu kappu
Special Cup

Chinese 特別盃 (Traditional)
Tèbié Bēi
皇冠杯 (Simplified, Mario Kart 7)
Huángguàn Bēi
神游杯 (Simplified, Mario Kart 64)[1]
Shényóu Bēi
特别杯 (Simplified, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Tèbié Bēi

Special Cup

Crown Cup

iQue Cup

Special Cup

Dutch Speciale Beker
Special Cup
German Spezial-Cup
Special Cup
Italian Trofeo Speciale
Special Trophy
Korean 스페셜 컵
Seupesyeol Keop
Special Cup

Portuguese Taça Especial
Special Cup
Russian Особый кубок
Osobyy kubok
Special Cup

Spanish Copa Especial
Special Cup

Trivia

  • In Super Mario Kart, the player can access the Special Cup before unlocking it in Time Trial mode by pressing buttons in this sequence: L Button R Button L Button R Button L Button L Button R Button R Button A Button.
  • Mario Kart 64's Special Cup is the only Special Cup to have all of its tracks remade.
  • In the Chinese version of Mario Kart 64, the Special Cup is called the "iQue Cup", named after of the home console iQue Player, which is not available outside China.
  • If Grand Prix mode in Mario Kart Wii is highlighted, the Special Cup trophy from that game can be seen in the background.
  • In Mario Kart 7

References