Over the past three decades there have been 14 different iterations of this beloved racing game, considering home and handheld consoles as well as arcade games and one mobile game. Each version of Mario Kart has continued to add on new characters, power ups, and tracks.
This racing game is renowned for its imaginative and challenging courses. The design of these tracks significantly influences the gameplay experience, making some courses iconic among fans.
Best Tracks for Beginners
The Circuit Courses
Whether you race Toad Circuit, Mario Circuit, Luigi Circuit, or the Figure-8 Circuit – you’ll find an easier track that loops around with wide turns and minimal obstacles. The layout of these courses helps new players get accustomed to the game's controls and mechanics, including drifting and item handling.
Moo Moo Meadows
Not to be confused with Moo Moo Farm, Moo Moo Meadows was first introduced in Mario Kart Wii. This course depicts a sunshiny countryside with green grass, wood fences, and a windmill.
As long as you’re able to avoid hitting the moo moo cows or getting stuck in the grass, this is a fairly easy course to navigate. It features gentle curves and a speed boost that launches you off the larger jump at the end of the track.
Excitebike Arena
This unique, nostalgic course in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was inspired by the classic NES game Excitebike. The track features a large oval design, with long straightaways and wide turns, ideal for high-speed racing. Players can really fly around the track if they keep hitting the jumps and pulling off jump boost tricks in the air.
What makes this track extra special is that the ramps, jumps, and mud puddles change positions with each race, providing a new challenge every time.
Mario Kart is one of the best multiplayer arcade games, known for its engaging gameplay, competitive racing, and how it's a fun game for children as well as adults.
Most Challenging Tracks
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road is an iconic series of tracks featured in every Mario Kart game since the original. Known for their vibrant cosmic aesthetics, challenging layouts, and lack of guardrails, Rainbow Road is typically the final course in the games' Grand Prix modes. Some of the notable iterations of the track include:
- Super Mario Kart (SNES): The original Rainbow Road, with its flat design and no guardrails, remains one of the most challenging
- Mario Kart 64: Introduced 3D graphics with long, sweeping turns and a dazzling starry backdrop lit up by neon-light pictures of the characters’ faces
- Mario Kart 8: Features an anti-gravity section and a futuristic setting, offering both visual appeal and intense gameplay
Bowser’s Castle
Bowser's Castle is a recurring track in the series, known for its challenging layouts, intimidating dungeon-like scenery, and tough obstacles, including fireballs, lava pits, and thwomps. Some of its notable versions include:
- Super Mario Kart (SNES): Introduced the concept with tight corridors and multiple thwomps
- Mario Kart 64: Expanded with 3D graphics, adding more complex jumps and larger thwomps that try to chase and squash the racers
- Mario Kart Wii: Features an extra wobbly hallway and a gigantic Bowser statue that breathes fireballs onto the track
Ghost Valley
First introduced in Super Mario Kart, these courses are set in eerie, abandoned ghost houses filled with tight turns and challenging obstacles, like broken sections of track and guard edges that disappear after a racer bumps into them. Without the help of Lakitu (the goggled turtle referee who rides around in a cloud picking up racers who fall off the track), many racers wouldn’t be able to finish this course.
Some of Our Other Favorite Courses
Peach’s Castle
These tracks are set around the majestic home of Princess Peach. The tracks often incorporate elements from the Super Mario games, offering a blend of challenging racing and classic Mario aesthetics, including familiar enemies as well as spiral staircases, grand entrance ways, and wide castle corridors adorned with paintings and banners.
Peach’s Castle in the Mario Kart GP DX arcade game stands out not only for its beautiful and detailed design but also for how it encapsulates the spirit of the Mario universe.
Sherbet Land
There are two primary versions of Sherbet Land:
- Mario Kart 64: Marking Sherbet Land’s first appearance, this track is renowned for its sliding penguins, icy caverns and surfaces, and frozen ponds, which make controlling karts a bit more difficult
- Mario Kart: Double Dash: This version for Nintendo GameCube features Shy Guy ice skaters, snowmen, and sections where players can drive underwater
Mount Wario
Mount Wario was first introduced in Mario Kart 8. Unlike traditional circuit tracks where players complete multiple laps, this course stands out for its continuous downhill race, which features 3 distinct sections:
- The Summit: The race begins with a dramatic airdrop from a helicopter onto the summit of Mount Wario, which features snowy and icy terrain. Players must navigate sharp turns and avoid falling off the cliff edges.
- The Cavern, Dam, and Forest: The track transitions into a watery cavern, which leads to a hydroelectric dam and then a snowy wooded area with giant trees and ramps.
- The Final Stretch: Racers speed down a steep ski slope before jumping off a ledge and flying through a series of giant rings. The race concludes with a high-speed dash across an icy finish line.
M&P offers a fantastic selection of racing arcade machines that features some of the most exciting driving games available, offering a variety of tracks, vehicles, and challenges to suit every gamer’s preference.
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