Bowser's Castle is the last track in the Star Cup of Mario Kart 64. It reappears as a retro track in Mario Kart Wii as the last track of the Lightning Cup. This track is one of many Bowser's Castle tracks in the Mario Kart series that have different iterations in different titles.
This iteration features many Thwomps, lava bridges, and sharp turns. There are also many rooms throughout the castle, and even one of them has grass in it, which is unusual for a Bowser's Castle track.
Layout[]
Mario Kart 64[]
The course features many 90 degree turns and a variety of hazards such as Thwomps, fire-breathing statues, and lava bridges. In a giant hallway of the castle, a pair of Thwomps moves along in front of the driver, following their motions, and will either block or squish them. In one area of the castle, a green Thwomp, nicknamed Marty by fans, can be seen behind jail bars laughing at passing racers.
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Mario Kart Wii[]
This track returns in Mario Kart Wii in the Lightning Cup with a few minor differences. The fire-breathing statue will cause players to spin out, and Lava Plumes near the end were added. There are also rattling Thwomps. The mysterious green Thwomp, Marty, is now a regular Thwomp's color, but he still laughs.
Staff Ghosts[]
Mario Kart Wii[]
Character | Recorder | Time | Vehicle | Wii Wheel? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Normal | ||||
Nin★GASK2 | 03:19.323 | Yes | ||
Expert | ||||
Nin★Kentan | 02:55.933 | Yes |
Gallery[]
Mario Kart 64[]
Mario Kart Wii[]
Trivia![]
- This is the only Bowser's Castle track in the Mario Kart series to be in the Star Cup, rather than the Special Cup (excluding the Bowser Castle tracks from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit).
- This is the longest track in Mario Kart Wii.
- Because of that, this along with Wii's Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road are the only tracks to be completed in almost three minutes in Expert Staff Ghosts and one of the few tracks to be completed in over three minutes in Easy Staff Ghosts.
- Since Nintendo didn't learn their lesson after making Yoshi Circuit the final track of the Lightning Cup and of Mario Kart DS entirely, they made this the final track of Mario Kart Wii instead of Rainbow Road from either the same game or Super Mario Kart when in 2007, it was rumored to be the second-to-last track of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart Wii since Bowser's Castle has been the second-to-last track of any Special Cup starting with Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Although, it is more understandable why they made this the final track of Wii than Yoshi Circuit in DS since many mainline Super Mario games, spin-offs and even Mario RPG games tend to make a Bowser's Castle location the final level of the main story.
- This would make Mario Kart Wii the last Mario Kart game until the Wii U version of Mario Kart 8 to not have a Rainbow Road track as the final track of a Mario Kart game if you count The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing downloadable contents that was released from 2014 to 2015 which they made the Mario Kart 8 version of Big Blue the final track of that game.
- This is the only track in Mario Kart Wii's Lightning Cup that has yet to appear in Mario Kart Tour.
Previous track:
Royal Raceway |
Current track:
Bowser's Castle |
Next track:
D.K.'s Jungle Parkway |
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Previous track:
GCN DK Mountain |
1st reappearance:
Mario Kart Wii |
Next track:
None |
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Mario Kart 64 courses | ||
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Nitro cups | Mushroom Cup | Luigi Raceway • Moo Moo Farm • Koopa Troopa Beach • Kalimari Desert |
Flower Cup | Toad's Turnpike • Frappe Snowland • Choco Mountain • Mario Raceway | |
Star Cup | Wario Stadium • Sherbet Land • Royal Raceway • Bowser's Castle | |
Special Cup | D.K.'s Jungle Parkway • Yoshi Valley • Banshee Boardwalk • Rainbow Road | |
Battle Courses | Big Donut • Block Fort • Double Deck • Skyscraper |