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Bowser Castle 3 is the fourth course in the Star Cup in Super Mario Kart, and also returned as an extra course in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, as the second course in the Extra Star Cup. This course made it's first 3D Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart Tour starting with the Bowser Tour (2023). It later reappears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as one the tracks in Wave 6 of the Booster Course Pass DLC, being the third course of the Spiny Cup.

Many consider this the hardest track in the game. Not only are the racers quite hard to catch up to, but the track itself is difficult to traverse, with many walls, jumps above lava, sharp turns and thin corridors.

SNES Bowser Castle 3 map

Layout[]

Super Mario Kart[]

The track starts with a quick first turn which leads racers straight to a thin walled corridor. This first trap can easily ruin a race, even if the player arrives first into the corridor. come after that another left turn straight into the other big section; multiple jumps above the lava pool, to reach very small patches of stone. Four paths open to the racer, before another left turn.

Straight after the turn, a hidden zipper that most inexperienced players miss. Another thin walled section leads to the central hairpin, heading right.

From the central hairpin, three branches open up. The left one has coins and Item Boxes, but needs to be reached. Others have zippers set straight after jump bars, making unaware players avoid them due to the jumps.

After the triple corridor, another hairpin heads left, into a final S curve which leads back to the checkered line.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit this track is the same but, the Thwomps and the zipper are removed and has the GBA Bowser Castle 1 background.

Mario Kart Tour[]

MKT Icon BowserCastle3SNES

This course returned in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the Bowser Tour (2023) alongside GBA Bowser Castle 4. It is the only SNES Bowser Castle course to be introduced in Tour, as well as the final SNES course to be introduced. Unlike other SNES remakes, this course was given a major overhaul with new obstacles (such as Bone Piranha Plants) and added elevation. Racers can now drive on the walls, and the paths between the walls now have some gaps. The left turns before the sinusoidal turn have been rounded out into a single U-turn.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]

SNES Bowser Castle 3 in MK8DX

SNES Bowser Castle 3 in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

SNES Bowser Castle 3 Mirror in MK8DX

This course reappeared in Wave 6 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass as the penultimate course of the Spiny Cup as well as the whole game. Its layout is the same as in Mario Kart Tour, but with updated textures and lighting, as well as adding Anti-gravity to the elevated bend at the start. Additionally, the bricks and mud at the top of the bend have been replaced with a steel wire platform with Spin Boost Pillars. The sinusoidal turn right after has been turned into a diagonal turn, making it easier to navigate, and a single thwomp has been added right after. The coins on the wall jumps have been replaced with item boxes. The mud section next to the final jump has been turned into an off-road shortcut, and two thwomps with coins on top have been added right before the finish line, and can be tricked off of if timed correctly. This course is also noticeably bigger than the Tour version to compensate for there being 12 racers instead of 8.

Trivia[]

  • Not counting Super Circuit, this is the only SNES Bowser Castle to be brought back as a retro course.
  • This is the only SNES course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to not be the 2nd course in its cup, instead being the 3rd.
  • This is the only SNES retro course in any game to have major elevation changes.
  • There has been elevation in SNES courses in the past, but they were very minor, such as:
  • Mario Circuit 2 has an elevated glide ramp in Mario Kart 7.
  • Rainbow Road has very slight elevation changes in Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe), however they are so small that they are barely noticeable.
  • This course was originally supposed to come in Wave 5 of the Booster Course Pass as the third course of the Cherry Cup (as evidenced by it being labeled in the files as "Cnsw_57"), but it got pushed back to Wave 6 for as of yet unknown reasons.
Previous track:
Vanilla Lake 1
Current track:
Bowser Castle 3
Next track:
Mario Circuit 4
Previous track:
SNES Vanilla Lake 1
1st reappearance:
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Previous track:
Athens Dash 1 & 2
2nd reappearance:
Mario Kart Tour
3rd reappearance:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Next track:
Wii Rainbow Road
Super Mario Kart courses
Mushroom Cup Mario Circuit 1Donut Plains 1Ghost Valley 1Bowser Castle 1Mario Circuit 2
Flower Cup Choco Island 1Ghost Valley 2Donut Plains 2Bowser Castle 2Mario Circuit 3
Star Cup Koopa Beach 1Choco Island 2Vanilla Lake 1Bowser Castle 3Mario Circuit 4
Special Cup Donut Plains 3Koopa Beach 2Ghost Valley 3Vanilla Lake 2Rainbow Road
Battle Courses Battle Course 1Battle Course 2Battle Course 3Battle Course 4
Mario Kart: Super Circuit courses
Nitro cups Mushroom Cup Peach CircuitShy Guy BeachRiverside ParkBowser Castle 1
Flower Cup Mario CircuitBoo LakeCheese LandBowser Castle 2
Lightning Cup Luigi CircuitSky GardenCheep-Cheep IslandSunset Wilds
Star Cup Snow LandRibbon RoadYoshi DesertBowser Castle 3
Special Cup Lakeside ParkBroken PierBowser Castle 4Rainbow Road
Extra cups Extra Mushroom Cup SNES Mario Circuit 1SNES Donut Plains 1SNES Ghost Valley 1SNES Bowser Castle 1
Extra Flower Cup SNES Mario Circuit 2SNES Choco Island 1SNES Ghost Valley 2SNES Donut Plains 2
Extra Lightning Cup SNES Bowser Castle 2SNES Mario Circuit 3SNES Koopa Beach 1SNES Choco Island 2
Extra Star Cup SNES Vanilla Lake 1SNES Bowser Castle 3SNES Mario Circuit 4SNES Donut Plains 3
Extra Special Cup SNES Koopa Beach 2SNES Ghost Valley 3SNES Vanilla Lake 2SNES Rainbow Road
Battle Courses Battle Course 1Battle Course 2Battle Course 3Battle Course 4
Mario Kart Tour courses
SNES Courses SNES Mario Circuit 1SNES Rainbow RoadSNES Mario Circuit 2SNES Choco Island 2SNES Ghost Valley 1SNES Mario Circuit 3SNES Vanilla Lake 1SNES Donut Plains 1SNES Choco Island 1SNES Koopa Troopa Beach 2SNES Donut Plains 2SNES Vanilla Lake 2SNES Ghost Valley 2SNES Donut Plains 3SNES Bowser Castle 3
N64 Courses N64 Koopa Troopa BeachN64 Kalimari DesertN64 Frappe SnowlandN64 Royal RacewayN64 Choco MountainN64 Yoshi ValleyN64 Luigi RacewayN64 Mario Raceway
GBA Courses GBA Bowser's Castle 1GBA Bowser's Castle 2GBA Sunset WildsGBA Cheep Cheep IslandGBA Sky GardenGBA Bowser's Castle 3GBA Boo LakeGBA Riverside ParkGBA Snow LandGBA Yoshi DesertGBA Bowser's Castle 4GBA Peach CircuitGBA Luigi CircuitGBA Lakeside Park
GCN Courses GCN Dino Dino JungleGCN Yoshi CircuitGCN Baby ParkGCN Daisy CruiserGCN DK MountainGCN Mushroom BridgeGCN Waluigi Stadium
DS Courses DS Luigi's MansionDS Waluigi PinballDS DK PassDS Airship FortressDS Peach GardensDS Shroom RidgeDS Mario Circuit
Wii Courses Wii Maple TreewayWii DK SummitWii Mushroom GorgeWii Coconut MallWii Koopa CapeWii Rainbow RoadWii Dry Dry RuinsWii Daisy CircuitWii Moonview Highway
3DS Courses 3DS Toad Circuit3DS Cheep Cheep Lagoon3DS Rock Rock Mountain3DS Daisy Hills3DS Shy Guy Bazaar3DS Mario Circuit3DS Neo Bowser City3DS Rainbow Road3DS Rosalina's Ice World3DS Wario Shipyard3DS Bowser's Castle3DS Piranha Plant Slide
City Courses New York Minute (1, 2, 3, 4) • Tokyo Blur (1, 2, 3, 4) • Paris Promenade (1, 2, 3) • London Loop (1, 2, 3) • Vancouver Velocity(1,2,3) • Los Angeles Laps(1, 2, 3) • Berlin Byways(1, 2, 3) • Sydney Sprint(1, 2, 3) • Singapore Speedway(1, 2, 3) • Amsterdam Drift(1, 2, 3) • Bangkok Rush(1, 2, 3) • Athens Dash(1, 2, 3) • Rome Avanti(1, 2, 3) • Madrid Drive(1, 2, 3)
Nitro Courses Merry MountainNinja HideawaySky-High SundaePiranha Plant Cove(1, 2, 3) • Yoshi's IslandPiranha Plant PipelineSqueaky Clean Sprint
Sequel Courses N64 Kalimari Desert 2
RMX Courses RMX Mario Circuit 1RMX Choco Island 1RMX Rainbow Road 1RMX Rainbow Road 2RMX Choco Island 2RMX Vanilla Lake 1RMX Ghost Valley 1RMX Bowser's Castle 1RMX Donut Plains 1RMX Vanilla Lake 2
Battle Courses GCN Cookie LandGBA Battle Course 1DS Twilight HouseNew York Minute BParis Promenade B
Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) courses
New cups Mushroom Cup Mario Kart StadiumWater ParkSweet Sweet CanyonThwomp Ruins
Flower Cup Mario CircuitToad HarborTwisted MansionShy Guy Falls
Star Cup Sunshine AirportDolphin ShoalsElectrodromeMount Wario
Special Cup Cloudtop CruiseBone-Dry DunesBowser's CastleRainbow Road
Retro cups Shell Cup Wii Moo Moo MeadowsGBA Mario CircuitDS Cheep Cheep BeachN64 Toad's Turnpike
Banana Cup GCN Dry Dry DesertSNES Donut Plains 3N64 Royal Raceway3DS DK Jungle
Leaf Cup DS Wario StadiumGCN Sherbet Land3DS Music ParkN64 Yoshi Valley
Lightning Cup DS Tick-Tock Clock3DS Piranha Plant SlideWii Grumble VolcanoN64 Rainbow Road
DLC cups + Egg Cup GCN Yoshi CircuitExcitebike ArenaDragon DriftwayMute City
Triforce Cup Wii Wario's Gold MineSNES Rainbow RoadIce Ice OutpostHyrule Circuit
Crossing Cup GCN Baby ParkGBA Cheese LandWild WoodsAnimal Crossing
Bell Cup 3DS Neo Bowser CityGBA Ribbon RoadSuper Bell SubwayBig Blue
Booster Course Pass cups + * * Golden Dash Cup Tour Paris Promenade3DS Toad CircuitN64 Choco MountainWii Coconut Mall
Lucky Cat Cup Tour Tokyo BlurDS Shroom RidgeGBA Sky GardenNinja Hideaway
Turnip Cup Tour New York MinuteSNES Mario Circuit 3N64 Kalimari DesertDS Waluigi Pinball
Propeller Cup Tour Sydney SprintGBA Snow LandWii Mushroom GorgeSky-High Sundae
Rock Cup Tour London LoopGBA Boo Lake3DS Rock Rock MountainWii Maple Treeway
Moon Cup Tour Berlin BywaysDS Peach GardensMerry Mountain3DS Rainbow Road
Fruit Cup Tour Amsterdam DriftGBA Riverside ParkWii DK SummitYoshi's Island
Boomerang Cup Tour Bangkok RushDS Mario CircuitGCN Waluigi StadiumTour Singapore Speedway
Feather Cup Tour Athens DashGCN Daisy CruiserWii Moonview HighwaySqueaky Clean Sprint
Cherry Cup Tour Los Angeles LapsGBA Sunset WildsWii Koopa CapeTour Vancouver Velocity
Acorn Cup Tour Rome AvantiGCN DK MountainWii Daisy CircuitPiranha Plant Cove
Spiny Cup Tour Madrid Drive3DS Rosalina's Ice WorldSNES Bowser Castle 3Wii Rainbow Road
Battle Courses Mario Circuit * • Toad Harbor * • Wii Moo Moo Meadows * • GCN Dry Dry Desert * • SNES Donut Plains 3 * • N64 Toad's Turnpike * • GCN Sherbet Land * • N64 Yoshi Valley *
Battle Stadium * * • Sweet Sweet Kingdom * * • Dragon Palace * * • Lunar Colony * * • 3DS Wuhu Town * * • GCN Luigi's Mansion * * • SNES Battle Course 1 * * • Urchin Underpass * *
+ - denotes DLC. * - denotes exclusivity to Mario Kart 8. * * - denotes exclusivity to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
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