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 This article is about the SNES variation. For a list of articles with the same name, see Rainbow Road. |
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Rainbow Road is the fifth and final track of the Special Cup in Super Mario Kart, the fourth and final race of the Extra Special Cup in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the final course of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart 7, and the second racecourse of the Triforce Cup in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It has reappeared on Mario Kart Tour. It is the most popular Rainbow Road track in Mario Kart history being used in 6 total games. It is also the most used track overall.
In Mario Kart 7, the Staff Ghost kart setup is Lakitu driving a Pipe Frame with Slim tires and a Super Glider while the other has a time of 01:21.994 with Lakitu driving the Cloud 9 with Roller tires and a Parafoil.
In Mario Kart 8, the staff ghost kart setup is Cat Peach driving a Cat Cruiser with Retro Off-Road tires and a Super Glider.
Layout[]
Super Mario Kart[]
The track is the last course of the Special Cup in this game. It was, originally, considered to be the most challenging course at the time, despite having a fairly simple layout; it contains absolutely no guard rails, thin passageways with sharp, ninety-degree hairpin turns, and hazardous Thwomps that cause racers to spin out upon contact as well as being squished.
However, it is one of the best tracks to learn power-sliding in the Time Trial mode, thanks to the absence of guardrails and rainbow Thwomps to cause random spinouts, which impose the player to learn the perfect power-sliding techniques, curve per curve. Having the correct power-sliding pattern makes this track much easier in Grand Prix Mode by allowing the player to save not only the gained seconds from avoiding braking at every curve but also the precious seconds lost each time a driver falls off the track. Plus, the very colorful track setting and the powerful theme, allow for multiple tries without getting the player bored.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]
This track, along with all of the other tracks from Super Mario Kart, returns in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the last course in the Extra Special Cup, with the Thwomps removed; however, it still remains a challenge due to the similar mechanics between the two games. Its music has a lighter tune after the intro. This is the only SNES track to have an original background, though it looks similar to GBA Rainbow Road's background. Bowser's clown copter is replaced by the moon.
Mario Kart 7[]
The track makes another return as a retro track in Mario Kart 7. It is the last race of the Lightning Cup. Besides the general decrease in difficulty due to the new turning mechanics and wider track layout overall, Rainbow Road now has added ramps to accommodate aerial tricks and has a different coin distribution. Additionally, the Thwomps (returning after an absence from MK:SC) create waves on the course which can be used to perform tricks. Also, the rainbow Thwomps have an updated appearance, as they are now mainly white. Also, the red tiles are now pink. The rainbow Thwomps are also larger, which reduces their number.
Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]
The track appears again in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second [DLC] track in the Triforce Cup, making it the only track in the entire Mario Kart series to actually appear in four distinct games, as well as the first Rainbow Road track not serving as the last race of a cup.
The track's layout is similar to its appearance in Mario Kart 7, retaining the Thwomp's shockwaves, however the shockwaves are bigger making it easier to do tricks off them. The tile colors are nearly the same as they were in the original version, yet said tiles have a neon/LED backlit appearance (a feature N64 Rainbow Road reuses in this game's version). Their color pattern is reversed (racers went from purple tiles to red tiles, now they do the opposite), with the addition of an eighth color, cyan, between turquoise and blue. Finally, the tiles the Thwomps land on are now white.
The course itself is also wider and equipped with borders on the curves' outer edges. The forked road is also altered further, with the six-tile end of the hole filled in. The music is also remastered with a deeper pitch and additional instrumental sounds. You can see Toad houses below. You can also see the moon. The pink tiles are now red again.
Mario Kart Tour[]
Rainbow Road reappears in Mario Kart Tour, mostly taking on the appearance of its Mario Kart 7 iteration, also re-using it's music. However, in this version, the ramp inside the second U-turn is absent, the hole in the road is even smaller than it was before, the last two Thwomps are further apart, the red tiling on the course and banner returns (in place of the pink ones in Mario Kart 7), the track edges are beveled, the track itself is thicker, and the arrow signs and Thwomp designs from the Mario Kart 8 rendition return, in addition, the Mario Kart Tour rendition is the first to have a large emphasis on taking place in outer space, as planets and asteroids can be seen floating around the course.
Shortcuts[]
- There is a jumping bump/ramp in the middle gap; if any racers use a Mushroom while they are heading it, they can jump over the gap for a significant shortcut. However, it can be very dangerous as a 90-degree turn follows directly after it. (SMK, MK7, MK8/Deluxe)
- On the inside of the second U-turn, players can use a Mushroom to get across. (MK7, MK8/Deluxe)
- In second U-turn, there's a bonus jump pad at the pits of U. (MKT)
Gallery[]
Super Mario Kart[]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]
Mario Kart 7[]
Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]
_6.jpg "SNES Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 8) 6.jpg (82 KB)")
Mario Kart Tour[]
Trivia![]
- SNES Rainbow Road has appeared in six Mario Kart games, the most times out of any track in the series.
- SNES Rainbow Road is the only course in Mario Kart 7 not to have a boost pad/ramp, and one of four courses not to have a glider pad/ramp; the others being N64 Luigi Raceway, GCN Daisy Cruiser, and Rosalina's Ice World.
- It is one of the three downloadable courses that doesn't have any gliding, underwater or anti-gravity sections, the others being Excitebike Arena, and GCN Yoshi Circuit.
- This Rainbow Road, along with its retro counterpart, N64 Rainbow Road, the new Rainbow Road and GCN Baby Park are the only courses in the game to have the map in different colors instead of just blue. The map was changed to white in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
- This is the only track in Super Mario Kart to not be used for more than one track
- This track only appeared in every game the Fake Item Box is absent in.
- This track was originally not planned for the final game, as an early prototype revealed a track known as Choco Island 3 in it's place, which isn't present in the final build.
Previous track:
Vanilla Lake 2 |
Current track:
Rainbow Road |
Next track:
None |
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Previous track:
SNES Vanilla Lake 2 |
1st reappearance:
Mario Kart: Super Circuit |
Next track:
None |
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Previous track:
DS Airship Fortress |
2nd reappearance:
Mario Kart 7 |
Next track:
None |
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Previous track:
Wii Wario's Gold Mine |
Next track:
Ice Ice Outpost |
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Previous track:
3DS Mario Circuit |
4th reappearance:
Mario Kart Tour |
Next track:
3DS Neo Bowser City |
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| Mario Kart 7 courses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitro cups | Mushroom Cup | Toad Circuit • Daisy Hills • Cheep Cheep Lagoon • Shy Guy Bazaar | ||
| Flower Cup | Wuhu Loop • Mario Circuit • Music Park • Rock Rock Mountain | |||
| Star Cup | Piranha Plant Slide • Wario Shipyard • Neo Bowser City • Maka Wuhu | |||
| Special Cup | DK Jungle • Rosalina's Ice World • Bowser's Castle • Rainbow Road | |||
| Retro cups | Shell Cup | N64 Luigi Raceway • GBA Bowser Castle 1 • Wii Mushroom Gorge • DS Luigi's Mansion | ||
| Banana Cup | N64 Koopa Troopa Beach • SNES Mario Circuit 2 • Wii Coconut Mall • DS Waluigi Pinball | |||
| Leaf Cup | N64 Kalimari Desert • DS DK Pass • GCN Daisy Cruiser • Wii Maple Treeway | |||
| Lightning Cup | Wii Koopa Cape • GCN Dino Dino Jungle • DS Airship Fortress • SNES Rainbow Road | |||
| Battle Courses | GBA Battle Course 1 • N64 Big Donut • DS Palm Shore • Honeybee Hive • Sherbet Rink • Wuhu Town | |||