Tracks (also called Races or Courses) are selections in the Mario Kart series, on which races are held. Since the release of Mario Kart DS, most courses have been revamped and featured in Retro Cups.
Themes
Throughout the series, tracks come in many different forms, but often fall into commonly seen themes:
Circuit
Basic racetracks with very little to no gimmicks, obstacles, and especially stage Hazards. The main road is almost always asphalt flanked by a guardrail or off-road. There are very few instances of pits where a player is rescued by Lakitu - and where there are, they are often very miniscule portions of the track and/or are heavily padded by off-road.
The large majority of circuits are featured in the Mushroom and Flower Cups. The exceptions to this rule include the following (Listed by cup then chronological appearance):
- Star Cup: Mario Circuit 4, Royal Raceway, Yoshi Circuit, Mario Circuit (DS), Daisy Circuit
- Other cups: GBA Luigi Circuit, Hyrule Circuit
In all games, the new circuit tracks share a single theme music. The only exceptions to this rule are Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, conditionally Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Wii. In Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart Stadium (Which is themed as a circuit track) & Mario Circuit (Wii U) are not the same song but are arrangements of the same melody and Hyrule Circuit was still paid DLC. However, when the game was rereleased onto the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, all paid DLC from Mario Kart 8 was included in the game as free content - making Hyrule Circuit available to any players. In Mario Kart Wii, Daisy Circuit does not share music with Mario and Luigi Circuits.
Stadium
These courses take place inside enclosed arenas and are almost always dirt tracks. Stadiums often have excessive amounts of ramps and other elevation changes, some stage Hazards, and are almost always named after Wario or Waluigi.
The exception to this theming is Mario Kart Stadium, which is more in line with circuits in its design and acts as its game's opening track. For reference, all seven other mainline Mario Kart games' Mushroom Cups opened with a track explicitly referred to as a circuit (In Mario Kart 64, circuits are instead referred to as raceways in the English localization).
Snow
Snow-themed tracks' main gimmick is oftentimes the racetrack itself. The main road is often snowpack or on a frozen lake and oftentimes made slippery to make driving more difficult and/or coded as off-road to slow down racers. Even when the main road is asphalt, it will still sometimes have the slippery effect added on.
Jungle
Appearing in several of the games, these tracks are typically set deep in a forest and are most often themed after Donkey Kong.
Fire
These tracks are usually associated with Bowser, normally set around lava pits. Some notable exceptions, however, includes the track Grumble Volcano and the battle course Big Donut.
Water
Water-themed courses have appeared since the first game of the series. As its name implies, they take place on a shore, near a coast, inside water-themed places, or sometimes take place underwater. The water usually serves as a hazard where racers could fall into. However, in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, and its port, racers can drive underwater in some courses up to a point.
City-themed
These courses are usually set right in the middle of a city, which may use cars, trucks, and other vehicles as hazards to players. Examples include, but are not limited to, Mushroom City, Toad's Turnpike, Moonview Highway, and Neo Bowser City/Koopa City.
City Tracks
Tracks based on a respective real-life location. They are notable for having dynamic track layouts.
Crossover
There are other tracks whose themes include non-Mario courses, borrowing themes from other series, including the Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, and Yoshi's Island series.
Courses
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- Course is officially considered "new" in two or more Mario Kart games.Super Mario Kart (1992)
Tracks
Battle Courses
 Battle Course 1 Appearances: Super Mario Kart Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
 Battle Course 2 Appearances: Super Mario Kart |
 Battle Course 3 Appearances: Super Mario Kart |
 Battle Course 4 Appearances: Super Mario Kart Mario Kart Wii |
Mario Kart 64 (1996)
Tracks
Battle Courses
 Big Donut Appearances: Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart 7 |
 Block Fort Appearances: Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart DS |
 Double Deck Appearances: Mario Kart 64 |
 Skyscraper Appearances: Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart Wii |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
(2001)
Tracks
.png "Broken Pier (Icon).png (4 KB)")
Battle Courses
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
(2003)
Tracks
Battle Courses
Mario Kart Arcade GP
(2005)
Mario Kart DS
(2005)
Tracks
.png "Bowser Castle (DS).png (83 KB)")
Battle Courses
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
(2007)
Mario Kart Wii
(2008)
Tracks
Battle Courses
Mario Kart 7
(2011)
Tracks
Battle Courses
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
(2013)
Mario Kart 8
(2014)
Tracks
.png "Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart 8).png (498 KB)")
_Image_MK8.png "Animal Crossing (Summer) Image MK8.png (2.4 MB)")
Battle Courses
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
(2017)
Tracks
.jpg "Squeaky Clean Sprint in MK8DX (Updated IMG).jpg (310 KB)")
Battle Courses
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
(2017)
Unlike other Mario Kart games, there is only one single-lap course present in this game, of which goes unnamed. Many portions of this course are primarily based on the tracks seen in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX.
Mario Kart Tour
(2019)
City Tracks
Non-City Tracks
RMX Tracks
Battle Courses
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
(2020)
Rather than courses in a traditional sense, the tracks in this Mario Kart game are merely course themes overlaid on a pre-built layout.
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.png "Wibble Woods (HC 4-2).png (978 KB)")
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.png "Mushroom Fields (Course Icon).png (1,019 KB)")
.webp "Boo Fortress (HC 5-2).webp (397 KB)")
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.png "Rainbow Road (HC 8-3).png (796 KB)")
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Overview
Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart Super Circuit have 20 Nitro Courses (And Super Circuit has Every Course from Super Mario Kart). Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Double Dash have 16 Courses. Every Game between Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7 has around 32 Courses. Mario Kart 8 has 48 Courses (16 are DLC) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has 96 Courses (48 are DLC).
New Cups
Every game after Mario Kart 64 (except Mario Kart: Super Circuit) has four cups with new tracks. Beginning with Mario Kart DS, these are known as Nitro Cups; this is due to "Nitro" being the codename for the Nintendo DS during its development. In Mario Kart Wii, however, they were retitled to Wii Cups. In Mario Kart 7, they were once again called Nitro Cups. However, in Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe), they were renamed to New Cups.
Mushroom
Mushroom Cup is the the simplest Grand Prix cup, with the easiest tracks to complete. It is the first cup in every game. The courses of this cup consist only of a simple layout without a lot of gimmicks.
Flower
The Flower Cup is the second cup in every Mario Kart game. The courses are a little harder than those of the Mushroom Cup and feature more gimmicks and challenges. All games feature a Mario Circuit in this cup except for Mario Kart DS, which had its Mario Circuit in the Star Cup instead.
Lightning (Nitro)
The Lightning Cup was only used as an original cup in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, in addition to the standard four. It is the third cup out of the five in the game. Since the release of Mario Kart DS onwards, all games reuse the Lightning Cup as the final cup of the Retro Grand Prix instead.
This is the only cup in Super Circuit to not feature a Bowser Castle track, as well as one of two cups to not end with one, instead ending with Sunset Wilds, the other being the Special Cup.
| SNES | N64 | GBA | GCN | DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Luigi Circuit | N/A | ||||||
| Sky Garden | ||||||||
| Cheep Cheep Island | ||||||||
| Sunset Wilds | ||||||||
Star
The Star Cup is the second to the last cup in all Mario Kart games. It contains more gimmicks, obstacles, and challenges than the previous two. Most games feature an ice or snow-themed course in this cup. In Mario Kart 7, this is the only cup to have all four of its courses to have a PAL name.
Most notably, Wario Stadium, Yoshi Desert, Mushroom City, DS Mario Circuit, and Daisy Circuit are the only courses from their games' cups to not be remade.
This is the only Mario Circuit track that is in the star cup not counting the SNES versions.
Special
The Special Cup, before the introduction of retro cups, was the final cup in all Mario Kart games, featuring, unique, long, and challenging courses with lots of gimmicks. In all but the first two games, the second to last course is Bowser's Castle. In all games, the final track is the Rainbow Road, the track to end all races.
Mario Kart 64 and 8 Deluxe are the only games in the series in which the Special Cup is unlocked at the start of the game.
This is the second cup in Super Circuit to not have a Bowser Castle track as the final track, instead being the Penultimate track with Rainbow road being the final track instead, the first being the Lightning Cup.
Original Battle Stages
The original battle stages are arenas filled with certain obstacles, such as off-road sections, walls, and hazards like crabs. These can lead to being hit by items. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the only game to have unlockable battle courses. Mario Kart 8 is the only game to have tracks as battle courses.
- * - Grand Prix track playable in battle mode
** - only available on tournaments
Retro Cups
Games from Mario Kart DS onwards feature four retro cups and at least one retro battle course in battle mode. Retro courses and arenas are recreations of those found in older games. Colored squares indicate the original game in which the course first appeared for each course and arena in this section. One must note that the Lightning Cup was 1st and only used as an normal cup for Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
The structure for the tracks used in each retro cup, based on the originating game, is the following:
- Mario Kart DS: As the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series, each retro cup in this game features tracks from the four previous titles in chronological order: Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Retro battle courses, however, are limited to one stage from Mario Kart 64 and another from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
- Mario Kart Wii: Each retro cup features one track from Mario Kart 64, one from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and another from Mario Kart DS. The Shell Cup and Lightning Cup each feature a track from Super Mario Kart, while the Banana Cup and Leaf Cup each feature a track from Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Contrary to the Mario Kart DS retro cups, the track order for each Mario Kart Wii retro cup varies instead of being in chronological order (the only constant pattern is that any cup with a Mario Kart: Super Circuit course has it second). For battle stages, one from each of the five previous games is available.
- Mario Kart 7: Each retro cup features one track from Mario Kart DS and another from Mario Kart Wii. Every cup except the Lightning Cup features a Mario Kart 64 track. The only Mario Kart: Super Circuit retro track appears in the Shell Cup. The Banana Cup and Lightning Cup each feature a Super Mario Kart track. Finally, the Leaf Cup and Lightning Cup each feature a Mario Kart: Double Dash!! track. Cups with a Mario Kart 64 track always start with that. The order varies for the others. Battle stages are from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart DS respectively.
- Mario Kart 8: Every cup features an Mario Kart 64 course. All cups have a course from Mario Kart 7 except the Shell Cup, which instead has the only course from Mario Kart: Super Circuit in the game, excluding downloadable content. All cups have a Mario Kart DS course except the Banana Cup, which instead has the only course from Super Mario Kart in the game. The Shell and Lightning Cups each have a Mario Kart Wii course and the Banana and Leaf Cups each have a Mario Kart: Double Dash!! course. The course order once again is random, however all the cups have their Mario Kart 64 course last except the Banana Cup which has it third instead. Retro battle courses are not actually courses initially used for battle; however, retro Grand-Prix courses in the game have been slightly adjusted are the ones used for Balloon Battle. The course from Super Mario Kart, both the courses from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, one of the two courses from Mario Kart Wii, and two of the four courses from Mario Kart 64 appear as playable battle courses in this game.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: A large part of its retro format has been reused again from Mario Kart 8. However, a notable change includes the complete scrapping of the retro Grand-Prix courses slightly tweaked as battle courses, favoring instead the usage of genuine retro courses originally used as battle courses.
Shell
All tracks in the Shell Cup originated in the Mushroom Cup, with the exception of Ghost Valley 2, Mario Circuit, Toad's Turnpike, and Mario Raceway, originating instead from the Flower Cup.
| DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
■ SNES
Mario Circuit 1 |
■ GCN
Peach Beach |
■ N64
Luigi Raceway |
■ Wii
Moo Moo Meadows | |
■ N64
Moo Moo Farm |
■ DS
Yoshi Falls |
■ GBA
Bowser Castle 1 |
■ GBA
Mario Circuit | |
■ GBA
Peach Circuit |
■ SNES
Ghost Valley 2 |
■ Wii
Mushroom Gorge |
■ DS
Cheep Cheep Beach | |
■ GCN
Luigi Circuit |
■ N64
Mario Raceway |
■ DS
Luigi's Mansion |
■ N64
Toad's Turnpike | |
Banana
Most tracks in the Banana Cup debuted in the Flower Cup. Many, however, originated in the Mushroom Cup: the first track in Mario Kart DS, 7, and 8 (Deluxe), the second track in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7, and the last track in Mario Kart DS. Sherbet Land and Royal Raceway come from the Star Cup. DK Jungle and Donut Plains 3 come from the Special Cup, due to how easy both of these tracks are.
| DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
■ SNES
Donut Plains 1 |
■ N64
Sherbet Land |
■ N64
Koopa Troopa Beach |
■ GCN
Dry Dry Desert | |
■ N64
Frappe Snowland |
■ GBA
Shy Guy Beach |
■ SNES
Mario Circuit 2 |
■ SNES
Donut Plains 3 | |
■ GBA
Bowser Castle 2 |
■ DS
Delfino Square |
■ Wii
Coconut Mall |
■ N64
Royal Raceway | |
■ GCN
Baby Park |
■ GCN
Waluigi Stadium |
■ DS
Waluigi Pinball |
■ 3DS
DK Jungle | |
Leaf
The Leaf Cup also gets most of its courses from the Flower Cup. However, the 2nd course in Mario Kart Wii, 7, and 8 (Deluxe), and as well as the last course in Mario Kart 7 come from the Star Cup of their game. Another pattern is that the first course in Mario Kart DS and 8 (Deluxe), the third course in Mario Kart Wii, and as well as the last course in Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) come from the Special Cup.
The only course that originated from the Mushroom Cup to appear in this cup is Kalimari Desert.
| DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
■ SNES
Koopa Beach 2 |
■ DS
Desert Hills |
■ N64
Kalimari Desert |
■ DS
Wario Stadium | |
■ N64
Choco Mountain |
■ GBA
Bowser Castle 3 |
■ DS
DK Pass |
■ GCN
Sherbet Land | |
■ GBA
Luigi Circuit |
■ N64
DK's Jungle Parkway |
■ GCN
Daisy Cruiser |
■ 3DS
Music Park / Melody Motorway | |
■ GCN
Mushroom Bridge |
■ GCN
Mario Circuit |
■ Wii
Maple Treeway |
■ N64
Yoshi Valley | |
Lightning (Classic)
From Mario Kart DS onwards, the Lightning Cup is used as the last retro cup. The majority of tracks were originally featured in the Star Cup. However, the second track in Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and the last in Mario Kart 7, and 8 (Deluxe) originate from the Special Cup. The third track in Mario Kart DS originates from Super Circuit's Lightning Cup and the first track in Mario Kart Wii originates from the Flower Cup. Another pattern is that the final track from the Star Cup from the game two games prior reappears as the third track of the cup.
| DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
■ SNES
Choco Island 2 |
■ SNES
Mario Circuit 3 |
■ Wii
Koopa Cape |
■ DS
Tick-Tock Clock | |
■ N64
Banshee Boardwalk |
■ DS
Peach Gardens |
■ GCN
Dino Dino Jungle |
■ 3DS
Piranha Plant Slide | |
■ GBA
Sky Garden |
■ GCN
DK Mountain |
■ DS
Airship Fortress |
■ Wii
Grumble Volcano | |
■ GCN
Yoshi Circuit |
■ N64
Bowser's Castle |
■ SNES
Rainbow Road |
■ N64
Rainbow Road | |
Retro Battle Stages
Nineteen battle stages have been remade throughout Mario Kart DS, Wii, 7, and 8 (Deluxe). In Mario Kart 8, six retro tracks were adjusted to be more suitable for Balloon Battle. The retro battle courses are no different from last time they appeared, having the same course layout as before.
| DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
■ N64
Block Fort |
■ SNES
Battle Course 4 |
■ GBA
Battle Course 1 |
■ Wii
Moo Moo Meadows * |
■ 3DS
Wuhu Town |
■ GCN
Pipe Plaza |
■ GBA
Battle Course 3 |
■ N64
Big Donut |
■ GCN
Dry Dry Desert * |
■ GCN
Luigi's Mansion |
| N/A | ■ N64
Skyscraper |
■ DS
Palm Shore |
■ SNES
Donut Plains 3 * |
■ SNES
Battle Course 1 |
■ GCN
Cookie Land |
N/A | ■ N64
Toad's Turnpike * |
N/A | |
■ DS
Twilight House |
■ GCN
Sherbet Land * | |||
| N/A | ■ N64
Yoshi Valley * |
- * - Grand Prix track playable in battle mode
DLC Cups
In Mario Kart 8, the DLC cups are 16 more tracks combined into two packs that are available for purchase. Over half of the DLC courses borrow themes from other game series, such as the Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, and Animal Crossing series. It also brings back some retro courses, making them the first cups in the entire Mario Kart series to combine both retro and new courses into one.
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the DLC Cups are no longer presented as DLC content but are instead refered to as "Bonus Cups" and are merged into the core game.
Interestingly, none of the Egg Cup or Triforce Cup tracks feature any water sections and all four DLC cups do not have any specifically underwater sections (excluding rivers).
Egg |
Triforce |
Crossing |
Bell |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 DLC | Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 DLC | ||
| Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) | |||
| GCN Yoshi Circuit also in Mario Kart DS |
Wii Wario's Gold Mine | GCN Baby Park also in Mario Kart DS |
3DS Neo Bowser City |
| Excitebike Arena | SNES Rainbow Road also in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and 7 |
GBA Cheese Land | GBA Ribbon Road |
| Dragon Driftway | Ice Ice Outpost | Wild Woods | Super Bell Subway |
| Mute City | Hyrule Circuit | Animal Crossing | Big Blue |
1st & 2nd Waves
Golden Dash |
Lucky Cat |
Turnip |
Propeller |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | ||
| Tour Paris Promenade | Tour Tokyo Blur | Tour New York Minute | Tour Sydney Sprint |
| 3DS Toad Circuit also in Mario Kart Tour |
DS Shroom Ridge | SNES Mario Circuit 3 also in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Wii and Tour |
GBA Snow Land |
| N64 Choco Mountain also in Mario Kart DS and Tour |
GBA Sky Garden also in Mario Kart DS and Tour |
N64 Kalimari Desert also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
Wii Mushroom Gorge also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
| Wii Coconut Mall also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
Tour Ninja Hideaway | DS Waluigi Pinball also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
Sky-High Sundae |
3rd & 4th Waves
Rock |
Moon |
Fruit |
Boomerang |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 3 | Wave 4 | ||
| Tour London Loop | Tour Berlin Byways | Tour Amsterdam Drift | Tour Bangkok Rush |
| GBA Boo Lake also in Mario Kart Tour |
DS Peach Gardens also in Mario Kart Wii and Tour |
GBA Riverside Park also in Mario Kart Tour |
DS Mario Circuit also in Mario Kart Tour |
| 3DS Rock Rock Mountain also in Mario Kart Tour |
Tour Merry Mountain | Wii DK Summit also in Mario Kart Tour |
GCN Waluigi Stadium also in Mario Kart Wii |
| Wii Maple Treeway also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
3DS Rainbow Road also in Mario Kart Tour |
Yoshi's Island | Tour Singapore Speedway |
5th & 6th Waves
Feather |
Cherry |
Acorn |
Spiny |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 5 | Wave 6 | ||
| Tour Athens Dash | Tour Los Angeles Laps | Tour Rome Avanti | Tour Madrid Drive |
| GCN Daisy Cruiser also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
GBA Sunset Wilds also in Mario Kart Tour |
GCN DK Mountain also in Mario Kart Wii and Tour |
3DS Rosalina's Ice World also in Mario Kart Tour |
| Wii Moonview Highway also in Mario Kart Tour |
Wii Koopa Cape also in Mario Kart 7 and Tour |
Wii Daisy Circuit also in Mario Kart Tour |
SNES Bowser Castle 3 also in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Tour |
| Squeaky Clean Sprint | Tour Vancouver Velocity | Tour Piranha Plant Cove | Wii Rainbow Road also in Mario Kart Tour |
Extra Cups
Extra Cups are ports of Super Mario Kart tracks that appeared in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. They are unlocked by having the gold trophy of the Special Cup of an engine class, playing any cup again, and getting 100 coins in the respective cup. For example, after completing the Special Cup, if a player goes back and plays the Mushroom Cup and collects more than 100 coins, they will unlock the Extra Mushroom Cup.
Each extra track has not been scaled up from Super Mario Kart, remaining the same relative size; this results in the old system of five laps instead of three. Additionally, most hazards have been removed from the tracks, most likely because of game size limitations.
The extra tracks all have the Super Circuit backgrounds (such as the Sunset Wilds background in Choco Island tracks and the Shy Guy Beach background in Koopa Beach tracks).
In Single-Pak Link mode, only the Extra Mushroom Cup is available.