Bowser's Castle (Mario Kart World)
| Bowser's Castle | |||||||
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| Information | |||||||
| Appears in | Mario Kart World (2025) | ||||||
| Cup(s) | Lightning Cup | ||||||
| Rally/ies | Moon Rally | ||||||
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Bowser's Castle is the fourth and final course of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart World, and the starting point of the Moon Rally. It is set in the dark volcanic region in the northwest of the game's map. It marks several departures from past Bowser's Castle tracks, having a more industrial, high-tech theme. It breaks the longstanding tradition in the main console Mario Kart series of Bowser's Castle directly preceding Rainbow Road, and it is the first new course to be in the Lightning Cup since Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
Perched on top of a tall hill, the castle's overall design resembles an erupting volcano, complete with a Bowser mushroom cloud. The castle itself has an entrance gate similar to the one seen in Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 8 and is mostly black and gray in color, unlike the usual brown tones seen in previous courses. Segments of the course take place in a thunderstorm section similar to Cloudtop Cruise from Mario Kart 8.[1] Driving on these segments gives racers a permanent speed boost, adding flame and spark effects to their vehicle.[2]
Course layout[edit]
The course starts with a straight road with a pair of downward slopes, followed by a short split path section, in a hexagon shape. There is then a tilted section of the course: this first goes uphill, then turns to the left, where the slope is then perpendicular to the road's direction. There is then another left turn and a right turn, with the angle between them being downhill. Another perpendicular segment leads to a left turn. Here, there is a Glide Ramp that boosts racers up through a lava tunnel in a similar manner to a cannon. At the top is a wide right turn, with lava floor obstacles on either side. There is then a pair of drops, which leads to a U-turn with the lava obstacles. A Glide Ramp takes racers to an isolated pair of overlapping U-turns, at the end of which a final jump leads down to where the finish line is.[1] This is one of few Bowser's Castle courses to not feature Thwomps; however, the Kamek item can summon Thwomps on this course.
Routes[edit]
There are three different paths that enter Bowser's Castle depending on the route taken to reach the course.
- Traveling from Wario Stadium, Choco Mountain, or Toad's Factory has the player enter after passing through Big Donut, then traveling up either side of the base of the volcano.
- Traveling from Airship Fortress has the player enter the course only using the left side of the base of the volcano.
- Traveling from Dry Bones Burnout or Mario Circuit has the player enter the course only using the right side of the base of the volcano.
From Wario Stadium
From Airship Fortress
From Dry Bones Burnout
From Choco Mountain
From Toad's Factory (used in the Lightning Cup)
From Mario Circuit
A composite map of all routes leading to Bowser's Castle
Gallery[edit]
Course icon
Icon in the Moon Rally
World map icon
View of the starting line
View of the starting line at day
View of the tower
A corridor of the control room with a grindrail
Alternate view of the control room
View from after the control room
View of the entrance to the room of the lava tunnel
View of the Bowser mushroom cloud from the side
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart World | Lava[3] | - |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | クッパキャッスル[4] Kuppa Kyassuru |
Bowser Castle | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 酷霸城堡[5] Kùbà Chéngbǎo |
Bowser Castle | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 庫巴城堡[5] Kùbā Chéngbǎo |
Bowser Castle | |
| Dutch | Bowsers Kasteel[4] | Bowser's Castle | |
| French | Château de Bowser[6] | Bowser's Castle | |
| German | Bowsers Festung[4] | Bowser's Castle | |
| Italian | Castello di Bowser[7] | Bowser's Castle | |
| Portuguese | Castelo do Bowser[4] | Bowser's Castle | |
| Russian | Замок Боузера[5] Zamok Bouzera |
Bowser's Castle | |
| Spanish | Castillo de Bowser[8][9] | Bowser's Castle |
References[edit]
- ^ a b PietSmiet. 10:00 - Geoguessr mit Jay (05:39:32). Twitch. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDnxXqGXOWo
- ^ File name of the course's sticker on the Japanese Mario Kart World online events website, Sign_Lava.png. All course stickers use the prefix "Sign_". Retrieved August 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Nintendo Today! news
- ^ a b c In-game name from Mario Kart World
- ^ Mario Kart World in-game name from French localization (Uploaded 5 Jun. 2025 on YouTube by Siphano)
- ^ batista70 (April 25, 2025). Nintendo Switch 2 anteprima video. YouTube (Italian). Retrieved April 25, 2025.
- ^ BRCDEvg. Estrenando juntos MARIO KART WORLD (17:24). YouTube (Latin American Spanish). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ^ Nintendúo. Jugamos la VERSIÓN FINAL de MARIO KART WORLD (4:40). YouTube (European Spanish). Retrieved June 3, 2025.
