Rainbow Road

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Rainbow Road is the final track in the Special Cup in all games of the Mario Kart series. The track is rainbow-colored and the course is suspended in space. It is well known for being one of the most surreal and toughest tracks to master, since most of the Rainbow Road tracks have no rails.

Appearances

Super Mario Kart

File:SMK RainbowRoad.jpg

Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart.

The first Rainbow Road had no rails at all and contained 90-degree turns. The rainbow coloring is made of tiles, due to the limited graphical capabilities of the SNES. Flashing, invincible Thwomps serve as obstacles.

Mario Kart 64

Rainbow Road
width
Based Upon	None
First Appearance	Mario Kart 64
Cup(s) it Appears in	Special Cup
Reappearances	None
Distance	2,000m

This version of Rainbow Road contains rails throughout the course and roving Chain Chomps, which are half above the track, half below it, and follow the track reverse. There are neon-light pictures of characters in the distance, and a huge drop just after the start line. A carefully timed jump at the beginning could be used as a huge shortcut. It is the longest course in the series at two minutes a lap, or 2000 game meters.

• Rainbowroad64.jpg

  The icon from the menu
• Mk64rainbowroad2.jpg

  The start of the track
• Mk64rainbowroad3.jpg

  The rare rainbow chomps
• Mk64rainbowroad4.jpg

  The big drop at the start

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

File:Rainbow Road (GBA) icon.jpg

The track's icon on the menu.

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Rainbow Road has rails at the start line. Edges of the course are lined with bounce-jumps, and astute racers can use Mushrooms for significant shortcuts. The track has falling stars that can make racers spin out and Thunder Clouds that will shrink anyone careless enough to drive under them. Bowser's Castle from Paper Mario can be seen in the background. This track is equal with the course of Rage Racer Overpass City. This game also features the Rainbow Road course from Super Mario Kart, but without the flashing Thwomps.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

File:Doubledashrainbow Road.PNG

Rainbow Road seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Dash Panels give a boost of speed to the racers in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version of Rainbow Road. This version of Rainbow Road also has rails in parts of the course. It features a helix and a pipe that shoots players to the highest point of the track after reaching the very bottom. It also contains floating sculptures of items, and rains stars that racers can pick up. It has the most pearl-like colors of all the Rainbow Roads. Additionally, the entire course is placed high above a city. The city it floats over could be Mushroom City because of the design of some of the buildings. When in split screen mode, the city and the item sculptures are removed.

Mario Kart DS

File:RainbowRoad.jpg

Mario in the Shooting Star on Mario Kart DS's Rainbow Road.

The Rainbow Road of Mario Kart DS has several rails and includes a loop and corkscrew. Those elements may have been added to ensure challenge; players can place items so their opponents fall off the corkscrew or loop. Also, the coloring is different from the other Rainbow Roads: here, the stripes on the track follow the track, instead of crossing it.

Mario Kart Wii

File:RainbowRoadwii.png

Rosalina on Mario Kart Wii's Rainbow Road.

The Rainbow Road of Mario Kart Wii is a new version of the rainbow-colored rollercoaster track. The track is located over a planet's stratosphere (presumably the Mushroom Planet or even Earth). The course begins a 90 degrees slope, located once after the starting line. Multiple curves and trick pads appear, the course features also a launching point, where players are shot away by a stylized Launch Star. The track shows a reminiscent of the Rainbow Road of Mario Kart DS, while visual style is based on Super Mario Galaxy. Star Bits appear in the background of the course. A corkscrew reappears not far from that Launch Star.

Mario Hoops 3 on 3

Towers floating over the clouds, where the Rainbow Road takes place.

Rainbow Road is the unlockable third dribble race from the "challenges" section in the basketball game Mario Hoops 3 on 3. However, this Rainbow Road floats above the clouds and around a clock tower, and not much of the course is fully seen when playing. Podoboos and Bombs come out of holes similar to Bowser Castle.

Trivia

• F-Zero X has a track named Rainbow Road. It imitates the Mario Kart 64 version of the Rainbow Road, having the same map of the track, and following it basically. It is described as a "Psychedelic Experience". Parts, though not all of it, are rainbow-colored. Unlike the original, it has no barriers in certain areas, and the neon Mario series decor is missing - instead, it just has a plain black background with a watery blue bottom to which careless drivers may fall. In addition, when racing the track with the 64DD expansion features, the background song is a heavy metal version of the Rainbow Road song heard in MK64.
• Rainbow Road is only track in Super Mario Kart which is not numbered.
• Sonic R has a stage like rainbow road called Radiant Emerald that has rainbow-like features.