Half-pipe (object)

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A half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour.
A half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour.

A half-pipe[1][2] (also known as halfpipe-style boost ramp[3]) is a structure signaled by vertical dash panels[4] (also known as half-pipe boost pads[5]) that appears in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Tour. It allows players to jump off of the side of a course and perform a Trick to gain a speed boost upon landing. Its panels are cyan, blue and purple with scrolling white arrows on them and stripes across them, resembling those of a Glide Ramp, and despite their former North American name, they only have a signaling function, not giving any speed boost when touched. Said speed boost rather happens when the player lands after the jump, regardless of whether the vehicle landed on the vertical dash panel or not.

History

Mario Kart Wii

GCN Waluigi Stadium
A half-pipe in GCN Waluigi Stadium in Mario Kart Wii.

Half-pipes are introduced in Mario Kart Wii, known in North America as halfpipe-style boost ramps.[3] The ramps appear in both nitro courses, such as Dry Dry Ruins and DK Summit, and some updated retro courses, like GCN Waluigi Stadium and GCN DK Mountain. These ramps are also included in the battle stages Funky Stadium and Chain Chomp Wheel. When jumping, it's possible to perform a trick to receive a longer speed boost, the trick performed is the same one that is performed when jumping off a dash panel.

Mario Kart Tour

Larry tricking off a half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour.
Larry tricking off a half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour.

After being removed from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, half-pipes return in Mario Kart Tour, first appearing on Wii Maple Treeway. In this game, their mechanics are slightly altered, in that the trick is automatically performed as soon as the vertical jump starts, but if the jump is high enough, a second trick, named special trick, is performed. When this happens, the speed boost received upon landing is longer.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ハーフパイプ[?]
Hāfupaipu
Half-pipe
Chinese U池技巧[?]
U Chí Jìqiǎo
U Pool Skills
German Halfpipe[?] Half-pipe
Italian Rampa a U[?] U-ramp
Korean 하프파이프[?]
Hapeupaipeu
Half-pipe
Portuguese Rampa em U[?] U-ramp
Spanish Rampa en U[?] U-ramp

References

  1. ^ Mario Kart Tour in-game name
  2. ^ "The giant cannon that fires you to the mountaintop is just the first part of an incredible trip on this snow-covered track. Avoid the deepest drifts and look out for snowboarders as you pull off stunts on the half-pipe!" - Mario Kart Wii DK Summit official European website description
  3. ^ a b "A challenging downhill course with a long series of halfpipe-style boost ramps for tricking over heavy snow banks." - Mario Kart Wii DK Summit official North American website description
  4. ^ David S. J. Hodgson (April 27, 2008). Mario Kart Wii PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games. Pages 60, 64, 72, 76, 84, 92, 96, 128, 156. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "The plentiful bumps and hills - plus new half-pipe boost pads - make this the best track for tricks." - Mario Kart Wii GCN Waluigi Stadium official North American website description