It has been suggested that Starting Grid be merged into this page. (discuss) |
The Finish Line is an element that appears in the Mario Kart series. It is a checkered line that appears on the course and comes in many colors. Lakitu waves the checkered flag when players cross the line, which signals the end of the race. In addition, the line is also used to signal when to start racing when the red/yellow lights on Lakitu's start signal turn green/blue and when the players can start the next lap/section (appearing on the left/right side of the player since Mario Kart: Double Dash!!). Most of the time, the Finish Line acts as the starting line, but since Mario Kart 7, there are some courses in which the two lines are separate from each other, forming a one-way route between the two that is split into sections instead of looping. In some courses such as the version of Sky Garden in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the player can perform a Jump Boost by hitting the top of the Finish Line.
Most games have a gate at the Finish Line with the words "Mario Kart" written on the beam at the top. Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit lack this feature, however, and Mario Kart DS is the only game with gates that do not feature them in any SNES or GBA retro courses. Originally, the gates used the classic Mario Kart logo in every course, even in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, which use the modern logo. In Mario Kart 7, new courses use the modern logo on their Finish Line gates, while classic courses still use the classic logo. In Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Kart Tour, while the new courses still use the modern logo on their Finish Line gates, classic courses from the first four games use an updated version of the classic logo, while those from Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart 7 use the modern logo (the only exceptions are GCN Yoshi Circuit, GBA Cheese Land, and GBA Ribbon Road in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and GCN DK Mountain in Mario Kart Tour, which use the modern logo on their Finish Line gates despite the games they debut in using the classic logo).