SNES Vanilla Lake 2

Revision as of 11:49, September 10, 2023 by MkMaster08 (talk | contribs) (→‎Screenshots)
This article is about the race course in Super Mario Kart. For the second Vanilla Lake remix course in Mario Kart Tour, see RMX Vanilla Lake 2.
Vanilla Lake 2
Vanilla Lake 2 from Super Mario Kart.
Information
Appears in Super Mario Kart (1992)
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001)
Mario Kart Tour (2021)
Cup(s) Special Cup (Super Mario Kart)
Extra Special Cup (Super Circuit)
Tour(s)
Music sample
Super Mario Kart / Mario Kart Tour

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Course map
Super Mario Kart
The map for Vanilla Lake 2.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
MKSC SNES Vanilla Lake 2 Map.png
Minimap as seen on the menu.Minimap as seen in the race.
Mario Kart Tour
Map of SNES Vanilla Lake 2 from Mario Kart Tour.

Vanilla Lake 2 is the fourth course of the Special Cup in Super Mario Kart. It was subsequently reused in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the third track of the Extra Special Cup, and in Mario Kart Tour starting with the 2021 Holiday Tour. It is a circle course going around a lake. The course is icy, meaning bad control for Princess Peach and Yoshi, according to the manual. Along with snow blocks, Warp Pipes appear in the track. This track shares its music with Vanilla Lake 1; in the original incarnation of the track, the outline of the course is also largely identical to Vanilla Lake 1, with the route differences coming from the track being centered around a large hole in the ice.

Course layout

 
Mario racing on the course in Super Mario Kart

The race starts on the east side of the lake. Shortly after the first left turn is a set of ? Panels and four pipes followed by another left turn. After that, the edge of the lake juts outwards, forcing the racers to drive around it. Immediately ahead of this section are three clusters of ice blocks with narrow gaps in between. Upon reaching the southwest corner of the lake, the racers can either drive around the edge or take advantage of a small fragment of ice in the water and hop across it. After this is a section with gaps of water in the road as well as more pipes. The racers can either hop over the gaps or drive around them. There is a hole in the colored wall which can be used as a shortcut; players with a Mushroom can cut through the snow without slowing down. The southeast corner of the lake is narrow enough to hop over, and right after it is the final turn, which features patches of snow next to the water and ice blocks scattered in the middle of the road.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

 
Luigi racing on the course in Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Vanilla Lake 2 reappears in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and is the third track of the Extra Special Cup. It uses the background from Snow Land. The pipe hazards were removed from the track and an extra Item Box can be found on the small ice island near the hole in the wall.

Mario Kart Tour

 
The course in Mario Kart Tour

Vanilla Lake 2 reappears in Mario Kart Tour starting from the 2021 Holiday Tour. The course outline has been adjusted so that it's no longer largely identical to Vanilla Lake 1. The walls within the course are thinner, and the clusters of snow blocks in the west side of the course were replaced with a new line of Item Boxes. Seven snow blocks in a zigzag line replace the original Item Boxes' location (they are now directly in front of the finish line), and the ones before the finish line were reduced to five, which are on the other side of the snow patch, allowing for a clear path to the finish. Players can now perform Jump Boosts off the bigger fragments of ice in the south side of the course, similar to the fractured ice present in RMX Vanilla Lake 1. Just before the finish line, a ramp shortcut was added. The course now has a starting banner with the classic Mario Kart logo. As with other courses in the game, Vanilla Lake 2 appears as Vanilla Lake 2R, Vanilla Lake 2T, and Vanilla Lake 2R/T respectively. The first two variants were introduced alongside the normal variant in the 2021 Holiday Tour, while the last was introduced in the 2023 Sundae Tour.

If the player falls into the deep, inaccessible water during the course's Glider Challenge, they will enter a brief underwater state before falling out of the screen.

Appearances

For this course's tour appearances, see List of SNES Vanilla Lake 2 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Top-tier and middle-tier items

Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which SNES Vanilla Lake 2 and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of SNES Vanilla Lake 2 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Course Three-item drivers Bonus points ×2 karts Combo bonus ×3 gliders Two-item drivers Bonus points ×1.5 karts Combo bonus ×2 gliders
 
Normal variant
                                              ***       *        * ***    **   *       * **  **                **
          
 
 
R variant
                                               *  * *   ***   *** **    *** *    **    **       ***  ** ***       *  *** 
     **        
 
 
T variant
                                                *   ***  ** ***      **   **   *** ***   ***    *   *      **    ***   * 
            *
 
 
R/T variant
                                                                **              ***     
                 
   
* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3.
** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6.
*** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items.

Bonus challenges

Ring Race
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Grand Star scores Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Ice Mario
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
  • 10
  • 16
  • 23
Holiday Tour (2021)  
Metal Mario Cup
  • 10
  • 15
  • 22
Exploration Tour (2023)  
Chargin' Chuck Cup
Do Jump Boosts
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Grand Star scores Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Diddy Kong
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
  • 4
  • 8
  • 12
Wario vs. Waluigi Tour  
Pauline Cup
Holiday Tour (2022)  
Pink Gold Peach Cup
Goomba Takedown
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Item Box
type found
Number of item slots Grand Star scores Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Ice Bro
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
 
Ice Flower
2
  • 6
  • 12
  • 18
Holiday Tour (2022)  
Ice Bro Cup
Glider Challenge
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Grand Star distances Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Ice Bro
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
  • 200
  • 400
  • 580
Holiday Tour (2021)  
Baby Daisy Cup
  • 150
  • 300
  • 580
Exploration Tour (2023)  
Mii Cup
Steer Clear of Obstacles
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Obstacles Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Baby Rosalina
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
 
Penguin
Peach vs. Bowser Tour (May 2022)  
Funky Kong Cup
Break Item Boxes
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Item Box
type found
Number of item slots Grand Star scores Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Wario
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
 
Mushroom

 
Mega Mushroom

 
Coin
2
  • 4
  • 7
  • 10
Mii Tour (2022)  
Waluigi Cup
Time Trial
Icon Course variant Chosen
driver
Chosen
kart
Chosen
glider
Grand Star scores Tour appearances Cup
  Regular  
Roy
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
  • 1:00.00
  • 0:54.00
  • 0:48.00
Penguin Tour  
Ice Mario Cup
  R  
Morton
 
Pipe Frame
 
Super Glider
  • 0:50.00
  • 0:45.00
  • 0:40.00
Sundae Tour (2023)  
Fire Rosalina Cup

Gallery

Mario Kart Tour

Course icons

Screenshots

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese バニラレイクコース 2 (Super Mario Kart)[?]
Banira Reiku Kōsu 2
Vanilla Lake Course 2
バニラレイク2[?]
Banira Reiku 2
Vanilla Lake 2
Chinese 香草湖2[?]
Xiāngcǎo Hú 2
Vanilla Lake 2
French Lac Vanille 2[?] Vanilla Lake 2
German Vanille-See 2[?] Vanilla Lake 2
Italian Lago Vaniglia 2[?] Vanilla Lake 2
Korean 바닐라 호수 2[?]
Banilla Hosu 2
Vanilla Lake 2
Portuguese Lago Baunilha 2[?] Vanilla Lake 2
Spanish Lago Vainilla 2[?] Vanilla Lake 2