- This article is about the race course originally from Super Mario Kart. For Rainbow Road as a whole and other versions of the track, see Rainbow Road. For the musical composition of the same name, see SNES Rainbow Road (theme).
| Rainbow Road | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appears in | Super Mario Kart (1992) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001) Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart 8 (DLC Pack 1) (2014) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) Mario Kart Tour (2019) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cup(s) | Special Cup (Super Mario Kart) Extra Special Cup (Super Circuit) Lightning Cup (7) Triforce Cup (8, 8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour(s) |
Tokyo Tour
Halloween Tour (2019) Winter Tour (2019) London Tour Valentine's Tour Vancouver Tour Mario Bros. Tour Trick Tour (2020) Peach Tour Exploration Tour (2020) Halloween Tour (2020) Sunset Tour Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) Winter Tour (2020) Rosalina Tour Peach vs. Daisy Tour Ninja Tour (2021) Los Angeles Tour (2021) Kamek Tour Halloween Tour (2021) Amsterdam Tour Halloween Tour (2022) Space Tour (2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Online play | No longer available (3DS, Wii U) Available (Switch) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rainbow Road is a course that debuted in Super Mario Kart, as the fifth and last course of the Special Cup. It started the Mario Kart series tradition of having Rainbow Road as the finale of the game. It is the shortest Rainbow Road in the series.
This course is unique in Super Mario Kart in the fact that it is the only track in the game that is not numbered compared to the others, and thus it is the game's only unique track. It is the only track in the Special Cup with normal traction, but lacks rails entirely and has only 90-degree turns. Rainbow-colored tiles and a few jumping bumps cover the track's surface, and the yellow tiles conceal coins. This course features Star Thwomps which can wipe out a racer by touch, unlike regular Thwomps, as well as by crushing, unless the racer uses a Super Star or a Boo.
Rainbow Road reappears in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the fourth and final course of the Extra Special Cup, in Mario Kart 7 as the fourth and final course of the Lightning Cup, in Mario Kart 8 as the second course of the Triforce Cup as part of the The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 DLC (and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the base game), and in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the Tokyo Tour. If one counts Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as two separate games, then Rainbow Road is the most frequently appearing classic course in the series, having appeared six times in different games. In the opposite case, its number of appearances is then tied with Mario Circuit 3, also from Super Mario Kart, the latter course re-appearing in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the second wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC.
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the Rainbow Road theme rearranges a part of this course's music at its beginning; it is also rearranged in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as part of the song "Buckle Up." Super Mario Kart composer Soyo Oka also considers this course's theme to be one of her favorite compositions.[2]
Super Mario Kart
Course layout
The course is composed mostly of straightaways and 90° turns. There are also Super Thwomps as obstacles, which remain airborne on the first lap. The course begins with a right turn followed by a straightaway, with the only set of ? Panels in the middle as well as several jump pads. The first row of four Super Thwomps also lies at the end of this straightaway. There is then two right turns followed by a brief straight with several more jump pads. Racers then take two left turns onto another brief straight with two pairs of Super Thwomps. After another two right turns, the track narrows and racers must go left or right as the path briefly splits; the paths are symmetrical and each contain a pair of Super Thwomps. Once the paths join, the track widens again and there is one more right turn followed by one more straightaway with a row of four Super Thwomps. Racers then reach the finish line.
Shortcuts
There is a notable shortcut near the end of the track. The player can use a Mushroom to go off a jump pad in between the split paths and clear the gap, saving time and avoiding the Super Thwomps.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
This version of Rainbow Road reappears in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the last track of the Extra Special Cup.
The background is similar from that game's own Rainbow Road, but with only the sparkles, foreground clouds, and moon appearing. In addition, the track's surface is now translucent, and the tiles are notably more detailed and less spaced out than before, their sides are now the same color as tat respective tile rather than all of them being black. The Super Thwomps and jump bumps are removed, likely to make the track easier. The coins, which are no longer invisible, had their placements were changed so that they are only on the blue tiles, making it much easier to see them. The music was also arranged into this game's sound font.
Mario Kart 7
This version of Rainbow Road also returns as the fourth and last course of the Lightning Cup in Mario Kart 7, as well as the thirty-second and last course of the game overall. It is the first Rainbow Road to reappear as a classic course in another Mario Kart, even discounting its reappearance in Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
The track is now wider, and has received many graphical improvements. It uses a similar background from Super Mario Kart (which is also used in DS Waluigi Pinball), though the blue tint was removed, and the stars are now depicted across the entire background, rather than only the top. Unlike previous incarnations, this new version adds the characteristic "glistening" sound effect when drifting on it, a common feature of all Rainbow Roads starting from the GCN rendition. The amount of coin rows on the truck was reduced, there are still three per row. when the player enters first-person view, the player can see through the breaks in the tiles. The amount of coin rows was reduced significantly, they are still three in each row. The Super Thwomps return after being removed from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, though they now have an appearance based on Thwomps from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, are larger, were reduced from sixteen to seven, and now form ripples on the track upon impact, which the player can trick off of, they also fling racers instead of spinning them out. Additionally, howling noises can now be heard near the Super Thwomps.
The tiles' colors are similar to the Mario Kart: Super Circuit rendition of Rainbow Road, with the only difference being that they are paller, and the pink tiles replace the red tiles and the cyan tiles replace the teal tiles; they are also non-translucent like in Super Mario Kart. The widest part of the gap in the forked road has had two tiles removed, but the gap itself has also had seven tiles removed, making the shortcut easier to use. Also, the section of tiles before the fork (from the orange tiles on the narrow part of the straight after turn 7 to the purple tiles before the gap) is wider: the first orange, blue, yellow, and last purple tile rows before the gap are now two tiles wider. The finish line is also two tiles long, removing the red tiles that used to be in front of it. Ramps replace all of the bumps, though the first two bumps were not replaced, the last pair at the fork were replaced by one taller ramp in front of the gap, and a ramp was added on the inside of the second U-turn, creating a shortcut that requires a Mushroom or Mini-Turbo to get across; the ramps are only two tiles wide, rather than the bumps which were three. Like most other SNES and GBA classic courses, a starting banner stylized after the one from Mario Kart 64 is added in this course.
Aside from enhanced percussion, the music was reverted to the original SNES composition.
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
This version of Rainbow Road returns in the Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack of Mario Kart 8, appearing as the second course of the Triforce Cup. As a result, for the first time, a Rainbow Road course is not the last race of a cup.
The track's layout is similar to its appearance in Mario Kart 7. The course is now larger, wider, and banked (namely, the inclined third U-turn). The tiles more so resemble their original coloration from Super Mario Kart, though their color pattern is reversed, they are now flashing LED lights like on N64 Rainbow Road, and there are eight different colors of tiles instead of seven from its previous appearances (adding cyan between teal and blue); the tiles the Thwomps land on are now white, and the tiles at the edges of the track now have borders on the outer edges. The forked road is also altered further, with the narrow part of the hole's end filled in, and the ramp in front reverted to the original bumps' height and position.
The Thwomps work similarly to how they do in Mario Kart 7, but they now have sparkles, a mosaic-like appearance, horizontal rainbow lines running from bottom to top of them, and the species' Super Mario Galaxy appearance, like the other Thwomps in Mario Kart 8, rather than their spiked New Super Mario Bros. Wii design in Mario Kart 7. Additionally, all of the Thwomps are bigger except the last two. Unlike Mario Kart 7, when they start to crash down, they will create rainbow waves above them. Also, when they shake before falling, and the moment they land, they make metallic glistening sounds. The waves on the track they create are now bigger, move more quickly, and disappear faster than in Mario Kart 7, making tricks more difficult to perform.
The course now takes place in a cloudy night sky with the full moon visible, which has color-changing hills that stick above them, and is close to the ground than , it also has a lake underneath, and has lots of scenery, such as Toad Houses resued from SNES Donut Plains 3. The starting banner was redesigned, with colored blocks with a Star on top of it and the Mario Kart logo's letters now individually colored (red, green, yellow, and blue) instead of having a rainbow gradient through the entire logo; the banner is wider and stands on two walled areas, now making the start the only walled part of the course. Also, when a player approaches a turn, two green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn, and indicate in which direction the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.
Mario Kart Tour
This version of Rainbow Road reappears in Mario Kart Tour starting with the Tokyo Tour. It mostly takes on the appearance of its Mario Kart 7 iteration. However, the arrow signs and Star Thwomps from the Mario Kart 8 rendition are used over Thier Mario Kart 7 versions. Red tiling was added to the course. The tiles are brighter, like with the Mario Kart 8 rendition of the course. The ramp inside the second U-turn is absent, as in the original SNES and GBA versions, the hole in the road is even smaller than it was before (the narrow part at the end is only one tile long, and the hole in general is 7 tiles shorter), the last two Star Thwomps are further apart, the track edges are rounded rather than squared, and the track itself is of a thicker shape. The track reuses the arrangement heard in Mario Kart 7; this is unlike most other classic courses, which usually retained their original music. The starting banner is now colored red as opposed to pink. The background is based on its appearance from Mario Kart 7, albeit with meteors added to it and retaining the blue tint from Super Mario Kart, except more detailed, taking up the entire screen, and with purple colored details added. The Thwomps also retain their shaking effect from Mario Kart 8.
The course also appears as Rainbow Road R (reversed), Rainbow Road T (with ramps), and Rainbow Road R/T (reversed with ramps). The latter was later added in the 2019 Winter Tour. In the R and R/T variants, the first straightaway racers encounter is missing and they instead use a glide ramp to get across. In the T variant, all Star Thwomps are removed and the road is constantly wavy. In the R/T variant, there are star rings as well as a mushroom trampoline.
SNES Rainbow Road received two remixed versions, titled RMX Rainbow Road 1 and RMX Rainbow Road 2, first appearing in the Super Mario Kart Tour and New Year's 2021 Tour, respectively.
If the beta test is included, this course is one of the two courses to appear as a Coin Rush course four separate times, with the other being N64 Royal Raceway.
Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of SNES Rainbow Road tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which SNES Rainbow Road 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 Rainbow Road 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 |
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 R variant |
       
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 T variant |
   
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 R/T variant |
     
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| * 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 | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Toad |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Mario Bros. Tour |  Rosalina Cup |
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Space Tour (2023) |  Cat Peach Cup | |||||
| Do Jump Boosts | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Baby Rosalina |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Tokyo Tour |  Toad Cup |
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Rosalina Tour |  Waluigi Cup | |||||
| Big Reverse Race | ||||||||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Opponents | Tour appearances | Cup | ||||||||
| 7th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | Extra | |||||
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Regular | Driver |  [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [3]
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 [4]
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Valentine's Tour |  Bowser Cup |
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Halloween Tour (2022) |  Baby Luigi Cup | ||
| Goomba Takedown | |||||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Item Box type found |
Number of item slots | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular | Baby Rosalina |
Pipe Frame |
Super Glider |
 Bob-omb  Mushroom  Mega Mushroom  Super Horn  Coin |
1 |
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Halloween Tour (2019) |  Dry Bones Cup |
| Peach Tour |  Wendy Cup | ||||||||
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Halloween Tour (2022) |  Mii Cup | |||||||
| Glider Challenge | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Grand Star distances | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Rosalina |
Pipe Frame |
Super Glider |
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Tokyo Tour |  Wario Cup |
| Exploration Tour (2020) | Waluigi Cup | ||||||
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Peach vs. Daisy Tour |  Ice Mario Cup | |||||
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Amsterdam Tour |  Monty Mole Cup | |||||
| Steer Clear of Obstacles | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Obstacles | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Dry Bones |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
 Star Thwomp |
Halloween Tour (2020) |  King Boo Cup |
| Halloween Tour (2021) |  Mario Cup | ||||||
| vs. Mega Lemmy | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Mega opponent information | Tour appearances | Cup | |||
| Driver | Kart | Glider | Items used | ||||
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Regular |  Lemmy |
 Super Blooper |
TBD |  Bananas Bob-ombs[5] Mushrooms[5] |
Vancouver Tour |  Diddy Kong Cup |
| Los Angeles Tour (2021) |  Ludwig Cup | ||||||
| Smash Small Dry Bones | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Red Yoshi |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Space Tour (2023) |  Funky Kong Cup |
| Break Item Boxes | |||||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Item Box type found |
Number of item slots | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular | Rosalina |
 Soda Jet |
 Parachute |
Mushroom Coin  Super Star |
3 | 15 | Beta Test | Rosalina Cup |
| 2 |
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London Tour |  Koopa Troopa Cup | ||||||
| Sunset Tour |  Baby Rosalina Cup | ||||||||
| Time Trial | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular | Lemmy |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Vancouver Tour | Mario Cup |
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Ninja Tour (2021) |  Larry Cup | |||||
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R |  Waluigi |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Mario Bros. Tour |  Baby Mario Cup |
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Kamek Tour |  Lemmy Cup | |||||
| Combo Attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Highest combo counts | Tour appearances | Cup |
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T |  Donkey Kong |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
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Halloween Tour (2020) | Waluigi Cup |
Other appearances
In WarioWare Gold, Rainbow Road appears as the setting of the Super Mario Kart microgame.
While the course does not appear in the film itself, a rendition of its music plays in The Super Mario Bros. Movie when Mario, Princess Peach, Toad and the Kongs land on a Rainbow Road during their drive to Bowser's Castle.
Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack liner notes
"I love this tune, so I was really nervous when rearranging, as I didn't want to spoil it. This is the third time this has appeared as a classic course, so I wanted to make it as bright and sparkly as possible. I went all-out and used a cutting edge digital synth sound."
Gallery
Mario Kart 7
The countdown to the start of the race with Bowser in his Pipe Frame
Lakitu and Donkey Kong racing on the classic course
Super Thwomps on the course
Mario racing on the course
The long jump near the end of the course
Mario Kart 8
Overview of the track in Mario Kart 8
The course icon
Toad turning
Thwomps, warping the course
Cat Peach racing on the course
Rosalina racing on the course while holding a Green Shell
Daisy, taking the first shortcut on the course
Daisy, taking the second shortcut on the course
Image macro featuring a view of SNES Rainbow Road, originally posted on the official German Mario Kart Facebook page
Mario Kart Tour
Course icons
The course icon with Rosalina
The course icon with Shy Guy
The course icon with Metal Mario
The course icon with Ice Mario
The course icon with Lemmy
The course icon with Tanooki Rosalina
The course icon of the R variant with Lemmy (old)
The course icon of the R variant with Lemmy (updated)
The course icon of the R variant with Metal Mario
The course icon of the R variant with Rosalina
The course icon of the R variant with Ice Mario
The course icon of the R variant with Peachette
The course icon of the T variant with Baby Rosalina
The course icon of the T variant with Metal Mario
The course icon of the T variant with Bowser
The course icon of the T variant with Pink Gold Peach
The course icon of the R/T variant Rosalina
The course icon of the R/T variant with Pink Gold Peach
The course icon of the R/T variant with Pauline
The course icon of the R/T variant with Builder Toad
The course icon of the R/T variant with Baby Rosalina
The course icon of the R/T variant with King Boo (Gold)
The course icon of the R/T variant with Rosalina (Halloween)
Screenshots
Rosalina tricking in the Soda Jet
Pink Gold Peach tricking in the Wildfire Flyer
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | レインボーロード Reinbō Rōdo |
Rainbow Road |
| Chinese (simplified) | 彩虹之路 Cǎihóng zhī Lù 彩虹桥 (Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart: Super Circuit prototype) Cǎihóng Qiáo |
Rainbow Road Rainbow Bridge |
| Chinese (traditional) | 彩虹之路 Cǎihóng zhī Lù |
Rainbow Road |
| Dutch | Regenboogbaan |
Rainbow Track |
| French (NOA) | Route arc-en-ciel |
Rainbow Road |
| French (NOE) | Route Arc-en-ciel |
Rainbow Road |
| German | Regenbogen-Boulevard Regenbogen-Blvd. (Mario Kart 7) |
Rainbow Boulevard |
| Italian | Pista Arcobaleno |
Rainbow Track |
| Korean | 무지개 로드 Mujigae Rodeu |
Raindow Road |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Avenida Arco-íris |
Rainbow Avenue |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Estrada Arco-Íris |
Rainbow Road |
| Russian | Трасса Радуга Trassa Raduga |
Rainbow Track |
| Spanish | Senda Arco Iris |
Rainbow Path |
Trivia
In Mario Kart 7, when the player enters first-person view, the player can see through the breaks in the tiles.
- SNES Rainbow Road is the only course in Mario Kart 7 not to have a Dash Panel/ramp, and one of four courses not to have a Glide Ramp; the others are N64 Luigi Raceway, GCN Daisy Cruiser, and Rosalina's Ice World.
- Also, in Mario Kart 8, it is one of the two only courses that do not have any Dash Panels, Glide Ramps, underwater sections, or anti-gravity sections, with the other being GCN Yoshi Circuit, another course from DLC Pack 1.
- Also, in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it is the only one of the five Rainbow Roads present in the game to not have anti-gravity.
- The track's location has alternated between each of its appearances. In Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart Tour, it is in space, but in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart 8, it is in the night sky.
- In Mario Kart 8, the body of water underneath the course is shaped identically to the one in SNES Donut Plains 3, with all course elements, the walls, and the fortress being removed. The reason for this is unclear.
- It is the only Super Mario Kart race course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe not to have the number 3 in its name.
References
- ^ @zachruff (May 22, 2022). "So it turns out that there are 4 staff ghosts in the Tencent Chinese version of MK8D that are actually different to the global version. It seems that they really did not like the Mercedes car parts so any ghost that used them had to be redone." Twitter. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ Interview between Rocketbaby and Soyo Oka. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g TheMadWeazel (January 29, 2020). Valentines Tour “Bowser Cup” - Mario Kart Tour. YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Dutch Mayo (February 23, 2020). MARIO KART TOUR - Valentine's Tour - Bowser Cup - Big Reverse Race. YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Andruidus (February 25, 2020). Mario Kart Tour - Vancouver Tour: Diddy Kong Cup. YouTube. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
