Mario Kart is known for one specific track from all the fandom and even non-fans alike, and that is Rainbow Road. From the very beginning until where we are now, Rainbow Road has shifted and changed various different ways. And I actually want to talk about how Mario Kart World Rainbow Road can evolve the formula even more.
But in order to do that, we have to start at the very beginning, starting off with Super Mario Kart on the NES and talk about how the different Rainbow Road tracks varied from game to game. The original Rainbow Road and Super Mario Kart on the NES. This was a classic and actually got brought back multiple times, eventually even making its way to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
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This track is very simple. Just lots of quick U-turns going back and forth winding on a very narrow rainbow bridge that’s pretty much just floating in this void. Now, you can barely tell it is floating in a night sky. You can see the blue sky with the white stars off in the background, but there’s not a whole lot of background and scenery to look at here.
It’s pretty simple and it’s kept simple because of the hardware limitations of the SNES. So, just a rainbow bridge up in the sky with not a whole lot to it. Now, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version shows this track is just above the ground as you can see the mountains and hills in the background and the clouds in the sky up above. So, it’s really not that high and not that far from the ground here.
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Then, we have Mario Kart 64 with a very, very long rainbow road track. The three longest laps you’ll ever race on. This track is all protected from a giant yellow fence that guards you on both sides. So, not many parts of this track will have you falling off, if any. And the scenery is really nothing.
It’s just kind of this black night sky with a couple of stars and some neon lights showing characters from the Mario universe. But it’s not until the remake for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where we get to see exactly where this track is taking place. It’s actually just above a city down below, which is pretty interesting cuz we never get to see exactly what city that is, but it seems to be a little bit higher from the SNES versions remake on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as well, being more up into the sky while fireworks are being shot off
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from the city down below. Then we have Super Circuits Track on the Game Boy Advance and looks very similar to that of the original Super Mario Kart on the S NES where it’s a basic bend and turn 2D flat rainbow road. Now, the only difference here is there’s lots of bumps and ramps that you can jump off of and a couple of thunder and lightning clouds that can strike you while you’re on the track.
But for the most part, it’s just an involved version of that original one from the SNES. Now, it seems like the track once again goes a little bit higher into the sky, now including tons of clouds, rainbow stars, and yes, that is Bowser’s Castle floating in the sky from Paper Mario 64. Now, please correct me if I’m wrong, but if I’m not mistaken, I don’t think this track ever made another appearance ever again, which is very strange.
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Uh, but yeah, this Paper Mario Bowser’s Castle will be left on the Game Boy Advanced forever. But you can notice a theme here where it seems like we’re going higher and higher into the sky with each new game’s installment of Rainbow Road. Mario Kart Double Dash’s Rainbow Road on the GameCube is another one I believe never made a return.
Also, this one once again takes you a little bit higher. Once again, still over the city down below. However, you can see the night sky with the stars, but that city is still beneath the track. So, maybe not too much higher than the originals, but still keeping that same formula. This is the first Rainbow Road to take lots of risk and completely change everything we know.
There’s tons of boost pads, ramps, tight turns, bends around corners, and even automatic tubes that fire you off to the next section of the track. This was definitely a change for once, and actually lots of the track had no rails, so it was very easy to fly off and really tested your driving skills. This was exactly what Rainbow Road should be, an ultimate final test for the racers.
