The best tracks in Mario Kart games have a wide variety of elements to delight and surprise players. Some tracks make good use of new gameplay mechanics. Others employ a combination of familiar elements in new ways.
Sometimes the more complex tracks end up being the most exciting to race on, but they can also be the most challenging. Some tracks have a visual aesthetic or a theme to them that just makes them fun to play. It’s largely up to everyone’s personal preferences, but each Mario Kart game has courses that stand out strongly in players’ minds.
10 Super Mario Kart’s Bowser Castle 3 Is A Dynamic And Challenging Track
Being that it is the first game in the Mario Kart franchise, many of Super Mario Kart’s tracks are straightforward. Bowser Castle 3 is one of the more dynamic and challenging courses in the game. The multiple paths players can take through the track make it interesting to race on.
About halfway through the course, players reach an area with disconnected portions of the track separated by jump ramps. In most tracks, the path is rather straightforward, but in Bowser Castle 3, there are obstructions and gap hazards for players to avoid. Later, the track branches into three separate corridors with varying risks and rewards down each path.
9 Mario Kart 64’s Yoshi Valley Keeps Players In The Dark About Their Race Position
There are multiple distinct and memorable qualities about the Yoshi Valley track from Mario Kart 64. One is that the developers decided to replace the usual information regarding each racer’s standing with question marks. Players are never quite sure until the end of the race what position they’re in.
Another involves the track layout itself. Yoshi Valley has multiple branching paths. They eventually all merge back in together again, but the routes take different amounts of time to progress through. Some of the shorter paths are riskier too, so players have to experiment to find which routes are the best for them.
8 Mario Kart: Super Circuit’s Boo Lake Provides A Thrilling Racing Experience
Like with the original Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart: Super Circuit has simplistic courses for the most part. Tracks like Boo Lake really stand out in a good way with their more dynamic and thrilling elements. Most other tracks in the game feel lacking by comparison.
There are jumping ramps littered across the course, and some of them have gap hazards for players to fall into right after them. Boo Lake also has crumbling wall barriers that won’t protect the same place twice, boost pads that launch racers over huge gaps in the track, and even branching paths and risky shortcuts.
7 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Has Players Racing By A Giant Dinosaur On The Dino Dino Jungle Track
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the Nintendo GameCube has many great tracks to enjoy. One of the most satisfying to race on is Dino Dino Jungle. It starts by navigating racers around, or between, the feet of a large dinosaur and into a cave behind it. The racers emerge onto branching paths across a series of bridges and then into a second cave.
From there, geysers shoot up out of the ground and can knock players off course. After navigating a narrow strip and avoiding the hazards, players re-emerge above ground at another bridge. This time, they drive right by the head of the dinosaur, giving the track a very cohesive feeling, before making their way around the final curve, with one last geyser obstacle.
6 Mario Kart DS Puts Players Inside A Pinball Machine On The Waluigi Pinball Track
Waluigi Pinball is an exciting track to race on in Mario Kart DS. Players find their racers inside of a giant pinball machine, and the track starts by launching them through the ball ejector. The first half of the course has players drive down the track while avoiding the occasional rolling pinball, but the second half is the highlight.
Racers emerge onto the pinball table itself, complete with bumpers, multiple giant pinballs rolling and bouncing about, and even flippers that will knock players back and launch pinballs in varying directions. Upon successfully navigating a safe path through the madness, the tunnel players drive into plays a tune suggesting the loss of a pinball, and the track repeats from the ball launcher.
5 Mario Kart Wii’s Maple Treeway Blew Players Away With Its Uniqueness
Not only is Maple Treeway a treat for the eyes, but there are some interesting mechanics at play on this Mario Kart Wii track too. Players start under a canopy of golden leaves, and even the course itself is paved with fallen leaves, creating a unique look. Players soon find themselves launched high into the treetops by a giant barrel cannon.
Racers drive through logs and across narrow branches as they make their way around the giant trees. There are piles of leaves littered across the track. When players run into them, sometimes items like mushrooms or banana peels will pop out. If all that wasn’t enough, there are also giant Wigglers obstructing players’ progression, a jump ramp half-pipe, a precariously windy rope bridge, and shortcuts hidden amid the treetops.
4 Boost Across Saturn’s Rings And Trick Off Of Moon Craters In Mario Kart 7’s Rainbow Road
The Rainbow Road tracks in each Mario Kart game are memorable experiences. They often feature exclusive elements not found elsewhere. Mario Kart 7’s version of Rainbow Road is not only one of the best tracks in the game, but it’s also one of the best Rainbow Road tracks across the entire franchise.
At the start, players drive along the usual rainbow-colored pathway. But then they traverse the rings of Saturn, perform tricks off of craters on the Moon, and glide past asteroids towards the finish line. The galactic elements at play make Mario Kart 7’s Rainbow Road truly special.
3 Mario Kart 8’s Mount Wario Breaks All The Rules In The Best Way
While not the first track to be done in sections rather than laps, Mount Wario from Mario Kart 8 really stands out as a fresh-feeling experience for the franchise. Players begin by jumping out of an airplane and landing on the snowy course below. Rather than the usual 3 laps around a track, this is a downhill course starting at the top of the mountain and ending at the bottom.
Each portion of the track features its own variety of elements. Players face slippery, icy track early on, with perilous drops over the cliff’s edge. The course also has gliding sections, boosting sections, branching paths through a forest area, even a slalom portion with wavy S-curves. It culminates in a large downhill glide toward the finish line.
2 The Animal Crossing Track In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Randomly Changes Seasons Each Time You Race
Just like with the Excitebike Arena track, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Animal Crossing track changes its layout and appearance each time players race on it. Having variety in a single track for a game that is big on replay value is a welcome addition.
Excitebike Arena has a fairly simple layout with subtle visual changes. Animal Crossing, by contrast, changes in striking ways between seasons. The track elements do not change as much as Excitebike Arena’s, but there are some noticeable differences. The visual splendor of seeing the course in different variants for each season, combined with its layout changes, makes it one of the most enjoyable, replayable tracks.
1 Mario Kart Tour’s Ninja Hideaway Track Is An Exciting Sight To Behold
The Ninja Hideaway track in Mario Kart Tour is not only one of the game’s best, but it’s also the newest Mario Kart track at the time of writing. It was released back in April 2021 and has not been available in any prior games in the franchise. It has a very stylized Japanese-themed aesthetic that can be seen as players race through and on top of buildings.
Shy Guys appear throughout the course and perform ninja arts. They disappear in puffs of smoke, leave behind banana traps, and fly through the air using glider kites. The course features multiple paths and takes players inside the buildings as well as on top of the moonlit rooftops.
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