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What is your favorite Mario Kart track in the entire series?

Just to preface, MK8 is the only MK that I truly like because of the nice balance between skill & bullshit, and because of its online mode.

Super Bell Subway, that music tho.

It's also the only course in MK8 that the Bullet Bill hasn't screwed me over by stopping in a corner, off course, or hazard while playing in 200cc Frantic GAF lobbies.
YET

This is probably my choice because it's really fun, the hazards are predictable/unobtrusive enough to not take away focus from racing, but add enough of a spin to mix things up when they appear, and I really enjoy the concept of there being something that links all Mario Kart environments together, as if they existed in the same world.

Baby Park was beautiful in Double Dash because of the character specific items (i.e. the big-ass Bowser shell), but it wasn't as great in MK8 without those.
 

Tiamant

Member
Pure drift, pure skill.

220px-MK8_Yoshi_Circuit_Course_Map.png


Mount Wario as close second.
 
Maple Treeway is easily my absolute favorite course from the series. What a gorgeous track and so much fun to play. I remember playing it for the first time and feeling all of my hatred towards the series dissipate.

To this day, Mario Kart Wii is easily my favorite Mario Kart game. What a classic.
 

Ekai

Member
Haven't played much of any recent MK since the one on the Wii but I love Toad's Turnpike on the 64.

Toads-Turnpike-Mirror_zps7a95090a.png
 

JCX

Member
Zeroth post nails it

Mount Wario, because it doesn't lap.

Yep. I would be completely fine if Mario Kart NX had all destination courses. Mount Wario and Big Blue are the best in 8 because of this.

Delfino Plaza from MKDS is a favorite. I usually dislike city courses (Neo Bowser City can can go jump off a bridge), but DP and 64 Toad's Turnpike are exceptions. Toad's Turnpike 8 is awful.
 
Mario Kart 8 is the best game in the series but it has as much(if not more) bullshit than any of the others.

Oh, I didn't mean it had the least bullshit of all MKs, it's just almost all of its bs comes strictly from other players rather than the tracks themselves. There's nothing quite like getting hit in 64's Wario Stadium just before the big jump and then losing half a lap. I also really like how items were changes as it encourages their use and you can always see what item another character has at any time.
 

Crayolan

Member
MK:DD Rainbow Road. One of the most difficult courses in the series, really pretty to look at, and has a great soundtrack.
 

Boney

Banned
I love destination tracks because they're three times the tracks as others, but Bananas and other items lose some of the effectiveness and that's a shame.

Super Bell Subway, that music tho.

It's also the only course in MK8 that the Bullet Bill hasn't screwed me over by stopping in a corner, off course, or hazard while playing in 200cc Frantic GAF lobbies.
YET

Edit: Honestly, it could be easier to make a least favorite Mario Kart track thread.
My man.

It's hazard city. It's a simple map design but embodies the spirit of chaos that Mario Kart is while at the same time having skill being the most important thing.

Axe baby park and DLC#2 is the best content Mario Kart has ever delivered.

Bowser Castle 3 in Super Mario Kart gets a shoutout from me as well
 

j.rob

Member
Mario Kart Wii- Rainbow Road.

Literally the perfect track IMO.

Hypest Music.
Amazing Visuals.
A good amount of little tricks that separate the men from the boys.
Fantastic track design.

Ahhhh man. Whenever this course got selected online, I was like "IT'S SO ON".
 

Davey Cakes

Member
Obviously, this is a very tough decision. I mean, MK8 alone represents 48 of the tracks both new and old, and A LOT of them are great.

I might have to give this one to Maple Treeway. It solidified the Star Cup in MK Wii as the best cup in the game.

I wish they'd brought it back for MK8 as opposed to MK7.

Mario Kart Wii's version of Rainbow Road. It separated the pros from the rest of the racers online and was my go to track for victory.
Wii had the best Rainbow Road, easily. It was nicely balanced.
 
Toad's Turnpike has usually been my favorite in every MK game. However, Baby Park at 200CC is the most anarchic thing I've ever seen so I'd pick that.
 

robot

Member
Personal favorite is Royal Raceway. It was my favorite track in MK64 and they did an awesome job with it in MK8. I prefer less crazy and more racing in my Mario Kart, so i tend to side with the more traditional tracks.

Mount Wario is pretty f'in hype though. I love lap-less(?) tracks in MK and hope we see more of them.
 

BiggNife

Member
I really really like Tick Tock Clock. A compact course with fun gimmicks that don't feel unfair.

Mount Wario is definitely great too.
 

NotLiquid

Member
OQYyVDm.jpg


I've always had a soft spot for this track. I don't know why that is. It's always struck me as elegant in it's simplicity but still big enough to command some scale. I love how Wario's face is plastered all over the Stadium walls which suits his narcissistic persona and I love the atmosphere of the track since it very much feels like a no-holds-barred arena. No gimmicks to this one (other than the massive chasm), just good old racing in a pretty awesome laid out track.

True, it had one of the most exploitable shortcuts... but I never used it. It made things boring.
 

Boney

Banned
My most dissapointing track has to be Excite Bike. I can pass mushroom cup and shell cup tracks for being boring because they're introductory tracks (track 4 is usually pretty good) but they still have enough variety in the turns and what not except for the "8 circuits".

Excite bike is a very large oval and the jumps don't add much is at all. I love the idea but they should've been more ambitious and include all excite bike tracks or at least around 10 very different variations, more boosts and mud things. Hell they could've included actual pixelated bikers in the race with you which you'd have to dodge like the original.

Now I'm upset
 

Davey Cakes

Member
My most dissapointing track has to be Excite Bike. I can pass mushroom cup and shell cup tracks for being boring because they're introductory tracks (track 4 is usually pretty good) but they still have enough variety in the turns and what not except for the "8 circuits".

Excite bike is a very large oval and the jumps don't add much is at all. I love the idea but they should've been more ambitious and include all excite bike tracks or at least around 10 very different variations, more boosts and mud things. Hell they could've included actual pixelated bikers in the race with you which you'd have to dodge like the original.

Now I'm upset
Excitebike Arena is one of the WORST tracks in the series. It's right there with Yoshi' Shitsauce Donut from MKDS. The concept was interesting but the execution was EXTREMELY lacking. It needs way more variance.

That was the "stinker" of DLC1 where Baby Park was the "stinker" of DLC2, though I much prefer the latter as a track to change things up.

That said, Excitebike is more tolerable in 200cc when you're just flying over everything.

Tick Tock Clock.

I'll also mention Delfino Square.
Tick Tock, Delfino Square, and Waluigi Pinball are MKDS's "Trifecta of Awesomeness."
 

Maple Treeway and Dragon Driftway are winners for me in every way, strong aesthetics, nice music, fun track layouts with Driftway specialising in antigrav drifting and Treeway in a careful balance of gimmicks that don't detract from the race.

Edit: New Challenger I just remembered looking back through the thread
Delfino Square from DS and Wii is legit.

Royal Raceway ain't far behind either.
 

Revven

Member
I'm torn between these three:

Wario Colosseum
Waluigi Pinball
Big Blue

The first because it's so long and has awesome curves, the second because of the aesthetics, music, and overall track design, and the last because of the music, aesthetics, and it has some really sick creative shortcuts you can do on higher CCs.

All three embody what I love about Mario Kart.

Honorable mention goes to Airship Fortress on the DS.
 
The Mario Kart 8 version of Yoshi Circuit is definitely my favourite, maybe even more so on 200cc.

I also really like Super Circuit's Cheese Land for the ludicrous shortcuts. Plus Super Circuit had the best Rainbow Road in the series.

Oh, OH! Plus SNES Mario Circuit 2! With the jump!

There's too many.
 

ubercheez

Member
Double Dash Rainbow Road for me. Different sections that required you to change up your driving style constantly, great music, and a visual treat.
 
Mount Wario is probably the best.

For personal favorite, though, Ill go with some nostalgic favorites that others probably won't pick.

Koopa Beach 3 (Super Mario Kart): I feel this track does the best job of making you master wide turns without grinding down to a halt. You get to swing really wide AND keep a good sense of momentum; plus the multiple paths and water hazards.

Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Wii): Favorite level aesthetically, favorite song in the series, plus the climb up/fly down the tree theme is like proto MK8. And who doesn't love jumping in piles of leaves?
 

daakusedo

Member
Maybe gba Bowser castle mk7 version.
Can jump and drive on narrow walls to cut corner and had the most intricate use of the glider to take a succession of ramps without touching the ground and land on a ramp placed into the lava.
 
My favorite for the longest time was Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64. Then MK8 came out. Now its remake of the 64 track is my favorite. I remember getting chills when seeing footage of the level for the first time - I was blown away by the beautiful makeover it had gotten. And that music... simply unbeatable. :)
 

ffdgh

Member
Gardens is also damn awful.
Why does she always get the worst tracks? Even Daisy has better tracks.

I'd say the N64 version it is to some extent but I see it more as a general track with no owner.
The MK8 version definitely not.
Peach gardens is alright along with peach circuit gba, sweet sweet canyon, and debatably moonview highway. I agree Daisy's tracks have been consistently better though lol.

Oh yeah royal raceway is called peach circuit in japan.
 

Timeaisis

Member
Ughh Mount Wario. No.

Double Dash Rainbow Road is the best. Followed by Cloudtop Cruise and DK Mountain.

EDIT: I see some of my old rivals are in this thread. You're the reason I hate Mount Wario. All of you. I hope you are proud of yourselves.
 

Roo

Member
Peach gardens is alright along with peach circuit gba, sweet sweet canyon, and debatably moonview highway. I agree Daisy's tracks have been consistently better though lol.

Oh yeah royal raceway is called peach circuit in japan.

I totally forgot about RR's japanese name. I take that one back then.
 
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