Rainbow Road (Mario Kart)

Rainbow Road originally appeared as the final level in Super Mario Kart for the SNES and is the only course in the game not to have numbered variants. It lacks guardrails completely and is filled with sharp-90 degree turns with a few jumping blocks on the track's surface. It also features Star Thwomps which can hurt a racer even if they simply touch it.

This track was later remade for Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour, making it tied with Super Mario Kart's Mario Circuit 3 for having the most appearances in the series. The remakes in Mario Kart 7 and onward replaced the yellow bumps with ramps, had the Star Thwomps create ripples for racers to make tricks off of, and added a ramp in the last fork in the road for an additional shortcut option.

The Rainbow Road featured in Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64 is not only the longest track in the game, but also the entire Mario Kart series, with each lap taking around two minutes to complete normally. Unlike other incarnations of the course, this version is completely covered in star-shaped guardrails. While racing, players can see neon light pictures of the game's playable characters and avoid Chain Chomps scattered throughout the course. This version's main melody is also incorporated into the music for the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart 7 versions of Rainbow Road. The level also appeared in F-Zero X's Joker Cup. If the player had the 64DD expansion features, they could also listen to a rock remix of the original melody.

The track was later remade in Mario Kart 8 with some drastic visual and gameplay overhauls. It is now broken into three sections instead of three laps, incorporates the game's hang-glider and anti-gravity mechanics, and most of the guardrails have been removed. The Chain Chomps now bounce on the track and create ripples, and there is a flying train ridden by Toads that toss coins toward the racers. The track appears to take place in the sky above one of the game's original courses, Toad Harbor, at night, and the neon lights of the characters are replaced with fireworks resembling them.

The final track of Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance lines the course with jumping humps, giving players a chance to get back on the course or take shortcuts with a Mushroom. On top of the boost panels and ramps littered throughout the course, there are also falling stars that can harm players and Thunder Clouds that can shrink them if they come into contact. The background features Bowser's flying castle from Paper Mario.

The Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the GameCube goes largely downhill before the players enter a helix filled with dash panels and a large pipe that launches players to the top, similar to the game's DK Mountain track. The track takes place above the game's Mushroom City at night and features floating sculptures of items that can rain Star power-ups that racers can pick up. The track's music (which features a remix of Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road near the end) would be featured in every Super Smash Bros. title going forward beginning with Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Namco's arcade game Mario Kart Arcade GP features a final cup inspired by Rainbow Road called the Rainbow Cup. The Rainbow Cup features two courses called Rainbow Coaster and Rainbow Downhill. Similar to the 64 version, both tracks are completely covered in guardrails making it impossible for racers to fall off. The first half of the course appears to take place at a space station and features floating sculptures of items similar to the Double Dash!! version. For the second half, racers are warped to another world. In the first two variants, it takes place in the sky that features Toads on floating islands, flowers, and beanstalks in the background. The second two variants take the racers to a more aquatic environment with coral and Warp Pipes surrounding the racetrack. For the cup's challenge game, the player has to defeat a robotic version of Mario called "Robo Mario" in a race.

In the game's follow-up, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, the track underwent a couple of changes. The tracks now had three laps instead of two, and the second variant of the two courses replaced the aquatic theme with a sky temple setting.

The track's incarnation in Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS is largely similar to the version in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with its sharp turns, helix, and dash panels. What distinguishes it from previous versions is that it features a vertical loop and corkscrew, which were the first and only inversions on a track in Mario Kart history before Mario Kart 8 introduced anti-gravity.

In Mario Kart Wii for the Wii, the track is located above Earth's atmosphere, sending racers burning down toward the planet if they fall off. The course is heavily inspired by Super Mario Galaxy, as there are Star Bits floating throughout the track and the climax features a Launch Star that launches players upwards similar to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version. It also features many ramps that racers can perform tricks or take shortcuts on, as it was the first game in the series to introduce tricks. The track was later remade for Mario Kart Tour.

In Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS, the track is broken into three sections rather than three laps for the first time in the series. It takes place deep in space, where racers will avoid asteroids, drive on the rings of Saturn, and avoid low-gravity Chain Chomps on the moon. The climax features a turning tunnel with dash panels that give players the option to go back on the road or take a glide ramp. The track was later remade for Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with the latter featuring the game's anti-gravity mechanic on the moon.

The course was also featured as a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Fighters battle on a flat platform that travels throughout the course similar to the F-Zero stages and avoid racing Shy Guys competing in a race.

In Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U as well as its 2017 revision Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch, the track uses three laps again instead of sections, and there is again a planet in the background with a higher resolution than that from Mario Kart Wii. The ground uses quadratic tiles in resemblance to the track in Super Mario Kart. At the start/finish line, the track crosses through a space craft. Several more space carriers with parts of the track are present, most notably the one with two conveyor belt-like rotating rings in opposing directions which can speed up or slow down the vehicle when driven upon.[7] As with other tracks from the game, the track surface is wildly twisted, and karts make use of the new anti-gravity feature. At a location, two separated parts of the track cross nearby in different angles, and distant parts of the track can be seen ahead from far away.[8] According to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe producer Kosuke Yabuki, the development team's goal was to create a version of Rainbow Road with a "near-future" aesthetic when anti-gravity controls were added.[9][10]

Mario Kart Tour features two courses based on the original Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart. Labeled as "remix courses" (abbreviated to "RMX courses") these courses use a different layout compared to the original, and feature new mechanics, such as gliding and bouncy mushroom platforms. These courses are named RMX Rainbow Road 1 and 2, and share their music with the course they are based on.[11]

The course makes an appearance in 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie as "The Secret Path", on-which Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, and the Kong Army battle Bowser's army as they unsuccessfully attempt to storm his castle. Mario and Donkey Kong are thrown off the course by a Koopa General with a blue shell in a kamikaze attack.

Rainbow Road and variations of the course has made several appearances in other Mario and Nintendo-related titles, including F-Zero X, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Paper Mario: Color Splash. It also appears during the climax of the Universal Studios ride, Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge.

Rainbow Road has received a generally positive attention for its memorable music and unique visuals, as well as notoriety for its length and challenging difficulty. Edge Magazine described Rainbow Road as "the deadly ribbon that has entranced generations of racers".[1] Gus Turner from Complex described Rainbow Road as "simultaneously the most thrilling and most devastating level in any Mario Kart title".[14] Rainbow Road has appeared in multiple "top" ranking lists of the best tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise compiled by video game critics, including Paste Magazine,[15] Digital Spy,[16] Screen Rant,[17] and GameRevolution,[18] and TheGamer.[6]

The Rainbow Road levels in certain Mario Kart games have received particular attention. BuzzFeed News Reporter Joseph Bernstein ranked the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road #15 on his list of the "34 Video Game Levels That You Must Play Before You Die".[19] Reminiscing the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road, A. V. Club staff said the overall experience was awe-inspiring in spite of its flawed design and frustrating level of difficulty.[20] Its music has been praised by GamesRadar's Brett Elston [21] as well as Dan Neilan from The A.V. Club, who called it as the "one redeeming quality" of a notoriously difficult track.[22] Andrew Webster from The Verge praised the updated version of Rainbow Road for Mario Kart 8 as the best example of its "impressive new track design" and called it a vast improvement when compared to previous instalments.[23] On April 28, 2017, Rainbow Road was voted as the best course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by UK players.[24]

Not all reception towards Rainbow Road has been positive. Ben Lee of Digital Spy as well as several US Gamer staff members consider Rainbow Road to be their least favorite tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise.[25][26]