Editing GBA Bowser's Castle 4

{{Classic title}}
{{race course infobox
|title=Bowser Castle 4<br><small>Bowser's Castle 4</small>
|image=[[File:MKSC Bowser Castle 4 Starting Line.png]]
|appears_in=''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'' ([[List of games by date#2001|2001]])<br>''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' (2023)
|cups=[[Special Cup]]
|tours=[[Bowser Tour (2023)]]<br>[[Vacation Tour]]
|sample=''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''<br>[[File:MKSC-Music-BowserCastle.oga]]<br>''Mario Kart Tour''<br>[[File:MK7 GBA Bowser Castle 1.oga]]
|map=''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''<br>[[File:MKSC Bowser Castle 4 Map.png|140px]]<br>[[File:MKSC Bowser Castle 4 Mini Map.png]]
}}
'''Bowser's Castle 4''' (known as '''Bowser Castle 4''' prior to ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'') is the third course of the [[Special Cup]] in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]''. It is the first Bowser's Castle course to appear as the third course of the Special Cup before [[Rainbow Road]], a trait that would later be shared by every new Bowser's Castle course in future main-series installments. It is the longest course in the game and shares its music with the game's other three Bowser Castles: [[GBA Bowser's Castle 1|1]], [[GBA Bowser's Castle 2|2]], and [[GBA Bowser's Castle 3|3]].

This course features many dangerous [[jump]]s over [[lava]] pits, several [[Thwomp]]s blocking the way, and [[Mechakoopa]]s at the end of the race. What appears to be a large generator with [[Bowser]]'s emblem on it can be seen in the background. Unlike most stages with Thwomps, some of the Thwomps on this stage are capable of moving horizontally, moving further down the track and back at regular intervals before slamming down.

This course makes its [[classic course]] debut in ''Mario Kart Tour'' as part of the [[Bowser Tour (2023)|2023 Bowser Tour]].

==''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''==
===Course layout===
Initially, there is a left-right turn followed by two normal left turns, after which there is a long, wide stretch of ground littered with square pools of lava that let out [[Lava Bubble]]s. This ends with a left turn, three right turns (with Thwomps near the last) and a left turn that leads into a thinner pathway. After another right turn the player is given the choice to take the right, narrow and (due to the boost panels) speedier route forwards or the left, wide and slower route forwards. Afterwards there are two more right turns, another split path filled with jumps, followed by a larger jump over an earlier portion of the track. The subsequent right-left turn has several [[Mechakoopa]]s before the upcoming left turn. There is another left turn, two right turns and a final U-turn (with two Thwomps right in the middle of it) before the finish line is reached. Overall there are eight (a group of three, two, a lone one and another pair) item boxes on this course.
{{br}}

==''Mario Kart Tour''==
[[File:MKT GBABowserCastle4 Scene.jpg|thumb|250px|The course in ''Mario Kart Tour'']]
Bowser's Castle 4 makes its [[classic course]] debut in ''Mario Kart Tour'', starting with the [[Bowser Tour (2023)|2023 Bowser Tour]], making this the first Special Cup course from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' to return in another ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' game. Though it is visually fashioned after the aesthetic of [[GBA Bowser's Castle 1]] instead of keeping its original visuals, the castle is now depicted as ruined, with the castle situated within a lava lake bordered by two volcanoes, and the lava inside the castle now flows into a large chasm in the middle. A large throne area has been added near the bottom section of the course, though players cannot reach it. The track has been given elevation and regular road portions, bringing it closer to other GBA courses in ''Tour''. While the layout remains relatively faithful to the original, some of the turns are simplified, the section with the holes of lava has fewer holes (all of which have ramps in front of them allowing them to be jumped over), and the section involving jumping between platforms is streamlined. New obstacles and elements have been added, like [[metal ball]]s which are dropped from dispensers with propellers keeping them afloat and bounce down a stretch of road that was previously a small split path. The [[Mechakoopa]]s are removed in this version. Two new gliding sections have been added, with one leading into a new split route in the bottom section of the course with pillars that can be tricked off of and a second one along the final stretch on the other route.

The course is also now a section-based course, similar to [[Wii Rainbow Road]]. Unlike that course, the beginning of section 2 is clearly marked with a banner, which rests along the horizontal path in the upper-left portion of the course. This is the first section-based Bowser's Castle course in the series. Two parts of the road that overlap each other are depicted as connecting on the minimap.

The course also appears as '''Bowser's Castle 4R''' (reversed), in which the metal balls are gone, and there are instead [[Bone Piranha Plant]]s throughout the course. Bowser's Castle 4 was not only the first track since the [[Battle Tour]] to not have an R/T variant upon launch, but also the first track overall to not feature a T variant at launch. It is one of 2 courses overall to never receive an R/T variant, alongside [[3DS Rock Rock Mountain]]. It is also the only course to have never received a T variant.

===Appearances===
For this course's tour appearances, see [[List of GBA Bowser's Castle 4 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour|List of GBA Bowser's Castle 4 tour appearances in ''Mario Kart Tour'']].

===Top-tier and middle-tier items===
{{MKT favored table|GBA|Bowser's Castle 4}}

===Bonus challenges===
<div class="contentbox mw-collapsible mw-collapsed>
{{MKT bonus challenge table|Time Trial|GBA Bowser's Castle 4}}
</div>

==Gallery==
===''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''===
<gallery widths=150px>
Bowser's Castle 4 MKSC icon.png|The course icon, depicting [[Luigi]] driving past wandering [[Mechakoopa]]s
MKSC Bowser Castle 4 Screenshot.png|[[Donkey Kong]] driving past a bunch of [[Thwomp]]s
MKSC Mechakoopa Screenshot.png|[[Bowser]] races past Mechakoopas
</gallery>
===''Mario Kart Tour''===
====Course icons====
{{main-gallery|Mario Kart Tour race course icons (GBA courses)#Bowser's Castle 4|Mario Kart Tour race course icons (GBA courses) § Bowser's Castle 4}}
<gallery>
MKT Icon BowsersCastle4GBA BowserMiiRacingSuit.png|The course icon
MKT Icon BowsersCastle4RGBA WhiteTanookiMario.png|The course icon of the R variant
</gallery>

====Screenshots====
<gallery>
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Starting Line.jpg|View of the starting line
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Jumps 2.jpg|View of the first set of ramps
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Scene.jpg|View of the dirt path
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Jumps.jpg|View of the second set of ramps
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Landscape.jpg|Overview of the course
MKT GBABowserCastle4 Scene 2.jpg|View of a glider ramp
MKT GBA Bowser's Castle 4 Thwomp.jpg|View of a [[Thwomp]]
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jpn=クッパキャッスル４
|JpnR=Kuppa Kyassuru 4
|JpnM=Bowser Castle 4
|ChiS=酷霸王城堡 4
|ChiSR=Kùbàwáng Chéngbǎo 4
|ChiSM=Bowser Castle 4
|ChiT=庫巴城堡 4
|ChiTR=Kùbā Chéngbǎo 4
|ChiTM=Bowser Castle 4
|Fre=Château de Bowser 4
|FreM=Bowser’s Castle 4
|Ger=Bowsers Festung 4
|GerM=Bowser’s Castle 4
|Ita=Castello di Bowser 4
|ItaM=Bowser's Castle 4
|Kor=쿠파 성 4
|KorR=Kupa Seong 4
|KorM=Bowser Castle 4
|Por=Castelo do Bowser 4
|PorM=Bowser's Castle 4
|Spa=Castillo de Bowser 4
|SpaM=Bowser's Castle 4
}}

{{MK race courses}}
{{MKSC}}
{{MKT}}
[[Category:Bowser's castles]]
[[Category:Volcanic areas]]
[[Category:Mario Kart: Super Circuit race courses]]
[[Category:Mario Kart Tour race courses]]
[[Category:Classic courses]]
[[de:Bowsers Festung 4]]
[[it:Castello di Bowser 4]]