DS Mario Circuit
- This article is about the race course from Mario Kart DS. For other race tracks with similar names, see Mario Circuit.
- Not to be confused with 3DS Mario Circuit.
| Mario Circuit | |||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart Tour (2023) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 4) (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Cup(s) | Star Cup (DS) Boomerang Cup (8 Deluxe) | ||||||||||||||
| Tour(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Online play | No longer available (DS) Available (Switch) | ||||||||||||||
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Mario Circuit is the third race course of the Star Cup in Mario Kart DS. This track shares its music and Grand Prix introduction fanfare with Figure-8 Circuit, as well as sharing the latter with Waluigi Pinball and GCN Luigi Circuit. This is the first Mario Circuit to appear in the Star Cup since Mario Circuit 4 in Super Mario Kart, and is also the only nitro Mario Circuit to be the third course of a cup.
Mario Circuit reappears in Mario Kart Tour starting with the 2023 Mario Tour, and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass as the second course of the Boomerang Cup.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Course layout[edit]
Characters start out the race near a lake surrounding Peach's Castle. After going through the first corner, Goombas wandering on the middle of the track will try to block the racers' path. The right side of the tracks lacks railings, which racers can fall off of into a the moat of the castle. Continuing the path, two Fire Piranha Plants located in a S bend will spit fireballs on the track. The Fire Piranha Plants alternate between a few directions as to where they spit fireballs. Going through a Warp Pipe-modeled tunnel, the racers are met with a tight turn. Shortly after, the asphalt track turns into a dirt track where the racers have to take another tight turn. After that, the racers go down a wavy path where Peach's Castle entrance is located and where there are Piranha Plants reminiscent of those in Mario Kart 64. Racers might want to be careful here since the dirt makes for a slippery experience which might make them run into the Piranha Plants. Finally, the dirt track ends and the racers have to take a final S-turn which takes them back to the starting line.
Missions[edit]
Two missions take place on Mario Circuit in Mario Kart DS:
- Mission 5-8, where Luigi has to win against Mario in a single-lap race.
- Mission 7-4, which involves Toad using Green Shells to defeat 30 Goombas within 120 seconds.
Shortcuts[edit]
- The player is able to take a shortcut across the off-road next to the Fire Piranha Plant on the right side, with a single Mushroom.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Mario Circuit makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, first appearing in the 2023 Mario Tour. The course has received many visual improvements since its appearance in Mario Kart DS. While it is mostly faithful to the layout of the original, the course is not remade in a 1:1 scale - most notably, the section after the pipe tunnel has been made far larger than its DS counterpart, and the straightaway housing the starting line is now slightly angled. The lake containing Peach's Castle, that now has the same design as in the Mario Kart Tour iteration of 3DS Mario Circuit, is noticeably smaller and now resembles a simple moat, and the roads on either side are much closer together as a consequence of this. There is now off-road between the main track and the lake. The section after the Fire Piranha Plants has now been changed into a brief forest section, and a ramp has been added at the end of the section. The wavy dirt turns alongside Peach's Castle have been changed to a more elongated S-turn, and they curve to the right first as well. More elevation has been added to the course, which is mostly noticeable with the S-turn at the end. The dirt path continues for a bit longer into the track than in Mario Kart DS. The starting banner is now designed with Mario's hat atop and features the modern Mario Kart logo.
In the R variant, several small pipes appear along the track as ramps. In the T variant, one of the Fire Piranha Plants is gone, and there is a glide ramp at the end of the forest section. In the R/T variant, both Fire Piranha Plants are gone, and there are instead normal Piranha Plants. There is also a glide ramp towards the end of the track.
The Mario Kart Tour iteration was the final DS course added to the game, and the only DS course to make its classic course debut in the game. The course also appears as Mario Circuit R (reversed), Mario Circuit T (with ramps), and Mario Circuit R/T (reversed with ramps). Mario Circuit is the first course of its title to appear in Mario Kart Tour since RMX Mario Circuit 1 in the Mario Bros. Tour seventy-nine tours prior, and is the second Mario Circuit in the game to not be, or be based on, a SNES iteration, after 3DS Mario Circuit, which was added ninety tours prior in the Tokyo Tour. The music arrangement is slightly different to how it sounded in Mario Kart DS, which makes this course the only classic course in Mario Kart Tour to receive a new arrangement for its music that is not from Mario Kart: Super Circuit; however, unlike most of the GBA arrangements, the theme retains most of its instrumentation. The internal name for the course's skybox refers to a course labeled "N64mr", corresponding to N64 Mario Raceway; this predated any official announcement of N64 Mario Raceway being added to Mario Kart Tour. However, the two courses seemingly use two separate skyboxes.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of DS Mario Circuit tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which DS Mario Circuit and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of DS Mario Circuit tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
| Course | Three-item drivers | Bonus points ×2 karts | Combo bonus ×3 gliders | Two-item drivers | Bonus points ×1.5 karts | Combo bonus ×2 gliders |
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 Normal variant |
            
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            **     ***       
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 R variant |
          
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 T variant |
   
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*** 
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 R/T variant |
       
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***  
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| * indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. *** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items. | ||||||
Bonus challenges[edit]
| Steer Clear of Obstacles | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver |
Chosen kart |
Chosen glider |
Obstacles | Tour appearances | Cup |
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Regular |  Ice Mario |
 Pipe Frame |
 Super Glider |
 Piranha Plant (passive)  Fire Piranha Plant |
Mario Tour (2023) |  Pink Gold Peach Cup |
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
Mario Circuit appears again in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the second course of the Boomerang Cup, and as such was added in the fourth wave of the DLC. The course uses its appearance from Mario Kart Tour, with major visual upgrades. A Wiggler has been added to the forest section of the course - it sleeps for approximately one minute and 27 seconds before waking up and beginning to move, meaning racers are most likely to encounter it on the final lap (it can be encountered on the second lap if the 50cc class is selected, or not at all in 200cc). It walks down to where the first turn of the forest section begins, loops around in the offroad, and continues back before eventually leaving the course entirely. The forest section of the course also now has much darker grass. A set of Item Boxes outside Peach's Castle has been moved. There are less flowers outside of Peach's Castle compared to its Mario Kart Tour iteration. The spiral design on the trees' trunks has been removed. The yellow pipe after the first turn has been removed and the yellow and blue pipes near the S-turn have been made smaller to extend a fence. The minimap has been rotated by 90 degrees counterclockwise. This course is one of three in the Booster Course Pass to not have its minimap rotated so that drivers start facing straight up on it, the other two being DS Shroom Ridge and Wii DK Summit.
This course is the second Mario Circuit course in the Booster Course Pass, after SNES Mario Circuit 3, and the third circuit course in the pass overall, after 3DS Toad Circuit and SNES Mario Circuit 3. Despite first being announced for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe a day before its Mario Kart Tour announcement, it would debut in Mario Kart Tour before the release of Wave 4, giving this course the distinction of having the shortest gap between classic course appearances, with only a 19-hour gap; beating the previous course with this distinction, DS Peach Gardens, by six days. Mario Circuit's inclusion in Wave 4 coincides with the wave's release date being near Mario Day. Due to time zones, in some regions, it is the only retro course in the series to debut in multiple games in one day.[1] Internally, Mario Circuit is referred to as "Cnsw_43", implying it may have originally been intended to be the third course of the Fruit Cup.
Sponsors[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
- Mario Kart (Trackside banners, banners)
- Shoot!! (Trackside banners)
- Super Mario (Trackside banners)
- Super Star! (Trackside banners)
Mario Kart Tour / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- King Donkey Kong (Standings board)
- Lord Bowser (Standings board)
- Luigi Gusters (Standings board)
- Mario Motors (Trackside banners)
- Mario Racing (Poster)
- Mario Super Motor Team (Standings board)
- Mario Work Gear (Trackside banners, signs)
- Nintendo (Standings board)
- Princess Daisy (Standings board)
- Princess Peach (Standings board)
- Propeller Toad Transport (Trackside banners)
- Toad Mushroom Powered (Standings board)
- Toad Polar Expedition 2014-2015 (Trackside banners)
- Yoshi Runners (Standings board)
Profiles[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
- Website description:
- English (British):
Constructed in the grounds of Princess Peach's famous castle, Mario Circuit is where red-capped plumbers feel most at home. Negotiate the snaking turns while avoiding waddling Goombas, bouncing flames and snapping Piranha Plants, and you might just make it to Peach's place in time for tea.
- English (British):
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
- Mario Kart Tour Twitter: "The Doctor Tour is wrapping up in #MarioKartTour. Next up is the Mario Tour featuring the course DS Mario Circuit, where Goombas and Piranha Plants will try to block your path!"[2]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- Nintendo Switch News app:
- English (American):
This course first appeared in the Mario Kart DS game.
Ah, Peach's castle is always a comforting sight. Just remember to dodge the Goombas and Fire Piranha Plants.
The turns in this course are just aching to be drifted on. With proper timing, drifting can boost your chances of winning! (Literally!) - English (British):
Hone your defensive driving in Mario Circuit!
Here's a closer look at another course released as part of the fourth wave, which is available now: Mario Circuit.
Veterans of the Mario Kart series might remember this course from its debut in Mario Kart DS. At first glance the track around Peach's Castle seems pretty peaceful, but you'll have to evade wandering Goombas and attacks from Fire Piranha Plants as you drive around it. As if that weren't enough, there are plenty of tricky corners. If you can master pulling off Mini-Turbos from drifts, they'll definitely help pave your road to victory!
- English (American):
Gallery[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Course select icon
The start of a race
Luigi racing on the course
A Fire Piranha Plant spitting a fireball
The tunnel
The dirt road next to Peach's Castle
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Course icons[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart Tour race course icons (DS courses) § Mario Circuit.
The course icon
The course icon of the R variant
The course icon of the T variant
The course icon of the R/T variant
Screenshots[edit]
View of the area with the Fire Piranha Plants
The course's starting line
View of the turn before the starting line
View of the Goombas
View of Peach's Castle
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
The course icon
Results screen
View of Peach's Castle
Another view of the ending U-bend
View of the starting line
Goombas on the course
Fire Piranha Plants on the course
Mario and Bowser in the forest section with a sleeping Wiggler
Racers on the course
Racers on the course
Racers passing Peach's Castle
Peach, Bowser and Mario approaching the Wiggler
Additional names[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
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| Mario Kart DS | mario_course | Mario course |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マリオサーキット[?] Mario Sākitto |
Mario Circuit | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 马力欧赛道[?] Mǎlìōu Sàidào |
Mario Speedway | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 瑪利歐賽道[?] Mǎlìōu Sàidào |
Mario Speedway | |
| Dutch | Mario's Circuit[?] | - | |
| French | Circuit Mario[?] | Mario Circuit | |
| German | Marios Piste[?] | Mario's Track | |
| Italian | Circuito di Mario[?] | Mario's Circuit | |
| Korean | 마리오 서킷[?] Mario Seokit |
Mario Circuit | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Circuito Mario[?] | Mario Circuit | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Circuito do Mario[?] | Mario's Circuit | |
| Russian | Трасса Марио[?] Trassa Mario |
Mario's Track | |
| Spanish | Circuito Mario[?] | Mario Circuit |
Trivia[edit]
- In descriptions given by Nintendo for all of the Wave 4 courses, Mario Circuit was mistakenly described with elements from the Mario Circuit of Mario Kart 7, with the course being said to have "blossoming trees" (referring to the cherry blossoms in that course) and taking racers through a winding path into Peach's Castle. The course does not feature a route with "blossoming trees" or a route inside Peach's Castle; instead, a fence is present in front of the castle entrance, the castle doors are shut, and the castle bridge only comes up to the offroad.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ GameXplain (March 7, 2023). Here's the EXACT TIME Mario Kart's Wave 4 DLC Goes LIVE TOMORROW! (Yep, TOMORROW!). YouTube (English). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ @mariokarttour (March 3, 2023). The Doctor Tour is wrapping up in #MarioKartTour. Next up is the Mario Tour featuring the course DS Mario Circuit, where Goombas and Piranha Plants will try to block your path!. X (English). Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 2, 2023). Mario Kart 8’s new Birdo and Yoshi’s Island DLC arrive next week. Polygon (English). Retrieved August 1, 2024.
