It has three routes: Piranha Plant Cove, Piranha Plant Cove 2, and Piranha Plant Cove 3, making it the second course in Mario Kart Tour to have numbered re-routes without being a city course, after N64 Kalimari Desert; it is also the only new course with this distinction. The first two routes debuted together in the 2023 Exploration Tour, while the third route debuted later in the 2023 Mii Tour. All three routes are vastly different regarding the environments racers drive through; the first route focuses on the ruins, the second route takes racers on a nearby island, and the third route takes racers into a cave, passing shipwrecks. It is the third new course in Mario Kart Tour to have a re-route with a different starting line placement, after Los Angeles Laps and Berlin Byways, although unlike said courses, the starting line has a completely different appearance between variants. Piranha Plant Cove 3 is the first course in the Mario Kart series to take place entirely underwater.
Similar to Dolphin Shoals from Mario Kart 8, this course's starting line is located underwater. When the race begins, racers are immediately met with a brief fork in the road; here, there are pillars that, throughout the race, may fall on to the road, similar to Dry Dry Ruins from Mario Kart Wii and GCN Dry Dry Desert in Mario Kart 8. When the two branches are connected again, racers drive up a large staircase with currents, decorated with stone Petey Piranha heads, that takes them up to the surface. Afterwards, racers drive along the ruins, beneath stone arches with the option to drive on top of one of them, taking 90-degree bends before diving back into the water, and driving down a straightaway and into a cavern featuring Thwomps to be avoided, with dash panels placed in front of them. This section has raised portions of the road with slanted sides, allowing for multiple tricks to be performed depending on the lines being taken. Racers take a few more turns before reaching the finishing line.
The course also appears as Piranha Plant Cove R (reversed), Piranha Plant Cove T (with ramps), and Piranha Plant Cove R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R variant, the first Thwomp is gone. In the T and R/T variants, racers drive on Kanaami Road outside of the ruins for a while, with both Thwomps having been moved to this section; in the T variant, racers use a glide ramp to return to the ruins.
This route is the first instance of a course starting completely underwater in Mario Kart Tour, and the second course in the Mario Kart series overall after Mario Kart 8's Dolphin Shoals.
* 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.
The second variant begins in a part of the course completely separate from the first variant, at the edge of an island overlooking the ruins. Racers are promptly launched off a glider ramp into the water below, which features Jellybeams that can be hit for points, before making a tight turn followed by a slight S-bend towards the starting area of the first variant, where racers encounter two Clampys and the currents now appear before the split path. After driving along a brief portion of the ruins from the first variant, which now has water geysers and an Unagi, racers keep heading straight and then make a gradual right up the bank of the island. Here, the path splits into two wooden paths around a small pier, before meeting up and making another sandy S-bend to the finish line past a biting Piranha Plant.
The course also appears as Piranha Plant Cove 2R (reversed), Piranha Plant Cove 2T (with ramps), and Piranha Plant Cove 2R/T (reversed with ramps). In all three variants, the Piranha Plant that can bite racers on the island is gone. In the R variant, there are Sidesteppers where racers first enter the water. In the T and R/T variants, the gliding section and Unagi are gone. In the R/T variant, there are several Piranha Plants in pipes that bite at players as they drive on Kanaami Road over the water.
Piranha Plant Cove 2's map includes a road only accessible in the course's R and R/T variants, making it the third course to include a road from an alternate variant on its map, after Berlin Byways 2 and GBA Boo Lake.
* 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.
Racers start at the exact same place they start in the first route. When the race begins, racers follow a group of Fish Bones and take a sudden sharp left turn to enter a crystal cave before serpentining round numerous shipwrecks. A large left turn is taken following the wreckages, taking racers through a rocky section decorated with numerous glowing corals. Here, racers can drive over water geysers and avoid Clampys containing coins. Taking another left turn, racers go underground beneath Piranha Plant Cove 2 to enter a sunken ruin filled with dilapidated sculptures of Petey Piranha after avoiding a giant Unagi that lunges out and attempts to bite any nearby racers. Underground, there are many ramps players may use for jump boosts; however, it is not long until a final right turn is taken, taking racers back to the finish line. On the first lap, racers are accompanied by a giant, fast Maw-Ray when they reach the starting line again. Racers follow this Maw-Ray into the cave during the opening of the second lap.
The course also appears as Piranha Plant Cove 3R (reversed), Piranha Plant Cove 3T (with ramps), and Piranha Plant Cove 3R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R and R/T variants, the Unagi that lunges at racers is gone. In the R/T variant, racers drive along numerous conveyor belts.
This is the only course in the Mario Kart series (not counting Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit) to take place entirely underwater, although players can briefly jump above the water in the T variant.
Unlike in Piranha Plant Cove 2, the Clampys in Piranha Plant Cove 3 exclusively contain coins like in GCN Daisy Cruiser, with none containing Item Boxes.
* 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.
Piranha Plant Cove returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the sixth and final wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC, where it appears as the fourth and final course of the Acorn Cup. It was the first non-city course debuting in Mario Kart Tour to be added in the pass since Merry Mountain three waves prior. Like with the city courses from Tour, this iteration of the course combines the three different routes from Tour together in one course. The course has seen significant visual upgrades compared to its original appearance.
The underwater sections of the course are notably brighter compared to how they appeared in Tour. The logo on the course's starting line is now beige instead of purple. The Dash Panels near the Thwomps have been made smaller, resembling their appearance in a pre-release screenshotMedia:MKT PiranhaPlantCove View3.jpg of the course in Mario Kart Tour. The two large Piranha Plants nestled in the cliff wall below the island path have been removed. A Clampy has been added to the shipwreck section. The sand blocking the Piranha Plant Cove 3 route in Piranha Plant Cove 2 was removed, though a new wooden ramp descends into that section. Due to the underwater physics in the game, players can skip large turns of the track like the first turn after the glide ramp on lap 1. The turn underwater before the pier section in Piranha Plant Cove 2 has been elongated slightly, and the starting gate seen in that route in Mario Kart Tour is absent in this iteration of the course. The minimap has also been rotated 90 degrees clockwise, and the shipwreck shortcut in the Piranha Plant Cove 3 route is now depicted on the map of the course. The pier used for Piranha Plant Cove 2R has been removed from the minimap since racers cannot traverse the Piranha Plant Cove 2 route backward. The pillars at the start of the track now fall during the countdown. This is one of six courses to have an opening animation during the countdown, with the others being Twisted Mansion, Electrodrome, Mount Wario, Bowser's Castle, and Excitebike Arena. Unlike other courses added to the Booster Course Pass that previously appeared in Tour, this course's music has only a small handful of modifications, with most virtual instruments used remaining unchanged, albeit mixed differently. Notably, the synth bass, high flute, and drums have been updated.
Regarding the course's route, the first lap follows the route of Piranha Plant Cove 2. Racers drive past some ruins before leaving the water briefly to drive atop a stone structure. This then takes racers into the water, where they take a right turn before approaching a wooden pier. Driving up the pier lets racers access an island decorated with buildings such as huts and a lighthouse. Racers must avoid Piranha Plants before driving over a glider ramp to return to the water. Two more right turns are taken before racers approach the starting line to begin lap 2. The second lap follows the course's first route, with racers driving straight until they leave the water, before turning left to race along the top of the ruins. Right-angled turns are taken along this path before returning to the water to encounter some Thwomps. After two more turns racers begin the final lap, which follows Piranha Plant Cove 3. Racers drive past shipwrecks and Clampies before driving down a staircase into the underground ruins, avoiding the giant Maw-Ray that lunges at the players. Once leaving the underground ruins, racers take a final right turn to reach the finish line.
Like Ninja Hideaway and Merry Mountain, this course lacks a "Tour" prefix.[1] However, promotional material still identifies it as being from Mario Kart Tour, with some promotional media also giving it a prefix.[2] Piranha Plant Cove is one of three Mario Kart Tour courses present in the sixth wave, alongside Tour Rome Avanti and Tour Madrid Drive.
Nintendo Switch News app (UK): A course to sink your teeth into - it's Piranha Plant Cove! Today we'd like to present another course released as part of the sixth wave, which is available now: Piranha Plant Cove. This course, first introduced in the smart device game Mario Kart Tour, takes you racing through the moonlit, half-sunken ruins of its eponymous lagoon. Not only does each lap chart different routes through the bay, but there's also plenty of stairways and piles of rubble to practice Jump Boosts on, making for a thrilling, high-speed race above and below the waves! Just don't get nibbled by the Piranha Plants or enormous Maw-Rays, and you'll do great.
Nintendo Switch News app (US):
This course first appeared in the Mario Kart: Tour app.
Hop in the driver seat and take a ride in beautiful moonlit ruins…with a good chunk of the course ruins being underwater. It’s quite the experience!
You may notice the course changes with each lap. Your best chance at victory may be to utilize stairs and broken rock formations to create jump boosts.
You’ll have to keep an eye out for Piranha Plants and Maw-Rays. Uh oh…they look a bit hungry!
Another image of racers on the course. This and the previous image were used on the official Mario Kart Tour social media accounts as a spot the difference.[3][4]
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![Another image of racers on the course. This and the previous image were used on the official Mario Kart Tour social media accounts as a spot the difference.[3][4]](/File:PiranhaPlantCove.jpg)
