3DS Rainbow Road

This article is about the race course from Mario Kart 7. For the Super Smash Bros. stage based on this course, see Rainbow Road (stage).

Rainbow Road
Information
Appears in	Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2019) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 3) (2022)
Cup(s)	Special Cup (7) Moon Cup (8 Deluxe)
Tour(s)	Holiday Tour (2019) New Year's Tour (2020) Mario Bros. Tour Baby Rosalina Tour Trick Tour (2020) Flower Tour Marine Tour Summer Festival Tour 1st Anniversary Tour Halloween Tour (2020) Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) Winter Tour (2020) Snow Tour Mario Tour (2021) Yoshi Tour (2021) Trick Tour (2021) Wedding Tour Autumn Tour (2021) Toad vs. Toadette Tour Space Tour (2021) Holiday Tour (2021) Yoshi Tour (2022) New Year's Tour (2023) Space Tour (2023)
Online play	No longer available (3DS) Available (Switch)
Music sample Mario Kart 7 / Mario Kart Tour Normal Moon Mario Kart 7 Frontrunning Moon/frontrunning Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Normal Moon Frontrunning Moon/frontrunning
Course map Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Staff ghost(s) 7 Nin★Takamu 2:10.090 7 Expert Nin★Asakur 1:52.077 8DX 150cc Nin★Mizuho 1:52.015 8DX 200cc Nin★Dylan 1:19.545

Rainbow Road is the fourth and last course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. The course has once again increased in length compared to previous renditions, but still shares a similar theme to its predecessor. Instead of floating above the atmosphere, it now takes place around the Moon, with several small asteroids in the background. As a result, unlike past Rainbow Roads, this incarnation features the player driving on off-road surfaces such as the Moon itself and rings of Saturn. It is the first Rainbow Road course to contain one lap divided into three sections, being followed by N64 Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8. Due to its length, it is one of the longest courses in the Mario Kart series, and as such is also one of the longest Rainbow Roads in the series; however, the iteration of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 64 takes more time to complete, as it is three laps long instead of one.

This Rainbow Road returns as a classic course in Mario Kart Tour, debuting in the 2019 Holiday Tour. It is one of only two courses in the game to have three laps or sections (the other being GCN Baby Park T). It also returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the fourth and final course of the Moon Cup in the Booster Course Pass.

Mario Kart 7

Along with Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu, Rainbow Road only has one lap instead of three. It is divided into three sections to resemble laps. The truss at the start-and-finish line displays the Mario Kart logo with dynamic rainbow. The start of the second section has a truss displaying two dynamic rainbow stars. The truss at start of the third section displays three dynamic rainbow stars.

When performing a trick on this course, a slightly different sound effect will be produced when compared to other courses; the same applies to SNES Rainbow Road.

This course has the most Glide Ramps out of every Mario Kart course, with five. However, only the Glide Ramps going onto and off of the planet rings are mandatory.

Course layout

The start of the track. The colors on the start-and-finish checkered line (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) constitute the four plates of the CMYK color model.

The race starts off with a short straightaway, following with a sharp turn to the right, then left, going around a planet. Afterward, there are three platforms that the drivers drive and jump off each one (similar to the area before the temple in DK Jungle). Next, players drive around another planet, but are spiraling down as they do so, with drop-offs allowing for tricks. The track then comes to a rainbow-spotted Mushroom Trampoline, and then a sharp right turn. After the turn, players have the opportunity to snatch some item boxes and coins on a waving road (similar to Mario Kart Wii).

Section two starts off with another sharp turn followed by a glide ramp which leads racers onto the rings of a Saturn-like planet. Players have to dodge holes in the rings before they then come to a section where they can hit some dash panels for speed boosts. Players then activate their glider again after hitting the next glide ramp at the end of the rings. Once landing, players take three turns, all loaded with dash panels. Next, there is another wavy road, but this one has holes in it. Once the drivers make it through the wavy road or fall through, they land on the moon, where they need to dodge rolling Chain Chomps, and they can trick off of craters. Though there's no water in the moon portion, its low gravity works identically to the physics of driving underwater, so sometimes players can fly far with just one trick.

Section three starts with some conveyor belts that give little boosts, then leads into a Turning Floor with dash panels and glide ramps at the end. The track splits into two parts, then three, then two, before fusing back into one. This part is filled with ramps that can be used to go through rings for extra speed. If players hit a glide ramp, they have to dodge asteroids, but try to pass through rings at the same time. The track ends with a part that increases in altitude, then decreases again, leading to one small jump facing the finish line.

The hidden Item Boxes

There are three Item Boxes floating under the rings of the Saturn-like planetoid. It is possible to get one of these Item Boxes by gliding, but the player must get back on the track after getting it in order to use their item. However, it is quite difficult to do so without a mushroom.

Shortcuts

• The first turn of the second section can be skipped or taken tightly by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road.
• Time can be gained by repeatedly swooping far down below the planetoid’s ring and up again after the first Glider ramp.
• Another Glider shortcut can be performed with the second Glider ramp by gliding off to the left back over the planet’s ring and landing after or on the second set of Dash Panels, skipping the turn.
• The last turn of the course can be skipped by drifting off the red and white striped side of the road and landing on the final straightaway.

Mario Kart Tour

The course in Mario Kart Tour

This version of Rainbow Road makes its classic course debut in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the 2019 Holiday Tour. Various changes have been made to the track - it is noticeably flatter overall, with several turns being far less banked. The start-and-finish truss is now formed by a rainbow arch with a gold half star surrounding it and displays the Mario Kart logo in cyan. The checkered line is now black and white, instead of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black. The other two trusses for the start of the second and third sections are also formed by a rainbow arch and display three golden stars. The rails on the race track are now formed by golden stars while the rails on the moon are now formed by cyan neon lights. The star-shaped rings are now silver and have disco balls at the corners pointing outwards, like the golden star-shaped ring on the rotating tunnel. The launch rings are now cyan, resembling the dash ring items. The curbs, located on the turn after the start of the second section and at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line, have been removed. The series of jumps following the first few turns have been aligned. The part between the mushroom trampoline and the start of the second section is now entirely wavy. At the turn after the start of the second section, the rails are placed on the left side of the track, instead of the right side. The series of turns following the second Glide Ramp have also been made tamer. The boost panel on the wavy section before the moon area has been replaced with a trick ramp. Toads in space suits now appear as spectators next to the spaceships and the moon near the first turn is now a blue planet that resembles Uranus, while Jupiter replaces the second moon. After the start of the third section, the golden arches are replaced with star-shaped rings. When driving on the boost conveyors, the acceleration sound effect has been removed. The rail at the descending section before the jump to the stretch to the start-and-finish line has been removed, as well as the jump ramp at the end of the section. Earth is also now visible in the background of the track, and the galaxy has been replaced by the Andromeda Galaxy. The sun has also been moved to a spot that is visible from the Moon section.

The course also appears as Rainbow Road R (reversed), Rainbow Road T (with ramps), and Rainbow Road R/T (reversed with ramps). The former two debuted alongside the original in the 2019 Holiday Tour, while the latter debuted in the Baby Rosalina Tour. In all three variants, the rolling Chain Chomps are gone. In the R and R/T variants, the gaps between paths where the path splits are now filled in by Kanaami Road. In the R variant, the moon section is cut short as racers use a cannon to glide up to the road, and racers can glide over the three platforms towards the end of the track. In the T and R/T variants, the starting line is now located in the split path section, making them two of five courses in Mario Kart Tour to not start in the same location as the original, the others being 3DS Rock Rock Mountain T, Singapore Speedway R/T and Athens Dash R/T. Additionally, the Turning Floor and both wavy parts of the road are completely gone. In the T variant, there are several more mushroom trampolines, and all three former gliding sections are also gone, but racers instead glide over the moon. In the R/T variant, racers glide over where the Turning Floor was.

Appearances

For this course's tour appearances, see List of 3DS Rainbow Road tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Top-tier and middle-tier items

Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which 3DS Rainbow Road 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 3DS Rainbow Road 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
Normal variant				*****	*********	****
					**
				**
R variant				******	*************	**********
T variant				**	***********	****
				**
R/T variant				******	***	******
					****	**
* 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

Ring Race
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Baby Luigi	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	30 50 70	Holiday Tour (2019)	Luigi Cup
					40 50 70	Mario Tour (2021)	Mario Cup

Do Jump Boosts
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Metal Mario	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	20 32 44	New Year's Tour (2020)	Metal Mario Cup
		Shy Guy	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	18 32 44	Summer Festival Tour	Bowser Jr. Cup
					24 36 42	Space Tour (2021)	Luigi Cup

Big Reverse Race
Icon	Course variant	Opponents									Tour appearances	Cup
			7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st	Extra
	Regular	Driver									Marine Tour	Toad Cup
		Kart
		Glider									Autumn Tour (2021)	Baby Peach Cup

Goomba Takedown
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Item Box type found	Number of item slots	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Peachette	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	Bob-omb Mega Mushroom Bullet Bill	2	25 55 95	Baby Rosalina Tour	Peachette Cup
						1	30 60 90	Toad vs. Toadette Tour	Mario Cup
							30 50 85	Space Tour (2023)	Dry Bones Cup

Glider Challenge
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star distances	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Peach	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	200 600 900	Holiday Tour (2019)	Dry Bones Cup
					300 600 900	Snow Tour	Fire Bro Cup
						Autumn Tour (2021)	Donkey Kong Cup
						Space Tour (2023)	Kamek Cup

Steer Clear of Obstacles
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Obstacles	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Larry	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	Star Thwomp	Mario Bros. Tour	Larry Cup
						Yoshi Tour (2022)	Toad Cup

vs. Mega Metal Mario
Icon	Course variant	Mega opponent information				Tour appearances	Cup
		Driver	Kart	Glider	Items used
	Regular	Metal Mario	Gold Train	Gold Glider	Fire Flowers	Holiday Tour (2019)	Dry Bowser Cup
						Yoshi Tour (2021)	Bowser Jr. Cup

Smash Small Dry Bones
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Rosalina	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	5 8 12	Trick Tour (2020)	Rosalina Cup
						Holiday Tour (2021)	King Boo Cup

Time Trial
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Grand Star scores	Tour appearances	Cup
	Regular	Monty Mole	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	2:40.00 2:34.00 2:22.00	Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020)	Luigi Cup
	R	Toad (Pit Crew)	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	2:34.00 2:22.00 2:12.00	Trick Tour (2021)	Ice Mario Cup

Combo Attack
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Highest combo counts	Tour appearances	Cup
	T	Lakitu	Pipe Frame	Super Glider	15 25 45	Flower Tour	Lakitu Cup
						New Year's Tour (2023)	Funky Kong Cup

Snap a Photo
Icon	Course variant	Chosen driver	Chosen kart	Chosen glider	Other driver information			Objectives	Tour appearances	Cup
					Driver	Kart	Glider
	T	Mario (Satellaview)	Lunar Cruiser	Meteor Balloons	Metal Mario	Iron Cucumber	Silver Starchute	2 or more drivers A Jump Boost Take a photo	Space Tour (2021)	Monty Mole Cup
					Pink Gold Peach	Rose Queen	Pink Gold Meteors

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

The course as it appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

This version of Rainbow Road makes its home console debut as the fourth and last course of the Moon Cup in the third wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It is based on its appearance and layout in Mario Kart Tour, albeit with a graphical overhaul, giving the course a neon aesthetic. The rainbow arches on the start-and-finish truss and the truss at the start of the second section are now a complete circle. The start-and-finish checkered line is now blue and cyan. The Dash Panels on the Saturn-like planet’s rings now have boost rings on top of them. The boost rings and the star-shaped rails are now in the form of the ones in N64 Rainbow Road. The Uranus-like planet is now replaced by Neptune. The moon section is now in anti-gravity, just like the battle course Lunar Colony. Alongside Wii Koopa Cape, it is one of two courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to not entirely be set in anti-gravity, but not feature an Antigravity Panel or half-pipe to mark the beginning of an anti-gravity section; this is due to anti-gravity being activated as players fall toward the moon. The rainbow tunnel spins more slowly than in past iterations of the course and the star-shaped ring on it is now yellow. The minimap now lacks the holes in the wavy road prior to the moon section. Like SNES Rainbow Road, when a player approaches the curve on the planet’s rings and the Moon, two and ten green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn and fence respectively, and indicate the direction in which the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.

3DS Rainbow Road is one of two courses to originate from Mario Kart 7 to appear in the third wave of the DLC, alongside 3DS Rock Rock Mountain. Excluding Mario Kart 8's Rainbow Road theme, which is used in all trailers for the Booster Course Pass, 3DS Rainbow Road was one of two courses whose music was used for the second trailer for Wave 3, alongside Wii Maple Treeway.

Other appearances

Main article: Rainbow Road (stage)

This Rainbow Road appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a stage. The match takes place on flat platform and is a cruise-type stage similar to the stage based on Mario Circuit in the Wii U version. Shy Guys also appear as stage hazards similar to the the Shy Guys from Figure-8 Circuit. It also has a trophy in this game.

Music

Like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s Rainbow Road, the music for this course contains an arrangement of a portion of the music for Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road. Kenta Nagata was a composer for all three games.

There are two different variations of the music for 3DS Rainbow Road. The normal version plays for the majority of the course, while an alternate version plays if the highest placed human player is in the moon portion of the second section. When the third section is reached, as well as speeding the music up like with most courses, it is adjusted so that the end of the music (which is the part based on N64 Rainbow Road's music) plays first, followed by the usual start of the music. In Mario Kart 7, if the player returns to the moon section after crossing the entrance to the third section, the music will change to the final lap version of the moon variation of the theme, but only if the final lap theme had already begun in the third section. It is also possible to hear the final lap version of the moon variant in Mario Kart Tour in the T variant (although this is absent in Combo Attack), since the moon is in the final segment in this version of the track. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, however, there is no moon version of the final lap music.

This course's music also appears in the Super Smash Bros. series as selectable music tracks, both in its original arrangement and as a part of "Rainbow Road Medley". Both are playable on the Rainbow Road stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the Mario Circuit stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and any Mario Kart stage as well as Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Small Battlefield, and Final Destination in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (as of the version 8.1.0 update for the latter four).

Profiles

Mario Kart Tour

• Mario Kart Tour Twitter: 3DS Rainbow Road delivers on exactly what the name promises: a rainbow-colored track that twists and turns through outer space! Race past planets and ride the rings of Saturn, but don't fall off into the abyss! Blast off across the stars like a comet!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• Official European Nintendo social media accounts: Take a multi-coloured ride around the Mario Kart 7 version of Rainbow Road, coming in Wave 3 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass. Don’t be distracted by the pretty colours, there’s a race to win!
• Nintendo Switch News app (US):
  • This course first appeared in the Mario Kart™ 7 game on the Nintendo 3DS™ system.
  • Welcome to space! Use the glowing rainbow road to make your way through planets, craters, and... Chain Chomps?
  • While you can experience the anti-gravity areas on the moon, racers can also fall off the course! The key is to control your speed by mastering the drifting technique.
• Nintendo Switch News app (UK): Race by starlight in Rainbow Road!
  We'd like to present to you a course released as part of the third wave, which is available now: Rainbow Road.
  This version of Rainbow Road recreates the course's appearance in the Nintendo 3DS game Mario Kart 7. The path you'll take winds its way through the solar system and even includes a brief sprint across the surface of the Moon. It's pretty easy to fall off the track, so mastering the art of drifting may just be the key to finishing first!

Gallery

Mario Kart 7

• 

  The first turn around a small moon

• 

  Yoshi jumping after some Dash Panels

• 

  The descend around another small moon

• 

  The Mushroom Trampoline, similar to those of Mushroom Gorge

• 

  Yoshi gliding over the planet rings

• 

  Yoshi about to fall on the moon portion

• 

  Yoshi driving on the moon

• 

  The turning tunnel exit

• 

  The last gliding portion

• 

  The last turn of the track; players can jump off the striped part for a shortcut.

• 

  Straight to the finish line

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• 

  The Rainbow Road trophy

• 

  Rainbow Road as a stage

• 

  A Shy Guy drives past Fox and Wii Fit Trainer.

Mario Kart Tour

• 

  Badge depicting 3DS Rainbow Road

Course icons

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart Tour race course icons (3DS courses) § Rainbow Road.

• 

  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

• 

  View of the course

• 

  Another view of the course

• 

  View of the planet with rings

• 

  View of the moon's surface

• 

  Mario, Diddy Kong, and Peach tricking on the course

• 

  Mario (Santa), Daisy (Holiday Cheer), and Yoshi (Reindeer) tricking on the course

• 

  Baby Daisy gliding in the Yellow Taxi with the Fare Flier on the R variant

• 

  Lemmy gliding in the Soda Jet with the Rainbow Starchute

• 

  In-game view of the karts featured in the Wedding Tour's Open-Wheel Pipe

• 

  Peach (Halloween) and King Boo (Luigi's Mansion) tricking on the course

• 

  Boomerang Bro gliding in the Red B Dasher with the Gold Tanooki Parafoil on the R variant

• 

  Fire Rosalina, Rosalina (Halloween), Rosalina (Aurora), and Mario (Satellaview) tricking on the T variant

• 

  Mario (Satellaview) tricking in the Lunar Cruiser

• 

  Various characters racing on the course

• 

  Birdo (White) and Nabbit driving on the course

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• 

  The course icon

• 

  The full course icon

• 

  Results screen

• 

  View of the starting line

• 

  View of the Moon

• 

  Waluigi and King Boo on the course

• 

  Various racers on the course

• 

  Kamek on the course

• 

  Screenshot of 3DS Rainbow Road

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	レインボーロード[?] Reinbō Rōdo	Rainbow Road
Chinese (simplified)	彩虹之路[?] Cǎihóng zhī Lù	Rainbow Road
	彩虹桥[?] Cǎihóng Qiáo	Rainbow Bridge	Mario Kart 7
Chinese (traditional)	彩虹之路[?] Cǎihóng zhī Lù	Rainbow Road
Dutch	Regenboogbaan[?]	Rainbow Track
French (NOA)	Route arc-en-ciel[?]	Rainbow Road
French (NOE)	Route Arc-en-ciel[?]	Rainbow Road
German	Regenbogen-Boulevard[?]	Rainbow Boulevard
Italian	Pista Arcobaleno[?]	Rainbow Track
Korean	무지개 로드[?] Mujigae Rodeu	Rainbow Road
Portuguese (NOA)	Avenida Arco-íris[?]	Rainbow Avenue
Portuguese (NOE)	Estrada Arco-Íris[?]	Rainbow Road
Russian	Трасса Радуга[?] Trassa Raduga	Rainbow Track
Spanish	Senda Arco Iris[?]	Rainbow Path