Editing SNES Rainbow Road

{{About|the race course from [[Super Mario Kart]]|Rainbow Road as a whole or the other tracks with the same name|[[Rainbow Road]]|the musical composition of the same name|{{classic-link|SNES|Rainbow Road (theme)}}}}

|ghost={{ghost|7|Nin★YABUKI|1:34.459|[[File:LakituIcon-MK7.png|32px|link=Lakitu]][[File:MK7CyanPipeFrame.png|32px|link=Pipe Frame]][[File:MK7 Slim.png|32px|link=Slim (tire)]][[File:MK7LakituSuperGlider.png|32px|link=Super Glider]]}}{{ghost|7 <small>Expert</small>|Nin★SRIWtm|1:21.994|[[File:LakituIcon-MK7.png|32px|link=Lakitu]][[File:MK7 Cloud 9.png|32px|link=Cloud 9]][[File:MK7 Roller.png|32px|link=Roller]][[File:MK7 Paraglider.png|32px|link=Parafoil]]}}{{ghost|8|Nin★Anne|1:46.599|[[File:MK8 Cat Peach Icon.png|32px|link=Cat Peach]][[File:CatCruiserBodyMK8.png|32px|link=Cat Cruiser]][[File:Retro Off-Road.png|32px|link=Retro Off-Road]][[File:MK8ThumbCatPeachSG.png|32px|link=Super Glider]]}}{{ghost|8DX <small>150cc</small>|Nin★Anne|1:40.711|[[File:MK8 Cat Peach Icon.png|32px|link=Cat Peach]][[File:CatCruiserBodyMK8.png|32px|link=Cat Cruiser]][[File:Retro Off-Road.png|32px|link=Retro Off-Road]][[File:MK8ThumbCatPeachSG.png|32px|link=Super Glider]]}}{{ghost|8DX <small>200cc</small>|Nin★Marie|1:12.762|[[File:MK8 Tanooki Mario Icon.png|32px|link=Tanooki Mario]][[File:GLARed-MK8.png|32px|link=GLA]][[File:GLATires-MK8.png|32px|link=GLA Tires]][[File:ParachuteGliderMK8.png|32px|link=Parachute]]}}{{ghost|8DX <small>200cc</small>|Nin★Marie<ref>@zachruff (May 22, 2022). [https://twitter.com/Zachruff/status/1528386463632658434 "''So it turns out that there are 4 staff ghosts in the Tencent Chinese version of MK8D that are actually different to the global version. It seems that they really did not like the Mercedes car parts so any ghost that used them had to be redone.''"] ''Twitter''. Retrieved May 24, 2022.</ref>|1:12.696|[[File:MK8 Tanooki Mario Icon.png|32px|link=Tanooki Mario]][[File:MK8OrangePFIcon.png|32px|link=Pipe Frame]][[File:StandardTiresMK8.png|32px|link=Standard (tire)]][[File:ParachuteGliderMK8.png|32px|link=Parachute]]}}

In ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|Rainbow Road]] theme rearranges a part of this course's music at its beginning; it is also rearranged in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' as part of the song "Buckle Up." ''Super Mario Kart'' composer [[Soyo Oka]] also considers this course's theme to be one of her favorite compositions.<ref>[http://www.rocketbaby.net/interviews_soyo_oka.html Interview between Rocketbaby and Soyo Oka]. Retrieved February 12, 2015.</ref>

The track is now slightly wider, and has received many graphical improvements. It uses a similar background to ''Super Mario Kart'' (which is also used in {{classic-link|DS|Waluigi Pinball}}), though the blue tint was removed, and the stars are now depicted across the entire background, rather than only the top. Unlike previous incarnations, this new version adds the characteristic "glistening" sound effect when drifting on it, a common feature of all Rainbow Roads starting from the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)|GCN rendition]]. The number of coin rows on the track was reduced, though there are still three per row. When the player enters [[First-Person View|first-person view]], the player can see through the breaks in the tiles. The Super Thwomps return after being removed from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', though they now have an appearance based on Thwomps from ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', are larger, were reduced from sixteen to seven, now topple racers rather than spinning them out, and form ripples on the track upon impact, which the player can now [[Jump Boost|trick]] off of. Additionally, howling noises can now be heard near the Super Thwomps.

This is the only course in ''Mario Kart 7'' not to have a [[Dash Panel]]/ramp, and one of four courses not to have a [[Glide Ramp]]; the others are {{classic-link|N64|Luigi Raceway}}, {{classic-link|GCN|Daisy Cruiser}}, and [[3DS Rosalina's Ice World|Rosalina's Ice World]].

[[File:Mk8-DLC-Course-SNES RainbowRoad.jpg|250px|thumb|Overview of the track in ''Mario Kart 8'']]

Rainbow Road returns in the [[The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8|''Legend of Zelda'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']] DLC Pack of ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'', appearing as the second course of the [[Triforce Cup]]. As a result, a Rainbow Road course is not the last race of a cup for the only time so far.

The track's layout is similar to its appearance in ''Mario Kart 7''. The course has seen extensive graphical improvements, is now significantly wider and larger, and has banked turns, most notably the third inclined U-turn. The tiles are based on their coloration from ''Super Mario Kart'', though their color pattern is reversed, they are now flashing LED lights like the ones on {{classic-link|N64|Rainbow Road}}, and there are eight different colors of tiles instead of seven from its previous appearances (adding cyan between teal and blue); the tiles the Star Thwomps land on are now white, and the tiles at the edges of the track now have borders on the outer edges. The forked road is also altered further, with the narrow part of the hole's end filled in, and the ramp in front reverted to the same height as the equivalent bumps from ''Super Mario Kart''.

The Star Thwomps now have sparkles, a mosaic-like appearance, horizontal rainbow lines running from bottom to top of them. They also use the species' ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]''  appearance, like the other Thwomps in ''Mario Kart 8'', rather than their spiked ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' design in ''Mario Kart 7''. Additionally, all of the Star Thwomps are bigger except for the last pair. When they start to crash down, they will create rainbow waves above them. Also, when they land, they make metallic glistening sounds. The waves on the track they create are now bigger, move more quickly, and disappear faster, making tricks more difficult to perform.

The course now takes place in a cloudy night sky with the full moon visible, which has color-changing hills that stick above them, and is closer to the ground than previous appearances. It is also above a lake underneath, and has lots of scenery, such as [[Toad House]]s resued from {{classic-link|SNES|Donut Plains 3}}. The starting banner was also redesigned, with colored blocks with a Star on top of it and the ''Mario Kart'' logo's letters now individually colored (red, green, yellow, and blue) instead of having a rainbow gradient through the entire logo; the banner is wider no longer sits on the course, and stands on two walled areas, making the start the only walled part of the course. Also, when a player approaches a turn, two green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn, and indicate in which direction the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.

In ''Mario Kart 8'', this is one of the only two courses that do not have any Dash Panels, Glide Ramps, underwater sections, or anti-gravity sections, the other being {{classic-link|GCN|Yoshi Circuit}}, another course from DLC Pack 1. However, in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'', it is the only one of the five Rainbow Road race courses present in the game to not have anti-gravity. It is also the only ''Super Mario Kart'' race course not to have the number 3 in its name.

The body of water underneath the course is shaped identically to the one in {{classic-link|SNES|Donut Plains 3}}, with all course elements, the walls, and the [[fortress]] being removed. The reason for this is unclear.

While the course does not appear in the film itself, a rendition of its music plays in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' when Mario, [[Princess Peach]], [[Toad]] and the [[Kong]]s land on a [[Rainbow Road]] during their drive to [[Bowser's Castle]].

===''Mario Kart 8''===

MK8-DLC-Course-SNES RainbowRoad-screenshot-Link.jpg|Star Thwomps, warping the course

|Jap=レインボーロード

|JapR=Reinbō Rōdo

|JapM=Rainbow Road

|ChiTM=Rainbow Road

|Ger2=Regenbogen-Blvd. <small>(''Mario Kart 7'')