GCN Mario Circuit

Mario Circuit is the second race course of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. For this installment, the circuit surrounds the Castle of Princess Peach, while in the background some warp Pipes, tall toadstools, smiling trees, and a Mushroom-shaped hot-air balloon midair can be seen, overviewing the track. A giant Chain Chomp guards a piece of rough terrain, ramming into any vehicle who passes near to it. Also, some Piranha Plants appear, attacking the karts and bikes that pass too close to them, causing the racers to roll over and drop their items onto the road. However, they are vulnerable to being hit by some items, such as Green Shells, which leave them stunned for a while. Another obstacle are the Goombas crossing the track back and forth, before the finish line. Making contact with one causes the kart to spin around. By using certain items against these enemies, a Mushroom pops out of them. The track also appeared at the end of the credits where everyone gets to celebrate after a tournament.

The course contains many curves and corners. Employing drifting is the main hint given to clear this circuit. After the first turn and another tight turn, the racers will encounter the Chain Chomp wandering the zone, biting the trespassers. Players then enter a curved tunnel, crossing a bridge upon leaving it and discovering a soil road. After getting into another corner, racers face Goombas crossing an uneven road, giving the racer certain difficulty to maneuver well. After crossing another bridge (where two Piranha Plants await racers to attack indiscriminately), the racers reach the finish line and the lap is completed.

This Mario Circuit version was going to appear in Mario Kart DS. A version of this track with all enemies removed and the bumpy road section flat exists in the Demo Version (where it can be played textured by default) and the Final Version (where one must copy the textures from the model file to a texture file to play textures) of that game's data. However, the track was taken out before the game's release (most likely to avoid using all of the character-themed circuits from the same game). The race course officially reappears in Mario Kart Wii as the fourth track of the Leaf Cup, the exact same as it was slated to be in Mario Kart DS.

Official descriptions

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

• Instruction booklet: “This is the main circuit in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Familiar denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom can be spotted here and there. The road’s filled with curves, so this is a good place to practice drifting.”
• Official website: “Mario Circuit features lots of tight corners, a Chain Chomp, Piranha Plants, Peach’s Castle, and several Goombas, not to mention seven other racers trying to upend your kart.”
• Official European website: “Dodge the waddling Goombas and snapping Piranha Plants, and say hi to Peach as you cruise by her castle.”

Mario Kart Wii

• Official European website: "With pipes rising out of the surrounding hills and Goombas and giant Chain Chomps littering the track, this is classic Mario Kart action in all its glory."

Gallery

GCN version

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  The track logo.

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  The track icon.

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  The starting line.

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  A Chain Chomp guards a circular turn.

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  Inside a tunnel.

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  Piranha Plants make an appearance.

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  The bumpy road, featuring Goombas.

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  A shortcut, requiring a Mushroom to utilize.

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  Piranha Plant amounts are greatly reduced in multiplayer races.

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  Only two Goombas are present in multiplayer races.

Wii version

• GCNMarioCircuit-MKWii.png

  An overview of the track.

• GCNMarioCircuit1-MKWii.png

  The first sharp turn.

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  A Chain Chomp guards a circular turn.

• GCNMarioCircuit3-MKWii.png

  Inside a tunnel.

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  The bumps on the bumpy road have trick ramp properties.

Tournaments

The GCN Mario Circuit tournament.

In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this track. It was a time trial race, with an increased number of Piranha Plants and Chain Chomps. It was the first tournament of October 2009, and it was repeated as the second tournament of July 2011, the first tournament of October 2012, and the second tournament of December 2013.

Trivia

• The Mario Kart from the game Nintendogs plays the Mario Circuit theme from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! when used.

• Mario Kart DS was going to use this track, but the track was replaced with Mushroom Bridge in the game. The track can be accessed without textures using an Action Replay, and with textures through ROM Hacking.