Dash Panel
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Boost Pads (also called Dash Panels, Boost Panels, Zippers, Rainbow Boosts, Rainbow Ramps or Turbo Tiles) are special zones that appear mostly in the Mario Kart series. The appearance of these panels have changed throughout the game's history. Boost Pads are used to increase speed of the player's Kart, especially to be used to achieve maximum speed on big jumps and slopes. If the player uses a Mushroom on any of these pads, nothing will happen; however, the player will go faster if the player slipstreams on it.
Appearances
Mario Kart series
Boost Pads are one of the main road elements in Mario Kart games, appearing in almost every title in the series. However, their design varies from game to game.
Super Mario Kart
In Super Mario Kart, Boost Pads appear as yellow arrows and are very rare. They appear in seven courses: Bowser Castle 1, Mario Circuit 2, Ghost Valley 2, Bowser Castle 2, Mario Circuit 3, Bowser Castle 3, Ghost Valley 3. CPUs never use them, so the player can easily get to the first positions by using them. In Mario Circuit 2 the boosters are used to make a large jump and are mandatory. Except in Mario Circuit 2, Boost Pads don't appear in Time Trials in Super Mario Kart.
Mario Kart 64
In the Nintendo 64 title, Boost Pads are set in two courses, Royal Raceway and DK's Jungle Parkway. They appear as yellow and red pads, used to launch karts over large gaps (similar to the cannons that appears in future Mario Kart courses like Maple Treeway and Airship Fortress). The ramps in Koopa Troopa Beach are also red and yellow, but the arrows look different and they don't have Boost pads on them.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, they again appear as yellow and red pads and they are very common. They appear in fourteen courses: Riverside Park, Mario Circuit, Boo Lake, Cheese Land, Bowser Castle 2, Cheep Cheep Island, Sunset Wilds, Snow Land, Ribbon Road, Yoshi Desert, Lakeside Park, Broken Pier, Bowser Castle 4 and Rainbow Road. They again provide a burst of speed like in Super Mario Kart but are often used to make large jumps off ramps.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
In this game, they are flashing rainbow panels and rectangle-shaped. From Mario Kart: Double Dash!! the Boost Pads appear in almost all courses.
Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Boost Pads keep the same rainbow coloration but rather than designed as panel that changes color over time they are designed to be a rainbow that scrolls forward due to technical limitations. In this game the Boost Pads are more rare because they rarely appear in retro courses. Games older than Mario Kart: Double Dash!! keep the original booster design (like in GBA Bowser Castle 2).
Mario Kart Wii
In Mario Kart Wii, they have a similar design to Double Dash!! but in most courses the color only changes from red, orange, yellow and back to red through the color spectrum. Retro courses from games older than Double Dash!! that contains Boost Pads keep the original design (an example is DK's Jungle Parkway).
Mario Kart 7
In Mario Kart 7, with the new feature of gliders, Boost Pads are color-coded:
- Orange Boost Pads increase the speed of the karts like in all other games.
- Glider Pads (or blue boost pads) are placed at the edge of ramps so the player can make tricks on it, and activate the gliders, allowing them to soar through the next area.
Mario Kart 8
In the Wii U game, they are still color-and-shape-coded and have pixelated animations of their shapes and colors like the ones in Super Mario 3D World:
- Orange Boost Pads increase the speed of the vehicle.
- Blue Boost Pads with arrows (or glider pads) activate the glider feature, and are placed on ramps or edges like in Mario Kart 7.
- Blue Boost Pads with circles turn the wheels horizontal and activate the antigravity feature. It ends automatically, often after a ramp or a gliding section. When going backwards, the anti-gravity automatically turns on, and turns off when passing over the anti-gravity Boost Pad.
In some courses, some boost pads become inactive under certain conditions:
- Cloudtop Cruise: When they are in contact with a lightning bolt.
- Bowser's Castle: When they are in contact with fiery Bowser golem's fist.
- Rainbow Road: Switch on and off when the conveyor belts change directions.
- Hyrule Circuit: When one or more of the spin boost bumper's diamonds are not lit up.
In Cloudtop Cruise and Bowser's Castle, players can carefully drive on the boost pads that are in contact with hazardous obstacles, but they cannot get a boost.
Diddy Kong Racing
Objects that behave similarly to a boost pad in the Mario Kart series appear in Diddy Kong Racing, where they are known as Zippers. When racing in a kart, they appear like in Super Mario Kart, but when racing in an hovercraft or in an airplane, they are shaped like an octagon or triangle but retain the Super Mario Kart look. The triangle Zippers appear exclusively in courses where the hovercraft is the only vehicle that can be used.
Mario Party series
Mario Party 9
Boost Pads (known in this game as Dash Zones) appear in Mario Party 9 in the minigame, Speeding Bullets. They are used to accelerate the character's speed when they are used. These Boost Pads are orange in colour and are arrow-shaped. In Time Attack mode, the bonus challenge for Speeding Bullets is to not miss a single Dash Zone.
A Boost Pad also appears in Snow Go to help the players crossing thick snow. In Time Attack mode, the bonus challenge is to use it in all ten laps.
Mario Party: Island Tour
In Mario Party: Island Tour, Boost Pads are present in two minigames: Gyro for the Gold and Mr. Blizzard's Snow Slalom. In the former, they are used to cross gaps between the platforms of the obstacle course. In the latter, it has the same look from recent Mario Kart Boost Pads, and is used to launch the character's snowball at Mr. Blizzard.
Super Mario 3D World
These objects make their debut in the Super Mario series in Super Mario 3D World, for the Wii U. This time, they are square-shaped, and feature a pixelated diamond animation. Once a character runs on it, it will blink and give them a boost. Boosted characters cannot stop running or crouch (and so cannot long jump), and cannot make direction changes any sharper than 90 degrees without first being in the air. All characters run at the same speed when boosted. Jumping will slow boosted characters down slightly, especially if an ability such as floating is used, but they'll immediately return to full speed upon landing if the boost has not yet run out.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Boost Pads return in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker keeping their appearance and function from Super Mario 3D World. They appear in Magma Road Marathon, where Captain Toad is forced to use them in order to advance and to not get hit by Charvaarghs, and in Drop-Road Dash.
Gallery
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Mario driving near a Boost Pad in Bowser Castle 1 from Super Mario Kart.
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Yoshi near the two Boost Pads in Royal Raceway from Mario Kart 64.
Toad near a row of Boost Pads in Riverside Park from Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
Luigi and Bowser about to drive on some Boost Pads in Luigi Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
Toad near a Boost Pad in Yoshi Falls from Mario Kart DS.
Peach near a Boost Pad in Mushroom Gorge from Mario Kart Wii.
A Mii driving near the two types of Boost Pads in Mario Kart 7 (boost and glide) in SNES Mario Circuit 2.
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A Boost Pad in Super Mario 3D World.
Pink Gold Peach near the boost (orange) and glide (blue, with arrows) pads in Cloudtop Cruise from Mario Kart 8.
Bowser near the new anti-gravity Boost Pad (blue, with circles) in Mario Circuit from Mario Kart 8.
Captain Toad running from Charvaarghs.
