N64 Skyscraper

This article is about the battle course from the Mario Kart series. For the home of several Nintendo characters in the comic "Super Mario in Die Nacht des Grauens", see Wolkenkratzer.

Skyscraper
Information
Appears in	Mario Kart 64 (1996) Mario Kart Wii (2008)
Cup(s)	Battle Mode
Online play	No longer available (Wii)
Music sample Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart Wii
Course map Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart Wii

Skyscraper is a battle course in Mario Kart 64. As its name implies, the course takes place on the roof of a giant skyscraper. It is the currently the only battle course in the Mario Kart series to have a one-word name, and one of two courses in general with this distinction (the other being Electrodrome, a race course from Mario Kart 8).

Mario Kart 64

The course's layout is octagon-shaped and composed of an outer ring and a much wider inner ring, separated by a large gap. There is also a hole at the center of the inner ring. Four bridges connect the inner and outer rings and have walls on the side, however there are no other walls anywhere on the course, making it easy for players to fall off the map and lose balloons.

Mario Kart Wii

Skyscraper returns in Mario Kart Wii. In the stage's Wii version, it was made larger to accommodate 12 players. The edges of the gaps in the roof became ramps on which players can perform tricks. Areas 1-4 are also re-ordered clockwise instead of having 1-2 and 3-4 parallel to each other (based on players' starting positions), and have become color-coded yellow, green, cyan, and magenta.

Tournaments

The tournament.

September 2008's first tournament required players to complete a Time Trial on a version of Skyscraper that has been turned into a race track: Players must drive three laps counterclockwise around the outer ring, though there are now fourteen Bob-omb Cars and four Item Boxes traveling clockwise. Players start the Time Trial with no items, but each Item Box would guarantee either a Mushroom, Mega Mushroom, or Star. The control scheme was restricted to Wii Wheel users. The tournament was later repeated as the first tournament of September 2010, the first tournament of February 2012, and the second tournament of April 2013.

Profiles

Mario Kart 64

• Instruction booklet: "It's a wild battle on top of the skyscraper! If you fall off the building, you will lose one balloon. There are no guardrails to keep you from falling, so don't speed too much. A highly effective strategy for attacking your opponents is to crash into them in an attempt to knock them off instead of relying simply on the use of items."
• Web page: "The Skyscraper arena is situated high atop a skyscraper. If you fall off the building, you will lose one of your balloons. Heavier Karts can knock lighter ones off the roof without using an item. Since this arena is the smallest of all, you can't hide, and it's a good idea to keep your speed down. It's also easy to ambush you opponent when he is put back on the course by Lakitu."

Mario Kart Wii

• European website: "It's a long way down from up here, so take care as you race over rooftops. Don't get dazzled by those giant searchlights!"

Gallery

• 

  The icon from the menu

• 

  The icon from the official Mario Kart 64 website

• 

  The course as it is seen in Mario Kart 64

• 

  The course banner from Mario Kart Wii

• 

  A preview of the course from Mario Kart Wii

• 

  The course as it is seen in Mario Kart Wii during gameplay

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	まてんろう[?] Matenrō	Skyscraper
Chinese	摩天大楼[?] Mótiān Dàlóu	Skyscraper
French	Gratte-ciel[?]	Skyscraper
German	Wolkenkratzer[?]	Skyscraper
Italian	Grattacielo[?]	Skyscraper
Korean	마천루[?] Macheollu	Skyscraper
Spanish	Rascacielos[?]	Skyscraper

Trivia

• In Mario Kart Wii, the 2D texture for the distant skyscrapers in the background of this course is a crudely edited version of a background texture from Mushroom City in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with the buildings being made square instead of having rounded tops and several artifacts from the original texture surviving, like a smiley faced block and a small mushroom.
  • Additionally, a texture from GCN Rainbow Road that represented Mushroom City is reused as the surface texture in the remake.