Classic course
- Not to be confused with Nitro Course or Extra Cup.
A Retro Course is a past Mario Kart game's Nitro Course, not counting the Extra Courses from Mario Kart: Super Circuit. They appear in Mario Kart DS and all subsequent Mario Kart games. They come in the Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup. A Mario Kart course has rarely returned as a Retro Course more than once. Until Mario Kart 8, Retro Courses were identical to their original counterparts, receiving only graphical updates. For example, in SNES and GBA courses, the space is larger and the blocks are taller, and in Mario Kart 7, courses appear almost identical to the originals, the only differences being the added underwater and gliding sections, while in Mario Kart DS, some Retro Courses appear to be scaled down in graphics due to system limitations of the Nintendo DS. Starting from Mario Kart 8, most Retro Courses are completely redesigned for HD graphics. They usually include new mechanics, new details for the race tracks, and completely new backgrounds, and also support the anti-gravity, underwater, and gliding mechanics. Also new to Mario Kart 8, most Retro Courses have new remixed or remastered music, whereas Retro Courses from older Mario Kart games retain their original music (although there are exceptions).
Courses
Shell Cup
Banana Cup
Game | Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Kart DS | SNES Donut Plains 1 |
File:FrappeSnowlandDS.png N64 Frappe Snowland |
GBA Bowser Castle 2 |
GCN Baby Park |
Mario Kart Wii | N64 Sherbet Land |
GBA Shy Guy Beach |
DS Delfino Square |
GCN Waluigi Stadium |
Mario Kart 7 | N64 Koopa Beach N64 Koopa Troopa Beach |
SNES Mario Circuit 2 white |
Wii Coconut Mall white |
DS Waluigi Pinball white |
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | GCN Dry Dry Desert |
SNES Donut Plains 3 |
N64 Royal Raceway |
3DS DK Jungle |
Leaf Cup
Lightning Cup
DLC Cups
Egg Cup
Game | Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | GCN Yoshi Circuit Retro |
Excitebike Arena Nitro |
Dragon Driftway Nitro |
Mute City Nitro |
Triforce Cup
Game | Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Wii Wario's Gold Mine Retro |
SNES Rainbow Road Retro |
Ice Ice Outpost Nitro |
Hyrule Circuit Nitro |
Crossing Cup
Game | Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | GCN Baby Park Retro |
GBA Cheese Land Retro |
Wild Woods Nitro |
Animal Crossing Nitro |
Bell Cup
Game | Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 3DS Neo Bowser City 3DS Koopa City Retro |
GBA Ribbon Road Retro |
Super Bell Subway Nitro |
Big Blue Nitro |
Table of Retro Courses
Courses highlighted in red have yet to appear as Retro Courses in a later Mario Kart installment. A hyphen (-) indicates that the course appears as a Nitro Course in its respective game and therefore can not appear as a Retro Course in it or in a previous installment.