Special Cup

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Artwork of the Special Cup logo, from Mario Kart 8.
The Special Cup logo in Mario Kart 8

The Special Cup is the final cup in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as well as the last of the Nitro Cups since Mario Kart DS. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit is it the last of the "standard" courses, with the Extra Cups being unlocked afterwards and Extra Special Cup being the final cup. The Special Cup consists of long, challenging courses with lots of gimmicks and harder difficulties. Notably, this cup always culminates with Rainbow Road as the game's climactic course. Starting in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Bowser's Castle is the penultimate course before Rainbow Road.

Aside from Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where the cup is available from the start, the criteria to unlock the Special Cup varies by game, although in all games, the Star Cup must be completed successfully. In Super Mario Kart, the player may unlock it by winning all three cups in 100cc (though it will be unavailable for the 50cc class); in Mario Kart: Super Circuit it is available by winning the four previous cups, each by class; in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, it appears after the player finished first in the Star Cup in 100cc; from Mario Kart DS onwards, it is unlocked once the player claims a trophy in the Star Cup.

The emblem of the Special Cup is a smiling crown, which first appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. In previous installments the emblem is completely different, for instance, in Super Mario Kart, this cup lacks a unique emblem and instead uses a combination of the three emblems for the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, and Star Cup respectively; and in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, it is represented by the letter "S", the initial of "special."

List of courses

Game Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Course 5
Super Mario Kart The map for Donut Plains 3.
Donut Plains 3
The map for Koopa Beach 2.
Koopa Beach 2
The map for Ghost Valley 3.
Ghost Valley 3
The map for Vanilla Lake 2.
Vanilla Lake 2
The map for Rainbow Road.
Rainbow Road
Mario Kart 64 The icon for DK's Jungle Parkway, from Mario Kart 64.
DK's Jungle Parkway
The icon for Yoshi Valley, from Mario Kart 64.
Yoshi Valley
The icon for Banshee Boardwalk, from Mario Kart 64.
Banshee Boardwalk
The icon for Rainbow Road, from Mario Kart 64.
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (STANDARD) Lakeside Park
Lakeside Park
The preview image for Broken Pier in Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Broken Pier
Bowser Castle 4
Bowser Castle 4
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (EXTRA) MKSC Koopa Beach 2 Extra Cup Map.png
Koopa Beach 2
MKSC Ghost Valley 3 Extra Cup Map.png
Ghost Valley 3
MKSC Vanilla Lake 2 Extra Cup Map.png
Vanilla Lake 2
MKSC SNES Rainbow Road Extra Cup Map.png
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The icon for Wario Colosseum, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Wario Colosseum
The icon for Dino Dino Jungle, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Dino Dino Jungle
The icon for Bowser's Castle, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Bowser's Castle
The icon for Rainbow Road, from Mario Kart Double Dash!!.
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart DS Screenshot of Mario Kart DS game featuring the Wario Stadium.
Wario Stadium
Panorama of Peach Gardens seen in Mario Kart DS
Peach Gardens
Bowser's Castle
Bowser Castle
Rainbow Road (DS)
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart Wii Dry Dry Ruins (race course)
Dry Dry Ruins
Moonview Highway
Moonview Highway
Bowser's Castle
Bowser's Castle
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart 7 DK Jungle
DK Jungle
Rosalina's Ice World
Rosalina's Ice World
Bowser Castle
Bowser's Castle
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road
N/A
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Cloudtop Cruise
Cloudtop Cruise
white
MK8-Course-Bone-DryDunes.png
Bone-Dry Dunes
Bone Dry Dunes
The exterior of Bowser's Castle.
Bowser's Castle
white
Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8.
Rainbow Road
white
N/A

Mario Tennis series

Mario winning the Special Cup.
Mario winning the Champions Cup in Mario Tennis Open
Winning an online tournament
Winning an online tournament in Mario Tennis Aces

The Special Cup reappears in Mario Tennis Open. In this game, it is called the Champions Cup. It is the last cup in the World Open tournament series. Players can unlock this cup when they clear the Banana Cup. When players clear this cup, their character earns a star rank, which boosts their stats and grants them access to the Star Open tournament series. The Champions Cup takes place in Mario Stadium, with the hard, clay, and grass courts being used for the starting, semifinal, and final rounds respectively. Matches for this cup have one set for the starting round, three sets for the semifinals, and five sets for the finals.

In Mario Tennis Aces, a trophy based on the Special Cup appears as a reward in online tournaments.

Trading Card info

Mario Kart Wii trading card of the Special Cup.

"Two Special Cup tracks, Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road, have been Special Cup stalwarts. This time around the names may be the same, but the layouts are new & improved—and they're no cakewalk. In fact, these could be some of the most difficult tracks in Mario Kart Wii."

Gallery

Emblems

Trophies

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese スペシャルカップ[?]
Supesharu kappu
Special Cup
Chinese 特別盃 (Traditional)
Tèbié Bēi
皇冠杯 (Simplified, Mario Kart 7)
Huángguàn Bēi
神游杯 (Simplified, MK64[2] and MKSC[3])
Shényóu Bēi
特别杯 (Simplified, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Tèbié Bēi
Special Cup

Crown Cup

iQue Cup

Special Cup
Dutch Speciale Beker[?] Special Cup
German Spezial-Cup[?] Special Cup
Italian Trofeo Speciale[?] Special Trophy
Korean 스페셜 컵[?]
Seupesyeol Keop
Special Cup
Portuguese Taça Especial[?] Special Cup
Russian Особый кубок[?]
Osobyy kubok
Special Cup
Spanish Copa Especial[?] Special Cup

Trivia

  • In Super Mario Kart, in Time Trial and VS mode, the player can access the Special Cup before unlocking it by pressing buttons in this sequence: L Button R Button L Button R Button L Button L Button R Button R Button A Button.
  • In the Chinese version of Mario Kart 64, the Special Cup is called the "iQue Cup", named after of the home console iQue Player, which is not available outside China.
  • If Grand Prix mode in Mario Kart Wii is highlighted, the Special Cup trophy from that game can be seen in the background.

References

  1. ^ From the iQue localization prototype.
  2. ^ iQue's localization of Mario Kart 64
  3. ^ From the iQue localization prototype.