Rainbow Ride
Rainbow Ride, is the fifteenth and last course in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the stage appeared under the name of Rainbow Cruise, which was actually the course's Japanese name in Super Mario 64. It is accessible in the highest room in Princess Peach's Castle, which also contains the gate to Tick Tock Clock. Rainbow Ride is not entered through a painting, as with most courses in the game, but through a hole in a niche opposite to that of Winged Mario Over the Rainbow.
Super Mario 64
Rainbow Road is a level with very little backtracking, and offers different paths around the level to different Power Stars, which makes it possible for Mario to collect them in any order he desires. Rainbow Road is set in the skies, and Mario has to use several flying carpets to get from one platform to another. Enemies on his way are Lakitus, Bob-ombs and Amps, rarely Goombas and Fly Guys, and several flamethrowers. There are platforms which fall down when Mario stands on them for too long, and circle platforms which spin rapidly.
Star 1: Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow
In the first mission, Mario has to get the Power Star on the flying ship of the stage. It is not guarded, and Mario has to use several flying carpets to get to the ship, dodging Lakitus on his way. On the main intersection in the stage, which is made of four spinning discs, Mario has to go to the carpet on the right, and take another carpet on the left further above. When reaching the ship, Mario is hindered by winds which try to stop him from getting the star.
Star 2: The Big House in the Sky
In this level, Mario has to get the Power Star which is ontop the big house in the area. Starting from the main intersection, he has to take the carpet to the right as in the last mission, but has to choose the right carpet again further above. By jumping over obstacles in the path of the flying carpet and avoiding the flame thrower in the house's basement, Mario can get to the top of the castle-like building to get the star.
Star 3: Coins Amassed in a Maze
In this level, Mario has to get all eight Red Coins to get the Power Star. All coins are found in a side-view maze which is found right near the level's main intersection. On the bottom level, there are Bob-ombs trying to hurt Mario, and further above, Mario can be hit by flames as well. He has to use different tactics, such as the Wall Jump and the Long Jump to get all Red Coins and make the star appear.
Star 4: Swingin' in the Breeze
In this level, Mario has to clear an obstacle course to get the Power Star. From the main intersection, he has to go leftwards and climb down the pole, then take the way down the right. He has to use platforms which swing back and forth, cross several fall-down platforms and avoid a flame thrower to get the star.
Star 5: Tricky Triangles
Following the same way as for the previous star, Mario has to take a different route as soon as he meets the single Goomba of the level. He has to take the direction to the triangles. By hitting a flat ! switch, he can make the triangles temporarily turn over, creating platforms which he can use to jump over to the star.
Star 6: Somewhere over the Rainbow
To get this star, Mario first has to find the Bob-omb Buddy of Rainbow Ride, which is found inside the coin maze of the third Power Star. A cannon will open at the stern of the flying ship which Mario visited for the first Power Star. By shooting himself throw a rainbow circle, Mario can get onto a platform with a Chuckya and the sixth Power Star.
100 Coins Star
The last star Mario can get in Rainbow Ride is for collecting 100 coins, as in every course of the game. To do this, Mario can collect a number of Blue Coins near the maze of the Red Coins and the Bob-omb Buddy.
Super Mario 64 DS
In the Nintendo DS remake of Super Mario 64, a few changes are applied to the Rainbow Ride course. Stars 1-4 and 6 are taken directly from Super Mario 64, though Star 1 requires the player to play as Wario and Star 3 requires the player to play either as Mario, Luigi or Yoshi. Star 5 is changed completely, and a seventh Star is added to the course. For both of these Stars, the player has to play as Mario.
Star 5: Mario Wings to the Sky
For this Star, Mario has to fly through circles of coins, collecting the middle coin of each of the five circles. He has to use a Feather to do this. This mission was copied straight from the fifth star of Bob-omb Battlefield from the same game, which has the same name and goal.
Star 7: Switch Star of the Manor
Mario has to get to the roof of the house in the sky as quickly as possible by using a Power Flower to get the Power Star.
Super Smash Bros. series
Rainbow Ride appears as a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, under the name of Mushroom Kingdom: Rainbow Cruise (however in the PAL region, it remains Rainbow Ride). The stage takes place on the floating ship. The stage is very small on this area, and it is fairly easy to fall off. Eventually, the ship will crash into the floating platforms, and begin to sink in the air. All players have to jump on the platforms, or else go down with the ship. After that, the stage becomes a side-scroller, where players have to jump and run for their lives, as well attacking the other players at the same time. Eventually, everyone will reach a part of the stage where many pieces of the stage start to fall off, or disappear. There is a pendulem with a Magic Carpet at the bottom of it, which will disappear over time. A group of blocks similar to Donut Blocks appear near the end of the stage, where they will drop down if they are stood on too long. Finally, it reaches the end, where players must fall down through the platforms, or else lose a life. If there are still some surviving players by the end, they will end up landing back on the floating ship for the stage to repeat itself. There is a mountain with houses on it appearing in the background.
The stage reappears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a Past Stage, however under its original Super Mario 64 (and PAL) name Rainbow Ride.
Music
The background music of Rainbow Ride appears at several places throughout Super Mario 64, including the races against Koopa the Quick, The Princess's Secret Slide, the slides on Cool, Cool Mountain and Tall, Tall Mountain, as well as the entire level of Tick Tock Clock. It is a fast and joyful music. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, it got elements of a Waltz, slowing it down and thus making it hard to recognize. Despite the many appearances of the music in Super Mario 64, it was labelled as "Rainbow Cruise" in the Super Smash Bros. Melee Sound Test.
