Rainbow Road
- This article is about race courses from the Mario Kart series. For similar-looking race courses from Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, see Rainbow Coaster and Rainbow Downhill. For the course from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, see Rainbow Ride. For the stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Brawl, and Ultimate, see Rainbow Cruise.
Rainbow Road is the final course of the Special Cup featured in all Mario Kart games and serves as the ultimate course in terms of difficulty in each game in which it appears. As their names suggest, these courses are made of rainbow-colored glass or metallic surfaces that are either one color or change their color as racers drive on them, depending on the game they appear in. Most of these tracks are transparent throughout the Mario Kart series. They typically appear floating in deep space or the Earth's atmosphere, although the one in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and the remade N64 Rainbow Road and SNES Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 hang suspended in a starry night sky above a landscape. Most appearances of this course contain few or no railings, putting racers at risk of falling into space, and each Rainbow Road also contains its unique hazards. Due to these obstacles, Rainbow Road is among the most difficult courses in each Mario Kart game. Starting in Mario Kart 7, some of the Rainbow Road courses have sections of the race track that are not rainbow-colored. Rainbow Road is also usually a long course when compared to other courses. Rainbow Road has also made some appearances in other games outside of the Mario Kart series, as well as in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
History
Mario Kart series
Rainbow Road has appeared as multiple incarnations throughout the Mario Kart series:
| Course | Games | Description |
 Rainbow Road |
Super Mario Kart Mario Kart: Super Circuit Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 (The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart Tour |
A simplistic, yet challenging course that debuted in Super Mario Kart with narrow paths and tight curves. The road is made of tiles in all colors of the rainbow (although red was replaced by pink in Mario Kart 7), arranged in horizontal bars, while the environment appears to be in the starry depths of space (or a starry night sky with glowing hills in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe). Star Thwomps appears as the course's primary obstacles, which can spin out racers by touch unlike regular Thwomps, and as of Mario Kart 7, their stomps causes the course to wave, allowing drivers to trick on them. |
|---|---|---|
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
The longest course in Mario Kart 64, taking at least two minutes per lap to race on; in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the course instead has a single lap split into three segments. This iteration's road is translucent and arranges its colors in bars, but features no tiles (this is changed in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where the course is tiles similarly to SNES Rainbow Road but the colors are arranged diagonally). The course also features guard rails shaped like stars, and the environment takes place in outer space with a smiling star and neon sign images of the character (in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the course takes place above a city in the night sky, and the neon signs are replaced with fireworks). Chain Chomps will occasionally run into the drivers, although in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, they instead bounce on certain wavy pathways. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Similar to Mario Kart 64, the Rainbow Road introduced in Mario Kart: Super Circuit is translucent and has its colors arranged horizontally. The course takes place in outer space, with Bowser's Castle from Paper Mario clearly visible in the background. The course's guard rails are bouncy ramps, allowing drivers to make large shortcuts at certain parts with well-timed Mushroom boosts. Obstacles range from falling stars that hurt the racers, to thunder clouds that make them shrink. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | A long course with many elevations and turns, this iteration from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! takes place above a city which resembles Mushroom City, in the night sky. Its road features its colors in gradients, and is tiled and reflective. It features a vertical tube that shoots drivers high upwards, not unlike cannons. Occasionally, collectible Stars will scatter on the road, granting racers invincibility. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart DS | The Rainbow Road from Mario Kart DS is the first Rainbow Road to arrange its colors in a vertical fashion, and also features long, vertical tiles. Like previous incarnations, this version takes place in outer space. Uniquely, this course two loops, prior to the introduction of anti-gravity in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: a vertical loop, and a corkscrew loop. Both loops are laced with Dash Panel boosts to prevent drivers from falling. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart Wii Mario Kart Tour Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 6) |
The iteration from Mario Kart Wii features many twists and curves, as well as many opportunities to trick. In Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the course is also placed entirely in anti-gravity. Like previous versions, it also takes place in outer space, with Earth visible below the course; falling off the track will cause drivers to burn up in the atmosphere before Lakitu picks them up. The course also features Star Bits and a Launch Star from Super Mario Galaxy. It is also the first iteration to feature Star Rings. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart Tour Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 3) |
Mario Kart 7's incarnation is a long, three-segmented course that takes place in outer space like previous incarnations, this time letting racers drive on a planet ring and even on the moon in certain portions, making it the first Rainbow Road that lets them drive on other roads aside from the titular one. In Mario Kart 7, the moon portion is a pseudo-underwater segment, while in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it's an anti-gravity segment. The course also features several opportunities for gliding. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
The iteration from Mario Kart 8 takes place on a space station in outer space, above another planet's atmosphere. This iteration of Rainbow Road appears more artificial compared to previous versions, and features several satellites floating around, as well as another space station with conveyor belts, which then leads to a split path. As with most courses in Mario Kart 8, it features several anti-gravity segments. |
 RMX Rainbow Road 1 |
Mario Kart Tour | A remix course based on SNES Rainbow Road, thus featuring the same tiled road design and the same environment as the course normally has in Mario Kart Tour. Its layout is shaped similarly to a squared-off figure eight, but the middle paths that would normally cross each other are instead glider sections with floating meteors. |
 Rainbow Road |
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit | Due to the nature of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit using a remote-controlled car and augmented reality, the course layout design for this incarnation of Rainbow Road depends on what the player has set up. Aside from that, this course features Star Rings for the racers to drive through, as well as a magnet obstacle at the fourth gate. This version of Rainbow Road reuses the music from N64 Rainbow Road, as it appears in Mario Kart 8. |
 RMX Rainbow Road 2 |
Mario Kart Tour | A second remix course based on SNES Rainbow Road. This Rainbow Road features a bunch of Mushroom Trampolines, and some elevation. |
While Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 do not feature any courses with the Rainbow Road name, similar courses that may be inspired by Rainbow Road do appear the games' aptly named Rainbow Cup; these courses being Rainbow Coaster and Rainbow Downhill. Both courses feature a tiled road with rainbow colors high in the night sky, starting out at a space station with floating items and warping to a cloudy environment with beanstalks at daylight akin to GBA Sky Garden (which, in the third and fourth rounds, is instead an undersea environment in Mario Kart Arcade GP, or ruins of an above-clouds sanctuary at night in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2).
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
- Main article: Rainbow Road (Dribble Race course)
Rainbow Road is the unlockable third dribble race from the "challenges" section in the basketball game Mario Hoops 3-on-3. However, this Rainbow Road floats above the clouds and around a clock tower, and not much of the course is fully seen when playing.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Rainbow Road appears in both missions of the Rolling Coaster Galaxy, but it is very different than in its previous appearances. While it does retain its appearance, it is curved and appears to be made up of rainbow tiles instead of the colors simply being contiguous, much like the Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart in which the track was also made up of rainbow tiles. Instead of just the Rainbow itself, it also has several platforms shaped both like mushrooms and squares with different colors. Despite taking place in space, this Rainbow Road features a cloudy sky as a background. Along the way, Mario or Luigi must avoid several obstacles like towers and Bob-ombs. Also, the two brothers can earn two Power Stars for finishing the course, one for the normal mission, and another for collecting 100 of the 110 Purple Coins. The music played when riding on Rainbow Road is a remix of the music played on the The Princess's Secret Slide in Super Mario 64.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
- Main article: Rainbow Road (stage)
Rainbow Road appears as a stage for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, taking the appearance of its Mario Kart 7 incarnation. Like Port Town Aero Dive from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is a cruise-type stage where players fight on a platform that flies around the course, which also occasionally lands on the course itself. While on the ground, Shy Guys can drive by and damage any fighters in its way, like in the Mario Circuit stage from the previous game.
A Rainbow Road (with the racers driving karts from Mario Kart 8) also appears in Rosalina's announcement trailer, where Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Donkey Kong are all racing each other only to be suddenly interrupted by Kirby on his Warp Star, followed by Rosalina and a Luma. This Rainbow Road does not appear in-game, though, but it takes a slight resemblance to the DS rendition.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
Rainbow Road appears in Paper Mario: Color Splash, leading directly to Black Bowser's Castle. The road is formed after all six Big Paint Stars are retrieved. Luigi drives Mario and Huey over to Black Bowser's Castle via his kart as the road is too slippery to walk on. Eventually, all but Huey (who elects to stay behind to ensure the black paint does not seep into the ocean when Black Bowser's Castle falls down) escape the castle and return to the road. While comforting Mario about Huey's decision, Luigi indicates that he knows Huey will probably be back as promised as the former has "fallen off Rainbow Road more times than [he] can count."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Rainbow Road[1] appears as a location in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, leading towards Bowser's Castle. After Mario, Princess Peach and Toad convince Cranky Kong to recruit the Great Kong Army for a raid on Bowser and his army, the heroes speed off a ramp on karts in the Jungle Kingdom that lands them on Rainbow Road. The Koopa General warns Bowser of the impeding planned raid, prompting Bowser to order an ambush on the heroes. Koopas on karts ambush the heroes on their drive down Rainbow Road, prompting an immense battle between the two forces. The Kongs are captured by the Koopas, while the Koopa General becomes a Blue Shell and strikes Donkey Kong and Mario causing an explosion that sends them spiraling down into the ocean below them. Meanwhile, Peach and Toad manage to escape the attack and retreat to the Mushroom Kingdom.
As a reference to the games, there is a scene where Mario hops from one segment of the road to another directly below, a possible reference to the famous Mario Kart 64 Rainbow Road shortcut. Additionally, when the characters jump off a large ramp and land on the road, a rendition of the music for Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart briefly plays.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | レインボーロード[?] Reinbō Rōdo |
Rainbow Road | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 彩虹之路 Cǎihóng zhī Lù 彩虹桥 (prior to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) Cǎihóng Qiáo[?] |
Rainbow Road Rainbow Bridge |
|
| Chinese (traditional) | 彩虹之路[?] Cǎihóng zhī Lù |
Rainbow Road | |
| Dutch | Regenboogbaan[?] | Rainbow Track | |
| French (NOA) | Route arc-en-ciel Route Arc-en-ciel (Mario Kart Wii)[?] |
Rainbow Road | |
| French (NOE) | Route Arc-en-ciel[?] | Rainbow Road | |
| German | Regenbogen-Boulevard[?] | Rainbow Boulevard | |
| Italian | Pista Arcobaleno Via Arcobaleno (Super Mario Galaxy 2)[?] |
Rainbow Track Rainbow Road |
|
| Korean | 무지개 로드[?] Mujigae Rodeu |
Rainbow Road | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Avenida Arco-íris[?] | Rainbow Avenue | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Estrada Arco-Íris[?] | Rainbow Road | |
| Russian | Трасса Радуга[?] Trassa Raduga |
Rainbow Track | |
| Spanish | Senda Arco Iris[?] | Rainbow Path |
Trivia
- Starting with Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the surface on each Rainbow Road (including the retro ones in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Kart Tour) creates a unique metallic sound when racers drift, hop, or perform a sharp turn on them.
- F-Zero GX also has a track similar to Rainbow Road called Phantom Road, that does not take place in a starry night sky or the deep space like most Rainbow Roads, but rather in a psychedelic cybernetic void. In addition, the track has only one color that constantly shifts through the color spectrum as opposed to having the traditional rainbow-looking appearance. Earlier builds of the track that remain in F-Zero AX retain the Rainbow Road moniker, most likely as a nod to its predecessor.
References
- ^ The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Everything Number One . YouTube. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
