Canal
- “65 glass-topped boats make touring Amsterdam's many canals comfy, even in bad weather. The boat tours follow the canals through the city out to the Amstel River and around the famous harbor. The canal tours are especially beautiful at night when Amsterdam's famous floating houses are lit up. There are 600 separate canals running throughout the city.”
- —Pamphlet, Mario is Missing! (PC)
A canal is an artificial waterway created to be traversed by water vehicles. The canals of Amsterdam make two appearances in the Super Mario franchise.
History
Mario is Missing!
A Canal first appears in the PC versions of Mario is Missing!. A Koopa Troopa steals the steering wheel of a boat from the canal, which forces the canal to close. Before he leaves Amsterdam, Luigi must recover the steering wheel.
To prove the wheel's authenticity, Luigi must answer the following questions:
- Amsterdam is called the "Venice of the North" because:
- it has so many canals
- it looks like Italy
- it has 600 pasta restaurants
- department store
- The very first Amsterdam canal was called:
- Herengracht
- Jazzplatten
- Hagandas
- Joddenbreestraat
- How many canal boats travel how many canals:
- 1.5 boats in 1 canal
- 600 boats in 65 canals
- 65 boats in 600 canals
- 665 boats in 56 canals
Mario Kart series
Much later, Amsterdam and its canals would reappear in the Mario Kart series in the course Amsterdam Drift, first appearing in Mario Kart Tour. In the course's second and third routes, racers drive underwater in the canals. Amsterdam Drift 2 in particular allows racers to use vertical air currents from vents in the waterway to jump out of the canal and land on boats on its surface.
Amsterdam Drift also appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of its Booster Course Pass. In this game's version of Amsterdam Drift, which shifts its route every lap, the canals are only driven in on the second lap.
