Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Wave 6: 8 classic courses we want to see | Digital Trends

Luigi Circuit (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)

The Mario Kart 64 course Koopa Troopa Beach will always be one of my favorites despite its simplicity. It’s a memorable seaside race filled with jumps, crabs, and one of the series’ most elegant shortcuts. A glow-up wouldn’t be too far out of the question either. A remade version of Koopa Troopa Beach appeared in Mario Kart 7, turning its hole-in-the-wall shortcut into a much bigger ordeal. A Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version wouldn’t have to do much more, simply letting players soak in some beach vibes as they drift around the shore.

If I had to pick only one course from this list to actually get a spot, my vote would probably go towards Airship Fortress. The Nintendo DS track is one of the series’ best, sending zooming racers in and around Bowser’s airship. It’s a multilayered course that’s full of gimmicks pulled straight out of Super Mario Bros. 3. Players dodge Bullet Bills, weave through Monty Moles, dodge flame bars, and blast out of the ship’s cannon into a destroyed tower. It’s a full-on Mario amusement park ride that could only stand to get more exciting with a modern reimagining.

As a Super Mario Sunshine apologist, I’ll always fight to see references to the GameCube adventure preserved in other Mario games. I don’t just want to see the Nintendo DS’ Delfino Square remade for nostalgia’s sake, though. It’s a legitimately strong course that has players drifting through the vacation city’s streets with finesse. After passing by some seaside fruit stands, the sight-seeing trip ends with a final jump over a raised bridge, capping off one of the series’ stronger city-based maps. Delfino Square has a warm, sunny vibe that feels like a natural fit for the Switch game’s peppy art style. And who wouldn’t want to hear the original’s pleasant accordion music reorchestrated?

DK Mountain is one of those Mario Kart tracks that I don’t think I’ll ever forget about. That’s mostly thanks to its iconic gimmick: a huge barrel that blasts racers into the sky. That alone makes it a classic worth revisiting, but there’s a lot more to DK Mountain than its big set piece. The Donkey Kong track is a complex jungle gauntlet filled with exciting challenges. A downward race down a mountain opens up into a tough series of hairpin turns — a task made even harder as racers try to dodge falling rocks at the same time. It ends with a final trek across a long wooden bridge that tilts as karts ride across it. It’s an expertly designed course and the best Donkey Kong-themed one the entire series has to offer.

You could make the argument that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe doesn’t need another version of Bowser’s Castle and that the final eight spots should be reserved for fresher ideas. While I wouldn’t disagree, the GameCube version of Bowser’s Castle is so well-designed that it deserves a spot. The tricky race has players dodging all kinds of obstacles, from hallways filled with giant Thwomps to a fire-breathing Bowser statue that moves between lanes. Like Airship Fortress, it’s a great adaptation of the platforming series’ traditional “boss” zones. It’s a tough final challenge that I’d expect out of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s final cup.

While there are several iterations of Rainbow Road already in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it’s only fitting that its final track be another incarnation of it. It’s a toss-up between the Double Dash and Wii versions, but the latter gets my vote. The excellent track gets the edge thanks in no small part to its Super Mario Galaxy theming, giving it even more star power than usual. Beyond that, though, the Wii’s Rainbow Road is a colorful space odyssey filled with boost gates, branching paths, shortcuts, and spectacular jumps. It’s not just one of the best versions of Rainbow Road, but one of Mario Kart’s best tracks period. If anything deserves the honor of closing Mario Kart 8‘s life out, it’s this.

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