Mario Kart 64 #1 An upgrade of Super Mario Kart

Luigi Raceway it is 717 meters long. The starting line begins near a crowd of fans in a stadium marked with a Luigi hat. It is very straight for a while, offering Item Boxes. A Luigi-decaled hot air balloon also delivers a sole Item Box, but this one is special, as it always carries a Spiny Shell. The trick is hitting it at the right moment. After a while, the track banks inward for a nice place for beginners to practice Power Sliding. Eventually, it narrows out into a tunnel which was previously driven over. Right before tunnels entranceway is an electric screen showing the player driving (although it is really lame with about 4 frames per second) The low-light tunnel finally opens up at the next bend, which is about the same length and curvature as the last. After this, the starting line is within sight.

This is the first course of the Mushroom Cup. The course features no hazards, save for small rough terrain areas that are located all over the track. The course is long and simple, featuring open turns through which the player may employ powersliding to accelerate faster. The race begins near a grand stand full of cheering audience, atop which is a large model of the Luigi Cap. Following a long straightway and a wide banked turn to the left is a long road to a long overhang, followed by another long curve to the left and a short straightway leading back to the starting line, which happens to be part of the longest straightway in the course. During the race, a balloon depicting Luigi's head dips onto the course at the end of the first straightway, hanging an Item Box beneath. The item is always a Spiny Shell and may be obtained if a racer hops at the right time just as the balloon reaches its lowest point of descent. The course does not have any notable shortcut, but it is possible to save few seconds by cutting across the grass and sand on the turns while using a Mushroom or a Star.

Moo Moo Farm (transliterated as Moh Moh Farm on a few occasions) is the second race course of the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart 64 and is 527 meters in length. This course takes place in a farmland, with Monty Moles and Moo Moos in it. Just like all Mushroom Cup courses, this course is relatively simple and is the shortest course in the game, measuring at 527 meters. It later reappears as a retro track of the Shell Cup in Mario Kart DS, and the Mario Kart Wii track Moo Moo Meadows bears a strong resemblance to it. A sign reading "Nintendo Moo Moo Farm" can also be found on Moo Moo Meadows. Moo Moo Farm cargo trucks also appear in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which reference the name of the course and also feature pictures of the Moo Moos and fences on the sides. This course shares its music with Yoshi Valley.

In Mario Kart 64, Moo Moo Farm is the second course of the Mushroom Cup. In the course, there are many moles. In the N64 version, the moles are named Chubby. The course does not have many obstacles, but it has Moo Moos in the background, and a Nintendo logo printed on it (only in the N64 version). In the N64 version, it is the shortest track in the game. The course shares its music with Yoshi Valley.

This track is 691 meters long and takes place on the sandy shores of a mostly rocky island. The way racers drive around the middle of the island is reminiscent of Koopa Beach 2. A large Koopa-shaped rock appears near the starting line. There are several ramps near the middle and end of the course. One leads to a tunnel cutting through the island that acts as an effective shortcut; another is taller than the rest and leads to an Item Box perched on a rock that always contains a Spiny Shell.

Crabs are the main obstacles on this track, and touching them causes a spin-out. Palm trees can also cause spin-outs. The tide can cause trouble if trying to take a specific shortcut near the middle of the course.

Koopa Troopa Beach is a mostly easy track with many jumps and a tunnel that lets you skip a part of the track.

The track starts out next to water. After rounding the first corner racers will pass the giant Koopa shaped rock on one side or the other and follow the water around the next turn. After the turn players will come to the first of many ramps.

After going off the ramp the racers will pass under a rock formation to a group of ramps. On the last ramp a secret cave shortcut exists. Players need to use a Mushroom or hop to gain access to the shortcut, however some can manage to pass without a speed boost. The race track also has another minor shortcut. Before the overheard rock formation and the numerous ramps, the player can take a sharp right to find a small pathway partially submerged by water. After another turn racers will come to a big, narrow ramp which can access an Item Box on top of a large rock. This Item Box also contains only a Spiny Shell. However, racers can also just pass this rock and drive by a waterfall (the exit to the shortcut). In the final stretch, the course is almost completely submerged by water which drivers must go through. Next to the finish line are crabs who serve as obstacles.

Kalimari Desert is the final race of the Mushroom Cup and is 527 meters long. It is a large desert track with cactus scattered here and there. The course's most notable feature is the two trains that go through a mesa. The trains constantly move around the track, often crossing through the racers' path. Depending on what mode is being played, the trains may or may not have coaches attached to it.

Racers can wait for it to go by, or they can be daredevils and try to beat it. However, any racers that crash into the train are thrown into the air, and it only gets harder to beat the train when it carries a few extra cars.

When playing in single-player, the train has a tender and passenger cars. When playing in two-player mode, the train's length is halved, having a tender and only one passenger car. In three- or four-player mode, the train consists only of the engine, with no tender or passenger cars present.

Another hazard on the track is the cacti. Crashing into them causes spin-outs. The next hazards are the sand and the out-of-zone areas. If the player goes out into the sand, their kart will become increasingly slower. If they go out too far, they will go out-of-bounds and will be reset back on the main course. Item boxes only appear three times: at the beginning before the first railroad crossing; again right before the second railroad crossing; and finally halfway after the second railroad crossing.

The race starts out next to a large cliff formation. Upon the first turn, racers see how empty the desert really is. At the end of the turn, the racers encounter the train for the first time. After passing the tracks, the players race alongside the track of the train (though it is in a cave and not visible), eventually running into it a second time. After this encounter, the racers race along the edge of the map and eventually advance back to the finish line.

It is possible to drive on the train's track; however, this costs the racer time. It is possible, but very difficult, to cross the train track while the train is there by driving through the gap between the coaches. If a player travels through the train tunnel, they typically bypass the finish line, not moving on to the next lap as the other racers. However, if the player has a Star and activates it just before entering the tunnel, they move on to the next lap, effectively shortcutting ahead of the others. This trick only works during the first two laps.

Toad Turnpike is 1036 meters figure-8-esque shape filled with cars, busses, trucks, and 18-wheelers is quite a challenge if you do not have a racer that can handle well. To win, you must be able to swerve and dive in between traffic, all with the risk of exploding if you hit a vehicle. The item boxes are strategically placed on alcoves along the track. At one point in the middle, the track drops slowly so that the bridge can pass over it. It is crowded with traffic, and even just slightly tapping a vehicle will send you into the air. Also, they can be very unmerciful, as you can keep hitting them over and over again.

Even on normal Grand Prix, the cars are a constant nuisance and can turn around races quickly if racers are unfortunate enough to get caught in the traffic, and as such, despite its placement in only the second cup of the game, it is often considered one of the most difficult tracks in the game.

It is named after Toad and pictures of him are seen on the boundaries of the racetrack. The race track takes place on a public road at night. There are vehicles driving on this course which cause the racer's kart to launch into the air if a collision between the two occurs. The overall shape of this course is roughly a figure 8, with some parts of the road with varying lane quantity. All Item Boxes of this track are located in the edge of a concave area.

When you start out, the game places you and the racers on a small section cut off from the main track, so you do not get bombarded with automobiles at the start. If you go to the item lines on the side of the road, be careful not to be trapped by a truck. If you get hit on the track, try to get moving as fast as possible, for both time and the threat of being pummeled by a car.

When you are behind a racer, check behind his kart. If there is a vehicle, try crippling them with a red shell or banana, as this will cause his kart to crash twice. Bananas are a great tool on this course. A thin line of grass borders both sides of the track and is blocked off by a white fence. Should the player be knocked over the fence by items such as a Red Shell, Lakitu will bring the player back to the main road.

In 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc, the vehicles go forward in the direction where karts go. The engine class also affects how fast the vehicles move; traffic moves slowly in 50cc, but it is quite fast in 150cc. The difficulty resides in the fact that the larger vehicles go slowly through the road, sometimes blocking the player (especially at the final section, where the road becomes two-laned until the finish line, and often two vehicles travel side-by-side, making it difficult to steer between them). In the Extra mode, the vehicles instead drive toward the racers at the same speed as 150cc.

This track it is snowing and there are snowmen to serve as obstacles and it is 734 meters long. It looks to be in the middle of the winterlands or snowy fields since the track is placed on a very big snow terrain. There is a wide open area filled with rows of snowmen and a giant ice Mario statue. During the last part of the track, racers drive through a snowy mountain, which appears to be dug out to make way for the track. Also, near the start, there is a giant Yoshi statue to the side of the track.

Players start in a snowy road, which immediately makes a ninety degree turn to the right, and then a turn to the left, which then leads players to a row of Item Boxes. Snowmen appear as obstacles in this point that slow players down if run into. Players then pass a Yoshi statue and then make a U-turn to the left, which leads players into a ramp. Failure to cross the ramp leads players into a river of water.

After the ramp, the road stretches and a large group of snowmen, plus a Mario statue reside there. This makes it a little bit tricky to navigate through without slowing down or getting hit by a snowman. After the large group of snowmen, players make a sharp left turn, then a right while avoiding two more snowmen. When players pass the snowmen, they proceed to a straight road, with cliff walls instead of snow to slow them down. If players try to drive up the cliff, they are returned to the track by Lakitu.

In the cliff area, a bunch of item boxes can be found; they are the last ones before the finish line. Past the item boxes is a U-turn to the left, which leads into a curvier road. The curvier road then makes a right turn, and past the wooden bridge is the finish line where the track repeats itself.

This is a mountainous, hazy course. The haze is not that much of a problem, but this is one of the few courses that you can fall off the tracks to an earlier point in the level. It is already 687 meters long, and you do not want to have to repeat any of it.

It features a chocolate tunnel shaped like a pyramid, and at one point, big chocolate boulders crash down onto the track. If a player is hit by these boulders, it will knock them off the track or flatten them. A lake is shown near the boulders as well. Shortly before the finish line, there is a point where the players can fall to a lower section of the track, losing about 20 seconds. In 50cc mode as well as Time Trials, there are railings along the cliff which prevent you from falling. Meanwhile, in 100cc and 150cc, there is no railing, which makes it possible to fall or knock someone down.

The race starts out on a straight road that eventually leads to a curve to the right. The curve also features a twisty road and a row of Item Boxes for players to use. After the curve and the twist, the road continues curving until a U-turn leads players into a longer straight road. This straight road leads to an overhang, where players originally started.

Past the overhang, another curve to the left takes players to the bottom left part of the course, where the road is somewhat straight, but not as straight as the preceding road. Players then turn left, pass a row of item boxes, and drive over a small hill that makes players fly. After the small hill, there is a somewhat sharp curve to the left. In the 50cc races and the Time Trials mode, banisters are set to prevent players from falling into the water below. However, the banisters are not present in the 100cc, 150cc, and EXTRA modes. Boulders fly out on the sharp curve to flatten and slow down any player that is present in their landing spot.

After the falling boulders, a right curve takes players to a straight road, with the road below them to the left. In Mario Kart 64, if players fall into the road below, they must race the part they were just in, also with the penalty of losing any position if players are behind them. After this dangerous place is a curve to the left, with three sets of hills that also send players flying into the finish line, where they start the track again.

This course is the hardest one of the Flower Cup. It has tough turns, hitting Bananas can result in whizzing off the course where there are Piranha Plants lining the roads. Luckily, it is pretty short at 567 meters long. Numerous shortcuts are open to you if you have Super Stars or Mushrooms due to the excessive amount of grass and sand on this paved course.

The course features Mario's red cap on the top of the course's terrace, next to the starting line. The road is made of concrete, just like Luigi Raceway and Royal Raceway. Although the course has no pit hazards it is filled in rough grass, and running over them will cause any kart to slow down. However, using a speed booster as a Mushroom or a Star, drivers can make shortcuts through the grass and dust. Piranha Plants are an obstacle found over the grass, and bumping into one causes the Kart to spin around. Many Piranha Plants are located near to the corners.

Upon getting to the first turn, the racers will go near a hill to take a semi-circular turn surrounding a big toadstool. A long stretch of the road will come next, leading the racers to a curl S bend and pass through a Warp Pipe tunnel. The racers end crossing the finish line once they exit out of the pipe.

The track contains several sharp turns and a series of hills and bumps and is 1591 meters long, this is the second-longest course in the game. Wario Stadium is the only track in the series to include a jump which, if failed to clear, will set the player back a good quarter of the track; the jump on Mario Circuit 2 sets the player back only a fifth of the track. In later Mario Kart titles, failing to make these kinds of jumps will have Lakitu bring the player back to the start of the jump.

The starting line is over to the far right of the course, which in itself is a dense pile of roads scrunched together into a rounded square-shape. Surrounding the stadium completely is are rows of spectators, seats filled to the brim. The outer edge has a repetitious turquoise design of Wario all over it, matching his prideful nature. Towering multi-bulb stadium lights brightly shower the entire arena, and for those seated too far away from the action, a monstrous TV screen displays a close-up of the race near the front end of the crowd. So, at the beginning of the dark brown track, players immediately are met with four large humps, making them hop up into the air and possibly lose control is they aren't ready. A left curve gets players up to an even larger hill of sand, which drops them off at the first row of Item Boxes. Two more left turns and a fork in the road comes into view; however, going left leads to a wall (previously not visible), and if the driver played it smart, they will have followed the red pointing arrow to the right.

A 180 degree turn going left swiftly follows this, with another set of Items provided. 2 more humps in the road succeed, and a 90 degree curve leads straight into a sharp hairpin around a spinning Wario sign- truly, good Drift skills or at least decent Handling are going to be needed for this twisting map. A couple more dirt ramps, these a few feet higher, proceed some more Item Boxes while curving right. The track then spans considerably a lot into a wide open dirt pit, and the giant flat screen can be viewed clearly from this point, showing the player's every action. Small little bumps dot the plain to make it more exciting for viewers (annoying for players) until it narrows back to normal at a right turn. 3 subsequent hills that span the track come next, alternating from medium height to large height. An extremely sharp U-turn follows, but it is not too harsh, as plenty of straight time was given to regain control from hopping.

Directly in line with the mega-screen, a series of six dirt hills along a straightway come up, and afterward, a valley with Item Boxes in it is next. On either side of this long straight path, a section of track drop-off can be seen. A right ninety follows, and then the path slowly starts slanting right. Finally, it takes sharp turn altogether and evens out at a steepening dirt pile. Suddenly, the track falls away while going above the previous straightway. If the racer has not built up enough momentum execute the jump, they will pathetically fall back onto the previous road and have to do over the last 1/4 of the track they had just completed- unacceptable to win, as almost every other character will be in front of you. Landing with a thud on the other side, too small mounds come right before a right corner/hairpin, laden with Item Boxes. A vicious, almost too challenging and abrupt 180-degree U-turn follows. Some people simply crash into the wall and lose all speed. Continuing to curve left, the finish line thankfully comes into view after a tiresome lap. But there is 3.

The track is 756 meters long, just barely longer than Frappe Land. However, Sherbet Land is a winter wonderland based around ice more than snow. There is a giant Penguin that players cannot reach. There are three types of Penguins on this track, the Little Penguin Sliders (which slide around), the Big Penguin Waddlers (which waddle around pillars), and a massive Penguin on an iceberg in the middle of the track). The penguins make some very weird noises. After that, there are some cracks that you can either choose to drive around them or jump over them. After the cracks, there is a big boulder that splits the paths. And well, you guessed it — left or right does not matter. Then, you drive straight and into a cave. But there are some penguins blocking the entrance of the cave, so be careful. In the cave, you will start to drive on snow, but not ice. There are some arrows in the cave, telling you which way to go. There are some pillars with penguins walking around them. But they do not slide, they just walk around. When you exit the cave, there are not too many obstacles to worry about but penguins, and after one more left turn, the finish line.

The longest race course at 1025 meters, not nearly as terrible as Mario Raceway, it is no Luigi Raceway, that's for sure. Royal Raceway is Peach's course, and it has two very neat alternate routes. As the name implies, the track is intended as Princess Peach's "home" course. The track features many sharp turns that require precise drifting if the player wishes to post good times.

Many of these turns are highly banked and curve around water hazards. This forces the player to maintain a very disciplined path around the track, as going too high on the turns can lead to the player finding him/herself in deep grass, and going too low can result in falling in the water.

The first little bit of track is not too technical with easy, wide turns. After about 1/4 of the track, the turns get narrower but should not cause too much trouble. Racers then enter a long bridge that leads to a big jump.

If players veer too far to the left or right after the jump, they will hit the two hills and possibly fall into the lake. The second to last turn is rather tight and players should be careful as the banking can easily slide them into the lake, before another S-bend back to the grid.

As an easter egg, Princess Peach's castle (as shown in Super Mario 64) and it is gardens can be found by taking a wrong turn on the track. The player can drive around the field, just as it is displayed in Super Mario 64.

However, there is no way to actually enter the castle, except through a glitch. Even then, all that happens is the kart falling through the front door into a pitch black room, before eventually hitting water. The character is then placed back on the main raceway before the "wrong" turn was taken. There is no known shortcut involving the castle. The Award Ceremony also takes place on the track where the top three drivers will receive their trophy.

It is only 777 meters, but it feels longer due to traps and sharp turns. It features several Thwomps that try to block drivers from getting to further areas. Near the beginning of the course, there is an imprisoned Thwomp tinted green with yellow teeth due to the lighting, which shakes and laughs if the player goes near it. The laugh can also be heard by the normal Thwomps throughout the course. The Thwomps' laugh is the same as Wario's, only pitched down. Because Bowser's voice changed for the international release, the Thwomps' voices changed with it.

In further corridors, there are pictures of Bowser and large stone statues that shoot flames from their mouths, but they are harmless. At the end of the track racers will race on the roof of the castle. On the last lap, or when the player gets too close to the Bowser statue at the start of the track, Bowser's laugh plays. Thwomps are the main obstacle in this course. Most of them will move around the room and try to crush the racers and some slide across the room. In the hallway where the pair of Thwomps chase down the player, the number of Thwomps at the end of the hall depends on the engine class (one Thwomp for 50cc, two for 100cc, and three for 150cc).

The parkway is quite an intricate course (yes, it is possible to get onto that boat), but it is not particularly DK-related aside from the jungle theme. Generally, this is a mild course that should not give you much trouble. i would say it is the second-easiest course in the cup. it is also the second-longest at 893 meters.

The beginning section starts out with a short straightaway and into a right U-turn. The track then leads onto a riverboat, on which a large dash panel ejects racers to the other side of the river. A sharp left turn must be made so you do not run into a wall. From here, a long section of straight track is righted by the river, which poses a threat to light characters like Toad. After this, the parkway takes several winding turns through a parkway, lined by grass. If a player drives in the grass, spiky fruits come flying out of nowhere and hit the driver, although this is actually kind of helpful, because they bump you back on. However, if you are in Time Trial mode, the coconuts erase your chances of saving a ghost. After this, a waterfall must be passed my traversing a rickety, narrow wood bridge, perfect for laying Banana Bunches and firing Green Shells. The bridge leads to a dark, gloomy cave. Sticking to the track can be safer, but you are not slowed down by the off-road part, so take it. The cave exits just in time for the finish line.

In Mario Kart Wii, the track is basically unchanged--the graphics are better, the big jump now acts like you have entered a cannon, fruits have been removed, the cave now has an off-road part, and the water is now orange (most likely because it is evening). But other than that, it is the same old thing.

When racers go off-course, unseen "restless natives," as the instruction booklet calls them, will throw kiwanos at them. A large boat with "Mario" written on it cruises around the river in the jungle. The race starts off along the shoreline of the river which leads to a massive jump across the river. Players, while jumping, can aim their landing spot. The ferry may be an obstacle during this jump, but players can pass through the ferry most of the time. Players then follow the winding dirt path to a narrow wooden bridge at the edge of a waterfall. The bridge leads to a small cave, which ends at the start of the track.

The course it is 772 meters long, but that is only one route. It starts out on a dirt road with grass on the sides, like DK's Jungle Parkway. After a bit, it transitions into a winding maze of roads on cliffs. These paths are very hard to navigate, even if players are with another person. Adding to the difficulty is multiple Porcupines sprawled over sections of the road, and your only option really is to drive through them and hope that you do not get hit. The paths eventually meet, and after a few turns, there is a bridge which takes players back to the dirt road. Shortly after, the finish line is reached. The course itself has few railings. If players fall off a cliff, they will roll down the hill for a long time. Lakitu will pick them up after they roll all the way down to the bottom, making falls more costly than normal.

Before the bridge, there is a giant Yoshi Egg that spins across a small area. If it rolls over a player, he or she will be flattened, like a player run over a Thwomp or a Mega Mushroom. However, AI-controlled characters cannot be flattened by it. Also, there are black porcupines on some paths that will make one spin out if hit.

The confusing part of this track is that there is no telling who is in which place. Because there are so many different pathways that take the player to different parts of the course, the game simply replaces the usual positions with question marks, only revealing the standings for a racer after he or she has crossed the finish line.

Due to the unique design of the course, there are many different routes that can be taken from the beginning of the maze to the end. The maze begins after a right turn over a bridge shortly after the starting line, and the end is where the bridge route connects to the main route, after which is a left hairpin turn that then leads to the Giant Egg, after which is a long narrow bridge that brings the racers to the grassy field with the finish line.

Crazy, nutty, and kooky like Yoshi is, Yoshi Valley is not a pushover course. However, it, unlike other courses in Mario Kart, has multiple paths a driver can take. Along the way are Spinys, which make drivers spin out or launch into the air, steep cliffs where drivers that are unfortunate to fall over have to be rescued by Lakitu, and narrow turns. All paths lead to a spinning Yoshi egg that will spin out a player upon hitting it.

Yoshi Valley is the first course in Mario Kart to keep your current position racewise unknown. Instead, you will be given it once you cross the finish line.

Banshee Boardwalk has sections with no rails, and darkened areas that do not become light until your kart comes to a certain spot. It is 747 meters of wretched, Boo and bat-infested wooden boardwalk track with a crumbling old castle. Occasionally, a giant Cheep Cheep will jump overhead (the Giant Cheep-Cheep cannot harm you). Also, as with most of the haunted tracks, Boos will frequently appear, cackle and then disappear. There are also bats that fly around in two parts in the castle, where they try to rush out at the player. The music creates a very creepy and suspenseful atmosphere.

The race begins on a boardwalk with some guardrails missing. Additionally, a giant Cheep Cheep jumps out of the water, but it cannot harm the player. The second half of the race features an abandoned building where bats fly at the racers, lowering their speed. The bats do not appear in the Time Trial mode. Additionally, in some parts of the track some Boos appear, but they just laugh when the player passes by.

This is the longest track in the game at 2000 meters long. This track is railed off and thus pretty safe, but phantom Chain Chomps will appear on the track to try to bite you infrequently. These Chain Chomps can make things quite hectic with all the Mini Bomb Karts in VS Mode.

The course starts with a huge drop followed by a gentle uphill stretch passing through a rainbow ring. After the ring, there is a wide loop with neon signs of Mario, Peach and Luigi on the loop's outside. Following the loop is a steady downward road that crosses over the steep drop where a Mushroom sign can be seen. After the bridge is a corkscrew loop with a large star in the center and a Boo sign at the corkscrew's outside. Racers turn around a corkscrew to reach a hairpin bend, where signs of Donkey Kong and Yoshi are seen. Shortly after the hairpin bend is a short straightaway followed by a smaller drop and small uphill stretch. A Toad neon sign can be seen after the drop as well as a wide right turn. A straightaway follows with a Wario sign present, then follows a final looping section, where a Bowser sign is seen near the end of the track. After the loop is a final straightaway to the finish.

At 2 kilometers - which engenders laps that are two minutes long each - this course is the longest course in the game. It is a colorful course through the final frontier, while the original Rainbow Road featured a starry purplish sky instead. Its setting may have been switched to the deep space setting in order to help the console manage the track. With some of the most motivational and inspirational music in Mario Kart history, racers swerve past neon-lighted pictures of the eight playable characters, as well as various items from the series. Chain Chomps plague this otherwise peaceful course, traveling inside the road itself and knocking up racers they happen to collide with. Near the middle of the track, the course harbors a large, three-dimensional, smiling star.

This long course starts out with a large drop followed by a gentle uphill stretch, passing through a rainbow ring. From here, the path is mostly level with a few shallow drops here and there. Approaching the end, racers turn around in a corkscrew and then a twisting stretch to finally return to the checkered line.

It is possible to take a shortcut and skip about half of the course at the beginning. Right after the starting line, a racer can jump over the railing on the left while the track starts to slant downhill and land on a different part of the track.